Creativity and Misplaced Priorities

As I continue to read this book, I keep wondering what we can do to make the changes that are necessary to get our country moving in the right direction. In one part of the book, the authors mention the Race to Nowhere documentary. Thinking about this as well as one of the books we read last year, Doing School: How We Are Creating a Generation of Stressed-Out, Materialistic, and Miseducated Students by Denise Clark Pope , I cannot help but wonder whether or not the authors are right when they say the stressed out students in Race to Nowhere had "misplaced priorities".

In both Race to Nowhere and Doing School, students in schools throughout the United States were balancing school, extracurricular activities, a social life, and many other responsibilities in order to be "well-rounded". I remember feeling similar pressure when I was in high school and beginning the process of taking the SATs, applying to college, and trying to somehow stand out from all of the other students who were doing the exact same thing. After watching Race to Nowhere and reading Doing School as an adult, I did not feel bad for the featured students because I believe that in order to be successful, it is important to have a strong work ethic and the ability to balance your responsibilities. In my own high school experience, when I felt that the pressure was too much, the areas in which I cut back were my extracurricular activities. I always understood that academics come first and the rest is secondary.

After reading this book and thinking about creativity (which I have mentioned in many of my other posts), I am starting to rethink this a bit. I still agree that academics are important, but maybe cutting out the extracurriculars is not as advantageous as I thought it was when I was in high school. If so many jobs are now being eliminated and creativity or ingenuity is what sets an individual apart, maybe the idea of being "well-rounded" still has a lot of merit. While students can still learn critical thinking and creativity in the classroom, a lot of this learning can also happen through other programs like art, music, sports, etc. I just keep coming back to the idea that in our changing world, creativity is always going to have value. If a person is able to find his or her niche, or something that they do better than anyone else, that can set that person in a positive direction. But in order to find that, you have to look. Rather than thinking the students in Race to Nowhere should just cut out all of these extras and focus on school only, I am starting to think that it is all equally important. Maybe sending 27,000 texts a day is not, but trying different things and discovering your personal strengths and weaknesses is.

At this point, I still do not think this book has given me answers to my questions, nor has it provided ideas on how we can really improve education. On the other hand, I do think that the book is encouraging me to think differently, so maybe that's a good first step.

Part 2

I think this section is for all of us as educators to ignite some creativity and reach for big dreams.  The rest of this book so far has me depressed with all the statistics and historical recap.  I almost titled this section don't eat first...  I really liked part 2 a lot and it got me almost missing school... almost.  I keep thinking about what i will change about my speeches to classes over the course of the semester and what kinds of quotes and posters I could hang to remind me and enlighten them to the predicament we ALL are in.  As I finish part three it does seem to let us all know that young, old and in between will have to adjust to help get us back on the path to prosperity... or at least even. ugh. Debt...inflation...taxes...global warming...I'm going back a hundred pages and read about how good other countries are at math again... i can handle that.

part 3 thoughts tomorrow bath time calls.

What Would Wordsworth Do? (WWWD?)

As we all well know, summer is a great time for teachers. I actually make the salsa that goes with  dinner instead of buying it, I finish reading the books I started during the school year, I finish pesky house projects (re-did a family photo wall collage last week!), I nap if my body is telling me I'm tired, I take the dog for longer romps in the woods (saw butterflies mating the other day--wild stuff!) and make a point to see friends more often. It's civilized and it's healthy, and I think it's a shame that other professionals don't get the same downtime--it improves the quality of my one and only life on this planet!

So....this book is giving me agita. I have to be faster! Better! More creative! I should be spending my summer reinventing the teaching profession, not lounging around! Read one lousy book and blog about it? HA! Not nearly enough! The world is changing!

Oy vey. I wonder if this is an age-related/generational response? Is it because I'm on the other side of 40? I don't know why I'm seeing the idea of progress and quality of life as mutually exclusive? I will work on shifting my paradigm.

I know the authors praise the role of downtime and play in creativity and innovation, and it's not that I'm complacent--I do try to be a better teacher every year (and every day), but boy "Average is Over" was more nerve-wracking than inspiring. I will continue to try to be better at what I do, but I also want to take time to enjoy life, and think other people should, too.  This seems to be a conundrum of the future for other people like me, though, where quality of life will be an important commodity (see Daniel Pink's A Whole New Mind: Why Right-Brainers Will Rule the Future, which happens to be referenced on 145. Awesome read.).

I shared this 1806 Wordsworth poem with my students this year, and boy--did they get it. I'm reminded of it more and more often these days, and never cease to be amazed by how cyclical history really is. It's so current to me (more so because of our rampant consumerism than reasons I discussed here, but still relevant):

"THE WORLD IS TOO MUCH WITH US; LATE AND SOON"

          THE world is too much with us; late and soon,
          Getting and spending, we lay waste our powers:
          Little we see in Nature that is ours;
          We have given our hearts away, a sordid boon!
          The Sea that bares her bosom to the moon;
          The winds that will be howling at all hours,
          And are up-gathered now like sleeping flowers;
          For this, for everything, we are out of tune;
          It moves us not.--Great God! I'd rather be
          A Pagan suckled in a creed outworn;                         10
          So might I, standing on this pleasant lea,
          Have glimpses that would make me less forlorn;
          Have sight of Proteus rising from the sea;
          Or hear old Triton blow his wreathed horn.

Viewing the mind-boggling performances of teenaged Olympic athletes, I consider our students.  Their willingness (or lack of) to commit, to try, to fail, to strive in the classroom is troubling.  The British gymnast Louis Smith has a tattoo on his back that reads: "What I deserve I earn".  It's rare to hear that sentiment expressed in our halls & classrooms.
What do our students know about "learning, working, producing... twice as hard"?  Very little.  A number of our seniors can't see the value in the senior project: in which they select the focus and carry out a project of their own conception in the "real world".  How is that not a dream assignment?  
When my more optimistic side takes over, the PBS Frontline piece about the West Philly HS students who built 2 hybrid cars to compete at the highest level competes for mental space with my frustration (clearly shared by many of you!)  One obviously bright and articulate student in the auto program talked about how, prior to getting involved, she was in low performing classes.  Disengaged and cutting classes, she had become despondent about her academic prospects.  But once redirected to something that gave her purpose, she not only invested, she thrived. 
Is it possible that we're going to need to fall farther and feel it more before we Americans make the cultural changes necessary to improve education?  I agree with Kim's point that our community (& therefore our admin) would be unlikely to support teachers who truly emphasize academic rigor.  But that is precisely the kind of intellectual challenge necessary to push American students into a fighting position with other worthy minds around the world.

Green-Collar Americans and Teachers

I was struck by the section on the changes in the military and some of the parallels to our own sister bureaucracy: education. Two ideas in particular stuck out: First, "...trust is the prerequisite for creativity. You will never be creative if you think that what you have to say will be discounted......And that is why you build authority now from the bottom up and not the top down" (91).

There is a constant pressure to innovate, as the book makes amply clear, and especially in education. I think most teachers are confident in innovating on a small scale in their departments and in their own classrooms, and we do have a very positive environment for collaboration at the high school. We're very effective in finding a more impactful way of delivering a particular concept or unit, but I don't feel I could be effective in solving the "biggies" in our profession--the issues of teacher pay, teacher evaluation, higher standards for student achievement, improving the national graduation rate, etc. Some educational experts powers visit classrooms and interview teachers, but most do not so far genuinely interested in teacher input on the high-stakes questions, and definitely don't trust our advocates, PSEA and NEA, to work with them--all of their positions are automatically dismissed as political and somehow designed to protect bad teachers.

Tangentially related case in point: Do I trust that raising the bar for rigor as drastically as the chapter on education suggests (something we continually hear elsewhere that we should be doing), which would inevitably result in high rates of failure and course repetition, would be supported? To me this is the biggest obstacle to improving education: if (from the bottom, up) we were to get real about raising academic standards like everyone says we should, we would not be supported by the community, and, in turn, by our superiors (who answer to the community). We wouldn't be "trusted" that our evaluations were in the best interests of the kids. I don't think we would be praised as creative creators......and yet, everyone I talk to on the front lines agrees this is an issue.

(Allison Miller sends 27,000 texts a month and laments her Bs? Really? The Bs sound generous. Certainly not damaging enough to her psyche to inspire her to put down the phone and read......)

The second point that struck me: "The reality today is that when a general officer speaks to a captain, that general officer has almost never used any of the communications systems, intelligence assets, or weapons systems that the captain has......How does the leader retain his legitimacy in his big organization? What is the basis for his credibility" (92)?

Elsewhere on this blog I read a comment by Jon Liguori that lamented it is hard to compete for the attention of students who have access to everything. I think this relates. We have to emphasize our skills and expertise to our students. No matter how much I know about a particular subject, even in my area, a student also interested in it might know more than me (this is especially true for me in the gifted room!).  But--that student probably can't write as eloquently about it as I can (hmmm...again....let's leave out some of those gifted kids.....).

We hear it over and over again--we should be teaching critical thinking. This has been a slow shift that we must attend more to....we must expose students to complex texts, complex situations and complex problems--and then make them write (complexly?) about it. That is how we "retain our legitimacy." We  have to focus on skill-building over knowledge.

How can we come back?

I underlined the following sentence so many times that I ripped through the page: "Not everyone should win a prize no matter where he or she finishes."  I can't stand the fact that trophies are given to all participants.  It leads to a sense of entitlement when kids are given rewards and they are not truly earned.  It translates into the classroom with the issue of homework.  I don't always collect and grade homework; sometimes, I check for completion; sometimes I don't check it at all; and at other times, I don't even assign it.  However, I always find that when students complete the homework, they want something for it.  They want points or a note in Power School saying it was completed.  I don't think I would even know how to begin to explain that Homework x 2 = The American Dream!

Now, I don't think I'm as extreme as Amy Chua: Tiger Mother, but making an honest effort and giving 110% are often lost ideals.  If I told my students that "the world pays off on results, not on effort," I think the message would be lost on them.  They (meaning the sophomores that I teach) view themselves as untouchable by the "real world" because it seems so far from their present which is full of texting, Facebook, and other unnecessary stressors that these authors call "misplaced priorities."

These misplaced priorities reminded me of two other books that I read over the last school year (and I know many others involved in this blog read as well).  The first was The Price of Privilege: How Parental Pressure and Material Advantage Are Creating a Generation of Disconnected and Unhappy Kids.  The focal point being that teens from affluent or well-educated families "experience among the highest rates of depression, substance abuse, anxiety disorders, somatic complaints, and unhappiness of any other group of children in this country."  The second was Doing School:  How We Are Creating a Generation of Stressed Out, Materialistic, and Miseducated Students, which is a candid look at how students around the country "believe getting ahead requires manipulating the system, scheming, lying, and cheating."

I hope that what I am gathering from these three pieces of literature is not true....that students are entitled with misplaced priorities, suffering from any number of emotional issues, abusing drugs and alcohol, and cheating to get ahead (and they may be evaluating me?).  No wonder other countries are soaring past us.   Since the second part of our current book is And How We Can Come Back...I am ready to hear how America can climb the education ladder....

average is over

Just wondering if we still have the Entrepreneurship class? My room is the 1st floor of the H wing and don't leave it a lot - but I didn't leave my other room in the A wing either so that isn't a great excuse.  In the class kids would have ownership of their business and I would think would get more out of it.   This make me think of the TV show Shark Tank.  People pitch their business to a panel and they ask for money.  They need to convince one of them to help they out with money and contacts.  If the sharks don't think they are completely invested in the company they pass.  I think Mark Cubin, the owner of the Mavericks, is my favorite. 
Something that hit home was the fact that the three R in education at so important that we are not offering as many classes that inspire creativity.  How many classes are not running because of the lack of number of kids who want to take the class?  It is a shame. As for me I would not have taken the art or music classes but there are many kids are losing something they really love.

The concepts in "This is Our Due" have been rattling around in my head the past few days.  Americans' attitude that we are owed bigger, better, faster... without reflection, hard work, or care for consequences.  It's a kind of selective blindness that troubles me.  I see it in our students' desire to be graded on how hard they feel they worked on something (rather than quality of output or process).  I see it in the political process, when people vote against their best interests because they haven't the inclination to investigate each candidate and rely instead on campaign ads and weak journalism to tell them which candidate they'd rather have a beer with.  It has become a pervasive aspect of American culture.  I am particularly vexed when I see it in myself.  Oy.

"Whatever it is, I'm Against it"

I found this chapter about the political parties interesting because some of it is so logical, yet I have never really stopped to think about it.  It makes sense that we seem to often end up with presidential candidates that are more "extreme" in their views because of gerrymandering and because only registered members of each party can vote in primaries.  I often become frustrated with politics because I consider myself one of the "moderate voters" described in the book, and I was struck by the quote by Mike Murphy: "Our politics (today) is almost like a parasite eating at the national interest for short-term gratification."  The point about negative ads and "destroying the category" was a good one too.  Definitely a thought-provoking chapter, especially as we prepare for another election.      

I strongly disagree with the authors' suggestion that we need a third party candidate to lead us toward the promised land (or back to our gloried past?  I'm not sure which metaphor works best here...) Rather, it seems increasingly clear that presidents are not nearly as powerful as we often believe them to be (or accuse them of, depending on where you stand).  Congress has the power to move us forward or stall progress completely (and so very much of what they do is dictated by campaign financing).  Therefore a third party president is likely to be very unpopular and thwarted by congressional opposition and inaction.

Newsroom revisited

Newsroom has become my new favorite show.  Did anyone watch last week's episode?  They talked about the reported 200 million per day cost of Obama's visit to India.  How Limbaugh and Beck and Bachmann all stated that cost as a fact when it was not even close to being true.  The day after watching the episode, I read the section in the book where the authors talked about the same subject.  I think Aaron Sorkin (the creator and writer of Newsroom), must have been reading the book when he was writing the screenplays.

Neither Newsroom nor the book mentioned whether any of the people who made these claims ever apologized or withdrew their remarks.  I guess that is one of the problems with todays media, you can say pretty much whatever you want and not be held accountable for it.

If you haven't seen Newsroom, I wholeheartedly recommend it.  Particularly if you enjoyed the West Wing.

"Shocking" Solution.

I have finally finished the book and after all that reading the authors have finally stated what they believe it will take to begin the process of solving this crisis in America.  They believe that it will take a viable 3rd party candidate to run for president on a platform that addresses all these concerns.  They think that even though a 3rd party candidate has no realistic chance of winning, that they would be able to motivate the Dems and Repubs to move off their entrenched radical positions and begin a serious conversation about what needs to be done to bring America back to where it needs to be.

After all the preceding chapters of discussing the gerrymandering of districts, the untruthfulness of today's media and the movement to the far left or far right of the parties, I simply don't believe that anyone is going to even bother to run as a 3rd party candidate and if some billionaire decides to spend his money in a lost cause, then I don't think the media or the current parties are going to give him or her a chance to make their case, no matter how reasonable it might be.

I have hope for another solution.  I am hopeful that someone will be elected President who will not care about getting reelected.  We need someone who is not beholden to special interests.  Someone who can  address the American people in an intelligent, rational manner and educate us on the problems we face and the difficult steps that must be taken in order to fix the problem.  Politicians refuse to address Social Security, Medicare, or raising taxes, because they know if they do, then they will not get re-elected.

So far this blog has been very non-partisan and I am not trying to get in an argument, but I am sure that most of you realize I am talking about Obama.  I realize that he has not been a perfect President, but I think he has a chance to do good things with a 2nd term.  I would be interested to hear your comments.

The Three C's

While reading this book, especially the education sections, I am definitely feeling depressed about education in our country. The authors provide a lot of evidence to show that our country has a lot of catching up to do and that being average will not help us get there. One statistic that I found particularly unsettling was that “our college ‘survival rate’ is 17 points below the average”. After reading this, I continued to look for solutions to this problem. As high school teachers, how do we help students succeed so that they are able to “survive” college and not take remedial courses? If “about a third of first year students entering college had taken at least one remedial course in reading, writing, or math”, what can we do to prevent this from happening?

Later in the chapter, the authors introduce the idea of “the three C’s” as suggested by another author. Tom Wagner says that these three C’s, “critical thinking, effective oral and written communication, and collaboration” can help improve education in our country. While these three things are not the only answer, I think they give us an important place to start.

One of the main themes I have noticed throughout the book is that now, more than ever, creativity is key.  In order to help inspire creativity, students need to be able to think critically or “outside the box”. They also should be able to express themselves and work effectively with others. In order to surpass average and help our students add value to everything that they do, we need to develop the skills associated with “the three C’s”. While we do focus on these skills already, after reading this book I am realizing how imperative they really are. This gives me a lot to think about as I prepare for the new school year!

6 things to improve education

This had me shaking my head and saying DUH -
1. better teachers and principals
2. parents who are involved
3. politicians who raise the standards
4. neighbors who invest in the neighborhood school
5. business leaders committed to raise the standards
6. student who come to school rather than text

We all know that these things are important and I think our school and the community is started to step up to the plate.  I'm sure I am not the only one who gets many email and phone calls from parents.  If you look up in power school you can tell which parents are checking the grades their kids have in each one of their classes and it doesn't matter the level of the class - academic or cp (these are the only levels I teach - but I'm sure the honors parents are checking just as much) 


the last one was mentioned later in the chapter 6 where there is a girl who gets and sends 27,000 texts a month. - are you kidding me I think my fingers would fall off. 

the american dream

I am reading while it is once again around 100 degrees - the first thing that go my attention in this chapter was that we have not the country has not taking to the notion that for us to grow as a nation and our improve our national security is we need to start to improve our education.  Singapore's number one strategy in their economic plan is education - pretty sure this number on in our country.  The government needs to realize that one of the ways we can improve as a nation is to start realizing how important education is.  The Gates foundation is helping improve the quality of educators and Phil Mickelson and his wife have a foundation to work with elementary school teachers in math and science. But we still have a long way to go

Situational vs Sustainable

In the section titled "Jerry Maguire", the authors discuss situational values vs sustainable ones.  They say that situational values are all about exploiting short-term opportunities rather that consistently living the principles that create long-term success.  Sustainable values are all about what we should and should not do in all situations.

Did anyone else connect this with what is going on in our classrooms?  I see situational values as "teaching to the test".  When we devote a large portion of our classtime to testing, preparing for testing, etc, aren't we displaying situational values?  Whereas, when we devise a curriculum that prepares students for success in future high school courses, college or career, aren't we displaying sustainable values?  Thoughts anyone?

Such an easy solution?

The authors make it all seem so easy.  Here we are still barely recovering from a bad recession with still high unemployment, but there is so much work to be done here at home.  The government agreed to spend billions to rescue the banks, but now most of the banks are repaying their loans, how about we use some of that returned money and invest in the infrastructure improvements that the American Society of Engineers say we need to fix.  This seems like a win-win situation for everyone.  The government could create thousands of jobs, our tax money would be spent here at home and the economy would benefit.  Why is it that we are not hearing this from some of our elected officials?  Is this something that the parties would fail to agree on?

Two other points that hit home:
1.  The authors state that 49% of US Adults don't know how long it takes for the Earth to revolve around the Sun.  Be Honest!  Did anyone have to go look it up?
2.  I have often wondered just how the political system in the US has become so polarized.  I am old enough to remember when it was not this way, but I guess I just wasn't paying attention and had no idea how it got so bad.  The authors do a nice job in the section titled "the way we where" of telling how gerrymandering and the primary system has produced the disfunctional system we now have.  I found this very illuminating.  I hope they have suggestions for how to fix it!!

Do you think any of our elected officials have read this book?

Wow, this book is depressing

I just read the statistic that 47% of adult Detriot residents are functionally illiterate, and that about half of those people have a high school diploma or GED.  That is INSANE.  Also, in the same chapter, I am reading about the terrible condition of American infrastructure.  Things like bridges, dams, roads, schools, waste management are all being "graded" with C's and D's.  This is frightening now and obviously will become even scarier in the future if nothing is done.  The more I read, the more overwhelmed and helpless I am feeling.  I know this is part of the point of the book, and I know that the authors have offered some solutions so far, but I really hope they offer more because I am not really seeing the "optimism" they referred to in the opening chapters!!

"Routine Creators"

In the section of the book entitled “Up in the Air”, the authors discuss how many jobs are being replaced by technology. The jobs that are now considered safe involve creativity and require two types of workers: those who serve and those who create. One section of the chapter mentioned how even some of these jobs that appear somewhat safe, will eventually be phased out if they are routine. One line that stood out to me says, “just because you are doing a ‘nonroutine’ job—as say, a doctor, lawyer, journalist, accountant, teacher, or professor—doesn’t mean that you are safe”. Initially, when I read this, I wrote it off, thinking that the days of teachers and journalists being replaced by computers are still very far away. Unfortunately, this concept hit a lot closer to home this morning, when I read this article.

The article, “New Reporter? Call Him Al, for Algorithm” discusses how computer algorithms can now replace journalists by generating sports and business articles for local newspapers. Using a basic formula and some raw data, the computer can produce the same type of news reports and articles that were once written by journalists. The article also mentions that depending on where the article is published, citing areas such as New York and New England, the algorithm can even use a tone that is appropriate for the audience. Taking reader preference into account shows that even computers are now attempting to add that little extra; therefore crossing the line between being a “routine creator” and a “creative creator”.

After reading this, I immediately connected to the book and the idea of outsourcing “routine creators”. If journalists are being replaced by algorithms, how far are we from robots or computers taking our jobs as well? The book seems to suggest that having that “extra” and bringing creativity to your “routine” job may be one thing that can spare you from being replaced. However, if a company can find a computer that can do a job cheaper than a human being, will creativity really outweigh cost savings?

Steve Jobs, Calligraphy, and the 3 C's

I always get overwhelmed when I read things like "We have to educate people to do jobs that don't yet exist."  That task is quite daunting, and it makes me wonder if I have what it takes to be a truly effective teacher.  It really is true, though.  The world is changing so quickly that the jobs we see today can very easily be gone tomorrow.  It's scary!  But it just emphasizes the importance of teaching the 3 C's mentioned in the book--critical thinking, communication, and collaboration.  That story about Steve Jobs was really cool (I know Ed already mentioned it but it really struck me).  To me, it illustrated that even though it is important for students to see relevance in what they are learning, sometimes something that does not seem relevant now will end up influencing them later in a major way.  Fostering creativity is something I strive to do in my classroom, so I was happy to read that the "job-killer" mentioned in that chapter said that he cannot kill creative people.  A creative, critical thinker will be much more capable of adapting to whatever the future brings.

So, I read this article today.  Apparently American students think school is too easy.  Presumably they're unaware that they seriously lag behind their international peers.  As our book points out, Americans are struggling to compete in the globalized job market. 
I've commented before that we're working hard to engage, to spark, to motivate our students when perhaps we could be or should be focused on challenging them.  But the study referred to in that article makes me wonder if students know what it feels like to take up a challenge and see it through.  They're accustomed to an a la carte experience, both in entertainment and in school. 
Clearly, they won't have the skills ("combining the skills of MIT, MTV, and Madison Avenue" according to our authors) to create their own entertainment unless our society begins to see some value in the un-entertaining task of toiling away at a difficult project to completion.

To be fair, I'm pretty sure my generation was just as comfort-seeking and adversity-avoiding as the teens we teach, and we are now in the spot where self-examination is needed in order to avoid contributing to America's continued falling behind.

I was reading the section titled, "Hey, Big Spender" and a question occurred to me that I thought maybe some of you might know the answer to.

My wife and I both turned 42 this year and with 20+ years till we can retire, we have been operating on the assumption that social security and medicare will be gone by the time we retire.  Therefore she is putting as much as she can into her 401K (she works for GSK) and I have been putting money into a 403B.  After reading this section, I am more than a little scared that the PA state retirement system may be broke by the time I retire as well.

My question is, why are there no 401K's available for public sector employees.  My wife puts money into a 401K, which her company will then match up to a certain amount.  This money will serve as her retirement funds.  This is what the authors call a "defined contribution" plan.  It can never be underfunded and assuming it is invested prudently (we get to choose how it is invested) and the stock market doesn't totally tank, it will be there for us when we hit 65.

As a teacher, I am putting money into a retirement system (we have no choice in this, and essentially the money they are taking out of my paycheck today is going to pay current retirees), with the assumption that when I retire I will be guaranteed a certain amount of money per month for rest of my life.  In an ideal world, I understand that this is a better plan for me than my wife's plan, however, in the world we are living in, I can't help but worry that all that money they are taking out of my check every month will in the end not earn me anything because PA is going to go broke before I retire.

Why not just switch everyone over to the 401K option now.  I am sure they could figure out some equitable way to grandfather in people who are close to retirement age.  I would rather not be putting money into a retirement plan that is underfunded and instead be getting a company (or in this case state) match into my 403B.  I understand that forcing the state to match funds is going to cost them more now, but they would not be on the hook for my retirement so they should save money in the long run.

Summer Time and the Living is Easy. . .

. . .Just kidding, especially for teachers--who are reading and blogging!  I was in northern Michigan last week and was unable to check the blog as there was no internet. (Yes, a place without internet does exist; it is also where I got what is known as "swimmer's itch."  Has something to do with the duck poop, which the snails eat and they poop, and then look for a "host."  I became the "host."
 It is a lovely site on my arms--sort of covered with very unattractive mosquito-type bumps--that do itch. For all my science teachers out there--maybe the kids could investigate swimmers itch and how to find a cure.)

Then,  I came home and got to read all of your comments on the blog which I have thoroughly enjoyed.  I have connected to many of the same things you have in the book.  Today, I was reading about global warming, pension plans, tax cuts, spending, healthcare. . . and I am actually enjoying how the authors make connections and offer suggestions.  Based on the political culture that has started to define us more and more ---I feel scared, worried and hopeful--all at the same time.  I am old enough to remember when we weren't so divided as a nation--didn't matter if you were a Republican or a Democrat--there were problems to be solved and we could solve them.  Now, if you believe in global warming. . .chances are you are a Democrat.  I really hope we are smarter than that.   As I listen to the news (both NBC and my favorite news station--comedy central) I find myself thinking about this book.  What I like is that the authors are willing to call out Democrats on uncontrolled spending and Republicans who think that if we can just cut taxes, all will be fine.

During the week of June 24-29, I taught a group of graduate students--all teachers and all employed(!!)--from 8:30 to 4:30 each day.  I wished there had been tv cameras in the parking lot to film all of these teachers spending so much time and effort learning--so they in turn can impact our students.

Stay cool and keep reading.  Mary Ellen

What a difference a phrase makes!

I don't know about the rest of you, but much of the time, I feel that the press and large segments of the public believe that the main reason for the so called decline in our educational system is the fault of teachers.  They see teaching as an easy profession for people who couldn't cut it in the "real" world and who just want to enjoy 3 months of summer vacation.   When I started reading this book, I was prepared to hear more of the same, however, in the section "Colorado, Here We Come", the quote by Michael Johnston, a Colorado State Senator really hit home, "We are not focusing on teachers because they are the problem, it's because they are the solution."  Why don't we hear that more?  Makes me want to move to Colorado.

Respect for the Teaching Profession

According to the chapter "Homework X 2=The American Dream," in some of the world's best-performing school systems, most teachers come from the top 10% of their graduating classes, teaching is viewed as a top career choice, teaching is seen as a competitive field, and starting salaries for teachers are similar to other graduate salaries.  To me, it seems that a key difference between these cultures and ours is the way the teaching profession is regarded and the esteem held by teachers.  From the description given, it almost seems as though teachers in these high-performing countries are viewed with the same respect as doctors in the U.S.  I think that many Americans tend to view teaching as an "easy" profession to get into, and while many people acknowledge that teachers work hard, the profession is certainly not seen as prestigious in our country.  If the teaching profession held the prestige here that it holds in these other countries, I believe that the overall quality of educaton would improve; however, this seems to be a cultural difference rooted in the way each country regards the importance of education.

Help wanted

The one thing that made me think is what employees want from their workers is for them to be able to think on their own, do complex tasks, and work cooperatively.   I think this is something we need to think about in our classes. I know in physical science we make them work together in lab groups. They also must think on their own while doing the sludge test.  But still there some parts where we just want them to spit out the answers.  If the military can change the way they train the troops, I think we should also try to change as well.

Will My Children's Children Ever Visit a Gas Station?

It was creepy to read that the China Syndrome came out twelve days before the leak at Three Mile Island. Even though the movie is set in California, the line that refers to the potential destruction hits close to home: "This would render an area the size of Pennsylvania uninhabitable." I was almost 10 when the accident at TMI occurred. It is scary to imagine how different my life would have been had the accident been worse. I know oil spills are bad, but since the Fukushima disaster, I have been even more concerned about nuclear power.

The climate skeptics point to snow in October and say, "Hah, see? No global warming." But scientists know that a few weather events do not prove or disprove climate change. However, over longer periods, we can expect to see (and have seen) "The wets wetter, the snows heavier, and the dries drier, because warm air holds more water vapor and that moisture leads to heavier storms in some areas and even less rainfall in others."

I was intrigued by the following claim: "...clean energy will become the successor to information technology as the next major cutting-edge industry on which the economic fortunes of the richest countries in the world will depend." Unfortunately, we are already getting beat by China and Germany. To be sure, China is a big coal-burning country, but is still can see the future of energy production. The readers point out that if our government sets higher standards, innovation and jobs will follow. And by the way, George H. W. Bush " introduced the idea of 'cap and trade'." Natural gas is tempting (still plentiful and lots of money to be made), but we can't afford to take our eyes off the ball: cleaner, renewable technologies. It will be good for the environment and our economy.

Comment on...mayasgold Newsroom

Agreed: cable news and the internet makes it easy to exist in an echo chamber of your own views (or views you are likely to agree with). It is certainly interesting to flip back and forth between Fox and MSNBC. School must be the place for a reasoned investigation and discourse. Students have to be taught how to be critical readers and viewers, but it is a difficult task. It takes going beyond the soundbites and talking points from both sides. Teachers must try to rise above their own preconceived notions and biases. Verifying facts may take extra time and effort; however,  deciding what sources to trust for analysis may be difficult. We have to show students how to take a wide view and that the goal is not necessarily determining what network to settle on as a winner. The Left sometimes overdoes it, and sometimes the Right gets it right. Luckily, Jon Stewert is not above skewering liberals.

ignoring history

The authors stated we need to get back to basic fast but it doesn't seem that in this political environment it may be next to impossible.  Each party blames the other.
Thought this was very timely today since the jobs report came out and both Presidential candidates had to jump all over it.  Same thing happen last week when the Supreme Court upheld the health care package.  I couldn't believe what I was hearing.  It was like listening to little kids fight. 

Have you been watching Newsroom?

I was wondering if anyone else has seen the new HBO show Newsroom.  The first episode includes a tirade about what's wrong with America today - that we're not "The Greatest Country in the World" as we once were.  Much of the criticism is that the public is not well informed, morally invested, & engaged.  It's a show about journalism, but as I watched this first episode, I kept thinking of this book and our discussion.  What role does a teacher play in this larger context of moral and intellectual disengagement?  As information increasingly becomes an a-la-carte experience, in which we can select content that supports our perspectives (and mainstream journalism does little to confront our biases) perhaps it falls to public education to challenge young thinkers to formulate their own well-informed opinions.  Are we up to the task?  Is it possible for individual teachers to have this sort of impact, or are we prisoners to the larger social forces at work?  Is it naive to even suggest it?! :)

COMMENT on mbc's "4 Challenges"

Good point about companies not willing to invest. You are right: for the old companies, the money is in the old fuels; they know we will be running off of coal, oil, and natural gas for quite some time. New companies may have a good technology, but would have trouble scaling it to the point where it is profitable. It's not like starting a website. I suppose that is where private and public investment come into play. Unfortunately, Obama just got burned with the Solyndra investment. Maybe the government could redirect some subsidies/tax breaks away from the big industry giants to the new energy start-ups. Oh, yeah, start-ups don't donate millions to political campaigns. So maybe that won't work.   

4 challenges

I agree that the 4 challenges we face are adapting to globalization, adjusting the to the IT revolution, budget issues, and engery consumption.  The budget issue no matter where you are or what you do all places of employment are concerened about their botttom line. 
The issue that hits home with me, the science teacher, is the engery comsumption.  There are so many other forms of energy which can be used which would help lower need for fossil fuels, however that companies do not want to invest in looking into ways to produce since this cost money and will effect the bottom line.