The end of Pre-Planning: Going Loco? July 26, 2007
Posted by Daniel Dage in Curriculum, NCLB, Special Education, Teachers.comments closed
We’ve been at it all week, and it was only today that we were really and truly able to get down to some serious business of planning actual programs and lessons for the students. Why just today, you might ask? First off, there has been an endless parade of meetings that needed to be attended for various and sundry departments, committees and functions. This was a lot of it. But it was also difficult focusing on the tasks until our backs were right up against it, and we knew that the reality of tomorrow was upon us. We’re going to have the kids and we’re going to have them all day. Ready or not, they are coming.
We had an Open House this evening, so I didn’t get home until late. But like most teachers and students, the evening before opening day doesn’t bring a lot of rest and the thoughts come racing. So I put those thoughts to good use. Maybe. I’ll let you be the judge.
My syllabus is very general and very weak, so I began revising it. “Overhaul” would mildly describe what I just did. One of the things the administration saddled me with was aligning what I do everyday with the general education curriculum. That means math, science, ELA and social studies. So I first overhauled my thinking and then set it up thus:
Schedule
8:00 – 8:30 – Buses arrive and prepare for our day
8:30 – Announcements, moment of silence and pledge
8:35 – Breakfast
9:00 – Restroom & American Literature time
9:30 – Writing and communication time
10:00 – Position change for wheelchairs, Geography
10:30 – Community time, Algebra and geometry
11:00 – American History, World History & Economics (Community time continues)
11:30 – Earth science, Physical science and chemistry (community time continues)
12:15 – Lunch
1:00 – Restroom break,
1:30 – Recreation/leisure/art time
2:20 – Adaptive PE (Monday, Wednesday, Thursday)
2:30 – Restroom, changing, Biology (Tuesday, Friday)
3:00 – Snack time
3:15 – Dismissal
That was simple enough. You’ll notice I’m hitting science twice because it’s my thing and I find it easier to plan and think about it. Plus with adaptive PE, biology is still going to get a short shrift. That 1:30 – 2:30 time slot is my planning period. Pity the poor teacher who has them for that period of time…as well as the other students and teachers on that hall as my kids can get kind of loud! I am assigned a new teacher to mentor. He’s doing collaborative work but actually has experience with severe and profound students so he’s not exactly just off the street. But since he’s in a spot where I might want to be down the line I’m as interested in learning from him as anything I might have to offer. But being available is key. And now for the curriculum:
Curriculum of subjects: General Scope and Sequence
(These can change at any time as other learning opportunities arise)
American Literature Topics
August: Poetry
September: Moby Dick
October: American Folktales and Legends
November: Mark Twain
December: More poetry, rhythm, rhyme and verse
Wish list: graphic literary novels, adapted books by American authors, computer adaptations of stories and poems
Writing and communication topics - Integrated across all curriculum areas
August – Personal information, classmates, class schedule
September – Special Olympic softball, Community activities, having a conversation
October – Community activities, Fall holidays, Special Olympic Roller skating
November – Thanksgiving, table manners, ordering food
December – Christmas vocabulary, feelings and emotions, humor
Wish list: Pictures of important (to the student) people and places such as home, family, favorite activities and foods, collections of jokes and riddles.
Geography
August – Personal geography: Up, down, over, under, between, inside, outside, closer, farther
September: School geography: cafeteria, media center, gym, office, hallways, doors, steps, track, auditorium
October – Natural landforms: Hills, valleys, rivers, oceans, forests, fields
November – Community geography: roads, streets, bridges, houses, stores
December – Finding it on a map: Atlanta, Covington, Georgia, United States, Atlantic Ocean
Wish list: Personal laminated U.S. and World Maps.
Algebra and Geometry
August – Rational, positive whole integers less than 10, Integers in the environment
September – mathematical patterns, inequalities
October – Geometrical representations and 3 dimensional polygons
November – Visual analysis in recognizing representations of equal value
December – Probability and cooperative problem solving
American History, World History & Economics
August – Supply and Demand, Opportunity cost
September – Scarcity, the U.S. monetary system
October – Mesoamericans, Christopher Columbus
November – European settlement and colonial culture
December – Contemporary world cultures
Earth science, Physical science and Applied chemistry
August – Minerals and geological samples, matter, mass
September – mass, gravity, friction
October – Newton’s 3 laws of motion
November – States of matter
December – Heat transfer: convection, conduction, radiation
Wish list: unusual rock and mineral samples
Biology
August – Animal, mineral or plant
September – Roots, stems and leaves, grass, trees
October – Animals and ecosystems
November – Anatomy and physiology: digestion
December – Anatomy and physiology: Sensory systems
Some of this might make sense. Most of it might not, since we are talking about nonverbal kids with IQs in the severe and profound range. Stay tuned as I work this business out. It will be an adventure and I’m down with that since I’m going to end up doing something different one way or another. I might as well get a jump on the wave of the future, whether I teach in a different setting or teach in a different way to the same kids. This is one advantage with my population; most administrators, politicians, other teachers and community members are so clueless that I’m seen as a miracle worker regardless of what I do, for good or ill. I know it is a bit sad, but I’m also offered the opportunity to try out some newer things with a minimum of trouble. Once folks get a load of this, I’ll probably be laughed out or carried out in a straight jacket. Oh well. At least I’ll go out with a bang! The administration asked for a syllabus reflecting alignment with the regular curriculum and that’s exactly what they’re getting. The wacky thing is, is that I actually plan on trying to teach from it.
dick
More Activism plus Back To School July 20, 2007
Posted by Daniel Dage in Alternate Assessment, Ed Policy Discussion, NCLB, Paraeducators, Special Education, political activism.comments closed
I finally got an email from Senator Isakson in response to my email. Take a look:
Dear Mr. Dalton:
Thank you for contacting my office regarding No Child Left Behind. I appreciate your concerns and am glad to have the opportunity to respond.
As one of the authors of President Bush’s No Child Left Behind law, I have a vested interest in this legislation and its impact on our nation’s education system. Overall, our school systems are improving and our students are receiving more of the educational tools they need to compete in the 21st Century. I am especially pleased with the increased accountability under No Child Left Behind. That being said, I do realize that there are some areas that need revision, specifically those dealing with Adequate Yearly Progress, Special Education and non-English speaking students. As we work on reauthorization, please know that I will keep your concerns in mind as we begin to formulate ideas to improve the bill.
Thank you again for contacting me, and I hope you will not hesitate to call on me in the future if I can be of assistance to you.
Sincerely,
Johnny Isakson
United States Senator
Now go back there and read Senator Chambliss’ reply. See anything in common? See any difference between that and the reply from my congressman? There is one thing that particularly bugs and irritates me about these two republican senators. Namely, they both refer to this as President Bush’s education law. What the hell is up with that? I never heard anyone refer to IDEA 1992 as President H.W. Bush’s education act. I didn’t hear anyone referring to the ESEA 1998 law as President Clinton’s education law. And even though President Bush had little to do with actually writing this thing, those loyal to him seem to want to hang this all over him. Whatever happened to bipartisanship which was supposedly so prevalent when it was first passed?
I thank all the legislators who have responded, so far. Perhaps I should issue some letter grades to them based on their responses. Ranking them, my congressman gets the highest mark, Isakson gets a distantly lower mark and Chambliss lags further behind for not even addressing any of my concerns at all. At least Senator Isakson conceded that some changes would be in the works albeit in a more generic fashion.
Moving on….
Today was our first day back at work. Yep, it’s that time and the rest of you teachers can think about when it’s your turn. Our principal welcomed everyone back and then announced that the final results were that we made AYP. Good news, right? Yes, but I’m thinking we might have made it illegally. More on that later after I think about it and check with some other folks specifically about the alternate assessment.
Fully one third of our faculty is brand new. That means that many of those folks that helped us make AYP are no longer present on the team. A lot of those folks were first string teachers. The special education department experienced a rather large turnover, as it always does, with close to half those people who were here last year not returning. Most of the replacements are not first stringers, but folks walking in off the street who have never taught before.
dick
A Teacher Supply Problem July 18, 2007
Posted by Daniel Dage in Alternate Assessment, Behavior disorders, Ed Policy Discussion, Future Teachers, Learning Disabilities, NCLB, Paraeducators, Regular Ed, Special Education, Teachers, political activism.comments closed
I like to try to recruit smart people into the Special education business as much as anyone else. We need more people, and we need smart people. At the same time, I’m a strong advocate of doing whatever I can to support teachers who are already in the business. This business with NCLB and alternate assessments has made that task a lot more difficult and has taken quite a lot of the heart out of any efforts I might make. It’s very difficult talking about bringing in new talent into a business that I’m not sure that I want to stay in.
That last sentence was a tough one to write.
Special education is a VERY tough business, no doubt. The attrition rate 3 years ago when I last saw the figures was a 50% turn-around within 5 years. Less than 3 years in some areas such as teaching those with emotional behavior disorders and those serving children with severe disabilities. And NCLB has probably increased those figures considerably. At this point, school districts are happy with any warm body, let alone someone who is reasonably competent and experienced.
For your reading pleasure, I direct you to an article from the boston.com news about New Hampshire trying to alleviate its shortage of special education teachers. Early on it is noted that no one had registered for the special education program at the University of New Hampshire for the last two years! No one. Not even one. There’s a bit of a problem here, isn’t there? NH’s solution is to offer reduced or free tuition for those enrolling in the UNH special education program funded by a federal grant. They are hoping to attract 20 new students this year and 20 more next year. So far they’ve accepted 6 applicants with 6 more saying that they plan on enrolling this fall. I wonder if they will make their goal.
Even if they do, there are some problems. First and foremost, this is like sticking a finger in the proverbial dike. With the attrition rate running as high as it is, 20 new teachers will not even come close to addressing New Hampshire’s needs.
Secondly, even with 50% off or free tuition, they are having trouble meeting their goal. Finally, with the “warm body” mentality running amok, there’s little controls or measures to make sure that the applicants they DO get are going to be competent enough to do the job. There may be unseen checks that were not written about in the article, but that is a substantial issue nation wide.
So what do I think should be done to ease the supply problem?
1. Untangle the mess that is the teacher supply-line. There are a myriad of ways a person can become a certified teacher, but state departments all too often put up silly road blocks such as the lack of reciprocity between states or requiring teachers take a course on their state history before giving them a certificate. Many of these hoops have nothing to do with teacher competence. Also, they are not always clear. People call the state DOE and get conflicting answers as to what they have to do to get certified.
2. Concentrate efforts at retention. I witnessed my own administration seemingly bent on running off teachers who were doing a decent job. Instead of offering more training and mentoring, they simply try to run off teachers who make mistakes. Okay, I’m against incompetence as much as anyone, but reasonable attempts should be made to train the people already warming those spots before cutting them loose.
3. Differential pay. Oh boy. This is a touchy issue, but right now there is a very steady migration of teachers out of special education and into other subject areas. Once a special education teacher gets highly qualified in a core subject, they say “Screw this!” and simply move over into a regular classroom. In contrast, the migration from regular education to special education is practically zero. Differential pay would help balance this migration problem as well as help with recruitment. Oh, and this pay differential should include para educators as well. It’s getting harder and harder to staff those positions as the requirements go up but the pay does not.
4. Produce a special pipeline that will help para educators get certified. This is where the grant money NH got could have been better spent. Paras often have years of experience already in the classroom with these students. They already know many of the ropes. They are already there and if they are willing, they’ll have a better idea of what they are in for than those walking in off the street. In fact, paras should be allowed to turn their para positions into paid internships for student teaching. With the current state of para pay, they are not likely able to afford the cost of higher education. Give these folks a helping hand and grow your own supply of competent experienced teachers.
5. Include in the supply pipeline an avenue for advancement to administrative positions. Administrative support is one of the single biggest issues in the retention of special educators. And more and more we find ourselves working under supervisors who are pretty clueless as what special education entails. This has such a direct bearing on competence and could help prevent many due process hearings. Time and again I have been in IEP meeting where the administrator who was acting as LEA knew little or nothing about IEP’s and special education law and then they said something absolutely stupid that pissed a parent off.
I think that’s a decent start. Any other ideas?
dick
I Don’t Think He’s Paying any Attention July 12, 2007
Posted by Daniel Dage in Alternate Assessment, Ed Policy Discussion, NCLB, political activism.comments closed
I had no idea that I would have so much to say over the summer! I’m still on vacation but my mind is shifting back towards school more and more. I had a couple days of workshops this week and stopped by the classroom for a few minutes. They’ve re-imaged one of the computers, waxed the floor and otherwise left a mess.
We teachers start back in one week. I know, a lot of you just got out! It’s okay not to read blogs while on vacation but it’s nice to write when I have time to think.
I’ve heard from one representative and one senator. My representative was very nice, personal and empathized with my plight. He actually read what I wrote and replied. I sense that he still thinks NCLB is a good idea but sees the need for revision and changes especially in my area of severe disabilities. I will be crossing my usual party line to vote for him.
Saxby Chambliss replied as well. While it was nice of him to do so, considering he’s going to be in for a tough re-election race, his reply was not supportive. In fact, I doubt he (or his staffer) read beyond the subject line. What I got was a canned reply stating his commitment and support for “President Bush’s Education reforms.”
Egad.
My Letter:
Dear Senator Chambliss,
I am writing to you regarding the reauthorization of the No Child Left Behind (NCLB) Act. I am a teacher who teaches students with severe and profound disabilities. I am also a parent of two young children who have mild disabilities on the autistic spectrum.
NCLB is destroying education for children in Georgia and across the nation. The over-emphasis on testing has been a costly exercise that is causing the neglect of both gifted and those with severe disabilities through most resources being channeled towards those who are just below the passing mark in the core subjects.
Personally, I feel like a criminal when having my students with profound disabilities go through the new alternate assessment. Why on earth would anyone demand and expect that an 18 year old with an I.Q. of 7 go through an assessment of American Literature, American History, Algebra, Geometry and Biology or Physical Science? Why are students who can not speak, can not feed themselves or who wear diapers forced to prove performance to grade-level standards? It is not fair to these students and does a disservice to those who do get a regular diploma. What kind of world class educational system shows equal proficiency between someone with and I.Q. of 7 and someone with an I.Q. of 107?
All around the state and nation, teachers such as me are required to demonstrate in some way that these students have some sort of basic grade-level proficiency in the core subjects. These are students whose mental functioning is measured in months not years!
Please help restore some sanity by either scrapping the current law or reforming it in such a way that it might better serve the students that I teach. Our students, their parents and their teachers are in dire need of your help.
I would be happy to answer any questions you may have regarding students with significant disabilities and the impact of these NCLB-mandated assessments on teaching and learning in our schools.
Thank you for your time and attention.
Sincerely,
Dick Dalton
His Reply:
Dear Mr. Dalton :
Thank you for contacting me regarding your concerns about P.L. 107-110, the “No Child Left Behind Act (NCLB) of 2001.” It is good to hear from you.
President Bush’s landmark education bill, NCLB, set high standards for public education and educators. This bill is set to expire at the end of fiscal year 2007 and must be reauthorized by Congress. It is imperative that every child in Georgia ’s public school system learns to read to their maximum potential. This is one of my top priorities because reading is the foundation to our children’s academic success and the gateway to knowledge. We need increased accountability for students and teachers, improved results for students with disabilities, increased safety in schools and classrooms, and more parental involvement. Meeting these goals will go a long way in improving the quality of education for all of Georgia ’s children.
While there have been some concerns with this legislation, I am committed to continuing to implement high standards for our students. Over the last few years, I have met with teachers, principals, and administrators all over the state to discuss the successes and failures of this legislation. I look forward to working with both educators of Georgia and my colleagues in Congress to make positive and necessary changes and improve our education system through the reauthorization of NCLB.
As the husband and father of public school teachers, please know I am committed to improving public education and making sure our children and grandchildren get the best education experience possible. If I may ever be of assistance in the future, please do not hesitate to let me know.
Now tell me: Did the good senator address my letter at all? My congressman actually typed and wrote his response using snail mail despite my using the web to submit my letter. I thought that was pretty nice. My senators each have snail mail letters on the way with identical text. We’ll see if there is any response and anything deviating from the party line.
Fact is, I don’t think the republicans are listening, or at least the two senators from Georgia aren’t. They both got “boo’ed” at a republican fundraiser when they tried to defend GW’s immigration policy and I think they would get a similar chilly response from voters on NCLB. The more people know about this thing, the less they like it.
dick
[Update: I managed to OCR scan the letter from my representative. Can you see the difference in style and tone here?:
Dear Mr. Dalton:
I couldn’t agree more that the NCLB Act (NCLB) needs wholesale change with regard to children who have severe development disabilities. You described the problem quite well. And you are not the first to highlight this issue.
I don’t serve on the House Education and the Workforce Committee, where NCLB reform legislation will be drafted. I have also been told that NCLB is not expected to be reauthorized until later this year. I know Members of that Committee are sensitive to the issues you raise. I will wait to see the final version of the bill drafted by the Committee before making up my mind, and I will keep your thoughts in mind when making a decision.
Please let me know if I can help in any other way.
Very truly yours,
Jim
Real Accountability July 9, 2007
Posted by Daniel Dage in Alternate Assessment, Ed Policy Discussion, NCLB, Special Education, political activism.comments closed
I just got a letter from my representative in the U.S. Congress, and I have to say I’m impressed to get such a personal response in such a timely manner. He’s in a district where he won by the skin of his teeth last election, so he knows every vote counts. Several of you live in such districts, so you too can write them!
He was very sympathetic and said that he had gotten other comments and letters regarding NCLB and those with severe disabilities. Voices are being heard. However, he is not on the House Education and Workforce Committee but knows they are sensitive to the issue of NCLB needing some work in this area. However it will not happen until later in the year, which means we are all stuck with it for awhile.
I also wrote to my two state senators, Saxby Chambliss (who is up for re-election) and Johnny Isakson who is not up until 20010. Unfortunately, Isakson is the one who needs the most heat, because he is actually one of the folks GW Bush tapped to help write and pass this abomination. And he a member of the appropriate committee in the senate.
Folks, the time to really make a stand is right now. I’ve never been much of a political participant, other than voting, but this has certainly made an activist out of me. I have no problems writing a check to someone who articulates well on this issue, and this is irregardless of party lines.
It’s somewhat encouraging to get some positive feedback, which just further eggs me on and energizes me. I’ll go ahead and send Mr. Chambliss and Mr. Isakson another copy of my letter through snail mail as that may prove more persuasive than the webmail version.
Adresses:
Saxby Chabliss
District Address
100 Galleria Parkway, Suite 1340
Atlanta, GA 30339
Phone: 770-763-9090
Fax: 770-226-8633
Johny Isakson
District Address
One Overton Park 3625 Cumberland Boulevard,
Suite 970
Atlanta, GA 30339
Phone: 770-661-0999
Fax: 770-661-0768
dick
Sickening July 4, 2007
Posted by Daniel Dage in Alternate Assessment, Ed Policy Discussion, NCLB, Special Education, Teachers.comments closed
I am waging war against NCLB. I have written my representatives and encourage you all to do the same. Don’t know who they are? Find out!
In a comment posted to the entry below this one:
I got the results of my students’ GAA portfolios and I was extremely upset. Overall my students did very well…actually that should be reworded to say that “I did very well”. With all of the hours and hours of work that I put into those portfolios and with all of the sweat and tears, I was devastated to find out that one of my students failed in the area of math and another one failed in the area of English/Language Arts. I almost cried when I got the news. It was reported to me that the one who failed the math portion did so by only one point. The student who failed the ELA portion did so because of some error on my part. I know this because it received an NA which means it was not scored. I had six third graders who were taught the same standards and did pretty much the same activities which were documented in the same way, but one of them was not scored because of some stupid typo! I have so many problems with the GAA but the problem I have now is “not knowing”. I don’t know why these two students failed in these areas. I will NEVER know! I won’t get the portfolios back so I can’t see what I did wrong. As their teacher, how can I learn from my mistakes if I don’t even know what the mistakes are? I NEED CLOSURE!
I’m sorry my anonymous friend, but that is not going to happen for several reasons. First of all, we all know how subjective the process is. There are many, many ways to fail the GAA and NONE of those failures have anything to do with student achievement. Not even one. How the hell do you assign any validity to a 3rd grade assessment when a student’s functioning is measured in months and not years?!? Try giving a 3rd grade assessment to an 18 month-old and tell me such a score is valid! But this is the nature of NCLB beast.
Secondly, the state is well aware that this entire process is an embarrassment. I’ve told folks in Atlanta that myself. I continue to remind them of it. They certainly do not want teachers and administrators pouring over these things and analyzing the results because THERE IS NOTHING USEFUL TO LEARN FROM THEM! These things do NOT inform instruction like any other assessment should do. They are merely one more time-consuming project designed to meet the letter of the law. This only spotlights how stupid the law is in the first place. The only thing more stupid than the law is how it is being implemented. Assessment should inform instruction. If any of you clowns in Atlanta are reading this, please explain to me how the GAA can possibly contribute to improving instruction when specific results are unavailable to teachers? Or better; how can these results inform instruction even IF results are made available? Does the portfolio tell us where the student is presently functioning? Does it inform us as to the specific cognitive weaknesses? Where is any of this in the scoring rubric?
Finally, you will not get closure because closure is not on the list of priorities according to NCLB. No one cares how many teachers are left behind, just like they don’t care how many of our kids get left behind in the process. This is a process that is all about the damned statistics. It is not about people, it is about politics. It is not about education, it is about appeasing some ill-informed constituency who is determined to destroy public education no matter what the body count is in the process. Teachers have always been at the bottom of the priority list in the education debate. I’m not against taking a test to prove my proficiency in a given content area, and I’m going to do just that. But the alternate assessment circus is too much.
This is why I’m taking the science test in one month (I did get the subject changed over from biology to the subject of science for which I’m better suited) because if I’m going to play this silly game, I want to play on the real field with the real players where my scores will really count. The field of severe disabilities is important to the students, their teachers and their parents, but not to the greater education community, despite whatever they say to us in the hall ways.
The real story of this will play out between teachers and their administrators. If your administrator is supportive, you’ll know it. I know how much work so many of you put into this crap because I was doing it too. Only I was probably under less of a load than many, many of you. I just complained real loud! You deserve a pat on the back just for surviving the experience. Now you’ll have to survive the fall-out because obviously a certain percentage of you will have failing marks on your portfolios. And due to the nature of NCLB, one failure sinks the whole boat. One typo and the whole portfolio goes to the s#!t heap. My fate was already predetermined with that nice little letter in my file.
This is why special education teachers everywhere have either cashed out of the severe business, or are preparing to make moves similar to mine. I hate to do it, but I have my own family to feed, you know? But I’m going to fight it as much as possible on all levels as long as this thing keeps vexing all of us.
dick
