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Mar
18
But, will it work?
Filed Under "At-risk" students | Leave a Comment
If you would prefer to listen to my post rather than to read it, just click on the audio link above. 
Change in secondary education is definitely in the air, and it’s about time. Last October 15, Premier Dalton McGuinty acknowledged that “In the knowledge-based economy of the 21st century, building a well- educated, highly skilled workforce is crucial to our future prosperity”.
For decades now the emphasis in secondary education has been on the academic programs for university bound kids, the highly educated but not necessarily the highly skilled workforce that is so crucial to future prosperity. We’re always hearing that there’ s a shortage of tradespeople and other highly skilled workers. We need programs that will train people to fill those jobs. Fortunately that need has been recognized , and it’s about time. The vast majority of kids don’t go to university. They go to work, to college or many drop out and don’t even graduate from high school. According to the Ontario government’s own estimate, 30% of students drop out of high school before they graduate. What a waste. of human potential. Something needs to change.
Before I continue , let me say I know school boards have vocational schools, but as far as I can tell they’ve ended up being mainly for students for whom the regular applied or academic program is not appropriate. Vocational schools have an undeservedly bad reputation. Some parents and even teachers see them as being second rate and don’t want to send their kids or students there. That hasn’t been my experience. I taught at one for five years some time ago and saw students blossom and grow because the programs were appropriate and the shops like chef’s training, restaurant training, automotive, woodworking, child care etc. engaged the kids. Some vocational schools are rebranding themselves to get away from the negative reputation they’ve had. You know, just like Kentucky Fried Chicken now calls itself KFC to try to get us to forget the fried part. Schools are into marketing in a big way now. It’s not a bad thing. It’s just a fact.
Now that the- powers- that- be have finally recognized that something needs to change, what’s been done to try to stop the high drop-out rate? I’m pleased to say a number of things have been done, for example now there are student success leaders at each school board to coordinate new programs. More teachers have been hired to work with at-risk kids. There are now also six new locally developed compulsory credit courses to provide greater choice for struggling students in Grades 9 and 10. That’s a good thing , and as a teacher of at-risk kids I’m cheering about this inititive. Also I like the fact that there’s on-line learning and extra help for struggling Grade 9 and 10 students and courses designed to prepare students for apprenticeships and an alternative secondary school diploma, one that applauds the ability to develop a skill or trade. There are even programs and that encourage students who left school to return and earn their diploma. Good. Legislation was passed so that kids have to stay in school until they’re 18 and not be able to drop out at 16. They can learn in the classroom, in apprenticeship programs or workplace training. The trick will be to match the kids with the appropriate program. It will be interesting to see how that inititive will be work. Keeping some kids in school until they’re 18 isn’t going to be easy.
So how is all this working out. ? Well, I think it’s really too soon to tell. Last semester, I taught credit recovery classes where kids who failed two core subjects the previous year were enrolled in my class, and if they worked hard could earn those two credits in the one class in one semester. This would help kids catch up- a kind of two credits for one class fast track. All kids earned at least one credit , most of them did earn two credits. That’s encouraging. The premise behind this two for one deal is that kids who fall too far behind their peers in grade nine and ten quit school, so we are aiming to have all students earn 16 credits by the time they are 16.
There are also other initiatives. More schools are looking to become magnet schools , attracting students by specializing in certain programs. In effect, they’re competing with one another for the 70% of students who stay in school to graduate while at the same time trying to provide programs that entice those 30% of students who drop out for lack of interest. I don’t think competition amongst the schools is a bad thing. These specialized programs are really small specialized schools within regular high schools. Magnet schools already exist and there are more to come. There are magnet high schools now in my board that specialized in the hospitality , in horticultural , the International Baccalureate Program and Flexography Program, just to mention a few. These specialized schools are really smaller schools within a larger school. My school is something like that. It’s a regional center for the gifted , but it could also be a magnet school for business program . The business department is top notch. Student have been winning all kinds of medals in the DECA competitions- ditto for the instrumental and vocal music programs.
I guess we’ll just have to wait until the dust settles around all these initiatives to see what’s what. Like they always say- the proof is in the pudding. Really, results are what count.
PS- The good news is that I figured out how to edit this podcast using Audacity.
The bad news is I can’t get it to load properly. There may be problems.
Mar
17
The carrot or the stick?
Filed Under "At-risk" students, Behaviour Management, The Way I See It | 6 Comments
The carrot or the stick? That’s an argument I have with myself all the time. Is it more effective to bribe people to get them to do what you want or is it more effective to threaten people to get them to do what you want? Is it more effective to get students to come to school by bribing them with courses, programs , extra-curricular activities etc. that will make them want to come to school or is it more effective to threaten to punish them if they don’t come to school?
I’ve always wondered about the practice of punishing kids by suspending them for skipping school. Suspending kids for skipping school has always seemed to me like rewarding them for skipping school. It’s giving them more of what they want- less school. Oh, I know that suspending a kid from school is supposed to get parents to pay attention and do something to kids to make them shape up, and of course not being able to come to school for entire days is hard on kids who come to school for social reasons, which many kids do. I guess that’s some type of punishment. But, I’m not convinced suspending a kid is the most effective way to get him or her to attend classes.
I want to be able to say with conviction that the carrot is better than the stick. But, I can’t because back there in my mind, always lurking, is Kohlberg and his stages of moral development. From my understanding of his theory of moral development, it seems that the carrot will work some people and the stick will work for other people. Like so many things in life, it depends.
I hate that about life. Why does it alway have to be: it depends. I can’t handle that part of life when I’m sick with a cold, like I am now. I want the answer to be what I want. What stage of life is that! It’s the terrible two stage of life. I want what I want and have great difficulty when I don’t get it- something like my two year old granddaughter. How pathetic is that!
I have come to believe that we’ll do whatever we think it takes to make us happy.
Lisa Rein’s article in washingtonpost.com makes it clear that the stick approach is alive and well. She tells us that Maryland’s law makers are taking the stick approach with kids who skip school and their parents:
The House of Delegates approved a bill that would deny driver’s licenses to students with 10 or more unexcused absences in the previous calendar year…The bill would require school districts to report each case of truancy to the Motor Vehicle Administration, and the student would have to present an attendance record to the state to get a permit… the state punishes parents who let their children skip school — criminal penalties can include as many as 10 days in jail or a fine of $50 a day
Twenty four states in the USA have tied student attendance to driving license privilege’s. Here in Ontario, we’ve done that too. If kids dropout of school before they’re 18 and have graduated, their driver’s license permits will be suspended.
Some law makers want to use even a bigger stick:
Prince George’s lawmakers this legislative session would have forced the worst offenders to wear ankle bracelets and other electronic monitoring systems. A pilot program in the county would have allowed the courts to issue these and other sanctions against truants. But a backlash against the measure from public defenders and civil liberties groups pushed the sponsors to withdraw it. Opponents argued that placing monitors on children would not stop truancy but rather criminalize it.
Thank goodness saner heads prevailed.
Why all the fuss about kids not attending school? Well, it’s more than being concerned about kids not getting a decent education. The The concern is that
Truancy does not affect just the student, Levi (Del. Gerron S. Levi) said, adding that teenagers who skip school are more likely to commit daytime crimes such as home burglaries and vandalism. “This is a way to get their attention,” she said. “The bottom line is it’s not only an issue of missed classroom time. We’ve seen a surge in stolen vehicle and vandalism when kids are out of school.”
Unfortunately that’s true. Kids sometimes do get into trouble when they skip school. I hear stories all the time about what goes on when kids skip classes. Sadly it seems that teachers not only educate kids during school hours, but we also protect the community.
I written here and here about ways to motivate students to come to school that don’t involve threats. Make them want to come to school because there’s something at school that makes them happy. What makes kids happy at school- good adult-student relationships, participating in extra curricular activities that make the classroom part of school more bearable, and more programs for the 70% of students who aren’t planning on going to university.
When all is said and done, maybe there has to be a carrot and a stick. I only know one thing for sure: There are no easy answers- at least that’s the way I see it.
Mar
13
My first podcast-the challenge, the joy
Filed Under Blogging in and out of the Classroom | 12 Comments
If you would prefer listening to this post rather than reading it, please click on the audio link above.
Well hello. Welcome to Teachers At Risk. This is my first podcast and I’m pleased to share it with you. I’ll be talking about the process I went through to get this on air. I’m going to start by quoting Ayn Rand on challenge.
Face a challenge and find joy in the capacity to meet it. ~ Ayn Rand
OK, today’s the day that I’m going to begin to face the new challenge I set myself. I’m going to post my first podcast, and I’m going to do it over two days just because I want to spread the “joy” over two days. I get impatient and frustrated when learning anything involving digital technology. It’s funny that I can be soooooooooo patient with my students but can’t be with learning new stuff on the computer. What can I say.
I’m all prepared. I now have a head set with a microphone, I’ve downloaded Audacity and the Lame MP3 encoder and started to explore Audacities capabilities. I want to thank Pennsylvania State University for Getting Started with Audacity for Windows. Its seven pages with illustrations made the whole thing easy for me. The tutorial takes tells you
- what the system requirements are
- what the microphone input requirements are
- how to download Audacity and Lame MP3
- how to configure your Microphone
- how to configure Audacity
- how to test the microphone
- how to save a Audacity project and MP# file
Thank you. Thank you. Thank you. Of course there were “tiny” challenges that made me want to scream, but I remembered reading that to get to be an expert at something it takes about 10 000 hours of practice. I tried to look on the positive side and decided to be delighted to have been able to chalk up three more hours toward the 10 000. I will be a digital expert yet.
I tried to find the source of that 10 000 hour claim for you. I thought I’d read it in Sharp Brains but when I went there I couldn’t find the reference. Then I thought maybe I’d read it in Life Coaches, couldn’t find it there either so thought it must have been in Positive Psychology Daily News. Not there either although there was lots of interesting reading that side tacked me for a while. When I googled to find a reference there were many. I wonder if it is really true that it takes 10 000 hours to become an expert at something or is that just an urban myth.-sounds impressive. Does anyone know for sure?
With Audacity and Lame on my laptop, I was almost ready. I found a tutorial to help me actually navigate my way through Audacity. It really wasn’t that difficult after all was said and done. The last bit of software I needed to make this happen was a plug for Word Press so that I could post onto my blog. I was just reading about the various plug-ins that might be suitable for the task when Lisa called me and told me she had installed Pod Post for me. That was great! So now I was ready to create my first podcast. I’ll write the script today and record the podcast tomorrow.
Now when I think of it, writing the script, the blog, and recording the podcast takes a lot of time. Who knows how long it will take to record my first podcast and what the quality will be. I’ve heard some really good quality podcasts and they set the bar high. (10 000 more hours- oh no!) Jason and Karen’s podcast is a case in point. Its own theme song, great music each broadcast, guest speakers, and shout-outs to listeners are just some of the features that make it great. Jason has been encouraging me to get into podcasting. We’ll see how it goes tomorrow.
OK, it’s day two and now and I’m back at it. It would have been nice to have a little music clip to introduce day two, but I’m getting way ahead of myself. Adding music to my podcast is a challenge for another day. I can only take so much joy in one day. Before actually opening Audacity and starting , I thought I might check to see if I could find a video tutorial just to make things a bit clearer. I’m a visual learner, and it’s easier for me if I see what I need to do. Click, click and there it was. How do they get those tutorials on line- another challenge for another day.
I guess what I’ll do is to record what I’ve written so far and the see what happens. I’m not going to edit anything yet. So what you heqar is what you get. That’s the next thing I’m going to learn to do. I hope it isn’t too painful. Think of this podcast as my rough draft and you are my peer editors. Be kind- till next time.
Stumble It!
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