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.

A Permanent Revolution
Because real educational reform doesn't just happen at weekly School Board meetings. We need a continual dialogue to effect dramatic change.



One of the BEST education blogs I've seen.
This blogger is the president of the Board of Education in Buffalo, New York.
Wow...If Cleveland could only clone her.

Art and MEMS--an interesting collaboration

Over the past couple of months I have been working with Bob Schmidt, Fred Lisy, and Colin Drummond, from the Ohio MEMS Association on an interesting project that combines art with math, science, engineering, and workforce development.
In a letter, sent several months ago, Bob expressed the projects' goals.

As you know, Colin Drummond, Fred Lisy, and I have been working to develop a new MEMS (micro-electro-mechanical systems) industry in Cleveland. [MEMS are miniature, usually silicon-based sensors and actuators. "If microprocessors are the 'brains,' MEMS are the eyes, ears, arms and legs of systems." MEMS based accelerometers are the sensors that actuate airbags in automobiles upon a crash.] This new MEMS industry will help promote 21st century, high technology, jobs in Cleveland. However, creating a new industry requires a significant change in culture; away from the iron and steel, hierarchal mentality to the silicon-based, networked society.

As Joseph Campbell told us, the artists are the keepers of the culture. So, to change the culture, we need artists to lead the way in changing Cleveland's culture. I am asking the Cleveland Public Schools to join us in our quest to help improve the city and its economy, to help us grow wealth in our community, and to better educate our citizens.

To increase community awareness of MEMS technology, and perhaps inspire young people to pursue careers in the industry, the Cleveland Municipal School District and the Ohio MEMS Association are sponsering an art contest/exhibition.

The Art of Small Contest and Exhibition
Sponsored by:
Ohio MEMS Association and Americas'Arts and Sciences Foundation
Exhibition, Tues., June 7th, 2005


PURPOSE: To stimulate and demonstrate the process and end result of'seeing' in a different or unusual way the things that makes up our world.
To develop and exercise the habits and patterns of mind that lead to
innovation, invention, resourcefulness and ingenuity.

Subject: Things that are small and/or ordinary, seen in a
different or unusual way. There is not a requirement for a literal
reproduction or imagery of MEMS, but there must be some connection to
the domain of those things micro or nano, small in some way. Devices,
fabrication techniques, facilities, uses of devices, or any combination
thereof, or any other MEMS related activity is encouraged. The final
submission is up to the artist, but remember, the best artwork changes
the viewer's perspective and may change the culture of the audience.

This past Monday, 25 Cleveland high school art students from across the district, were invited to the Cleveland Innovation Center to learn about MEMS, and talk about the exhibit's theme: The Art of Small.

A few days ago I posted some of my thoughts concerning local corporations involvement with the public schools.
Here is one example of an industry that understands the importance of developing these relationships.

Now What?

The headlines today read 'A Day In Cleveland's Schools'.

The Cleveland Plain Dealer sent 30 reporters, unannounced, into the high schools to get a first hand look at what was really going on. The reporters didn't discover anything that surprised the students, or the staff, who work at the schools . The high schools that have a reputation for working well had strong leadership, and well-behaved students. The schools that are reputed to have problems, had problems. They also had administrators who were not welcoming to the reporters, naturally not wanting any dirty laundry aired in public.

My question is...Now what?

What will the public do with the information gathered by the reporters?
What will district administrators do with it?
Journalists made people aware of what the city schools are like on a typical day, without the dog and pony shows that usually accompany a reporter's visit. They identified some things that were good, and some things that were troubling. Will anyone take this information and look at it with the intention of using it to solve the problems brought to the attention of the public? Or will this article simply serve as fodder for the whiners and complainers?

I've heard from numerous people who say the problems in the Cleveland schools are so immense, so overwhelming, no one can possibly solve them. Rather than throw up our hands in despair because we don't have enough money to solve all the problems, let's start by identifying the things we CAN do that will have a big impact on the learning environment.
I say the problems aren't so big if you tackle them one at a time.
Why don't we start with one common issue the reporters identified today? Kids roaming the halls. Figure out what is needed to keep all the kids in the classrooms in every school, implement a solution, then move on to the next problem.

Isn't this just common sense?
.

A Cleveland Student Writes:

Wow, I looked at the newspaper today, and saw all kinds of articles about area schools. Lay-offs in Cleveland and Beachwood, school closings in Akron, violence in Lorain schools. Add these to the spate of other news stories this month about school vandalism, fights, and shootings and it makes you wonder. Who in the world would want to go into education these days?

Luckily, the headlines haven't scared off all the potential recruits.
I'd like to share with you an e-mail I received the other day.

Hello,

I just wanted to send an email complimenting you on your blog. Being a student here myself (I'm a junior at John Marshall), it's nice to see feedback from teachers that are not condemning every aspect of Cleveland's public school system. Too many of us are being conformed to the idea all students are like those at South High or Glenville, but they forget the thousands more who can get to class in 4 minutes, sit down, and actually be productive. It is also great to get a teacher's point of view...I'd like to start a degree in Secondary Education next fall in '06, and even though I am a part of the system as a student for now, the future tells different.

I'm also glad you happen to be an art teacher, mostly because if you were a math one I probably wouldn't have said anything to you (lol). My parents are both professional artists, and I became one just last fall. Who ever said art wasn't something good to get into should've bet on it. Anyway, you've inspired me to have a topic for my own blog. Just being a kid going through high school, soon to college. Cleveland is only as interesting as people like you make it....thanks for making this interesting again.

This is why I write...This is why I (we) teach...This is why we don't give up.

I will be looking forward to the new blog. A Cleveland student's perspective will certainly cast one more new light on the city schools.

The worst sin toward our fellow creatures is not to hate them, but to be indifferent to them: that's the essense of inhumanity.


George Bernard Shaw,

More Bad News

"That district is so bad, the whole thing needs to be scrapped! Destroy it and start over."

Looks like it's happening.

A couple of weeks ago the headlines announced fourteen more school closings. This weekend, the Plain Dealer reported 500 more teacher layoffs.
This follows the 1,400 teachers cut last year.

Whenever we think things can't get any worse for these kids, WHAM!! We take another hit.
I am afraid to imagine where all this is going.

School/Corporate Partnerships

Rarely do I sit down and watch television. Rather, I like to use it as background noise while I do my mom-thing around the house.
The other evening, I heard something that made me walk over to the TV set and pay attention. Cleveland city councilman Mike Polensek was ranting. He was quite upset about the problems in the city schools, especially the reports of violence which have been making the news lately. One thing he said struck me, and I continued to think about it several days later.

"Where are the corporations?" he asked.

He wanted to know why the business leaders -- who've had their hands out, receiving tax abatements, as well as every other perk imaginable from the city of Cleveland, as incentive to keep their companies here -- draw back when it comes to helping out the city's children.

Like I said, it got me thinking...
Perhaps the city should re-address the Corporate Partners program, begun a number of years ago, which set up each Cleveland school with a Cleveland business. In a few schools the partnerships were successful. In most however, they were ineffective. This is the conventional wisdom gleaned from teachers I've talked with in schools around the district.

As far as I know, the success of the partnerships has never been evaluated by those who are in a real position to asses them. As a teacher in the Cleveland Schools for the past 17 years, I have never once been asked how any corporate partnership has impacted my teaching. Nor have I ever been asked what I might like the corporate partner to do to help make the school more effective. No business representative has come into my classroom, the teachers lounge, or even sent me a questionnaire asking what I might need that they could provide.

I've said this before, and I will say it again. Top-down management-driven attempts at problem solving will not fix the school district. In order to identify the needs of students and teachers, ASK THEM!
Administrators know what will make their jobs easier, but can only guess what the teachers and students need. New curtains for the stage might make the auditorium look very nice, but how will they help kids learn geometry when the students have no textbooks?

What if the mayor and the school district sent teachers an on-line survey. (Parents and students could be surveyed via regular mail) It would ask teachers to list what they needed to improve teaching and learning in their schools and classrooms. A wish-list of resources could be compiled for each school and posted on a web site. It would detail items ranging from books and supplies, to equipment, to personnel, field trips, tutors, ..anything. Businesses, or even individuals, could then go online, find a school they would like to support, and identify a specific need they could fulfill. All donations would, of course, be tax deductible.

I've talked to both residents and business owners, who say they would love to help the schools, but they don't know how, or who to contact. The voicemail system used by the district is very frustrating to people who would like to get involved, but are not sure who to talk to. This web site would allow smaller local companies to become partners with the schools as well as the large corporations that are already working with the district. It wouldn't cost much to administrate, since donors could contact schools directly via email. It would also be a great move politically.

Oh well, it's just a thought...
If anybody who is reading this likes the idea, and is in a position to implement it, please go ahead and use it.

If you could give me a little credit, that would be nice too.

"The teacher's challenge...is to be clearheaded in separating out a student's poor performance or detachment and defensiveness from intellectual possibility.And when the conditions are right - the right teacher or approach or moment in a young person's life - when this clicks, wary students can be engaged, caught-up, sometimes to thier suprise. "Man, that's crazy!"

Mike Rose
From The Mind at Work 2004 Viking Press

Rumors

There seems to be a rumor floating around out there that I am in trouble.

The rumor has it that the CMSD administration has docked my pay, reprimanded, and censored me for my weblog, since the story written by Chris Seper came out in the Plain Dealer.

Well folks, I'm still here.
In fact,the exact opposite is true.

Last week, I recieved a very supportive letter from Barbara Byrd-Bennett,the Cleveland Municipal School District's CEO, encouraging me to "keep on blogging!".
Friday, after my radio interview on WMJI, John Eby, the director of Fine Arts in the district laughingly told me, "you will get fired if you ever STOP blogging."
Yesterday, the district administration gave Brian McIntyre permission to come to the school and film a segment about me and my weblog for the Ohio News Network on cable channel 70.

So now you know....but now I'm curious. Where DID that rumor come from?

What Makes a Good Teacher?

This morning's e-mail brought this message. I thought I would share my response with you all, since quite a few readers are education majors.

Dear Ms. Mathews;
One of the reasons for this message is the above subject.[What is a good art teacher?] I am a student in the Art Ed program at Kent and for an Intro into Ed course, I am to interview five people and pose the above question. Since reading the article in the PD I continue to enjoy reading your blogs and I wonder if you may find time to answer the subject question. If not, please let me know.
Thank you for your site,

What is a good teacher?

I think I know what a good teacher is, but just to be sure, I asked my Art 1 class that question. This particular group of students range from 14 year old 9th graders to 20 year old seniors.

These were their answers:

"A teacher who makes us laugh"
"Good teachers take the time to explain things when you don't understand."
"They can "break it down"...make it simple."
"You know they will be there for you if you need help. Like, if you lost your bus ticket and don't have a way to get home they will get you another one."
"Good teachers make you work hard...they prepare you for real life."
"They make you want to do your best."
"They don't put you down and try to make you feel stupid."
"They make you feel like you are important....they take the time to listen."
"They don't make assumptions about who you are by what you wear."
"They take the time to get to know you."
You see, I like to check with the consumer to make sure I'm on the right track with my own observations.

First and foremost, I feel a good teacher must genuinely LIKE kids.

I have known too many teachers who do nothing but complain about kids and seem to enjoy being mean to them. I have known teachers who brag about how many kids fail their classes. Teachers who entered the field of education for all the worst reasons:
They had power issues. They wanted to be the one in charge...to boss others around. They may have had some unresolved problems dating back to their own student days.These teachers are the worst. They don't like to be challenged. They discipline by intimidation.

Next, good teachers model the behaviors they expect from their students.

Timeliness: If you expect your students to be on time for class, be on time to work.
Cooperation: Work together with the other people on your team. Involve community members in projects.
Creativity: Try new things! Experiment. Learn from your mistakes. Don't be afraid.
Reading: Talk about the books you are reading. Discuss what you read in the paper. Let them see how reading can open up their world.
Writing: Share your writing with them. Write them notes, letters, memos. Show them that writing skills are used in everyday life.
These last two things also help your students get to know you. They want to know you a little more personally. When you establish a relationship with them, they pay attention. They work harder for you.

Good teachers "know their stuff" ...and if they don't quite know it well enough...bring in someone who does. Tap your networks for volunteers, guest speakers, field trips. This way you learn along with your students....(this goes back to modeling).

Good teachers know how to keep their "cool". They don't overreact, or take things things too personally. They don't scream or "lose it" on students. They treat their students with respect. I've seen too many cases where a class will walk all over a teacher because they can. They know what buttons to push to upset the teacher. For a lot of kids, that's just fun.

Please notice. I did not include ANYTHING about curriculum mapping, measurable goals and objectives, writing action plans, or any of the other countless topics included in educational coursework for teachers. Those are the things many professors and administrators (who do not spend any substantial amount of time in the classroom)think make a good teacher, yet it all has very little to do with the reality of getting kids to pay attention and learn something.
You can write a phenomenal lesson plan, but have no clue how to connect with kids.The best teachers know you need to first build a relationship with your students...then you can take them anywhere.

I hope this helps. Please let me know if there is anything else I can do for you.

MB

Mystery Solved

I could drive from Cleveland to mid-town Manhattan in just seven hours.
However, the tour bus kept to the speed limit, and made a couple of rest stops along Route 80 to accommodate the needs of the 35 students and chaperones, stretching the drive-time to over nine hours.

Twice during my tenure as an art teacher at Trinity High School in the 1980's, I organized New York City bus tours for my students. This was the second.
The guide from the school tours company greeted us at the Ramada Inn, and took over the task of group check-in and room assignments. My roommate for the trip was my dear friend Vicque, who taught Senior English. We both gasped with delight upon opening the door to our assigned accommodations.

"It's a suite! Oh look!"

Sitting on the table was a beautiful basket. Cheese, crackers, fruit and a bottle of wine, all tied up with a lovely bow. A thank-you card from the tour company was tucked inside.
Soon the heads of our students were popping through the door.

"Wow. You guys are lucky!"

Vicque and I invited them in for a look around. Before we knew it all twenty-five teenagers were admiring our rooms.

"Okay, now everybody out! We have an appointment with the Rockettes."

After a show, dinner, and a trip to the top of the Empire State Building, we returned to the hotel.
After an hour in the pool, the kids were all in their assigned rooms. Everyone was accounted for.
It had been a very long day, and a nice glass of wine would be just the thing to top it off.

"Where's the wine? Did you put it in the refridgerator?"

"No, I haven't touched anything in that basket."

"Niether did I. Where the hell is the bottle of wine?"

"Those damn kids! Someone stole our bottle of wine!"

"They are NOT going to get away with this. Get the mothers. We are having a room search."

While the mother/chaperones stood guard in the hallway, Vicque and I began our investigation, room by room. We checked under mattresses, drawers, windowsills, luggage, every conceivable hiding place. Nothing, nothing, nothing...six rooms...nothing.
The last room was occupied by four senior boys.
Vicque and I knocked on the door.

"Sit down guys. Somebody stole a bottle of wine from our room. We are doing a room search."

The words were hardly out of my mouth, when a big grin appeared on Jerry's face. He was a tall kid with a head of dark curly hair, and an off-beat sense of humor.

"Did you say 'STRIP SEARCH'?"

Ty, (a Billy Idol look-alike) jumped up.
"SHE SAID STRIP SEARCH!"

"WOOOO HOOOO!!! STRIP SEARCH!!!

Suddenly clothes were flying through the air, and four boys were leaping around the room, jumping on the beds, in nothing but underpants.

"SEARCH ME! SEARCH ME! PLEASE! SEARCH ME!"

Vicque and I were frozen for a moment like the oft referenced 'Deer in the Headlights'.
Wide eyed, mouths gaping.
I spoke first.

"How much do you think that bottle of wine cost, Vicque? About seven bucks?"

"It's not worth it. Let's get out of here."

We had no proof, but circumstance pointed to our nearly-naked seniors. We decided our best strategy would be to wait it out. Eventually somebody would talk. This was too good of a prank to not claim bragging rights.

We were right. Eventually the thief did come forward to confess...twenty years later.

____________________________

A little over two weeks ago I appeared in the Metro section of the Cleveland Plain Dealer in a story about my weblog. I received all kinds of phone calls and e-mails from distant friends, past co-workers, old boyfriends, and former students.

One such e-mail came from Kelly, an art student from my earliest teaching days at Trinity High School. She had been a quiet, serious student, mature beyond her years, and a talented artist. Now she created web pages for a design company in Beechwood. We made plans to get together for dinner after work and catch up on the past twenty years. That evening's discussion naturally started with reminiscing about old classmates.

"Have you ever heard from Ty or Jerry?"

"No. I wish I had. Those guy's were nuts."

"Hey, do you remember that trip to New York and the stolen bottle of wine?"

"Of course. I was always mad that we never were able to find that bottle. The boys created too much of a scene. There was no way we could have finished checking that room. They were ready to get naked."

"They didn't have it."

"What? But we searched every place else."

"Elaine and I stole it. We hid it in a toilet-tank on the third floor. We got it later."

"Wow. We never suspected. You were such good girls."

Kelly just smiled.

_____________________________

I will have to call my dear friend Vicque, now teaching English in a high school near Washington DC. I'm sure she will be just as surprised as I was.
The mystery is finally solved.

You have to watch out for those quiet ones.

Often the difference beween a successful person and a failure is not that one has better abilities or ideas, but the courage one has to act on one's ideas, to take a calculated risk - and to act.

What is opportunity, and when does it knock?
It never knocks. You can wait a whole lifetime, listening and hoping, and you will hear no knocking. None at all.
You are opportunity, and you must knock on the door leading to your destiny. You prepare yourself to recognize opportunity as you develop the strength of your personality, and build a self-image with which you are able to live.


Maxwell Maltz

On The Air

Yeah...That was me on the radio this morning.
If you were tuned to WMJI, Lannigan and Malone's morning drive-time show at 7:40 AM, and heard the woman talking about teaching in Cleveland, it was yours truly.

The producer contacted me a couple of weeks ago after the Plain Dealer story about my weblog came out, and asked if I would do a 10 minute phone interview. My initial reaction was "No way!"...I hate to be in videos, photographs, or listen to my own disembodied voice. But my friends encouraged me to do it, (I am assuming, for the sheer entertainment of listening to me stumble through questions) and so I agreed.

I hope you all were listening.

The roots of innovation lie in taking seriously and developing something which nobody else has paid attention to, and which the rest of the universe might be inclined to ignor.

Howard Gardner

Out of Control

Cleveland Plain Dealer columnist Regina Brett asked the question today, "Are our schools out of control?". She relates her conversations with Cleveland teachers since writing a column a few weeks ago about vandalism at Glenville High School.
Her column told the stories of students assaulting teachers in the schools.
Assault is criminal behavior. The fact it happens so often in our schools that each teacher is given a "What-to-do-in-the-event-of-an-assault" card to keep in our wallets at the beginning of the school year, is quite telling. Every day we deal with kids who have many emotional and behavioral issues.
Behavior management is a part of our job.
Situations can become volatile. Assaults happen.

What should disturb us most is not that some teachers get hurt, rather, that the students who commit these assaults remain in the building, often unpunished.
The type of consequence for inappropriate behavior is the biggest factor in determining the atmosphere of a building. When there are no consequences, or if they are inconsistent, the students will run the building.
And in many schools they do.

That this is happening in so many of our schools in Cleveland, should be an eye-opener to the administrators and politicians who sincerely want to see the schools change for the better.
Here are the questions they need to be asking:

What prevents teachers or building administrators from punishing students who behave inappropriately?
This is a question that must be asked of teachers and administrators anonymously, otherwise the answers will be:
"We always give appropriate attention to discipline problems."
Many teachers already told Regina Brett the real answer to that question.
High suspension and expulsion numbers look bad to the folks downtown.
This begs another question; Why?

A report detailing the numbers of students suspended tells the administration at the downtown office nothing about the atmosphere of a particular building.
Low numbers do not mean there are no behavior problems, they simply mean the problems are not being reported or addressed. On the other hand, a building with high numbers of students being suspended would not necessarily mean the building has too many behavior problems. Rather, it says that the principals are busy working to set a no-nonsense tone in that school.
If a person will spend a day in a school, and see students roaming the halls and classrooms out of control, they will know that the school has discipline problems. That is just common sense.
If we are ever to going to fix the schools we have to start dealing with the problems from a common sense point of view. We have to deal with reality.

Top-down problem solving never solves the problem.
The top usually doesn't even know where the real problems lie.
Ask the students what works to control their behavior.
Ask the teachers what support we need.
Each one of us can list the things that will make us more effective. We know what works, but rarely are we asked. When we are asked, our answers are given a cursory nod and filed away. Then outside "experts" are brought in and paid a lot of money to tell us what they think we should do.

This problem is not unique to the Cleveland schools.
The corporate world is just as guilty. How many CEO's will hire a consultant group for millions of dollars to fix a problem?
What the good consultants will do first is go directly to the shop floor, and ask the workers what is needed to do the job more efficiently. They know they can't get the answers from the corporate offices, since what those folks have are reports, doctored up to look good by middle-management. The 'bean-counters' can juggle information to tell any tale they want. The real story is always found on the factory floor, behind the register, or in front of the class full of kids.

The Cleveland schools need new answers to our old problems.
If we want different answers, we have got to start asking different questions..And we have to start asking the right people.
We need to ask the people on the front lines; the students and teachers. They know what the problems are. They know what they need to succeed

The answers are right in the classroom, in front of our faces...Listen.

I Did Say "No" to the Packing Noodles

"Can you use this? I was going to throw it out, but I thought maybe someone would want it."

"Hmmm... almost trash. Naturally, you thought of me?"

"Well, you're creative. Can't your students make something out of this?"

"Ahhh..ummm...well...uhhh...Thank you very much."

Mother taught us to be gracious, so I found storage for what ever bit of rescued refuse was handed to me. I have a very large supply room, and a huge classroom, 40' x 80'.
An amazing collection began to accumulate of margarine tubs, spools, half-rolls of wrapping paper, yarn, leftover fabric, house paint, leftover craft supplies, stryrofoam, chop sticks, shoelaces, cardboard tubes...you name it. The list goes on and on.

Ironically, I don't do crafty projects.

My good manners are now coming back to bite me.

The Boss just informed me I have to pack up everything in the art room and move it to the east end of the building. Max Hayes High School is slated for renovation, with construction beginning this summer. All of the teachers on the second and third floors of our building will be displaced for a year. Some will move to trailers in the parking lot. I will be teaching in a much smaller room in the second floor annex.

I suggested we order extra dumpsters.

Promises

"The man who promised to keep me safe was the one who tried to kill me."

The young latina woman stood next to me, her arms wrapped around the little boy riding on her hip.

"He had me convinced at first, that it was me...that I was too friendly with his friends. He would swear at me, call me whore. Then apologize. I would forgive him...he didn't know what he was doing...he was drinking. Then the pushing began,, the slapping, the punching. The accusations of cheating, and lying were devastating, but I always forgave him ... We are taught to forgive. Yes?"

I nodded

"I was beginning to believe jealousy was a part of love. The pain was just part of a passionate relationship. I was so stupid..."

"No, not stupid...naive." I smiled remembering myself at her age. "We want to beleive the best in people, especially those we love. We want to beleive it so much we blind ourselves to reality."

"Reality.." She shook her her head of dark curls. "Reality attacked me while I lay in bed with my son. He had been out, I had been home. He came in accusing me, again, of cheating on him. He pushed the baby off the bed, and grabbed my hair. He tried to choke me. I fought back. He had a knife. I hit him hard, where it hurts, picked up the baby and ran to my friends house and called the police."

"How was the baby?"

"My son was fine. His father was convicted of attempted murder. He is in prison now. He got 5 years. I'm afraid he may get an early release, so I am moving away. I wanted to say goodbye before I left."

"Where are you going?"

"Puerto Rico. I have family there. I have already applied to the university in San Juan. I want to get my degree. I would like to stay in touch with you."

"Please!" I quickly wrote down my phone number and e-mail adress on a slip of paper. "I think about you so often. I always wonder how you are doing."

"I promise to write, and I will visit again when I come back"


Why do so many of us endure things that are destructive, in the name of love? We hope and pray for change, expecting it to come from the other person, when the change really needs to come from within ourselves.

Get Back in the Box

There ain't no rules around here! We're trying to accomplish something.

Thomas Edison

Why is it we Clevanders impose limits on our potential by our own insistance upon regulation. We look for permission before we attempt anything new. We search to see if anyone else has tried it first...only then is it okay for us to consider.

We parrot the corporate cliche "Think outside the box", yet when somebody attemps to climb out of that "box", there are more than a few members of this community shoving them back in. Those people with new ideas are very disturbing to the status quo. They introduce the unfamiliar, the unusual, the uncomfortable.

The thing has already taken form in my mind before I start it. The first attempts are absolutely unbearable.
I say this because I want you to know that if you see something worthwhile in what I am doing, it is not by accident but because of real direction and purpose.

Vincent van Gogh

Spring?

Yesterday I worked in my yard, digging and raking, discovering tender new shoots of perennials under the muddy brown oak leaves. Spring was finally making an appearance in my spirit as well as my garden.
Waking during the night I could hear the wind blowing a heavy rain hard against the window pane. Good, I thought, the grass seed I threw over the bare spots in the lawn could use the extra watering.
I walked over to the window at dawn and gasped.
Overnight the heavy rain became wet, heavy, snow that had been falling since the earliest hours of the morning. Once again it was winter in Cleveland.
The snow is still coming down this afternoon, about four inches on the old stump next to the garage.

In January I would have thought it beautiful.
In April, it is merely redundant.

In the News

The Plain Dealer is thrown into my flower bed at 5:05 each morning. This enables me to retrieve it in my pajamas or bathrobe without too much self-consiousness, since I am usually awake before dawn. Today I sprinted out barefoot, and picked the newspaper out of the crocus patch. I slipped the roll out of it's plastic bag, and flipped to the metro section.
There I was. Damn! I should have brushed my hair before the photographer showed up that day.
Although I am never bashful writing or speaking about the things I do, I am painfully so when I read what others write about me. I was almost afraid to read the article...it was so long.

Thank you Chris, you did a nice job.

Here are the links.

True Tales from Inside a Cleveland School

From the online journal

Lessons Recalled

A week of fun-in-the-sun, spent laying on the beaches of the British Virgin Islands, left a colleague of ours tanned, relaxed, and ready for the envious ribbing he knew he'd be receiving from the partners left behind in cold, cloudy, Cleveland. After lauding the merits of SPF 30, he finally admitted getting a little sunburn on his back, which already was beginning to peel. Soon we were all recounting the somewhat twisted joys of peeling sunburned skin.
I smiled as I recalled a similar conversation some thirty years ago, with my ninth grade algebra teacher. How funny it is, after all of the lessons suffered, problems discussed , and equations solved, the information I remember most clearly from that class was a casual commentary about sunburn.
As teachers, we spend countless hours preparing our lessons. We research, we write, we gather materials. We pre-test, present, practice, apply, quiz, test, post-test, and re-test. Yet, studies have shown, almost 80% of the actual content taught in high school is forgotten in a few years, if it is not applied in a student's day-to-day life. What will be remembered are the things we spend little or no time thinking about. Our attitude, our enthusiasm, our sense of humor (or lack of it), the way we treat students. Were we rigid, were we fair, were we forgiving? Did we take time to listen, or were we impatient? Our students will remember for a lifetime casual conversations that we will forget that day as we drive home.
It is almost daunting to realize that some of our most influential lessons come not from what we teach, but from who we are.

A New Easter Tradition?

My best friend, Susan, and I will use any excuse to concoct an adventure. Easter was approaching, and we found ourselves bemoaning the loss of several candy stores in the Heights area. These stores had been great places to shop for unusual treats to fill the kids baskets. Next to the traditional jelly beans and bunnies, one could find wax lips, black-jack gum, and the ever-so-politically-incorrect candy cigarettes and bubblegum cigars. Oh dear! We were going to have to venture out of the neighborhood to find new sources of sugary entertainment.
Hmmm...Perhaps not.
Didn't that Asian grocer on the corner of Mayfield and Belvoir have an assortment of candy from the orient at the check-out counter? How about the new Mexican grocery on Mayfield past Brainard? Isn't there a Russian deli around there? There's the Italian grocery, and then the plaza with the little store that has signs in the window reading "FRESH VAGETABLES" and "Desi food and Movies sold Here". Although we were quite familiar with Italian goodies, "Desi food" left us clueless, and eager for an afternoon of exotic exploration. We found all of these little stores along a two-mile strip of Mayfield Road between South Euclid, and Mayfield Heights.

We spent the remainder of the day gathering up Japanese Poky, Mexican chili pepper candy, Russian chocolate with vodka centers, tamarind candy from India, Turkish Delight with walnuts, and Italian Easter biscotti.
We bought things in beautiful wrappers, with labels written in alphabets that we couldn't decipher. Thank goodness none of our children have allergies. Most of the clerks in the shops didn't speak English, so we didn't bother asking what is was we were buying.
By late afternoon our bags had more than just the intended Easter treats. We viewed so many foreign "delicacies" with feet, lips, suction cups, and eyeballs, Susan and I decided to purchase a little snack for our 13 year old sons. One that would elicit some "Fear Factor" bravado, and leave the indelible impression in those young minds that their mothers were indeed "Whacked". Dried whole shrimp (eyeballs intact) from Mexico, with hot sauce, fit the bill.

Needless to say, this Easter morning was memorable.

The people who get on in this world are the people who get up and look for the circumstances they want, and if they can't find them, they create them.

George Bernard Shaw

Why I Blog

Last week I spent a couple of hours talking with Chris Sepher, a reporter from the Cleveland Plain Dealer. Chris was writing an article about blogging, and I was flattered that he asked me to talk about my blog and what motivated me to start writing.

I began blogging for two reasons:

First, was the reason I give in my profile. (See column on the right) I truly felt that CMSD teachers are, for the most part, misunderstood. We are perceived as either insane or saintly, money-grubbers or martyrs. The general public imagines the city schools to be disfunctional hell-holes of miseducation. I felt it was important to open up a window, and share an insider's experience of day-to-day life inside an urban classroom.

My second reason was self-discipline. I wanted to train myself to write better by writing often. For a number of years I have wanted to write a book. My audience would be young people, new teachers, rookies or interns, who where considering teaching in an inner-city school.
You see, many teacher education programs, and the professors who teach them, have no clue as to the realities of teaching in an urban school. Fact is, many of those folks have spent little or no time teaching in the inner-city. My own experience found way too many educators who left teaching, to become administrators or college professors, because they couldn't cut it in the classroom.
My book would tell the story of my own education; what I've learned about teaching from my students.

I started my blog nearly a year ago, and I think I have accomplished some of my goals.

I am certainly getting a lot of writing practice, and although I have taken a few pauses in my journaling, I have not ever considered abandoning it.
I know by readers comments that the message is being heard. What I never expected was how many people have been following my blog. I am often amazed by the letters I get. They come from all over the country, and even some from readers as far away as India and Australia. Many ask questions or share information, while others offer words of encouragement.
Here are some excerpts from a few of letters that have kept me motivated:

MB,
This is just brilliant, enlightening stuff. Your blog gives me the best possible window into what teaching in an urban school is really like. If Hollywood had any brains, they'd simply turn your life into a movie.
But thank god for teachers like you. They keep civilization going, and give me reason to hope for the best despite all the problems and challenges. Keep fighting and touching those kids...
____________________________________
Keep doing what you're doing, it sounds like you're doing it right.
____________________________________
Brought tears of frustration and sadness to my eyes to read this. As a parent of grade school children, I'm amazed at the changes in the public school system since I was a kid -- or even since my stepson was in grade school a dozen years ago. We're spending $50+ a year per student on supplies that are fundamental to the education process; I know the teachers are having to make up the shortfalls when some students cannot bring supplies. I don't know how teachers do it.
If I can make a suggestion, please consider putting a PayPal button on your site for donations -- or even an Amazon button for donations of books.
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More rules => less critical thinking
Less critical thinking => increased "go with the flow" mentality
"go with the flow" mentality + impoverished surroundings => more of the same

It's almost as if that's what they want...
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MaryBeth,
Your postings are inspirational. I was especially moved when you wrote that you and your students and fellow teachers felt abandoned by the greater community after the failure of the levy. The problem is so very big and many of us feel so small when trying to help. Thank you, thank you, thank you for having the fortitude to stay and work with your students when so many have left the city for other opportunities. I worry and pray so often about the kids just 3 - 4 miles from my own home who are living as if in another country from my children and me. I will also pray for you as you continue your work. Please keep writing - your words prod us to keep trying to make things better for these kids.
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--MB, as I read about the public art being constructed for the Soapbox Derby group, I was wondering if your next project could be the Cleveland Rowing Foundation? We'll teach the kids how to row, you included. As a non-profit I think we could help with funding...
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Thank God for teachers like you.

"The uncreative mind can spot wrong answers, but it takes the very creative mind to spot wrong questions."

Anthony Jay

Keeping My Cool

"zzzz..zzzz..ZZZZ... DING!" The third floor bell on the west end of the corridor issued its anemic warning. The latest repair had reduced the authoritative ring to a sound that could only be described as a bastardized hybrid, the illegitimate offspring of schoolbell and alarm clock buzzer.

"Hurry up you guys!"
I called to three ninth graders gathered at a locker outside my classroom.
"Shawn, If I didn't know better I would think you had no destination." The tall boy turned, grinned, and began a slow trot toward my classroom door. His friends began a slower saunter in the opposite direction.

"Yeow!!!...What the?...You bitch!"
The sound of a scuffle grabbed my attention and brought me quickly inside the art studio just in time to see three chairs fly across the room. One after another they crashed against wall, floor, and table-top. Students jumped out of the way, hands over heads, ducking for cover.

Launching the attack, was a pretty 15 year old girl, still a tom-boy, tall and athletic. Very hyperactive. One of the type of students my colleagues call "The kids who make us EARN our salaries".

Shaking my head I called to her. "Come here, hon'"

She looked up, smiled and reached for another chair.

"No...Put that down. Come here please. You know we just can't be throwing chairs across the room at each other. Come over here, honey."

Shooting a backward glance to her still cowering classmates, she ambled over to my desk.

"What is going on?" I asked quietly.

"He knocked my bottle out of my hand!" she shouted, and started to laugh.

"She dumped water down my back!" came the response from the middle of the room. Her victim was a bright serious student who normally kept to himself, concentrating on his assignments.

"You need to step into the hall. I can't have you in my classroom today. I am going to call security, and you will have to go to the office. Stand right here hon' and wait for the security guard."
My voice was low, the tone somewhat conversational, almost casual.

When my attention returned to the other students, to my great pleasure and surprise, they were all at their tables working, as if nothing out of the ordinary had just happened.

While filling out the office referral form, I marveled at my own response to the situation, and how I've changed over the years.
As a rookie, I often felt the need to assert my authority. A loud clipped voice, occasional yelling, and flashes of anger were the means of gaining control. Losing my temper could always get the students attention.
It also let the class know that they could rattle my cage. That was lot's of fun...For them.
As my career progressed I've come to understand that adding negative energy to a situation only makes it take more time to diffuse. Over time, I've learned to keep my cool.
Would I be called unflappable?...Hardly.
Patient?...With teenagers, definitely.
With adults who should know better, definitely not!

But, I'm working on it.

New Project

I have a good excuse...Really.

I know, I've heard you, I realize I've not posted anything in over a month.
But c'mon folks, you do understand that there are only 24 hours in a day, don't you?

Well, to exhonorate myself, please take a look at how I've been spending my time.
Click on this link, we call it RAMTEC

I know what you are thinking...quite a stretch for a high school art teacher. But, after all, this is me we're talking about.
Here's how it all got started:

The idea for RAMTEC was the result of conversation between friends about the state of the manufacturing industry. The following excerpt is from the March 2nd presentation by members of the RAMTEC team at a forum held by REI at the Peter B Lewis building at the Case Weatherhead School of Management. This is a portion of my speech which tells the story.

Since the spring of this past year, I have been attending the REI Tuesday discussions. My interest in regional economy stems from my work with Cleveland kids, the poorest demographic, living in the most impoverished city in America. I’ve especially been concerned with workforce development in the industrial trades and manufacturing, since I am currently teaching at Max S Hayes Vocational School in the Cleveland Municipal School District.
Topics at REI Tuesdays were always thought provoking, and I made certain to take full advantage of the networking opportunities. Through REI, I have been able to bring people and ideas back to Max Hayes that are now instrumental in the development of new projects, and providing new opportunities for our students. Already, lives are being changed.
As mentioned before, I’ve had a special interest in workforce development in the area of industry and manufacturing. Throughout the year, a recurrent theme at REI discussions has been the importance of educating the region’s workforce for tomorrow’s jobs. Other themes have included, building the area’s manufacturing base, encouraging innovation and entrepreneurship, and appreciative inquiry.
I began to apply this information, as well as the appreciative inquiry method of making and sustaining change, to the dilemmas that face my students and colleagues each day. One of the very apparent problems is the employment paradox facing Cleveland. The city has vast numbers of unemployed persons, yet the manufacturing industry is facing a worker shortage. Many area manufacturing companies have "Help Wanted" signs posted 365 days a year.
Max Hayes is a vocational school that trains people for manufacturing, yet very few of our students are looking for jobs in the industry. I witness the problems first hand, each and every day. There is a huge gap that exists between the needs of the manufacturing industry, and the programs in our vocational schools and community colleges. State-of-the-art equiptment that is used in the industry today is quite pricey ($200,000 - $1,000,000) and most schools can't afford to put so much money into a program that attracts very few students.
The other big problem facing the manufacturing industry is the outsourcing of jobs to China, attributed to the rising costs of manufacturing here in the United States. The high costs are due, in large part, to the standard of living in the US, and the cost of heath care benefits. Automation and robotics easily address the outsourcing problem by making production costs of American products competitive with the Chinese. One robot can do the work of 3-5 employees...no breaks...24/7...364 days a year...no insurance benefits...no salary...average lifespan...15 years.
Yet, they are being underutilized in the manufacturing industry, jobs are going overseas, companies are closing their doors, and the skilled-worker shortage remains.
I approached friends in the manufacturing industry with my questions.
What is needed to fill the gap? What can be done to save the industry?
Their answers were immediate and simple.

What is needed is a new approach to education. A manufacturing education center focusing on the specific needs of the industry, as opposed to general manufacturing job training programs. A teaching factory that could provide companies with complete automated systems and robots, as well as the operators, programmers, integration specialists, and maintenance technicians to support them. A production, training, research and development facility that would sustain itself financially. A manufacturing showcase which would attract people to the industry. And just to show that it could be done…..It would be green.
Is anything like this being done anywhere? We searched the internet…..Nothing like it.
Could it be done here in Cleveland? There could be no better place to build it.
We outlined a proposal, RAMTEC (Regional Automated Manufacturing & Technology Education Center) and are now seeking support from various sources that might be served by this project.

Sick Day

I was awakened in the wee hours of the morning by the ferocity of my own hacking. Like a five-pack-a-day smoker coughing up a hairball, the sound was as painful as my throat. The commotion brought Max, my Doberman, trotting to the side of my bed. Hot dog-breath in my face triggered the next round of coughing.
"Go away!"
My pathetic squeak, heard only by Max and myself was, nonetheless, embarrassing.
A teacher with no voice is useless.
Geez...I'm going to have to take a sick day.

It's rare that I've ever taken a sick day because I was actually sick. As the mother of three kids, most of the sick time I've ever used was because I had to stay home with a feverish child, or spend time with my dad in the hospital, or the week I had to take off work when my house caught fire. Then there were the days when I was driving the old Subaru and she just couldn't get herself out of the driveway.

My substitute folder has emergency lesson plans for my classes which don't require any art supplies. Problem is, my students are really good at conning subs into letting them continue working on their projects. What they aren't so good at is cleaning up with out commandant-like supervision.
We are in the middle of a painting unit.
I can only pray that my classroom is not a complete disaster when I return.

We Mourn Again

From the Cleveland Plain Dealer, Tuesday, February 8, 2005

Girl found dead in basement; man surrenders
Tuesday, February 08, 2005
A 17-year-old Cleveland girl was found dead Monday afternoon in the basement of a home on West 90th Street.

A 9-1-1 caller told Cleveland police Maria Isabella Anglero had been strangled.

A man seen driving away from the home surrendered about 5:30 p.m. at the 2nd District police station, about an hour after police were notified about the girl's death. Police did not release the name of the suspect.

Lt. Wayne Drummond would say only that based on the condition of the body, the girl's death appeared to have been violent.

The Cuyahoga County coroner's office will rule on the cause of death.

Drummond had no information on the relationship between the girl and the man. But an initial police report indicated the girl's mother was the man's ex-girlfriend.

Police were made aware that the man was coming to the police station to surrender, and he was arrested in the parking lot.

A very sad day at Max Hayes.
Maria was in my art class a couple years ago as a ninth grader. She was a tiny, beautiful, quiet, latina.
She quit school last year amid controversy with some of the other girls. Typical teen-girl trash-talk-leading-to-ass-kicking type of thing.

Today there were many tears, many regrets, and more than a little guilt.

The Silent Treatment

What can ever be gained by shutting down? When people stop talking, the possibilities for forgiveness come to an abrubpt end. There can be no understanding without communicating.

Silence amplifies pain.
Suffering in silence is not holy martyrdom, it is passive/aggressive manipulation.
It is manipulation that often backfires. Relationships die in silence.

So yell, shout, swear, vent the anger, express the hurt. Just don't stop talking.

Winston Churchill's Life Lesson

You haven't learned life's lesson very well if you haven't noticed that you can give the tone or color, or decide the reaction you want of people in advance. It's unbelievably simple. If you want them to take an interest in you, take an interest in them first. If you want to make them nervous, become nervous yourself...It's as simple as that.
People will treat you as you treat them. It's no secret. Look about you. You can prove it with the next person you meet.

Winston Churchill

I read Churchill's statement years ago and discovered, upon testing the challenge, the truth of his observations.

"People will treat you as you treat them."

The novice teacher who struggles to develop productive relationships in a classroom would do well to take Mr. Churchill's advice. If you want respect, give respect. If you want students to be interested in what you have to say, be interested in what they are saying. If you act like you can't stand being around them, they will hate being with you. If you treat them like morons, they will act moronic.

Like the man says, "It's as simple as that."

Today's Topic: Your Own Death

"I don't like that word. Don't say it."

I knew full well what the young man meant, but I pressed him anyway.

"Which word was that?"
"You know. Don't make me say it."
"Ohhh! Do you mean the word 'dead'?"
"Don't say it!"
"Why? Death is a part of living. We all will have to die one day."
"Not me. I refuse to do it."

By this time his classmates were beginning to snicker.
"Angel is immortal...he's gonna live forever."

"You know, most of us feel that way when we are young. Like we are going to live forever. Unless someone that we are close to dies, or gets very sick. That's when reality brings us into check. How many of you have been to the funeral of someone who died young?"

More than half of the hands went up.

Death and dying is not usually a topic one would expect to be discussing in a high school art class, but I was preparing them for a video we would be watching about organ donation. An area organization called Life Bank sponsors an annual poster contest for high school students aimed to encourage young people to become organ donors.

Good strategy.

The video made us think about a topic most people try to avoid.
Dying young.

It was a documentary about teenagers whose lives were saved by an organ transplant, and interviews with the families of young organ donors.
After the video, my students started thinking and talking and asking quetions. I love when that happens.
Difficult topics make for the best discussions, and the most opportunities for learning. Today's discussion might even save a life someday.
Most of my students who answered 'No' to the question "Would you like to be an organ donor?", after today's class, will now be answering 'Yes'.

No Child Left Behind: Again

One of the reasons I began posting my thoughts on education and my experiences in the inner-city classroom was to give the general public the chance to read a first-hand account of what we deal with as teachers in large urban districts.

I've mentioned before the reactions I've received from strangers when I am introduced as a high school teacher in the city of Cleveland. They run the gamut from "You are surely a saint", to "You've gotta be bad-ass" to "You must be nuts"
And to each of these I respond "Yes...kinda", and "Absolutely", and "So I've been told".

There are other comments too.
Teachers usually won't hear these until there is a snow-day, a levy on the ballot, or a teacher's strike. They usually come from the portion of the adult population who have not set foot in a public school in many, many years. If ever.
These folks will dare not disparage us individually, it is much easier to discuss the larger group... "Those lazy, greedy, teacher's unions".

Today I received a comment from a reader who was responding to my post concerning the "No Child Left Behind" legislation. (Link to post here for entire comment)

I think teacher need to get into the real world with their contracts. NO ONE in the private sector has fully funded health care. NO ONE in the private sector gets the multiple other benefits teachers get in the way of time off, pension plans, job security, as well as admiration from their students as well as parents. When is the last time a child (other than their own) admired a computer programmer or a chef ..etc..

NCLB is not the end all, be all for saving the schools. It is a great start though. I think we need to expect more from our inner city schools and hopefully they will respond. If not, they need to be totally reorganized. There is an old saying in sports, you can't fire all the players; so you get rid of the coach

Oh boy. This is precisely the misinformation that I've wanted to address here in this weblog.

The first blaring comment that caught my pop-eyed attention was the reference to fully funded healthcare.
Wait-a-minute..let me look at my last paystub.
Hmmm...Healthcare deductions...$387.75.
So I gave my friend, a nurse in private practice, a quick call.
"Healthcare benefits?" I ask.
Her response, "Fully funded."

As for time off:

How many other professions require continuous coursework in graduate school and the attainment of at least a Masters degree in order to maintain employment?
When does this happen? When the kids aren't in school.

As for job security:

Has anybody talked to the 1,400 Cleveland teachers who were laid-off this year?
Enough said.

As for admiration:

Those of us in teaching must learn to take the sour as well as the sweet.
Granted, Some of us earn the respect of our students, and may even develop close relationships with our kids and their families. I am blessed nearly every day with at least one student who will call out, "Love you Ms Matt!"
Yet, on that very same day I, or any of my colleagues, will also hear, "Bitch" or "Go f_ck yourself" or "I don't have to listen to you a__hole!". These are phrases so common they no longer shock. They are a part of our job.
Another part of our job is dealing with disgruntled parents. They are far more vocal than the appreciative ones. There are very few teachers in an urban district who have not had this conversation with a parent on the phone:
"Listen, I am sick and tired of you goddamn teachers always calling me up. I can't do anything else with that f-ckin' kid. When he's in school he's your problem."

Finally, addressing the sports analogy being applied to education:

Why would one apply a practice that doesn't work in sports (Remember, Cleveland fired Bill Belichik? Where is he today? Where are the Browns?) to educating inner-city children?

As NCLB demands accountability from public schools, the ultimate solution that NCLB offers when a school fails to acheive the mandated goals is to turn the school into a tax-funded charter or tax/voucher funded private for-profit school with NO mandated public accountability. For-profit schools, as private businesses, may keep their records closed to the public.

Perhaps I am a bit jaded, but it looks to me like the fox is guarding the hen-house.

Who Raised the Bar?

Sometimes it is not enough to do your best. Sometimes you have to do what is required.

My good friend and colleague, Richard Hart, has this phrase posted in his classroom, and I have heard him repeat it often over the years, to his young welding students, in his booming bass voice.

It is often too easy for any of us to excuse our half-assed attempts at a task, by using the pat "Well, I did my best." As teachers we often tell our students, "Just do your best."
The problem with doing our best, is that often we underestimate ourselves, we fail to raise our own bar, and sometimes our best doesn't cut it. Sometimes we need to do what is required, even if we need to push ourselves that much harder.

Candid Thoughts on "No Child Left Behind"

Rarely will I keep an opinion to myself when I have one, and when it comes to the "No Child Left Behind" Act, my experience gives me plenty of opportunity to form a few opinions.
I began writing this post originally as a response to a request by a reader (thank you Ali) to share my thinking about the NCLB legislation. It was going to stay in the "comments" section, but as I wrote, my frustrations got the better of me, and I decided to publish my thoughts here instead.

It is insidious

My own gut-reaction to NCLB is that it is, indeed, a stealth piece of Republican legislation which will result in the destruction of the public school systems in large urban areas, and render the powerful (mostly Democratic) teacher's unions in those regions ineffective.
One aspect of No Child Left Behind mandates that any school which cannot meet NCLB standards loses some federal funding and may be reconstituted or taken over by a charter school or a private for-profit education company.

It will be interesting to see what happens to the schools in Cleveland, our nation's poorest city, that fail to measure up to NCLB. Several have been classified as failing schools, and the probationary period is almost up. I shall be most curious as to how NCLB will move to rescue the kids in these schools.

Who will be tapped to play the hero?
My money is on Republican businessman David Brennan's White Hat Management company.

I wonder how many Cleveland Municipal Schools will become for-profit Hope Academies.

Cold

The red needle is centered smack-dab in the middle of the zero on my outdoor thermometer. The numbers are big and bold, easy to read from the warm comfort of my kitchen window.
Oh yeah, it's a Monday morning, and I'm still at home.

The Cleveland city schools are closed today. Unplowed sidestreets, impassable sidewalks, and dangerous temperatures,I'm certain, made the decision fairly easy. I can't help but think that the school district, beleaguered by a debt, that at one hundred million dollars can only be described as awesome, will also save a few dollars by not heating the buildings on this most bitter of days. Probably more than a few.

Cold mornings in Cleveland will find the students in my morning classes bundled up in wool afghans,working Cratchet-like at their drawing boards. No matter how hard or hot the uni-vents blow, they will not often keep pace with the icy drafts of air that pour through the cracks, spaces, and holes of the single pane windows in their ill-fitting frames, along the north wall of my classroom.
Winter morning room-temperatures in the forties prompted my purchase of about fifteen hand-knit blankets and afghans from church rummage sales. I keep them in a box at the back of the room, and the kids will sometimes argue over their favorites.
We laugh at how pathetic we look and how "ghetto" it is for us to have to work like this.
We console ourselves with the idea that hardships make us stronger, scrappier, tougher.

Still, I get angry when I think about the public schools a few miles up the road, in the suburbs, whose communities would never tolerate such conditions for their children.
The taunt "No child left behind." infuriates me so much more during Cleveland's long, cold, winters.

Senility Prayer

God grant me the senility to forget the people I never liked anyway
The good fortune to run into the ones I do
And the eyesight to tell the difference

Anonymous

Hmmmm...Now where did I leave my keys?

On Ego, Guilt, and an Accused Rapist.

I know. I know.
I have been neglecting my journal...and I promised that I would get back to writing, since my original intention was to use my writing as an attempt to organize my thoughts and discipline myself to manage my time.
Okay...those who know me well could have predicted this lapse, as organization and discipline are not words normally associated with me, nor qualities I have ever been accused of possessing.
What I admit to possessing is an ego.
Last night, attending an event at Case University, I was chastised by two different sets of people who noticed my virtual silence. It felt good to be missed.

So many things have been happening at school which I should have been writing about, that in order to assuage my Catholic guilt, I will have to share with you in the next few days.

The latest incident was the arrest of a security guard in our building this past weekend. The guard was accused of molesting/raping two 15 year old female students during school hours in the security office. The story broke on television Monday night, and Tuesday morning, my classes were all abuzz.

Of course, in order to take what could be a gossip-fest and turn it into a teachable moment, I was required to use a bit of a tricky manipulation, since so much of the information that was circulating was innuendo.
We did have some insightful conversations, however, on the difference between rape and consensual sex, statutory rape, employee hiring practices, and the justice system.
Not exactly what I had planned for my morning classes...but it probably will have more impact on these kids lives than a lecture about color theory.