Diet Pills and Overworked Teachers

A recent article in the New York Times covered the “invisible” burden of family doctors. People seem to oftentimes complain that doctors are paid quite a lot and in spite of that only really see them for a handful of minutes whenever they go in for a check-up. I think a common misconception is that doctors don’t work that much more than the time we see them, which is also a very common misconception of teachers.

The impression most adults have of the classroom is based on what they saw when they were going through school. Indeed teachers themselves are often guilty of falling back on their many years as a student and complaining about how teachers must have had it easier back then. Though I cannot speak to how much work was actually done by my own teachers, it was clearly more than what we saw of them in class. As with doctors, it seems as though what most people believe teachers do is simply stand in front of a class and deliver instruction and aside from that they might grade a few papers here and there, but life is easy once the students are gone.

Wrong and wrong. The article in the NY Times describes just how much family doctors are responsible for in addition to seeing 18 patients per day:

• 24 telephone calls
• Write 12 prescriptions
• Read 20 lab/14 consultative reports
• Review 11 x-rays
• Send 17 emails

That does seem like quite a lot- certainly more than what the average patient might expect. While I cannot say how many hours it takes to complete all of those tasks, I’m sure it’s more than the semi-mythical forty-hour American work week.

How much do teachers do behind the scenes? It might vary widely, but here are things I am responsible for outside of classroom instruction (seeing 80 “patients”, in my case) on an average day:

• Send ten emails per day
  
• 4 telephone calls to parents
• Writing out between four and ten detention slips
• Making necessary copies for the day (in spite of using computers nearly every day, back-up copies are necessary for various reasons)
• Grading 80 pieces of student work
• Lesson Planning = research on the topic to be covered the following day, creating//finalizing/uploading a PowerPoint presentation and creating a new webpage for each day’s lesson (which will hopefully turn into simply updating those pages next year)/figuring out a way to differentiate instruction for students who cannot read and write and those who can better than most of the students in our high school.
  
• One 45-minute meeting, generally centering on teacher collaboration
  
• Sweeping of my classroom in the middle of the day after its use by another teacher
• One hour of punitive duty (paperwork for detention documentation, holding detention, etc.)
• Completion of at least one form necessary to support students with IEPs, to continue receiving breakfast for the students I have early in the morning, paperwork necessary for payroll, etc.
• Meeting with one to five students during my lunch or after school hours to help them catch up or give them extra support

The program being set up for doctors is meant to pay them extra for improving preventative medicine within their practice. It’s meant to recognize that these doctors work an incredible amount to keep their patients healthy, but also that they will produce healthier citizens if they can ensure there are no ailments to treat. Personally, I think its a great idea and hopefully it will shift people's attention to healthy living rather than medical cures for ailments they probably brought upon themselves in one way or another.

I’m of the opinion that many of the issues in medicine mirror issues in education. Perhaps preventative medicine can be likened to solid teaching practices, as preventative medicine keeps you healthy and keeps you on track to stay that way, while sound educational practice keeps students on track to learn the skills they need be successful later in life (reading, writing, critical thinking, etc.). To take the analogy further, test-prep curricula might be likened to a diet pill. Both might get the results you want initially, but they generally cannot sustain a healthy way of doing things in the long term.

Like most of America, I have a lot of respect for the field of medicine. It’s one of the world’s oldest professions and is one in which the professionals have devoted their lives to helping others. In that way, and in many others, the field is like education. The best doctors and the best teachers work endless hours tirelessly to provide support to their fellow community members, hoping to provide them with what they need to be healthy and successful. Perhaps one day we'll figure out a way to pay teachers for their extra efforts in developing and maintaining solid teaching practices for students rather than simply looking at which teachers hand their students diet pills to tease results out of standardized tests.

Today's Wine: JP Azeitao Tinto. This one is under ten dollars and was a great deal. It was a bit fruity, but not a fruit bomb and was smooth all the way through. I give four stars out of five.

Lectures and Liveliness

While in the school of education, the social studies majors took enough history courses to be just two shy of an independent B.A. in history. Some courses were riveting, captivating, and some were monstrously dull. All of them were lecture-based. As these were the last history courses most of us took before becoming teachers ourselves, they greatly influenced how we approached teaching the subject in the classroom. As the saying goes, "Teachers teach as they were taught." While we came out being rather knowledgeable about history, we also came out wanting to lecture to classes having not even done much of that ourselves and not knowing a great deal about teaching otherwise. In short, I wasn't really sure what giving a lecture was or what it could be.

Last year my debates about kinesthetic and teacher-centered learning were in the trash can after two days along with everything else I'd thought about and planned for leading up to my first year- the compelling lectures, the "lab of democracy"...everything. As I was clawing my way to stable ground I had to abandon the few tools I'd brought with me for something that would deliver any instruction to my students. All of those ideas went briefly to a back burner and then into the back of a storage closet that I wouldn't even look at until weeks after the entire school year was over. I was less concerned with determining how much I was lecturing and more concerned with getting students to do a lick of work.

After student teaching I had plans when approaching my first classroom about turning it into something like a history laboratory. A place where all the space- walls, ceiling, floors- would be utilized to create as much "living history" as possible. I envisioned building walls that slid around the classroom to act as extra bulletin board space or the Berlin Wall, to divide the class into two groups when necessary to promote competition, etc. I wanted several time lines strung across the ceilings holding artifacts from each unit of study and a real graffiti wall where students could use the space to express whatever (appropriate) sociological ideas they had when we delved into the roots of American history. I'd seen pictures of the classrooms of other teachers that came out of my school of education who turned their workspace into a workshop for social studies and I wanted to create something to blow them all out of the water. History was to be anything but a series of lectures where a guy stands at the front of the room and reads from his notes.

After I stood back up at the end of last year and dusted off my rump, I got to thinking about teaching again, but with a far larger dose of reality to go on. Something I didn't see back in the school of education was that well-placed lectures are educational. Perhaps students won't retain enough of it to score high on a quiz of every detail, but to lecture effectively, to tell a story and get students to listen to an adult for more than five minutes at length, is something majestic and difficult- and it can certainly be educational. To be quite honest I can't recall much of the information presented to me in the most inspiring lectures I've attended. The point was less the specific pieces of information given and more the motivation I felt leaving the hall where I listened to someone speak. It was less about learning line-item facts and more about wanting to do something- having the very real desire to act- once I left the lecture hall. That is what a large part of education is supposed to be about- not just learning facts to spout when it's convenient and appropriate but gaining the desire to do something meaningful with your life.

At this point in my second year I'm not sure what I want to do with the idea of the lecture, but I still feel it definitely has its place in the classroom. Granted, I don't think it should be the most common mode of instructional delivery, nor even used on a very frequent basis. When students are listening at length to what you have to say where I teach (and perhaps most places), you get the feeling that the time cannot be wasted and that you damn well better utilize it to drive home a larger point about social studies and life in general.

Today's Wine: A generic red from an Asian fusion place up the street. I've been a bit dry this past week- perhaps in anticipation of a trip to Italy that begins the minute school is out this Friday.

Democracy = Conference Proposals?

Looking for a good time? Looking to improve your research and writing skills and perhaps do some traveling in the meantime? Are you interested in determining what will be taught in history classes around the country? Hi. I'm Nick James and I'm here today to tell you about my work with the National Council for the Social Studies (NCSS). I've been a card-carrying member for the past handful of years. In that time I've traveled to foreign lands (Kansas), made new friends, and had barrels of laughs.

I got my membership renewal bill in the mail today. The reason I joined this organization was not because I thought it would bring me any more knowledge than my time in the school of education, it was because my revered adviser wanted to bring me along to a conference a number of years ago and I had to be a member to go. Since that time I've attended the annual conference every year, seeing Washington D.C., San Diego, Houston, and Atlanta along the way. My approach each year has varied from "must learn and attend as many lectures as possible" to "let's present and then walk around on a real aircraft carrier and then drink a bottle of wine on the beach." At any rate, it's been a good time getting around some major cities in this country that I might not have seen otherwise. I've also been on the ticket of a proposal every year that was accepted to be presented at the conference, which of course was a major draw to go.

Last year I signed up to review the conference proposals that people submit to the organization. What this means is that I rate about thirteen proposals and send the feedback to the conference committee for final approval. I can write "definitely reject" or "definitely accept" and have considerable sway in terms of what gets in or what doesn't. It, of course, makes me feel very powerful and excited to be determining what the leading social studies organization showcases at its national conference, though I'm not incredibly sure of the exact impact I have on the field or system.

At any rate, reviewing proposals strikes me as being very active in my field. In an education system where support for social studies is waning in the shadow of falling literacy levels, the job of figuring out what should be taught in history classes may be more important than ever. As NCSS (as well as other subject-specific national organizations) does have some sway in helping states determine their content standards, taking up the torch as a member, while at times uninterested, seemingly pointless, and mundane, is something that more people should do.

Much like the democracy we live in, if you do not show up to vote you have very little say in what happens to you. Many people complain that voting has no effect anyway, but that's in large part due to the fact that so many people think it doesn't matter. I'm of the opinion that you should vote first and then work to change the system if you're displeased with it. If you do not make your voice heard in the forum that's been designed to do so and then simply complain all the time about social/educational ills, your voice oftentimes loses all its power.

My Advice: Join your content area's national organization. Stay current on what's going on in the field. Don't just complain about what's happening around you in the wide world of education, actively work to make a difference in it. Doing what you think is best in your own classroom is fine and well, but it stops at the door if you don't take your ideas into a larger context. And I don't mean the staff lounge.

Today's Wine: 2005 Cardeal Dao Colheita Seleccionada. This was a discount wine bin grab. At first I was incredibly skeptical. I thought it lacked any body and was just a dry, tart, bland red. It ended up being pretty decent. I'm not sure how it happened. Perhaps I should look into that characteristic in wines.

The SLT and other Crazy Meetings

The School Leadership Team (SLT) meets once a month to discuss major policy issues and other stuff going on in our school. Our union rep refers to this group as "the most influential body in the city" in terms of managing schools. The principal, vice principals, parent coordinator, union rep, parent rep, student rep and elected teacher reps are voting members, but anyone can come in and offer feedback.

An administrator asked me to come to this month's meeting to see if I could offer any ideas. It was pretty flattering to be asked (assuming he thought that I've had at least a couple good ideas in the past year), but I think it was a decent move politically on his part as well. This was the AP from Kansas asking me to come. We have a very similar background, especially for teachers in NYC. We both came from Kansas, went to the same university and learned to be teachers under the watchful eye of the same adviser/professor. We both chose urban education and both moved out to NYC to see what we could do for the students here. Whether that dictated the fact that we think very similarly or not, we do.

If I were an AP (and voting member of the SLT) and knew that a teacher in the building shared very similar points of view with me, I would definitely ask that teacher to come to the meetings. Ideas are received differently coming from teachers and administration, even if they are the same idea. Getting support for your ideas from the teachers is very important as it might be bolster support among other teachers rather than just sound like another idea an administrator has for the school.

At the meeting yesterday the first order of business was to pick a new secretary. The old one (my mentor from last year) is leaving this week to go on maternity leave. In order to secure a spot at the meetings and show I'm interested in contributing- not just wanting to blow a lot of hot air at my bosses- I volunteered and did the job yesterday. We'll see how it goes.

Advice for New Teachers:

Teaching is exhausting. Last year at meetings like this I felt pretty brain-dead and had very little to contribute. I also didn't feel like I knew enough about the school, the community or about education to contribute to major meetings like the SLT. The meetings I attended were generally mandatory and I usually just sat there and took in everything I could with my weakened attention span. I think that it's alright to do this (observe more than actively participate), though tossing in your two cents every once in a while is a good idea.

Additionally, don't burden yourself by joining a thousand committees. It's alright to say no to additional tasks. Everyone knows (or should know) that your first year is ridiculous and that it's unreasonable to expect a you to complete a lot of additional duties. I turned down several committees last year, as well as a couple coaching positions.

One group I found a niche in, however, was a grant writing team. The only thing that I really had to do was spit out onto paper a good amount of rhetoric that I learned in the school of ed to send to some committee somewhere else, who would then read it and consider giving us money. This grant writing team actually had a retreat (in addition to our bi-weekly meetings) where we were put up in a hotel in Midtown in order to get us away from the building and talking. Enough decent stuff was put on paper that we were awarded the grant we were shooting for ($250,000). At this time last year I was an expert in that- telling people the latest ideas in education in black in white on the page. Now I think I'm ready to start throwing in my two cents about how the school should be run.

Today's Wine: Trentatre Rosso 2007. This one is getting solid reviews as an inexpensive wine you can pick up at Trader Joe's (hopefully other places too?). It's a blend of Montepulciano, Cabernet and Merlot. Very solid, some strong tannins (I think I'm starting to figure out what that means) and very drinkable with anything.

Day 1 v. Day 1- It Gets Better

Today was the first day of school. At the end of the day I was left wondering what happened. My classes in the morning did absolutely everything I told them to do. My class in the afternoon did very nearly everything I asked- far better than almost every single class period I had last year.

Last year was a completely different story. Here are some excerpts I wrote in my journal:

I survived the first week. It was more difficult than I had ever imagined. On the first day, my second class went about as poorly as a class can... Upon entering the room, a student picked up my pile of handouts (three piles, about 60 copies apiece) and tossed them into the air. I watched in disbelief as the they floated back to the ground, the air filling with giggles from the other 37 students assigned to the class were slowly taking their seats and settling in to ignore me completely for about twenty minutes...

I asked a para(educator) at the back of the room to help take care of a student who was taking it upon himself to throw every object that was not nailed down across the room. When the para stepped away from the student he was monitoring, that student grabbed my briefcase and hurled it against the back wall of the classroom, the contents spilling all over the floor- joining my handouts.

At the end of the first day I sat in total exhaustion and disbelief, trying to make sense of what had happened and seriously wondering if six years of college, a year of successful student teaching , attendance at national conferences, hundreds of hours of what I thought was meaningful contemplation of what real education was, living and working in New York the previous summer and using every last dime I had to move to the city to teach these students specifically had let me down entirely.

The journal entry keeps going from there. To say the least, my first day was a rough one last year, as was the first week and to be quite honest, most of the year. The important thing to remember, however, was that it got better. I survived. If day one of your first year is terrible; if week one is horrific, if month one is the absolute worse, give it some time and keep putting in the effort. It will get better.

While Day 1 this year was the polar opposite to Day 1 last year, I got the picture enough last year to know that students often times put on the "Sunday Best" for the first day of school. They come in and take a good look at you to see what boundaries to start testing the following day. Just because today went well certainly doesn't mean I'll be lax tomorrow.


To the First Years and Ed Students
Here are a couple of things that helped me this year with Day 1:

1. I lined up my students before they came into the classroom. They were not allowed in before they were silent and they did not pick their seats- I had numbered the desks and then handed each students an index card with a number on it directing them to a seat. I shuffled these so that when two friends were hanging out in line they wouldn't be seated next to each other.
2. The "Do Now," or "Brain Starter" was done right on that card- no other supplies necessary- and it was writing things they knew (name, contact info, etc.)
   
3. I made it very clear how the class was to get quiet.
4. I made reading the syllabus a fill-in-the-blank activity, so they would read it and so they'd be able to handle sitting through it.
5. I was confident and made sure they knew that with things such as speaking with an even tone, wearing a suit and not reacting to a single thing they wanted me to react to.
   
6. Firmness was key. Smiling is a nice thing to do in public- not on the first day of school. No loss of temper, no stressing out and absolutely no jokes. Be cordial and polite.
   

Any questions about other reasons this went well? It would be helpful to me, as I'm still wondering myself. I'm sure there are other ways to get it to go even smoother.


Today's Wine: Goats do Roam Red 2007 from South Africa. I picked this one up at Trader Joe's a couple of weeks ago not really based on anything but the label, which is a highly-criticized way to pick a wine, but in my opinion is perfectly legitimate. It really boiled down to the fact that some adolescent vein in me thought the name was hilarious. And it was a decent drink. I had it with some really dark chocolate and could taste the "spiciness" they describe it to have.