Posts (page 2)

Okay, the strip search debate.  After reading the article (here), I don't really have much of an opinion either way.  First of all, having to strip search a student at school is unfortunate.  No one wants to deal with drugs and the like at school, but that just seems to be a fact of life.  In this particular case, however, I have a lot of problems and questions.

1. Unless the article failed to mention it, the school district/state must not have had a protocol for strip-searching or law against it.  If, in fact, they didn't, then there is no reason to fault the administration for trying to take care of a drug problem.

2. The article assumes that Redding is telling the truth just because she was found without the drugs.  She claims her friend was lying.  She's probably lying, too.  It makes sense that she would have nothing on her if she did sell her friend the stuff.  She could just be milking this situation, though there's no way to know.  Just because she had never been to the office before doesn't mean she could never do drugs.

3. Redding's lawyers also seem to think that the word of another student is not enough for suspicion of drugs.  As a school administrator, that's usually the only information you have to work with.  I feel that the source of information being a student is irrelevent.  Whether a strip search is lawful or not does not depend on the how facts are accrued.

4. Where do you draw the line for safety?  Though the schools probably over-stepped their boundaries, I do applaud that action in some form was taken.  As a teacher in a failing school, I'm so tired of seeing administrators turn their heads at problems.  Getting rid of a huge issue like drugs in school will require action.

5. Was the student asked to strip in front of the nurse and a female secretary only?  If so, then I don't feel that it was too invasive.  Besides, the article makes no mention of Redding vocalizing her discomfort.  When asked to strip, she complied.  Though I was not there, and don't know any details, I doubt the search party ripped her clothes off or would have if she had expressed that she didn't want to cooperate.

disclaimer: I'm not a monster.  I just feel like we're all tired of reading the same things, and there are a lot of cases to be made for the admin.

How does this affect curriculum and instruction?
I suppose it could go either way.  You could lose the trust of students in some cases, meaning there would be a constant power struggle.  But isn't there already a constant power struggle, or is that only at my school?  In the most positive cases, the knowledge that drug use at school could lead to a strip search might hinder some students for using and selling at school, meaning there might be fewer high kids in your classes and fewer bathroom trips.  Who knows?  I think schools should be places in which students feel safe.  Does that mean you eliminate the danger of drugs by any means necessary or uphold the personel freedom of students by any means necessary.  There's not an easy answer.

     I very much enjoyed the Edutopia video on authentic assessment because my ideal school would be the sort of environment that utilizes interdisciplinary learning and alternative assignments.  However, I understand the necessity of standardized testing in a time of greater accountability for public schools.  My personal opinion, though, is that if students are given meaningful and challenging assignments, test scores will take care of themselves.  In fact, based on a study, it was found that when "teachers employed more authentic intellectual instruction, students logged test-score gains on the ITBS that exceeded the national average by 20 percent. However, students who were given few authentic assignments gained much less than the national average" ( article about teaching to the test).  Though I feel like making sure our students feel comfortable with standardized tests is important, I think there's so much more we can give them.

What does assessment looks like in your classroom now?
     As of now, I use a mixture of standard assessment and authentic assessment, though most of my tests are multiple-choice per the requirement of my administration.  Since I teach reading, though, I have tried a few authentic assessments in my classroom to help students interact with the books and stories that they read.
     Unfortunately, I've had mixed results with my authentic assessments.  Usually I only had a handful of students that genuinely tried and did a good job on the projects.  Others procrastinated, spent class time devoted to working goofing off, or didn't take the rubric I gave them seriously.  The result was a poor project that they felt deserved a 100 just because they turned it in.  On the standard tests, though, my students generally did better because they took them seriously.
     There are a few things I think that contributed to this mess:

• The students are accustomed to multiple-choice tests.

• Students are taught to take standard assessment seriously.

• I did not give the students an example of the ideal finished product.

• While I became more and more specific in my instructions, breakdown of the assignments, and expectations of project class time, I feel like I need to be even more detailed with middle schoolers.  Often, they still fell short of what I wanted.

• I was not consistent with my rubric in grading.  Because so few good projects were turned in, I usually inflated grades.  I think that if I grade accurately and fairly on the first project next time, my students will have a better idea of what I expect.

Are there any roadblocks that you may encounter as your vision of assessment changes?
     I see tons of roadblocks.  Here they are:

• My kids don't know how to be quiet.
• My kids don't read on grade level.
• My kids don't appreciate books.
• My kids don't understand the value of authentic assessment.
• My kids don't work well in groups without constant supervision.
• I often don't communicate clear expectations to my students, which leads to all of the above.  Sadly, I'm usually always the root of the problem.
  

Situation 1:
A little background
You teach in a very laid back middle school, in which the principal and teachers are all quite comfortable with each other and the students.  In fact, student/teacher/administration contact is frequent and smiled upon.  The principal hugs students, the teachers hug students, the principal paddles students, the teachers paddle students, etc.  It's a hands on environment.  You are okay with this setup and give tons of side-hugs to students.

The incident
It is the day after your birthday, and you are having an ice cream party with your last period class because they won a reading competition that you set up between the classes.  While cleaning up after the delicious treats, you notice a group of your guys staring and laughing at you.  You continue wiping off desks, and before you know it, one of these guys has grabbed you and is holding you tightly against him.  While you squirm unsuccessfully to get away, another student removes his belt and starts spanking you, claiming they are giving you your birthday licks.  A few other guys help out and laugh.  These are all students with which you felt comfortable and trusted, so this situation surprises you.  The situation is handled by them playfully, so no real harm was done, but you feel like they crossed the line.  Before you can say anything serious to them, class ends and they're out the door.

The aftermath
You are conflicted about what to do, so you decide to talk to your vice principal, another woman.  She feels it is a serious situation, and you tell her that you want some action to be taken, though nothing serious.  You at least want the administration to talk with the boys and punish them in some way, but you do not want it to turn into a debacle.  Your principal walks in, and after hearing the story he laughs.  You communicate that the event made you uneasy.  He apologizes, and everyone decides that the boys will be called in the next day.  The next day, nothing happens.  In fact, a couple of weeks go by, and nothing happens.  What do you do?

Situation 2:
A little background
You teach in one of the few racially diverse schools in Mississippi Teacher Corps.  Your school is about 60% African American, 35% white, and 5% Hispanic (or something close to those numbers).  The classes are tracked in your school, and the event in question takes place in your lowest tracked class, meaning that the students are either the lowest on the academic totem pole, the behavioral totem pole, or both. 

The incident
One of your most distracting students is at it again.  He will do anything to keep class from happening.  He is talking under his breath, and for the most part you have ignored him.  Loudly enough that you can hear, though, he calls another student a "niglet".  You let it slide and pretend you don't hear it, but he keeps repeating it.  He is now saying it so loudly and so often that you can't ignore it.  Since the kids aren't really paying attention to the lesson in the first place, you take the opportunity to let everyone talk a little while doing their work so you can go chat with the students in question.  You squat down and whisper to him that you have a problem with his language toward others.  He responds with, "He don't care.  Besides, they call us crackers.  What's the difference?"  The student at which the insult was directed overhears because though you chose to whisper, your little friend decided to yell his response.  The receiver of the insult, another problem student, says, "Naw, mane, I don't care.  He IS a cracker."  They're both laughing now, and I suspect they're going to milk the situation just to get out of doing work.  You tell them that you feel those words are inappropriate, and continue with the lesson.

The aftermath
On a few occasions after this you have heard that particular student use the word "niglet" again.  He has also called an observer in your classroom a "homo" and a Hispanic student a "wetback".  You have paddled this student and written him up numerous times.  Because racial slurs are a dime a dozen at your school and for the most part not taken too seriously, you don't know what to do.  If you stop class to address the problem each time it occurs, the student wins because he gets attention and stops class.  If you paddle him each time it happens, he wins because he stops class, gets attention, and gains more of a reputation for himself.  If you write him up each time it happens, your principal will suspect you cannot handle things in your classroom and not take your write-ups seriously.  You have worked hard to keep your number of write-ups low so that he handles those you do write-up severely.  You don't want to see that precious balance fall apart.  However, if you ignore the situation, you risk offending students in your classroom, looking weak, and breeding racial tension in your school.  Plus, an offended parent might become part of the equation.  You want your students to respect each other, but this just seems like a small part of a huge underlying problem.  What do you do?

I know, shame on me for getting to the poverty blog ONE WEEK LATE, but at least I'm doing it.  It's feels strange to blog about a book I read over a month ago, but in a way it's better because I've had some very interesting Ruby experiences since reading the book and some time to mull over her ideas.

Perhaps the most endearing line in cinema.  I watched Casablanca today, and I wanted to share a little bit of the goodness.  Enjoy.

I'm a list sort of person, so here goes: