Five Feet of Feisty

The DIY Couturier: 21 Tips to Keep Your Shit Together When You're Depressed.

Thu, 18 Apr 2013 00:21:06 -0400

The DIY Couturier: 21 Tips to Keep Your Shit Together When You're Depressed.:

A while ago, I penned a fairly angry response to something circulating on the internet – the 21 Habits of Happy People. It pissed me off beyond belief, that there was an inference that if you weren’t Happy, you simply weren’t doing the right things.

I’ve had depression for as long as I can…

No Struggle, No Progress: Leading Educators Support Teacher Test Boycott

Mon, 21 Jan 2013 20:59:32 -0500

No Struggle, No Progress: Leading Educators Support Teacher Test Boycott:

brianpjones:

PRESS RELEASE

Date:

January 21, 2013

Contact:

Brian Jones, Teacher and Doctoral Student, bjones2@gc.cuny.edu

Wayne Au, Professor of Education, wayne@rethinkingschools.org

LEADING EDUCATORS SUPPORT TEACHER TEST BOYCOTT

In a public statement…

VEA's FAQ on restoration of 2012-13 furlough days

Sun, 06 Jan 2013 23:13:53 -0500

VEA's FAQ on restoration of 2012-13 furlough days

Ms. Katie's Ramblings: Make No Mistake, Corporate Ed Reform is Hurting Kids

Sat, 29 Dec 2012 12:50:21 -0500

Ms. Katie's Ramblings: Make No Mistake, Corporate Ed Reform is Hurting Kids

A gun in the hands of every teacher

Fri, 28 Dec 2012 17:26:36 -0500

I guess this is the response from the NRA that in order to prevent another mass murder of innocents in our schools, teachers should be armed.

Let’s think about this for a minute.

School districts sometimes face lawsuits for the bad decisions teachers make. After all, teachers are human. Sometimes we make mistakes and sometimes we use poor judgment.

As president of my local, there have been times where I have had to offer support and guidance for a colleague who made a mistake and used poor judgment. Despite claims to the contrary, some teachers who use poor judgment are usually good people who had a momentary lapse and did something that wasn’t very smart.

Let’s imagine for a moment that a teacher has been harassed for the better part of the school year by a student or a group of students. This teacher has turned to administration and is offered very little to no support. The teacher is told time & time again that it must be something “they” are doing and perhaps, they need better classroom management skills or they need to work on engaging students more, or they need to work on making that Geometry lesson a little more relevant.

Bottom line, the message the teacher is told over & over again, is that it must be something they are doing that is causing the student to “choose to be disruptive.” (Seriously, this is what too many teachers are hearing now a days.)

Let’s imagine that things have escalated and the student has moved to threatening the teacher with physical violence. The teacher again reaches out to administration and again is admonished to “try harder.” And, let’s imagine, that even though Ed Code specifically states that when a teacher is threatened with physical violence and is in fear that this physical violence will occur, the administration refuses to call the police or the call is made and the police refuse to take a report. (Unfortunately this routinely happens where I work.)

The teacher believes they have no where to turn. They believe that something bad is going to happen unless they do something.

Now imagine that teacher with a gun.

Best of 2012: The Five Most Extraordinary Things to Happen in Education | Education on GOOD

Fri, 28 Dec 2012 12:53:06 -0500

Best of 2012: The Five Most Extraordinary Things to Happen in Education | Education on GOOD:

by Nikhil Goyal

Taking a bullet for other peoples’ children | Persephone's Mother

Thu, 27 Dec 2012 21:41:10 -0500

Taking a bullet for other peoples’ children | Persephone's Mother:

My thoughts on the Sandy Hook shootings. Many teachers and support staff felt connected to the Sandy Hook school community. I was in the classroom teaching on that day & couldn’t help but look at my 3rd graders and think “what would I do?” I also had a strong urge to hug each one - even though none of them knew about this tragic event.

Teachers doing good (1)

Thu, 27 Dec 2012 13:16:16 -0500

Teachers doing good (1):

Madisonville teachers collect toys for 4 orphans after fatal accident

Giving Lip: I Am an American Teacher. I Love My Profession. So, I Quit.

Tue, 11 Dec 2012 12:52:21 -0500

Giving Lip: I Am an American Teacher. I Love My Profession. So, I Quit.:

tonygivinglip:

You should know about the mental and physical states, the heartsickness, the frustration, the anger, and the righteous defeat that right now so many American teachers feel.

I am a brilliant English teacher.

Here’s how you can tell, according to the bosses: my 6th grade Language Arts…

Robert Reich: Why You Shouldn't Shop at Walmart on Friday

Wed, 21 Nov 2012 13:56:54 -0500

Robert Reich: Why You Shouldn't Shop at Walmart on Friday:

robertreich:

A half century ago America’s largest private-sector employer was General Motors, whose full-time workers earned an average hourly wage of around $50, in today’s dollars, including health and pension benefits.

Today, America’s largest employer is Walmart, whose average employee earns $8.81 an…

artistsvswalmart: Art by Sarah Saldana #WalmartStrikers...

Tue, 20 Nov 2012 19:13:39 -0500

artistsvswalmart:

Art by Sarah Saldana

#WalmartStrikers #LivingWage #Walmart

explore-blog: Young Albert Einstein, 1882

Sat, 06 Oct 2012 14:26:03 -0400

explore-blog:

Young Albert Einstein, 1882

Vallejo Teachers back to school this week!

Sun, 12 Aug 2012 17:47:09 -0400

Vallejo Teachers back to school this week!:

Vallejo teachers have been working hard all summer in order to prepare for the upcoming school year.

NBI 85 - Educating Educators on Opting Out Dies (Part 3 of my RA Experience)

Mon, 09 Jul 2012 14:01:53 -0400

Right after receiving our son’s CAHSEE (California’s High School exit exam) results, which showed he passed both sections, he came home disgruntled from school one day, highly irritated. I asked him what was going on and he replied that he was tired of the focus on testing in his classes.

He complained to me that in his classes all new learning had stopped and the emphasis was clearly on test prep. This past year, he really enjoyed almost all of his classes, and was very miffed about all the focus on raising test scores.

He’s sixteen. I felt it was important to have a discussion with him on his (& our right as parents) right to opt out of standardized testing. We had a lengthy discussion, one that continued for several days as he thought it over and came to me to ask questions. Ultimately, I told him that the decision was his to take because as a soon to be young adult, I felt he was mature enough to make this decision. Regardless of which route he chose, I would have supported him.

He chose to opt out.

This discussion with my sixteen year old, led me to developing my second NBI for the NEA-RA. The only intent was for the NEA to publicize in its NEA Today magazine state laws on opt out provisions. Specifically, I believe that as educators we should have this information available to us so that if we CHOOSE to make this decision for our families, then we should know what the laws are in our state.

This NBI did not call for educators to opt out.

Here is the text of the NBI, along with the rationale, ending with my statement given before the delegates.

NBI 85: The NEA shal publicize in the NEA Today the states which have “opt out” provisions and highlight stores of educator parents or guardians who have made this decision for their families.

Rationale/Background: Many parents and guardians do not know if their state provides them the legal right to opt out of high stakes standardized tests. As more parents and guardians make this decision for their children, it is critical that they are provided with legal options for the state they live in. By highlighting where this is allowed in the U.S. and stories of educators who have made this decision (sic).

My statement: This new business item simply asks that NEA provide information through NEA Today on various state laws regarding the right to opt their children out of high stake testing. At this RA, we adopted new business item B, which in the 5th bullet point states that we, as an organization, support a parent/guardians right to opt out of standardized testing. If we support this position, then we should also provide our members with the information that will allow them to do so.

I bet there are people in this room who do not know if their state allows them opt out. If this is the case, then as an organization, we need to educate our members as to what their state allows. By having this information available, parent educators can make informed decisions on opting their children out of these high stakes, low value multiple choice tests. This new business item does not take a position on high stake tests; it simply asks for information to be provided to those who may be considering this option to help them make an informed decision for their family.

I learned a lot in this process.

First, I learned it is absolutely critical to find support from other state delegates. I also found people often have their minds made up in regards to a NBI and especially if it comes from California delegates. I also learned how critical it is to a)have someone else read your NBI before submitting it and b)listen to the arguments presented of the NBI to make your NBI more acceptable at future RA’s.

The arguments presented against this NBI clearly were off the mark. The delegates who spoke in opposition seemed to believe that this NBI was asking teachers to inform parents of their right to opt out. They also seemed to believe this NBI was, in fact, taking a position on opting out.

Both arguments are wrong.

I do believe that as educators we should not be afraid of receiving information and more importantly, becoming educated on opt out laws for our state. I don’t understand how receiving this information can be scary to anyone. It never asked the NEA to take a position on state testing and it certainly did not call for educators to whole sale opt out their kids from state testing nor call for them to have parents of students they teach, to opt out either.

Finally, while never specifically addressed in opposing arguments, this NBI (unlike my other NBI) had a price tag of $56,005. In this era of austerity budgets, I think this may have also led to its defeat. Next year, I will tighten the language on this NBI and will rewrite it in such a way as to bring the cost down to a more reasonable price tag.

Fear often keeps us from speaking out . . . (Part 2 of my RA experience)

Sun, 08 Jul 2012 13:27:00 -0400

On the last day of the NEA RA, I posted this status update on my Facebook page, “Fear often keeps us from speaking out. I have found that the more I speak out, the less I fear. Proud of myself at this RA!”

The RA can be a somewhat intimidating experience for a variety of reasons. For one, there are over 10,000 people in the room. For another, the use of Robert’s Rules for those not familiar with its intricacies can lead you to start questioning yourself. Finally, there are a lot of really smart people in that room. These factors combined can leave many feeling way more comfortable not appearing before the microphone and on the big screen.

This year was the fourth RA that I attended. When I heard President Van Roekel admonish educators not to throw Secretary of Education Arne Duncan under the bus, I became angry. My first immediate reaction was to try to develop a New Business Item (NBI) at the NCUEA conference that would have slammed the education policies of the Obama Administration. However, the one thing I’ve learned as a local leader is that more can be accomplished if you take the high road.

It also became very clear to me that any attempt to criticize President Obama or Duncan during this critical election year would have been voted down or not heard at all. It occurred to me that instead of developing a NBI listing items that we as educators don’t want in education reform, why not develop one that lists what we do want?

This was my idea for the development of NBI 20. The NBI was first developed at the NCUEA. Below is the test of the NBI, along with the rationale and then my statement as delivered at the RA:

NBI 20: NEA calls for the US President and the Department of Education, in their commitment to reform education, to embrace successful models of education, such as the Finnish model and the whole child model, which emphasizes teacher driven collaboration and professional development, and to continue to move away from models of corporate/test driven reforms.

Rationale/Background: The U.S. has used a narrow range of models for education reform. We need to examine successful models of educating students worldwide. Let’s work with the Obama Administration to build great public school for all students.

My statement: I come before you speaking as a parent first and as an educator. This past year, I opted my son out of our state standardized test. It was a decision that I wish I would have made much earlier for all three of my children. I went to fourteen different schools as a Navy brat and I never remember ever being defined by a test score. We absolutely need to “put forth the best ideas and lead our profession,” as President Van Roekel stated in his opening remarks yesterday. If we believe this to be true, then we need to start leading this dialogue and providing the Obama administration with what real education reform should look like in this country. Let’s stop reacting and start doing what is right for our kids, our students, and our profession.

This NBI failed to receive a support position from the NCUEA. However, it did not deter me from introducing it at the RA. It could have also failed at the RA due to a minor mistake on my part. A delegate from Colorado came up to me prior to this NBI being heard on the floor. He wanted to add verbiage about having a values driven curriculum. When I asked him what this was about, he stated it was simply “behavior/character based curriculum.” It really did not occur to me that this was merely subterfuge in order to get the NEA to support “Christian” values.

I had accepted this as a friendly amendment on the floor of the RA to a round of groans from my good Californian colleagues. RA delegates quickly voted down this friendly amendment. Two other amendments were added, adding “whole child,” as well as deleting a specific reference to President Obama and replacing it with “U.S. President.”

NBI 20 was adopted by the delegates at the NEA-RA 2012.

Ruffling the feathers of those who lead . . .

Sat, 07 Jul 2012 15:04:01 -0400

I use Hootsuite to post updates to both VEA’s Facebook page and our Twitter feed. Just after NEA President Van Roekel made the comment that he didn’t want anyone to throw Arne Duncan under the bus, I posted the comment on VEA’s Twitter feed & Facebook page, posting as VEA.

That evening (I think it was the same evening - it might have been the next evening), OEA’s outgoing President Betty Olson-Jones and I approached President Van Roekel to discuss our concerns with the attempt to stifle any debate about Arne Duncan.

He then mentioned my twitter post by stating something to the effect he needed to be careful about what he said in his speeches & specifically referenced the tweet from VEA.

I would rather he be more careful about not trying to stifle dissent. That’s where my feathers get ruffled.

My 2012 NEA-RA experience (Part 1)

Sat, 07 Jul 2012 14:27:33 -0400

This was my fourth NEA-RA that I attended and my third as president of my local, the Vallejo Education Association. Prior to the RA (Representative Assembly), I attended the NCUEA, which is the National Council of Urban Education Associations. This organization is group affiliated with the NEA & as the title indicates, represents members in urban school districts.

The first morning of the NCUEA, Dennis Van Roekel, President of the NEA, gave a speech on the importance of supporting President Obama in the upcoming election. I admit to be startled at his admonishment that he did not want anyone to throw Arne Duncan under the bus at the RA. This felt to me an attempt to stifle debate on the destructive education policies that have been in force since Duncan was named the head of the US Department of Education.

He also stated that when he has individual conversations with those who are the most vocal critics of Duncan, they often cite issues that occurred within the first couple of years of his tenure as Secretary of Education. The implication seemed to be that Duncan has done nothing in the past year or so to really make educators angry, therefore we should “forget” past transgressions and focus on the good that Duncan and the Obama administration has done for education professionals.

What disturbs me about this sentiment is the unwillingness to acknowledge the policies such as Race to the Top, which are NOT one year deals and will have lasting, damaging consequences to public education. Further, ask the teachers in Rhode Island the impact on their lives by a supposedly “friendly to educators” Obama administration. Sure this happened a little over two years ago, but do you think they feel good about the injustice done to them & the unwillingness of the Obama administration to even acknowledge just a bit that these educators were working in a system in which they have very little control?

Despite the admonishment from President Van Roekel, educator/members of the Oakland Education Association, displayed the sign above at the NEA RA. Many educators will most likely vote for Obama in the upcoming election. This is not because we feel good about Obama, rather many of us are not one issue voters and know the seriousness of what could happen if Romney is elected. While I have hope that IF Obama is reelected, he may reconsider some of his past policies on education reform, he has done very little to convince me of this.

In DC for NCUEA & the NEA-RA

Mon, 25 Jun 2012 16:00:54 -0400

I arrived in DC yesterday to attend the NCUEA & the RA. My plan is to do some blogging while here on the educational topics as they come up. If you’re here for the RA, let me know.

Seniority in teaching: An unproven problem

Sun, 17 Jun 2012 18:23:33 -0400

Seniority in teaching: An unproven problem

Rodney King is dead

Sun, 17 Jun 2012 16:25:27 -0400

Our second child, first son was born in March 1992. I remember being up in the middle of night nursing him watching the Los Angeles Riots and questioning the future of our country.

Rodney King should not have been beaten by the LAPD. The rage that boiled over as a result of the acquittal of the four police officers charged in the beating, I believe still exists today.

We have not moved forward in the 20 years since the LA Riots. As much as President Obama gave many of us hope when he was elected in 2008 that as a nation we were moving forward, one only needs to do a quick scan of the Internet to see that this, simply is not true.

Mr. King, I am so very sorry that you had to endure what you did at the hands of those who are sworn to protect and serve their community. I know over the years you struggled with demons which were without a doubt caused by the beating you suffered from the LAPD.

I am sorry that we, this society, did not do more for you so that you could find peace.

You did not ask for this notoriety and I hope that the peace you so clearly deserved has now been found.