The Teacha Fashionista

"Oh my God! That is heinous!"

I shook my head as Susan grinned and held up a sweatshirt bedecked with sequined turkeys and pilgrims. The racks at Kaufmans held shirts, sweaters, jackets and vests seasonal decorated with appliques ranging from autumn leaves and conucopias, to ghosts and jack-o-lanterns, to candy canes and reindeer. Each one tackier than the next, and every one over-priced.

"Who wears this stuff?" she laughed.

"You will." I smirked. "I'm buying you that one for your birthday."

"Then, you're getting this one for Christmas."
Susan pushed aside several garments to reveal a Santa in swimtrunks and sunglasses stitched to a sweater. "You know, they make these things especially for teachers. You are the target customers...Look! She pulled out a knit vest decorated with apples.

My jaw dropped. She was right. Her statement evoked the images of my colleagues gathered in the teachers lounge in holiday attire. ANY holiday, EVERY holiday. Ties and T-shirts, jumpers and jewelry. Even shoes. Teachers take to theme-dressing like bloggers to snarking...Both are distracting and keep us from being taken seriously.

I recall a former co-worker whose attire rivaled that of the "Mimi" character on the Drew Carey show. Her September wardrobe featured pencil earrings, chalkboard brooches, and "A,B,C" "1,2,3" tights. October was resplendent with witches and scarecrows. In December, I can remember being amazed by a headband with antlers and a necklace of flashing Christmas lights. I would walk away from conversations and not be able to recall what we discussed because, I couldn't keep my eyes off of her outfits.

Every now and again I hear talk from administrators and board members about instituting teacher dress codes, and the occasional comment about having a uniform for faculty members. They should keep in mind the effect that would have on stores that deal in seasonal attire. Without the teachers, they would loose their customer base and I'm certain those places would go out of business.

It's Back! Max S. Hayes Adult Evening Class: Welding for Artists

"I always wanted to learn how to do that."

Two years ago I came up with an idea to offer an evening class to artists (or anyone else) who always wanted to learn how to weld, but didn't want to make a career out of it. I had a number of artist/sculptor friends who were envious of my access to the shops and the technical expertise.
I asked Ron Herman, the welding instructor for the adult job-training program, if it was do-able. He said, sure, he'd like to teach the class, but I would have to get it okayed by the administration.
Several months of badgering got us the 'go-ahead', and that winter the first class of ten artists donned leather coats, gloves, and helmets, and learned to create new objects with metal and fire. The class consisted of men and women from three counties, all art professionals, working in museums, colleges, schools, and public art. They became friends, sharing their phone numbers and portfolios.

Changes in the administration created confusion the next semester, and I threw up my hands in disgust.

"Why do I bother? I set up a great program, and the know-it-alls come in and screw it up. I don't get paid extra to do their jobs or make them look good. I guess since innovation isn't in my contract I'm not gonna do anything extra. Who needs the aggravation? I give up."

This summer I met Jacqueline Comeaux, the new Director of Adult Education at CMSD. She said she had heard about the 'Welding For Artists' class that I'd initiated, and she would like to give it another shot. Her enthusiasm and vision won me over.

So, ladies and gentlemen, once again we'd like to offer you the chance to learn a hot new skill:

Welding for Artists

This is a class for adult artists interested in expanding their repertoire of sculptural skills to include welding technology. Learn the basics of oxyacetylene welding, cutting, MIG, and TIG, with an emphasis on safety.

This class is also ideal for any adult welders interested in learning advanced welding techniques.

Course begins: October 17, 2005 - November 2, 2005
Class schedule: Mondays & Wednesdays 6:00 - 8:00 pm
Tuition: $300 (Includes use of tools and supplies.)

*Returning students receive $100 discount when using own equipment

Max S. Hayes Adult Training Center4600 Detroit Avenue - Cleveland, Ohio 44102
For more Information Call:
(216) 634-2157

Register in Person:September 27th & 28th 3:30 - 7:00 pm
October 4th & 5th 3:30 - 7:00 pm
October 11th & 12th 3:30 - 7:00 pm
October 17th, 18th & 19th 3:30 - 7:00 pm

Tuition payment is due at time of registration.
Payment plans are available

Making a Case for Technical Education

Today I recieved this comment on Monday's post:

catfood said...
I'm a bit torn on this point, MB. I believe that students need skills that will get them jobs. But I'm also a liberal arts snob, and I believe that everyone needs general, primary knowledge of the world--including arts, sciences, and social sciences. So when someone says we need a better workforce coming out of our public schools, part of me goes eeeewwww... why don't we aim for a better/smarter populace and let the jobs take care of themselves?

I'm not sure that's been tried.

I guess he got me going.
I am posting my response.


My dear catfood,

We need both; the liberal arts and career/technical training. We can't neglect one for the other. There is no one-size-fits-all education style. The college prep track just doesn't work for everybody. It is presumptuous to assume everyone should want or need that type of education.
Who is going to build, maintain, and make all your stuff unless we train people to do it?
Oh...that's right...the Chinese.

Friday afternoon I listened to economic futurist and author Watts Wacker speak at Tri-C Corporate College. He cautioned us (Americans) to wake up and pay attention to China. The Chinese have certainly been paying attention to us, and they have learned a lot. China learned how to make stuff.
First they made it cheap, then they made it well, and now they are investing in automation for manufacturing and training workers to use it. They are taking our jobs. They are eating our lunches. (And by the way, today 400 million Chinese speak English.)

The jobs here aren't taking care of themselves.
The manufacturing industry in the United States is desperate for skilled workers. Thousands of high tech manufacturing jobs in Ohio are going unfilled. Non-automated factories are closing their doors because they can't compete globally, and they won't invest in the new technology because they can't find the people to run it. Young people aren't encouraged to go into manufacturing.
Training programs have few students.

The drop-out rate in our district is about 50%, somewhat improved from the 65% of two years ago, and the unthinkable 75% a few years before that. Although school administrators rejoice at the increased numbers of graduates, very little attention is paid to what happened to those who never finished high school.
50,000 families in Cleveland are headed by dropouts. We cannot attract companies to this city because such a large percentage of our workforce is uneducated and unskilled.

Cleveland's economy was built on manufacturing. It was the industrialists who built the universities as well as the arts and cultural institutions in this city.

We still have the infrastructure.
We can easily revitalize the manufacturing industry here by providing skilled workers trained in automation and robotics. With a skilled manufacturing workforce, existing companies will be able to invest in technology, increase production, and compete with offshore manufacturers.
A skilled workforce will also enable the city to lure big manufacturers here without tax abatements.

Today's manufacturing jobs are high paying. Higher paying jobs will allow Clevelanders to support the arts, send their children to college, play (not work) in casinos, and not have to shop at Wal-Mart.
(And maybe take a course in Chinese.)

Making Change: Election '05

The invitation was last minute.

"MaryBeth, we would like to invite you to attend a discussion this evening with the mayoral candidates at the Key Club, and could you bring several students?"

Sure. I hustled around to recruit a few interested upperclassmen. Lots of the kids said they would like to go, but most of them had jobs after school. 5:00-8:00 PM are the prime working hours for high school students. I got four "maybe's".
I sat close to the door in the club meeting room to keep watch. None of my kids showed up. Too bad.
A few of the students had expressed an interest in politics. It would have been a good experience for them.

Listening to the candidates answer questions about personal thoughts and feelings, as opposed to promoting or defending their stand on the issues, presented a very different view of the personalities running for mayor. I found myself sizing them up in the same way that I look at a class full of new students.

Seated in front of me were seven leaders, seven different dispositions, seven different attitudes, seven different competencies, and seven different personal styles. While some came across as friendly and engaging, others appeared aloof, one was even angry and combative. It was easy to see who was self-absorbed, who had creative vision, who truly listened to what others were saying, who had tunnel vision, who was laid back, who was obsessive, and who needed their medication adjusted. It was interesting to see how they related with one another. Who smiled or exchanged words, and who ignored whom.

Missing from the group last night was Frank Jackson, a man I would have liked to have seen interact with this group and respond to these personal types of questions. Of all the candidates, he always came across as the most guarded in public. Seeing how he stands a decent chance of becoming my next boss, it would have been nice to be able to scrutinize him along with the others.

Educated Workforce = Economic Development

I stood in the campaign headquarters of Cleveland mayoral candidate David Lynch this past Friday, before a press conference he was holding to discuss his platform on education. I don't live in Cleveland, I can't vote for Cleveland issues, but I work here, I teach kids here, and am very much affected by the politics of the city. Cleveland's next mayor will be my boss.
I respect David for making education a primary topic in his candidacy.

For too long the city schools have been like the crazy relative the family doesn't like to talk about.
The problems seem so huge...insurmountable...embarrassing...our politicians would much rather talk about the exciting, do-able, project oriented topics. Lakefront development, convention centers, casinos, new shopping centers, arts and cultural attractions.
Creating new spaces and places is much more exciting than figuring out why 50 percent of Cleveland's students drop out of school, and how we can employ this huge demographic without high school diplomas.

Instead of fiddling with the numbers to change the city's status as the poverty leader, then rejoicing that another city has taken the lead, someone needs to take the bull by the horns and figure out how to create a workforce in this city that is educated enough to attract companies.
Tax exemptions didn't lure Toyota to Toronto, skilled workers did. Do companies want to locate in a city where 50,000 families are headed by someone who dropped out of high school?

Education reform and building a skilled workforce need to be this city's top priorities. The candidates need to concentrate on the following issues:
1. Lead abatement. The city of Cleveland has one of the highest concentrations of children with lead poisoning in any urban area. Lead poisoning leads to mental retardation. About 38% of the CMSD student population are identified as special needs. Anyone see a correlation here?
2. Improved discipline and learning in the classroom. New school funding strategies are essential to accomplish these goals.
3. Job training and adult education programs that will address the needs of the current population of city residents who are lacking the skills needed to pull themselves out of poverty.

Without education there can be no economic development. An uneducated population cannot sustain itself. When city leaders finally realize this and make educating Cleveland a primary focus, only then will we see jobs return to the city.

Payback

"Oooo...Somebody was HATIN'!"

The students were crowded around the window, looking across the street.
Parked in the driveway, just outside the garage of one of the expensive townhouses on Tillman Avenue overlooking the lake, was a black Hummer. With Krylon yellow spray paint on the passenger side, a message was scrawled in big angry letters, "FUCK YR MONEY".
The painter attacked the back of the vehicle, and the driver's side as well, with spattered lines and swirls of yellow.

"Who do you think did that? Someone from school?"

"Naw. That's a relationship pay-back."

"He made somebody pretty mad."

"It's kinda funny, actually."

"Somehow, I just can't feel sorry for the guy."


...Somehow, I can't either.

Don't be Boring

"Geeze, that kid is as smart as he looks." I muttered.

The heat and humidity were starting to get to me, eroding my patience for the goofy antics of teenaged boys.

My intern, from Cleveland State, looked across the room to where the lanky kid with the towel draped on top of his head plopped himself down on the table's edge, making faces at his classmate, who had nearly busted him upside his dome during the new teacher's lecture on shading geometric forms.

"Sit in the chair please!"
My voice reflected the testy attitude that accompanied the emerging half-headache.

"So what started the problem?" he asked.

"Nothing...Stupidity...Nothing."

The bewildered look on his face begged a better explaination.

"Our friend was trying to be funny. He gave a two-finger smack to the back of Vonne's head. No reason. Just out of the blue. He was bored. It nearly became a fight over nothing."

"So, how did you deal with it?"

I had solved the problem in the hallway, out of sight and earshot of my intern and the rest of the class. He was eager to hear a first-hand accounting of my classroom management skills in action.

"I had them look me in the eye, stand up straight, explain the problem, then go back in and sit down on different sides of the room. No big deal."

I sometimes forget how tricky and psychological all this stuff looks to the novice. New teachers tend to overreact to some things, and not respond quickly enough to others. Behavior management in the classroom is now so second nature to me, I really have to think hard about what it is I do exactly to make things run smoothly. Knowing what bores kids and figuring out how to keep wandering minds on track, I discovered, is much more important than knowing how to break up a skirmish. These are the things best learned through experience, however.

More difficult for me is this student teacher mentoring. Critiquing without discouraging is really tricky. I'm not very good at taking critisism, so I am very cautious when I have to point out other people's shortcomings.
Perhaps I should talk about the absolute necessity of using humor in a lecture...It's better than saying "Don't be boring."

Where've You Been?

"Hey! How are you?" The seventeen year old's face peeked around the corner of the doorway with a grin that began on his lips, and shone through his eyes.

"Great. Where've you been? I thought you might have left. I haven't seen you around."

Tossing a sketchbook on my desk, and ignoring my question he said, "Look at these."

Ten pages of sketches...Street characters, names, designs, tags...All done in that hybrid urban style of hip-hop/Latino artwork, part graffiti, born on the street, carefully studied, practiced and refined.

"These are wonderful. You were busy drawing this summer I see."

"Yeah, I couldn't do much else. I spent a lot of time in the hospital."

"Hospital?"

"The doctors think I might have stomach cancer. They say I have strange bile. They keep shoving these cameras in me. I have to get one shoved down my throat today after school. I haven't eaten all day..I'm starving."

"Damn."

Some days this job is really hard.

City Kids at the City Club

This past Tuesday I was invited to bring three students from Max Hayes to a luncheon at the Cleveland City Club sponsored by the Cleveland Excellence Round Table. The featured guest speaker was Rebecca Ryan from Next Generation Consulting, who has just recently concluded a project in Akron focused on attracting and retaining young creative talent. The room was filled with leaders from Cleveland's civic and business comunities. We were the only high school invited.

Senior students, Tabatha Knight, Joella Blount, and Quadre Nichols are all bright young minds with leadership abilities. I felt this luncheon would be a valuable opportunity for them to experience a social setting outside their normal sphere. Mingling with civic leaders would help them see the possibilities they have to make a difference in their world. These are the kind of experiences that can influence the choices they make as they plan their futures. The gap between those with political influence, and the average citizen is not as impossible to bridge as it might first appear.

I've had a problem over the past several years with the media's discussion of brain drain, and brain gain.
Cleveland is busily trying to attract new bright young people, the new
creative class, to our freshly gentrified neighborhoods, while we neglect
our own children. I believe we need to grow our future, not lure it here.

Tabatha, an outspoken sixteen year old, with a mind as sharp as her tongue, listened to the discussion during lunch which focused on economic development strategies that would bring business and educated young people to the city. I could see her becoming uneasy. She leaned over the table and whispered to me.

"I'm going to make a comment."

"Good for you. Go ahead."

She raised her hand, and stared at the people around the room.

"Everyone here is talking about businesses and colleges in Cleveland, and how they are going to save the city, but not one person has mentioned the schools...the middle schools, elementary schools, and high schools, in Cleveland. Nobody is talking about them. They are terrible. They are run down, we have no books, we are losing our teachers. We need education. How can you plan to change the city and forget the schools?"

A few of the civic leaders in attendance responded by blaming the state system of school funding for the problems of the city schools.

"None of them has the answer." she whispered to me again.

Maybe the solutions will one day come from the people who have experienced the problems.
Nobody else really seems to understand.

"What you do speaks so loudly that I cannot hear what you say."

Ralph Waldo Emerson

First Day of School "05-06"

"Did you miss me?"

"Miss you? Summer went by so fast, I hardly had time to miss you. But geeze... Come here... Stand next to me... Did you grow six inches in three months? I almost didn't recognize you walking down the hallway."

Devone's wide grin grew even wider. "I was wearing shorts the whole summer. I grew out of all my jeans. I needed to get new pants last week to come to school."

I unlocked the door to my classroom, and we walked into the room I'd been preparing since last Thursday. The furniture was dusted, new bulletin board displays were up, and books were placed back on the bookshelves.
Some things were still the same though. The windows still had the same bullet holes, broken Plexiglas was patched with the same duct tape, the same tiles were still missing from the floor and the ceiling, the speakers for the PA system were still broken, and the message "Stan sucks d--k" was still legible, scrawled in permanent marker repeatedly on several of the old oak tables and chairs.

The rest of the class slowly wandered into the room.

"You rearrainged the tables."

"Yeah. How do you like it?"

"It's okay...I don't like it when things change."

"It's easier for me to see what everybody is doing this way. You'll get used to it."

Of the twenty-nine students on my roster, only sixteen were in class. No surprise. For some reason I've never understood, a large percentage of Cleveland kids will not come to school before Labor Day, no matter when school officially starts.

Rather than review the syllabus, like teachers in suburban districts would on the first day of classes, I talked about the new programs we would be participating in this year; the extra curricular glass blowing classes, this year's new artist residencies, the new sculpture at the Soapbox Derby Park, and the Max Hayes/CIA video documentary project. Class rules, expectations, and the supply list will be covered when I have a majority of the class in attendance.

I hardly started talking when heads began flopping down on the table. Teenagers used to staying up until the wee hours of the morning and sleeping until mid-afternoon all summer, were having difficulty keeping their eyes open for an 8:00 AM class. When the bell rang to signal the end of the class period, fifteen students got up to leave. One freshly-shorn head remained, eyes closed, face squished against Formica. I tapped him on the shoulder.

"Bell rang. Time to go."

His eyes popped open. The boy stood up, and looked around in temporary confusion.

"Do you know where your second period class is?"

He pulled the crumpled schedule from his pocket, stared for a moment and hurried out the door. I set my hand down on the table where he had been sitting. An audible little shriek escaped from my mouth.

"Oh shit!"

I ran to the sink, pumped a palmful of antibacterial soap, and began to scrub. I grabbed a spray bottle of disinfectant and a paper towel and walked across the room to clean up a six inch puddle of drool from the table top while the next group of students walked through the door.

"Did you miss me?"

"Miss you? Summer went by so fast, I hardly had time to miss you."

Children First

Didja ever wonder, while walking through a school building on a hot muggy day, why the only air conditioned rooms in the building are the ones where adults spend the day...usually only one or two of them at a given time, and the rooms where thirty -forty children are crammed into tiny uncomfortable desks get no air conditioning, and often the windows don't open either. Why is it too expensive to air condition classrooms, but not administrative offices, or libraries, or community centers,or or city hall, or state and federal government buildings? What happened to "Children First"? Oh I remember, kids don't vote.

Tipping Point

You have to be tough to walk the halls of a public school in the city of Cleveland.

Overwhelming for the sheltered, sensitive, suburban adult; the masses of teenagers who pour out of classrooms at the sound of a bell, can offend every sense.
From the acrid stench of hormonal armpits and post-lunch methane emissions, to physical bumping and jostling from the shoulder-to-shoulder crowd moving to the next class, the easily offended are immediately repulsed. The F-bomb, often accompanied by a "mother" is used as adjective, verb, noun, and pronoun; in friendly greetings and menacing threats.

Those of us who choose to work with adolescents, develop a coat of emotional armor out of necessity. Our thick skin helps us to survive the highly charged atmosphere. The veteran of the urban classroom often appears unflappable. But every once in a while a chink appears in the protective coat, and something gets to you.

A number of years ago, I was teaching at a 6-12th grade magnet school. One afternoon, during class change, the halls were typically flooded with students. A social studies teacher stood by her classroom door laughing with a colleague, when she was rudely shoved by a skinny 11 year old sixth grader.

"Get the f-ck out of my way, you f-cking, fat, white, b-tch."

Her jovial face filled with rage, and spinning around, she pinned the nasty child up against the ceramic block wall and hissed.

"Don't you ever...ever...ever...call me FAT!"

She backed away, and the terrified boy hurried off to his next class, having learned a very important lesson.

There are some things you never say to a woman.

Where Do We Go From Here?

"There must be changes in the direction of the school system, and we need input. We need suggestions."
Cleveland School Board member, Louise Dempsey spoke earnestly yesterday, as we stood talking an a small group after a luncheon downtown.

"Oh, I have plenty of ideas."

"I knew you would!" She smiled.

"First," I said, "communication needs to be made a priority. The district administration is inaccessible. It is daunting for school employees to get their questions answered, let alone someone from the general public."

The smile became a laugh. "Your right. You can't even get people there to pick up their phones."

"And when your call goes to the voicemail system, the mailboxes are always full." I added. "E-mails don't get answered either in a lot of cases. Is it any wonder Clevelanders have so little confidence in this administration? They are inaccessible. The public feels alienated."

Earlier, at lunch, Scott Rourke from One Cleveland spoke about the need for connectivity amongst various institutions, businesses, and organizations in Cleveland. Technology can facilitate the exchange of information, but real solutions and innovation can only come about when people are engaged in face to face conversation.

It is encouraging to see the young business leaders of Cleveland espousing this new philosophy of social networking, rejecting the "silo" mentality the city has been locked into for decades. Educators should take a cue from the business community. We need to change if we are going to survive, and the first step must be open communication...The walls need to come down.

The community feels disconnected from the school district. They see schools as places to send their children, not places where they feel welcomed. The hierarchy is intimidating, and the public doesn't trust what they can't get close to.
The administration tells the media things are changing for the better, but to the regular citizens in the neighborhoods, everything looks the same...Or worse.

Cleveland needs to find new ways to engage the community in the process of educating children. A good place to begin the process would be to start answering the phone.

Byrd-Bennett Resigns

Barbara Byrd-Bennett, the superintendent of the Cleveland Municipal School District, announced her plan to resign the position today. She will be staying on only until a replacement is hired.

I always liked her, felt that she truly had the best interests of the students and teachers at heart, and am sorry to see her leave. I do feel she had few other options following the election Tuesday. Clevelander's vote of no confidence demanded a change in leadership, and she is graciously giving up the helm.

This places an even greater emphasis on education in the upcoming mayoral election. The candidates must include strategies for finding a new superintendent and administrative team, as well as the educational reform models that will be implemented.

To the Citizens of Cleveland,

I understand.

You voted your wallets. $200/year makes a huge dent in the budget when you are struggling to pay the utilities, when the prices for everything from gasoline to cereal are on the rise. There is no economic savior on Cleveland's horizon either. Companies are moving out. Big employers are closing their doors.
As the old saying goes, "You can't squeeze blood from a turnip."

I understand.

Some voters were angry. They felt purposely neglected, so they responded...with a vengeance.

So I ask: Now what?
What do you want the schools to do?

You have a voice. You used it yesterday. You said "no".
Now keep talking. Tell us why.
Vent, rant, fume,...Then take a breath and begin the conversation.
"Now what?"
What are Clevelanders going to do about educating the children of this city? If you aren't willing to be a part of the solution, there will be no solution.

School Shoes

"Why do we always have to get our school shoes HERE?"

Year after year, the whine would emanate from the four school-aged Miles children, packed into the backseat of the station wagon, as we made the annual drive to the shoestore on Carnegie Avenue. (David, eight years my junior, played in his car seat in the front, too young to care)

In a tone making it clear there would be no more discussion, my mother stated,

"I want my children to have good feet"

Marsal's Scientific Shoe Store had lots of pictures on the wall of feet. Black and white pictures of shoes, with the top potion of the leather cut away so you could view the toes...good toes, cramped toes, hammer toes, carbuncles...you name it. The photographs would show side by side comparasons of feet in poorly fitting shoes next to feet in Scientific Shoes. Very compelling. Very convincing.

I would sit in one of the big comfy chairs, waiting my turn to be fitted, and stare at the feet in frames.
When it was finally my turn, Mrs. White, the smiling perfectly coiffed, sales-lady, would ask,

"Which shoes do you like?"

I didn't like any of them. I would look at the pitiful selection in my size, of about five different sensible styles, and try to decide which was the least ugly. In the end, it didn't matter what I picked, I knew the teasing would be waiting for me at school the moment I got off the bus.

"Those are some UGLY shoes!"
"Did you get those shoes from your grandma's closet?"
"Look, she's wearin' her grandma's shoes!"

When I would complain to my mother, she would answer.

"Don't worry about what the other kid's wearing their cheap shoes are saying. You are going to have good feet when you grow up."

How I longed to go to one of the other "regular" shoe stores, and pick out something that was cute and stylish.

"Those shoes are junk." Mom would say. "They start falling apart after a few months."

She was right, of course. In comparison, Marsal's Scientific Shoes were virtually indestructible.
We had tried..foot-dragging, scuffing, soaking...anything short of blatantly obvious, purposeful, destruction. It only served to make the ugly shoes uglier.
They would not tear or get holes in them, they would simply get scruffy. Nothing a little bit of old fashioned shoe polish wouldn't fix.

Elementary school teasing became unbearable taunting in middle school, when the need to be cool outweighs everything else in a teenager's world.
How could I ever be cool in Scientific Shoes?
It was impossible.

My idea for fashion salvation came to me one day, when I noticed a group of girls from Notre Dame Academy, the Catholic girls high school a few miles away, waiting for a bus. Dressed in blazers, plaid skirts, and saddle shoes, they smiled, talked, and giggled. A group of boys drove by in a car, honking the horn. They waved back.

Saddle shoes!
Marsal's sold saddle shoes.

I came home, and announced to my parents that I would like to go to Notre Dame Academy.
My mother was overjoyed; the school was her alma-mater. My father couldn't say no.

That September, I walked into a classroom full of girls, in my Marsal's Scientific saddle shoes...and nobody noticed my feet. Instead of being "the girl with the ugly shoes", I was the "new girl", who eventually became "the artist".

______________________________________

PS. To this day, thanks to my mother, I still have very good feet.
PPS. I also have an obscene, Imeldaesque, collection of very unscientific shoes in my closet

Cleveland Schools Tax Levy: August 2nd Election

From an E-mail exchange Monday, July 25th:

Shalom Mary Beth,

Thank you for such an intense reply.
May I quote from it?

BÂ'shalom,

Jeff
_________________________________________

Jeff,

You got me going last night, sharing Linda's post with me. I get a little passionate about these things...can you tell?

You can certainly quote me.
The disparities in public school funding, along with short-sighted government policies and the public's attitude of "why should I worry about 'Those People's' kids?" need to be talked about. The children are the big losers in the political money games being played in this town. It is their Future Cleveland that is becoming the victim of stupidity and greed..

MaryBeth

Well, people are starting to talk.

Jeff Hess
Here is the link to Jeff's site, "Have Coffee Will Write", where he quotes my comments on the August 2nd election in Cleveland for a school tax levy.

Linda Fox
At "Right As Usual", Linda, a laid-off CMSD teacher, blogged about the Cleveland Teachers Union and thestrategyy to keep the election low-profile, in the hopes that low voter turn-out might mean fewer "No" votes.

Regina Brett: The Plain Dealer
Regina's column in yesterday's Plain Dealer echoed my feelings about Cleveland voters and the school's CEO.

Gloria Ferris
Gloria, a retired Cleveland teacher, is running for the Ward 15 Council seat. She shares her views here, in her candidate's blog.

Plain Press
This Cleveland West-side weekly published an excellent, informative, article about the levy and the issues that provoked it.

UPDATE:

Today: Friday July 29th, Regina Brett has another great column about the school levy.
Read it here.

The RAMTEC Project

Much of my summer vacation has been devoted to my personal "out-of-the-box" foray into workforce development via manufacturing: The RAMTEC (Regional Automated Manufacturing Technology & Education Center) initiative.

Lately, people are asking how the project is coming along, so I figured it was time for an update.

I have been busy assembling the team of entrepreneural visionaries. Brilliant people with the expertise and enthusiasm to take the proposal from concept to reality.
In the meantime, my colleagues have been drafting the business plan and the financial projections.
Thompson & Hine LLP volunteered to help us prepare the business plan and structure the proposal into two entities, one for-profit and the other non-profit. These folks know a good idea when they see one.
You can read the executive summary here.

We are now in the process of putting together an advisory board to help us procure funding. As you can guess, we are actively working our networks. Talking, writing, meeting, schmoozing.
Yes, it is definitely a lot of work, but the end result will be a huge benefit for the region.
It can't happen fast enough.

How Teachers Have Fun (embarrassing, but true)

Too funny. (In a dorky teacher-sort of way)

"Get Out Your Blenders and Drink Up!"
--From Eduwonk

As promised, here is a list of 24 jargony words to drink by... The rules are simple: Each time you hear one of these often-used words from the education world, take a swig of whatever makes you happy. If you have no beverage (as often happens when these words come up) feel free to giggle, as long as you promise to do it in a manner that is completely condescending to those around you!
Get your glasses ready...

1. Rubric (Just try not to laugh the next time you hear it!)
2. Paradigm
3. Time-on-task
4. Incentivize
5. Dead white guys
6. Scaffold (as a verb)
7. Authentic learning
8. Differentiated instruction
9. Integrated learning
10. Constructivist
11. Balanced literacy
12. Highly qualified
13. Standards-based
14. Performance-based
15. Research-based
16. Scientifically-based
17. Self-directed learning (Sounds too much like something that causes hair to grow on palms.)
18. Developmentally-appropriate
19. Capacity building
20. Best practices (Mandatory group hugs, however, around anyone who uses the vernacular "stuff that works pretty good.")
21. Higher order thinking (I had a roommate in college who was really into higher order thinking. He is no longer able to produce children.)
22. Collaborate (Not unless pastries are served.)
23. Transparency (It doesn't really exist.)
24. Train wreck (When used to describe standards movement/NCLB, etc. )

-- Joe Williams

An English teacher at Max Hayes devised a similar buzz-word/jargon game to be played at monthly faculty meetings, filling up bingo cards as opposed to filling up on beverages. Administrators were at first surprised to hear the shout of "BINGO!" in the midst of a discussion about "proficiency-driven curriculum".
Eventually the players only rated an eye roll, and the educationese drone would continue.

PS. I contributed three words to the original list posted at Eduwonk.
Can you guess which ones?

An Educator's Insight

I discovered these words of wisdom in a story from the Milwaukee Journal Sentinal about Willie Jude, a Milwaukee Public Schools teacher and administrator, retiring after 32 years.

• "Did my parents give me basic tools (for succeeding in school)? No, because they didn't have them themselves. But what they did have was respect, discipline and courtesy."

• The 80-20 rule - there's only so much schools can do to offset what happens in kids' lives outside of school. "Too many expect the schools to solve the problems when we only have the kids a maximum of 15, 16 percent of the time. . . . Even with extracurricular activities thrown in, few kids spend more than 20 percent of their time in school. That percent will destroy the 20. The 20 cannot carry the 80 unless something productive is happening in that 80 percent."

• "There are two major things that businesses are complaining about (related to the high school graduates). Tardiness and attendance. They go together into attitude and relationships. (Business executives say) if a kid comes in here punctually and they have a pleasant attitude, we can train them. But I can't train them if they're not on time or they're arguing with every supervisor and co-worker they come into contact with. . . ."

Willie Jude - Recently retired principal, Milwaukee Public Schools

I think I will print these out and post them in my classroom this year.

District Sponsored Charter Schools

A reader called my attention to this editorial in yesterday's Plain Dealer:

The Plain Dealer
Ginn as principal? Sounds good
Saturday, July 23, 2005

No one can doubt Ted Ginn's ability to inspire excellence in young people.
Glenville High School's football and track coach has achieved remarkable results with his athletes, including a series of state championships. It's too soon to say whether Ginn's impressive skills can yield similar excellence in the classroom, but this much is certain: It's good that he's going to try.

Ginn is in preliminary conversations with Cleveland officials about opening a charter school in the city next year. So far, Ohio's charter schools have fallen well short of expectations, posting abysmal results even as their number has increased almost exponentially. At the same time, for-profit entities have dominated Ohio's charter market, commanding roughly half of the allocated dollars.

One entity, Akron industrialist David Brennan's White Hat Management, collected more than $100 million, or about a quarter of the state's charter-school spending. Brennan now is under investigation by the state legislative inspector general regarding his contacts with lawmakers - specifically whether he must comply with disclosure rules that apply to lobbyists.

For-profit companies have as much right to participate in the charter-school movement as anyone, but their dominance in Ohio raises serious concerns. Charters exist to provide alternatives to students and to encourage innovation. But concentrating so much money in the hands of a few can't help but stifle variety. The need for more independent efforts such as Ginn's becomes even more obvious.

Lawmakers this year capped the number of new charter schools over the next two years at 60. Unfortunately, the law included no provision for staggering the approval process to ensure that schools opening in 2006 - rather than this fall - have a few guaranteed slots.
We urge officials to address this issue, and encourage Ginn to pursue his idea. Cleveland desperately needs examples of academic quality.

CMSD will also be sponsoring another charter school, Entrepreneurship Academy, an extended day, eleven month 7-12th grade program, founded by local entrepreneur and E-City director, John Zitzner.

I will reserve my opinion of district sponsored charter schools until I can actually observe one up and running in Cleveland.
The proposed Entrpreneurs Academy as explained to me by John Zitzner would provide a very structured alternative learning environment for kids who might normally be lacking supervision at home due to family circumstances.
The potential for teacher burn-out however, is high, given the hours (8 AM - 8 PM) and school schedule (Mon. - Sat. 11 months/year). These folks would essentially be married to the school, and have no time for a personal life. I can see all kinds of problems with that, the obvious one being; what kind of person would want a job with those hours unless the pay was REALLY good? I would definitely want to run psychological profiles on these job applicants.
I spoke with John and his E-City staff about the new school, and was bothered somewhat by the administrative model as it was explained to me.
Very command/control.
We can only wait and see.

A union sponsored charter would hopefully be structured in a way that would provide teachers with optimum flexibility. I'm looking forward to watching the UFT sponsored elementary school in New York, and hope that the model designed by the folks on the frontlines of education is a great success.

Union Starts Charter School

Here is an intriguing article from the New York Daily News

It seems that the teachers union in NewYork has finally decided that "If you can't beat 'em, join 'em." They are starting their own charter school.

UFT charts new
course with school

By JOE WILLIAMS
DAILY NEWS STAFF WRITER

The teachers union's bid to run a charter school in Brooklyn got the final okay from the Board of Regents yesterday as 25 newly hired teachers reported for their first staff meeting.
"Now the real work can begin," said Jonathan Gyurko, the Department of Education's former charter school czar, who shepherded the union's proposal through the state's complicated application process.

The United Federation of Teachers Elementary Charter School will open in September for 150 students in kindergarten and first grade in unused space inside Junior High School 292 in East New York.

There will not be a principal, but instead a school leader who reports to a board.

Union President Randi Weingarten invited reporters to attend the first staff meeting for the school to help show the labor-management relationship the union hopes will become a model.
"It's not going to be a successful school unless the staff owns it," Weingarten said.

Charter schools are public schools that operate independent of the local school district. More than 600 resumes were submitted for the 25 teaching slots, from educators as far away as Atlanta.

Teachers said they were looking forward to breaking away from the bureaucracy of the school system and just doing what they like best: teaching.
"There is a sense of professionalism here that we as teachers don't feel in the Department of Education," said Lisa Olesak, who will teach kindergarten.

Daily News reporter, Joe Williams, commented further about the union sponsored charter school in today's post at Eduwonk.

The Cleveland Teachers Union and CMSD need to take a look at what is happening in New York, and start working together here in Cleveland. I know a whole lot of unemployed CTU members who could make a big difference in the lives of Cleveland's kids. A little more innovation and attention to problem solving could go a long way in getting the taxpaying citizens of this city a reason to support education.

I Hate Homework

Wednesday night, for the first time, I attended a Blogger Meet-up: bloggers in the Greater Cleveland area meeting over beverages discussing blogging.
It was interesting to see the faces of the folks who share their thoughts with the world. I'd met about a third of them already, since the type of bloggers who like to go to meetings are often active in other areas of the community.

The atmosphere reminded me of the turn-of-the-century salons, the incubators of the great art and literary movements of the 1900's.
Here in the twenty-first century sat a new group of thinkers. Each began to amplify their individual voice as they learned to use the technology of the internet. Coming together socially they have begun to realize the exponential increase in the power of the group to influence and inform the public -- the power to effect change.

We were given a homework assignment by the groups coordinator, George Nemeth, to post the blogs we read at least every other day.
I am a procrastinator by choice, surely an interesting case for a psychological study. I don't like rules or deadlines or assignments; making my career choice an odd one indeed. I was tempted not to participate on principle and personality.
Two days later I caved in.
I am a victim of peer pressure posting.
Now, since I see the rest of the group have already written about their 'must read' blogs, I am feeling a bit left out.

Here is my short list. I qualify it since many of the blogs I like to read are not updated daily. These are (usually):
Brewed Fresh Daily
Callahan's Cleveland Diary
Eduwonk
Cuyahoga County Planning Comission

Eliminating Failure

I read this report from the UK:

Teachers Suggest Changing 'Fail' to 'Deferred Success'

LONDON (July 19) - The word "fail" should be banned from use in British classrooms and replaced with the phrase "deferred success" to avoid demoralizing pupils, a group of teachers has proposed.

Members of the Professional Association of Teachers (PAT) argue that telling pupils they have failed can put them off learning for life.

A spokesman for the group said it wanted to avoid labeling children. "We recognize that children do not necessarily achieve success first time," he said.

"But I recognize that we can't just strike a word from the dictionary," he said.

The PAT said it would debate the proposal at a conference next week.

07/19/05 16:23 ET


Hmmm...How can we keep students from failing?
Better teaching? Naw...Too hard. Besides, it takes too long and costs too much.
Why don't we just eliminate the word?
Problem solved.

"No matter how strange you are, there's something unique in you. Something that not only makes you happy, but makes the rest of us feel happy that we don't have to be you and do what you are doing!"

Arlo Guthrie

Falling Through the Cracks. Landing in the Streets.

I read this article yesterday, written by Michael Janofsky, The New York Times.

Students Say High Schools Let Them Down
Findings of New Survey Made Public During Meeting of Governors
DES MOINES, Iowa (July 15) - A large majority of high school students say their class work is not very difficult, and almost two-thirds say they would work harder if courses were more demanding or interesting, according to an online nationwide survey of teenagers conducted by the National Governors Association.
The survey, released on Saturday by the association, also found that fewer than two-thirds believe that their school had done a good job challenging them academically or preparing them for college. About the same number of students said their senior year would be more meaningful if they could take courses related to the jobs they wanted or if some of their courses could be counted toward college credit.
Taken together, the electronic responses of 10,378 teenagers painted a somber picture of how students rate the effectiveness of their schools in preparing them for the future.
The survey also appears to reinforce findings of federal test results released on Thursday that showed that high school seniors made almost no progress in reading and math in the first years of the decade. During that time, elementary school students made significant gains.
"I might have expected kids to say, 'Don't give us more work; high school is tough enough,' " said Gov. Mark Warner of Virginia, a Democrat and chairman of the governors association, which opens a three-day summer meeting here on Saturday.
"Instead," Mr. Warner said, "what we got are high school students actually willing to be stretched more. I didn't think we'd get much of that."
The governors' survey was conducted as part of the association's effort to examine public high schools and devise strategies for improving them. Mr. Warner has made high school reform his priority as chairman of the association. His term ends on Monday, when Gov. Mike Huckabee of Arkansas, a Republican, is scheduled to succeed him.
While a vast majority of respondents in the survey, 89 percent, said they intended to graduate, fewer than two-thirds of those said they felt their schools did an "excellent" or "good" job teaching them how to think critically and analyze problems.
Even among the remaining 11 percent, a group of 1,122 that includes teenagers who say they dropped out of high school or are considering dropping out, only about one in nine cited "school work too hard" as a reason for not remaining through graduation. The greatest percentage of those who are leaving, 36 percent, said they were "not learning anything," while 24 percent said, "I hate my school." Experts in education policy said the survey results were consistent with other studies that have shown gaps between what students learn in high school and what they need for the years beyond.
"A lot of business people and politicians have been saying that the high schools are not meeting the needs of kids," said Barbara Kapinus, a senior policy analyst for the National Education Association. "It's interesting that kids are saying it, too."
Marc Tucker, president of the National Council on Economic Education, an organization that helps states and school districts create programs that are more tailored to contemporary student needs, said he did not believe that American high schools could adequately prepare students without a fundamental change in how they operated.
Mr. Tucker said American schools had been too slow to adapt high school curriculums to the real-life demands of college and the workplace. Except for that small fraction of highly motivated students with an eye toward prestigious private colleges and state universities, many more students, he said, are under the impression that just having a diploma qualifies them for the rigors of college and the workplace.

The statements made by the students who dropped out of school are words I've heard repeatedly throughout my tenure in the Cleveland Schools when I've tried to talk kids out of quitting school.
It is ironic to me that some of the smartest kids I've ever had in a CMSD classroom have been lost to the street.
We spend an awful lot of time playing catch-up with such a high percentage of students, that many times our best and brightest are bored out of their skulls. The smart kids often discover greater satisfaction hustling a few bucks or getting a good buzz than they do by coming to classes that don't challenge them.
Often they are scheduled to repeat courses they failed, not because they didn't learn the material, but because they missed too many days of school.
It's a Catch-22. In a system with a fifty percent drop-out rate, we need to come up with some new strategies to catch the bright kids who are falling through the cracks to keep them from landing in the street.

If you don't like the way the world is, you change it. You have an obligation to change it.

Marian Wright Edelman


Sometimes things which at the moment may be percieved as obsticles -- and actually be obsticles, difficulties, or drawbacks -- can in the long run result in some good end which would not have occured if it had not been for the obsticle.

Steve Allen


The glory of friendship is not the outstreched hand, nor the kindly smile, nor the joy of companionship; it is the spiritual inspiration that comes to one when he discovers that someone else believes in him and is willing to trust him.

Ralph Waldo Emerson

Communication Problems

As a rule, I don't use this space to complain about the Cleveland Schools, unless I have a solution to offer.

That rule is going to be broken...TODAY.

I received two letters today from the district. One in my mailbox at home, and the other, certified, which I needed to sign for at the post office. The first one was to remind me I had not returned my signed 2005-06 contract and needed to do so before July 8th. (Notice, today is July 11th) The second letter which I had to retrieve from the post office informed me that my contract would be terminated if they didn't hear from me immediately.

Before I continue, I will let you know, my contract was signed and mailed to the East 6th street office weeks ago.
We've all had things get lost in the mail, and when an item's destination is an address where hundreds of people work, I am not totally surprised to hear my contract is still out there somewhere, in the land of errant envelopes.

My frustration is with the Board of Education's phone system.

I spent over forty minutes just trying to get connected to the person I needed to speak with for only 2 minutes. My call was transferred from one office to another no less than 10 times. Twice I had to redial the receptionist because I was connected to dead-end, filled-up, voice-mail boxes. I was finally connected to the right person and instructed to fax my contract to her office.

Sadly, confusion and consternation is very typical of the experience anyone has who needs to contact the Cleveland Board of Education. If this is the way I --a district employee -- feels, how much worse it must be for people who are not familiar with the system's snafus.

The area of public relations is one place educators should look to business as a model. The district fails miserably when it comes to ease of communications and accessibility of information.

Today the Plain Dealer ran an article about an automated calling system that many districts are using to keep teachers, administrators, and parents connected. According to the article, Cleveland has been using automated calling since 2000.
I was surprised. Why is it hardly ever used? Why don't individual schools use it?
I received several calls this year from the Cleveland Heights-University Heights District, where my son attends school, notifying our family of school closings, the deaths of student several students, and the details of an emergency situation. Some schools use the system to notify parents about school events. Selected groups can get even get calls to inform them of class activities. The system can also be used to inform parents when students are absent from school.
The school where I teach still uses the old round-robin calling system for the staff when there is any emergency, including school closing. This is very ineffective. If we have automated calling -- if we are paying for the service -- why isn't the district using it on a regular basis like they do in Cleveland Heights?
The only automated messages I get from the Cleveland School District have been about the school levy.
If the district understood the importance of communication and connecting with people about the things that are important to us on a more personal level, rather than only reaching out to the families and school community when they want more money, like a mooching relative that you try to avoid, perhaps people would be more inclined to support a levy.

You Can Quote Me on That

I've always liked those little sound-bites of wisdom that are found everywhere, from the single snippets on the pages of a calendar, to the hundreds of literary gems compiled into books and on websites. I am usually drawn to certain individuals, who combine wit with sage advice: Oscar Wilde, Dorothy Parker, Mark Twain, and Ben Franklin.
Occasionally I've wished I was smart enough to come up with the original one-liner worth repeating -- a quotable phrase, words that would always be associated with me.

Last year I was surprised to find out I DID have that signature sentence.

A film maker was in my classroom interviewing students for a documentary about an arts program I initiated at my school. She asked students, what were some of the most important things they learned in my classes. Time and time again they answered,
"Don't do anything half-assed."
Huh?...I knew I had high expectations, I always pushed my students to do their best. I just never realized I used that term often enough to have it immediately associated with ME.
Figures. The pearl of educational wisdom my students will always remember includes a border-line vulgarity. The thing is, it is such a succinct expression for my expectations, it is certainly memorable... and it seems to be working.

Keep away from people who try to belittle your ambitions.
Small people always do that, but the really great make you feel that you, too, can become great.

Mark Twain

Catalyst Cleveland and Open Source Education

While re-sorting my pile of 'I'll-get-to-this-later mail', I uncovered my latest copy of Catalyst Cleveland
Anyone who is interested in education in the city of Cleveland, be it public, private, or charter, must read this publication. There are some periodicals I peruse quickly and others, like Catalyst Cleveland , I set aside time to read carefully.

This issue is one of the best. The cover story by Piet van Lier and Stephanie Klupinski discusses school violence in Cleveland.

This year, there has been a steady drumbeat of violence among youth. It began in January when a 16-year-old was gunned down near a city recreation center. In April, an 11-year-old was shot near the same area. In May, an alleged rape of a student at East Tech made headlines

The report includes school specific statistics and interviews with the police department.
Another article by Jeff Lowenstien from Catalyst Chicago reports on a study done in Chicago that found mid-level district staffers ignored the expertise of principals and teachers, using the top-down approach in attempting to improve instruction. The conclusions from the report could easily have come from the Cleveland Municipal School District. Here is an excerpt from the article which I found particularity insightful.

[The report]recommends that teachers and principals be part of the planning process for any new school reform policy. The report also calls for redefining the role of mid-level district staff to focus more on supporting schools and less on monitoring them.

To understand the complexities involved in changing instruction, district staff needs to spend more time in schools...But Azcoitia of Spry adds that visits alone are insufficient to understand teachers' and principals' work lives. "You have to show up, roll up your sleeves and work in the office or substitute for a class,"

This aligns with my contention. In order to improve the schools, the decision makers must be aware of what is going on in the classrooms.

Finally, along those same lines, Catalyst editor Charlyse Lylse writes an interesting commentary about opening up the lines of communication between city leaders and residents.

Getting a levy passed comes down to this: Those who reap the tangible benefits of education and a middle class life must convince those who reap so little of Cleveland's limited prosperity that they cannot even fathom a future of upward social mobility for their children that schools are worth their hard-earned dollars.

It's not likely that this space between can be closed in the month left before the Aug. 2nd levy vote. Still, much thought ought to be given as to how to create conversation amongst these two groups. It must be a dialogue absent of judgment but full of the understanding and mutual respect that leads to trust and restores powerful hope for the future. Perhaps Voices & Choices, the unprecedented $3-million, foundation-backed effort to conduct a regional civic dialogue, can help to achieve this.

Another move that can help close the space between is to include those with more intimate knowledge, insight and understanding of Cleveland and its diverse peoples in policy-making decisions. In the long run, that can be a major step toward policies, programs and practices that revive the vision and propel the action that is crucial to rebuilding our schools and fulfilling our children's potential.

This could be an interesting challenge for Iopen, Ed Morrison's new Open Source Economic Development organization.

What do you think Ed?

Charm School

I received a request from a reader asking for my comments on a controversial program in my city of Cleveland Heights, dubbed "Charm School", recently announced by the mayor.

For those readers who are non-Clevelanders, I will explain the "Charm School" concept as I understand it.

Apparently the city receives many complaints, including phone calls to the police department, over what would be deemed nuisances. Loud music, unrestrained pets, neighbor kids running across flower beds, lawns being mowed at unreasonable hours...You get the picture. The folks who field these complaints noted many of them concerned renters who were unaware of the rules imposed by suburbanites to insure harmonious living. The people at City Hall also discovered that most people would comply once they understood the expectations.
The "Charm School" idea was a pro-active response, as opposed to simply reacting to annoying behavior.
The controversy arose when it was announced "Charm School" would be a requirement for Section 8 (low income) renters. An immediate cry of 'discrimination' erupted from members of the community. The poor were not the sole perpetrators of rude behavior. Bad manners cross all economic strata.
All true.
However, most of the nuisance calls involved renters, many of whom were receiving Section 8 subsidies. The City decided to make the classes a requirement since they noted the people who would benefit most from the information are the ones least likely to attend an optional program.

My response is this:
The idea of a proactive class is great. I don't have a problem with it being required
The Mayor blew it when he publicly referred to the classes as "Charm School". The implied connotation of bad manners is insulting. Had these classes been simply called Good Neighbor Information Sessions, they would have passed under the media radar and there would have been no public outcry.
It's all in the spin.

Post Script:

A reader commented that perhaps the "Charm School" moniker was created, not by Mayor Kelly, but rather by a creative Plain Dealer staffer. Upon further research, I could not substantiate a quote from the mayor labeling the Good Neighbor classes "Charm School". I did find a page from the newsletter Future Heights that may be of interest to anyone wanting more information, and lots of commentary on this subject.

An idea that is not dangerous is unworthy of being called an idea at all.

Oscar Wilde

Inbetween Opportunities

My cell phone works just fine everywhere, except in Cleveland Heights. In order for me to hold a conversation at home without the call getting dropped, I have to go upstairs or outdoors. This morning I sat on the swing in my back yard and talked to my friend Ed Morrison, who just lost his job at Case.

"What can I do to help you Ed?"
"You blog. You can help create a stir."

The blogging community is developing a powerful voice. We tell the stories behind the stories. We share our opinions. We are being read.

Ed Morrison, through his promotion of Open Source Economic Development and the REI Tuesday discussions, gave Greater Clevelanders - anyone who wanted to participate, an opportunity to listen, and an opportunity to be heard. By providing a regular space and a format for discussion, he provided the fertile ground for the seeds of innovation to take root.
Ed believes in communication and grassroots involvement.
He recognizes the stifling dangers of hierarchal control, black-box discussion, and backroom deals. He is not afraid to speak his mind and he doesn't wait to get permission.

Cleveland's hierarchy was threatened.

Open Source development works.

In his short tenure as the director of REI, a number of groups have organized, beginning to implement the changes we felt would improve our community.
Ed sees himself as a consultant, an Economic Development professional.
I see him as a visionary, as a mentor, as a teacher.

I am anxious to see where his vision takes him next.

Summer is the season when it's too hot to do the job that it was too cold to do last winter.

Unknown

The Power and Responsibility of Impacting Lives

Several educators were gathered around a patio table yesterday evening, and the discussion turned to the opportunity teachers have to save lives. A couple of the men were in their twenties, filled with enthusiasm, eager to change the world. As the educational veteran, I was asked to relate stories of students whose lives I may have influenced.

This got me to thinking.
A student will occasionally return to tell a favorite teacher thank you, and remind them of something that was said or done that helped smooth the way, or even changed the course of their life.
As teachers we like that. Those are the props that make our job worthwhile.

What we don't like to think about are the students lives we may have impacted negatively.
The angry tone, the mean-spirited criticism, a thoughtless remark taken to heart. All of these things can turn a child off. Make them hate school.
Rarely will a kid who was a promising athlete return to tell a coach that his name-calling made the student leave the sport. Less likely will a student seek out the English teacher whose harsh critique of a poem discouraged her from ever writing poetry again. I have numerous friends who will not sing, because an elementary music teacher told them to just mouth the words to a song during a school concert.
Most of us can recall a teacher who made us want to quit.

As teachers we are in a position to change lives. We need to take our responsibilities very seriously. We must always remember that as much as we are in a position to help, we are also in a position to hurt.

How Do They Expect to Run a Business?

"The driver's on his way."

At 8:30 I called the ABC rental company to check on the status of an electric generator that was scheduled to have been delivered to the Soap Box Derby construction site at 8:00. The man answering the phone said he thought the delivery was for 10:00. No, yesterday we specified 8 AM as the delivery time.
"Okay, the driver's on his way."
Between us, over the next four hours, Lane Cooper and I made this phone call six times. Six times we were told the driver was on his way
The guys from the Bricklayer's Union couldn't do any more work without their power tools. I had three men sitting in the hot 93 degree sun for five hours waiting for a generator that was "on it's way -we'll be there in 20 minutes".
When I called at 1:00 I was told that the generator would be delivered in half-an-hour. Steaming, I told the man on the phone to cancel the order. My crew was leaving.
So did I get an apology?...No! I got a smart-aleck "Fine" and he hung up on me.
How does a company stay in business when they treat people this way? If they didn't have a generator available when we needed it, why lie? If the truck wasn't on it's way, why lie? I could have rented a generator from another company. Their lies are going to cost me money whem I have to bring the crew back again to finish the job.

So today I am using my blog to vent my frustrations.
Don't use ABC Rental.

Common Sense Solutions

"You want to know how to begin solving the problems in the schools? Ask the folks on the front lines of education. The teachers and the students."
That has been my contention all along. The real education experts are the people on the front lines doing the work in the classrooms, and the student/consumer.

Saturday I was finally asked, at a public forum, what I need to do my job better.
My on-the-spot answer was: Materials, better administrative support, and improved security.

The conversation this sparked on George Nemeth's site Brewed Fresh Daily got me thinking about the last two topics in a bit more depth.

Since we need more support from administrators, it is probable they need help developing leadership skills. One of the weakest links in the field of education has been identified as the graduate degree programs in Educational Administration; specifically, the principal training programs. Right here in Cleveland we have a wonderful resource in Jack Ricchiuto, corporate coach and author. His latest book, Appreciative Leadership, invites organizations to replace deficiency based leadership styles (dysleadership)that focus on what is wrong, with appreciative leadership which uses self-organization to build upon the things that are working.

I have participated in several Open Space discussions facilitated by Jack, and found them to be the most meaningful and productive sessions I ever engaged in. A principal's Appreciative Leadership retreat would be a great start toward addressing some of the building leadership problems the district faces. Teacher professional development in A.L. would be great too.

The second issue, regarding security, is easier to fix.
Many security positions were eliminated, due to budget cuts. New security cameras have been installed in the schools to provide extra eyes. Problem is; nobody monitors the monitors. The monitor is mounted in the main office where the clerks can see it. We now have fewer secretaries; again, due to budget cuts. The secretaries are busy with their duties. Nobody is watching the screen.
If a monitor was also placed by the main entrance where the security guard sits, like they do in many businesses, security would be aware of problems immediately. This is common sense and common practice. Why don't we do it in the schools?
The students talked about the reasons some kids vandalize the building.
They said vandalism was a crime of opportunity. They don't go to class, instead they wander the halls when no one is around to stop them. They know, when the security guards are hanging out in the cafeteria, or sitting on the first floor, they can bust out windows in the second floor stairwell, and not get caught. They hang out in groups and show off to their friends...it's fun.
What would keep kids from destroying school property? They said, matter of factly:

"If the security guards were walking around the building, if someone was watching us, it wouldn't happen. When the security cameras were first installed we thought we wouldn't be able to get away with stuff. Now we know nobody watches them."

Two security guards. One at the door watching the monitor, the other patrolling the building. The money the school would save on window replacement would cover the cost of the security station.

There are many people who would call my ideas band-aid solutions. It's true. They are. However, I don't see the Public School messiah coming over the horizon with a plan to reinvent education or rescue the district. While we wait for major school reform, we should not sit idly by. We need to find solutions to our day to day problems. Common sense practices that will make teaching and learning easier today. These are just two of the ideas I've had...I've got more. Perhaps I will do a series.
"I could call it "Common Sense Solutions to Front-Line Issues in Cleveland's Schools"

Conversations in the Blogospere

My last post hasn't elicited much response here on my blog, but if you check George Nemeth's Brewed Fresh Daily site....Whoa!! Katie-bar-the-door!
George quoted most of my post and linked to the page. Lot's of good discussion going on there. Folks certainly do have a lot to say when it comes to the schools. If you aren't familiar with BFD, please check it out. Let's keep these conversations going.

Who are the Experts?

I sat down in a folding chair close to the door, like I always do, in case I needed to make a quick escape.
The topic of discussion in the break-out session at yesterday's Action Cleveland forum, sponsored by Cleveland industrialist Dan Moore, was education. The purpose of the event was to glean topics of concern, from Clevelanders, for candidates in Cleveland's next mayoral election to address during their campaigns. Panelists answered written questions submitted by participants.
I looked at the pamphlet listing the panelists and their backgrounds. Professors from Cleveland State and Kent State, a retired Cleveland School Board Member, and a retired elementary school principal now working as a CMSD administrator.
The questions from the audience were predictable. "How can we fix the problems in the Cleveland public schools?" The answers were also predictable. "We don't know."

I was beginning to seethe. Why would anyone set up a panel of "experts' who couldn't answer the questions? Most of them didn't even understand the problems. Only one had ever worked in a Cleveland school. No wonder things are such a mess. If the people who have the ability (influence, money, connections) to effect change don't consider the folks working on the front lines as the experts, they will never discover the real roots of the problems.

I walked out.

Frank Mills, who coordinated the event was standing in the lobby. I began to vent my frustrations.
Frank walked into the discussion room and asked the moderator to take questions from the floor. As I stood up to speak, I could see my friend Ed Morrison, sitting in the back of the room, shaking his head. He has seen that look on my face before.

I didn't speak to the panel, I spoke to the audience.
I began to tell them about the problems we face daily as teachers, and the steps we need to start taking to address them. I concluded saying,
"If you want to fix the problems in the schools, ask the teachers. Ask us what we need to do our jobs better. We will tell you."
Mr. Moore was sitting in the audience. He turned to me and asked,
"What do you need?"
"Besides money for basic supplies, we need good leadership. Teachers need administrative support. The principals of a building set the tone... Oh yeah, and more security."

When the discussion group concluded Mr Moore approached me. "Building administrative leadership will be a topic we will ask the mayoral candates to address this year in their campaigns. The schools need top-notch principals. It makes sense. We follow that model in business. When a division or a department fails you fire the manager."

Thanks for asking.

Artists who seek perfection in everything are those who cannot attain it in anything.

Eugene Delacroix
French Romantic painter (1798 - 1863)

Wet Dream

In my dream, I was standing on the roof of the school, watching the water of Lake Erie rising, covering the Flats and the salt mines. I wasn't afraid, just annoyed. I wouldn't be able to get my work done.
I dream about water often when my life gets very busy. The busier it gets, the higher the water. Mostly I watch it, sometimes I wade through it, occasionally I drown in my dreams. They are my brain's metaphor for feeling overwhelmed.

June 1st brings with it the exited anticipation of summer. The students get restless. Many start their vacation early, and just stop coming to school. I dread this time of year. Every thing comes due, all at once. Grant reports, inventories, grades, and departmental reports. To top it off, I have to clean the studio and pack things up. Today, I am supposed to deliver some artwork for an exhibition, deliver a grant, attend a retirement party for four of our staff, oh yeah...and teach five classes. I then get to go home to my kids, make dinner, do laundry, pay the bills, blah, blah, blah...

June 9th is the last day of school for Cleveland teachers, the last of the paperwork, and hopefully the end of my "wet dreams".

Memorial Day

Today I watched the Cleveland Heights Memorial Day parade make its way past my perch on the stairs outside the Rockefeller building.
As the police car drove past us at the tail end of the rather short procession, my friend, Susan, looked at me and asked,

"Where were the vetrans? There were no vetrans in this parade! Isn't there something wrong with a Memorial Day parade with no vetrans?."

There were plenty of politicians, boy scouts, girl scouts, old cars, and a couple marching bands, but no vetrans.
It was rather disturbing.
__________________________

On Memorial Day we pay tribute to those who made the supreme sacrifice.
Many of us are familiar with these two poems from our high school Literature classes. They tugged at my heart with their timeless message when I first read them as a girl during the Vietnam War. The rising death tolls in Iraq and Afganistan remind me how little has changed.

"In Flanders Fields"

In Flanders fields the poppies blow
Between the crosses, row on row,
That mark our place; and in the sky
The larks still bravely singing, fly.
Scarce heard amid the guns below.

We are the Dead. Short day ago
We lived, felt dawn, saw sunset glow,
Loved and were loved, and now we lie,
In Flanders fields.

Take up our quarrel with the foe:
To you from failing hands we throw
The torch; be yours to hold it high.
If ye break faith with us who die
We shall not sleep, though poppies grow
In Flanders fields.

John McCrae (1919)


"Grass"

Pile the bodies high at Austerlitz and Waterloo
Shovel them under and let me work-
I am the grass; I cover all.

And pile them high at Gettysburg
And pile them high at Ypres and Verdun.
Shovel them under and let me work.
Two years, ten years, and passengers ask the conductor:
What place is this?
Where are we now?

I am the grass.
Let me work.


Carl Sandburg (1918)

"Nations have recently been led to borrow billions for war; no nation has ever borrowed largely for education. Probably no nation is rich enough to pay for both war and civilization. We must make our choice; we cannot have both."

Abraham Flexner (1930)

My Virgin Ears!

The bell rings for dismissal at 2:22. Moments later students begin streaming out of the building towards their cars or the bus stop. The horseplay begins in the hallways and makes it's way out into the parking lot. It is a typical day at the high school.
I had several visitors coming to the school that afternoon for a 2:30 meeting. As one of the women clicked down he hallway toward me in her low heeled pumps and polyblend suit, I couldn't help but notice her furrowed brow and tightly pursed lips.

"Hi, I'm glad you could make it. Is there something wrong?"

"That language! Such foul language! All that cursing. Those kids are just awful!"

Her words and tone, ironically, brought a smile to my face and a mental flashback to a parking lot thirty years ago.

I was a senior at Notre Dame Academy. Usually I rode home on the bus, but that day my mother came to pick me up after school. While she waited for me in the parking lot, a group of girls in preppie blazers and saddle shoes, came walking past her open car window, using profanities that would make a sailor blush. Mother was appalled...Her virgin ears defiled. I was treated to a lecture on the evils of vulgar language all the way home.

How does a teacher handle inappropriate language in high school?
Every teacher has their own style. Some give detentions, some deduct points, others are defeated. I like the honest approach.
At the beginning of the year when I initially discuss my expectations and class rules, I simply tell my students the truth.

"I love to swear. I consider it the most effective form of stress therapy. I cannot drive my car without it. Anyone who has ever been with me in rush hour traffic or the teachers lounge on a bad day will vouch for me.
However, because I respect you, I will make every effort to use appropriate language when I am speaking with anyone in this classroom. I expect the same from you."

Since taking this approach, I rarely have a problem with language in my classroom.

Teenagers understand that word "respect". They long for it. They will strive for it. In the relationships that they have with adults it ranks right up there at the top. They also understand that respect is a two way street. They will not give respect to anyone who does not respect them. (At least, not for long.)

"You Can't Solve Their Problems by Throwing Money at Them"

The short, blonde haired woman was as loud as she was animated.
"Those kids have too many problems. The public schools can't begin to address their issues. You won't solve any of them by throwing money at the schools. Cleveland already spends more money per pupil than the suburban districts."

About six participants in the Case University's REI event at the Ritz Carlton Hotel stood around the professor from Cleveland State as he wrote notes upon the large pad of white paper hanging from the easel. The break-out group was supposed to be discussing ways that Cleveland State University might help to raise the graduation rate for the Cleveland schools. What ensued was a gripe session full of misconceptions about the school district. I was the only District employee in the group, and although I was the expert, each time I tried to offer an insight, I was interrupted with an arguement. It was soon obvious, some of these folks had no interest in the facts; what they were looking for were excuses. Excuses to justify doing nothing. Excuses to justify paying nothing.
Excuses are so much easier to make than progress.

I was still annoyed when I came home in the afternoon. I sat down at my computer to catch up on my mail and the news of the day. On a roll,I responded to a query in George Nemeth's blog, Brewed Fresh Daily

"No one wanted to pick up the race question...
Is that because it's not an issue?"

The race issue in Greater Cleveland has morphed. We have become a region of 'Haves' and 'Have-nots'.
The 'Haves' look upon the 'Have-nots' as society's baggage-- somehow responsible for their own plight. They are uncomfortable, if not fearful, in the neighborhoods of the poor. The children of the 'Have-nots' are overwhelmingly needy. "You can't solve their problems by throwing money at them." Besides, it is easier to build "Quality Places" than quality people

.

What do you think?

Do I really Need More Problems?

" There is no such thing as a problem without a gift for you in it's hands. You seek problems because you need their gifts."

Richard Bach



I must be in need of many gifts. There has been no end to the problems that have cropped up this week.

The Soapbox Derby project is no longer on time to meet the June 25th dedication deadline, it will be runnning at least $5,000 over budget, and I have had to witness grown-ups, who claim to be professionals, behaving very badly.
Yelling, screaming, swearing, fingerpointing, lying, blaming, threatening, crying.

I am glad for my years of working with adolescents...I am used to emotional outbursts and over-reaction. I have been dealing with the blame-game for so long, that I can easily remove myself from the fray and look at the situation from the perspective of an observer. I've learned how to focus on the objective and find solutions. I try not to waste my time and energy by getting too worked up over disappointments. I don't take things personally. I've learned to let go.

This week has been stressful though. These artists! They are starting to make me crazy.

I find myself wondering whether the students are learning enough to make all the hard work worth my while. I'm not getting anything extra to put this project together. Maybe I should be like so many other teachers. Stick to the curriculum. No more public art. No more community collaboration. No more late nights. No more five hour meetings. No more working weekends. Just do the job I get paid for. There would be a lot less aggrevation.
And a lot less fun.

So I will try remember to look at the problems as opportunities, look at the emotional reactions as passion, and look at the dramatics as entertainment.

Now, if I can just find that $5,000 to finish up the stonework, I can regroup and start planning a dedication ceremony for the fall, and get to thinking about next year's big project.

Where are our Piorities?

Between teaching at Garrett Morgan School of Science in Ohio City, and Max Hayes High School in the Detroit Shoreway area, I've worked in this near westside neighborhood for more than fifteen years. My adopted "hood", I've explored it's sidewalks from W.25th Street and Lorain to W.65th and Detroit Avenue.
We are a part of 'Cool Cleveland'.
Expensive townhouses are beggining to gentrify blocks of the inner-city that, only a few years ago, were the domain of the dealer. The creative class moved in, displacing the desparate and disfunctional. When the infamous Jay Hotel finally closed it's doors, the community breathed a collective sigh of releif, and we all felt a little bit safer.
Fresh facades and familiarity provide a false sense of security.

The police blotter tells a different story. Thugs and perverts continue to troll for victims. Passengers waiting at bus stops and conveinience store clerks are easy marks. We keep our eyes open as we hurry to our cars after work.

Yesterday morning two adult males came into the school lobby and robbed one of the senoir boys. They were armed with guns, took the boys shoes and some other belongings (from what I heard) and immediately left the building. We haven't been told whether or not the police have arrested anyone, or even have any leads.
Before this week, I never felt unsafe here at school. There were always plenty of security guards and a police mini-station in the building. The crisis in school funding has forced the eliminaton of most of the security staff. Word on the street is we are easy pickins now...walk right in.

When will our officials pay attention? When will the community demand safe environments for our children? The community should be outraged, yet this incident didn't even merit a mention in the news. The media was too busy gushing over the new plans to rebuild the Flats entertainment district.
Brand new condominiums, stores and restaurants will replace the old bars and night clubs.
It was announced that public money will be needed for that project.

Hmmmm...I wonder who those hard-to-get tax dollars will go to first?

"Well done is better than well said."

Benjamin Franklin

Soapbox Derby Update

Here is an update on the Max Hayes sculpture project. (Read first post
here.)
The project design was begun last spring, when local sculptor, Steven Tatar, came on board with the Max Hayes art students, to create an eye-catching entrance for the Cleveland Soapbox Derby park on the city's near-west side. It calls for two stainless steel race cars that will sit upon sandstone pillars, like trophys, on either side of the gate. A low 75 foot sandstone wall will run along the driveway, bearing the Cleveland Soapbox Derby sign cut out of stainless steel.
Ground-breaking began in November on the new entrance, located north of the Shoreway at the West 49th Street exit.

Unfortunately, not much progress was made after the initial footers were poured and the cinderblock laid.
Much to my frustration, fabrication was delayed for more than twelve weeks due to some design problems and other complications.
Thanks to the Cleveland Institute of Art, our cultural and fiduciary partner in the ICARE grant which funds this project, we are now working with nationally renouned scuptor Aimee MacNeel. Aimee, who chairs the Institute's sculpture department, came to our rescue with Mark and Derek, two of her graduating CIA students. They are providing us with the benefits of thier MIG and TIG welding skills, working along with the 2nd year Max Hayes welding students, in the shop.

The month of April was not kind to us at all, as late season snowstorms created additional delays for Anthony McCullah and the Bricklayers Union apprentice program. They had planned to come out and work at the 49th Street site in early April.
Now that spring is finally here, the crew has started facing the wall and pillars with Ashler sandstone, in a style reminiscent of the walls built by the WPA during the 1930's in Cleveland.
Beautiful.

The dedication, however, will have to be delayed.
Originally scheduled for June 4th, it will now take place on Saturday, June 25th at 1:00 pm. This coincides with the local Soapbox Derby championship races running all day at the track.

So come on down to the park and check out the sculptures, watch the kids race, and take a good look at what can be accomplished by a collaboration of dedicated, creative, Clevelanders.

Opportunity is missed by most people because it is dressed in overalls and looks like work.

Thomas Edison

The Hot-Room

If the head of a school is the principal, and the heart lies in it's teachers, the spirit is found in the students, then it's soul resides in the "hot room".

The "hot room" is where you find the boiler, that monster contraption which regulates the heat for the entire building. It is also the first place to go when you are looking for one of the custodial staff. For me, it is the best place to find an escape from the whirlwind insanity of 600 teenagers. The commradery of the hot room has a different vibe than any of the teacher workrooms or staff lounges. More grounded.
The school janitors and housekeeping staff have a different point of view than the folks in academia. They see the nuts and bolts of the building itself. They've been in every nook and cranny, the storerooms, the basements, even the sub-basements.They know what is going on in each teacher's classroom by what is left behind at the end of the day.

The custodial crew always has the inside scoop on the rest of the staff.
They walk the halls, they are in and out of teachers classrooms. Their presence working around the building is so taken for granted, they nearly become as invisable as the fly on the wall. They see things...they know stuff.
When I first came to Max Hayes, the cleaning ladies happily advised me who I should befriend, who was stuck-up, who was creepy, who was smart, who to stay away from. Good information then, and consistantly reliable over the past seven years. Even now, I will still go to the ladies when I want to catch-up on the scuttle-butt.

I learned very early on in my teaching career, the importance of befriending the custodians.
When my compressor for an air brush project blew out the circuits seven times in one week, the power was restored to my room immediately, with no scolding...just a few blonde jokes.
Extra soap and paper towels? No problem...just "Hey, didja hear the one about the dirty blonde?"
And when I got three flat tires in three months, parking next to the dumpster in the school parking lot, did I ever have to call Triple-A?
Nope.
The custodians came to my rescue every time.

Tommy, a custodian at Max Hayes, has been with the Cleveland School District for well over thirty years, and has finally decided to retire. The year of the three flat tires, I promised Tommy a trip to the Cheesecake Factory at Legacy Village, so I could thank him for his help and patience with me. For one reason or another, I never got around to scheduling that cup of coffee and desert.
Long overdue, and facing a deadline, I brought up my debt as we sat around the table in the hot room yesterday afternoon. Come June, I will finally redeem my reputation as a dead-beat squelcher.
I'm sure they've been talkin' about me.

Perspective

"How many more days of school do we have left?"

I looked at my calander and counted. "Hmmm... twenty-two."

"That's not very many." The 19 year old stared down at his drawing.

"You don't sound too enthusiastic. Aren't you excited?"

The young man's gaze shifted somewhere off into space. "I'm not going to graduate this year. I'm working, but can't afford night school. I probably won't be able to pay for summer school either. Too many bills, I have no money left."

"So are you coming back in the fall?"

"I want to graduate. I hate my job. I'd like to go to college...commercial art...something creative." he sighed. "I wish I didn't cut so many classes when I was younger. You don't think about how much it's going to cost later on when you're out of your mom's house, and have pay for everything by yourself."

"You will probably have to go to Extension High School. Since you're over 18, they won't let you come back here."

"Maybe I should just quit school. I feel like I've already messed up my life, and I'm not even old enough to buy beer." He shook his head. "You know, people kept telling me when I was a kid that I could do anything I wanted with my life, that I could achieve great things...be anyone ...do whatever I wanted. They made it sound easy, so I didn't think I would have to try very hard. I didn't realize you had to work at it. I blew my chance."

"It's really not as bad as all that. Don't think of it as blowing your chance. Look at it as learning a lesson. There are always more chances. The adult classes are full of people who are in the same boat with you." I tried encouragement, but he seemed intent on self-pity.

"No one in my family ever graduated from high school. Maybe I am destined to be a loser..."

"Stop whining. There are millions, maybe even billions of people in this world who would gladly trade your life for theirs. You can read and write, you are very creative, you live in a country where opportunities are available for those who pursue them, you are healthy and good looking. You have many gifts, but it is up to you to use them." I was beginning to get a bit impatient. This was a kid who had a lot going for him despite his current circumstances.

He sensed my changing attitude. "I don't know how! I don't know anyone who can help me."

"I think you do." He smiled, and I added. "Go down to guidance, find out what you need to graduate, and Monday we will make a few phone calls.

The bell rang to signal the next class. Saved by the bell, my young friend smiled. "Have a good weekend."

Once again we address the old question, "Is the glass half full or is it half empty?" As always, it all depends on your perspective.