2-22-08 - The Quest for the Best

The simple things in life are the things that seem to be the most satisfying.  On my weekly drudgery to the grocery store, I found a treasure… Cherry Chocolate Diet Dr. Pepper. (Trademark Dr. Pepper Co)  Now before I begin to sound like a soft drink advertisement let me explain.  I hate going to the grocery store because we have taken something simple, like food and made it so complicated.  I yearn to be a child again and walk in my grandfathers (both of them) gardens.  All you had to do is pick it and eat it… well Mom made me wash it first!  Why do we need an entire aisle of sugary breakfast cereals?  Using cola as an example, when I was a kid you could get any sort of fizzy drink you wanted for fewer-than six letters (well one of them had a prefix)!  Today you have Diet, Caffeine Free, Vanilla, Chocolate, Cherry anything you want.  Seems even grocery companies are in a quest for the best!

 

 

Public schools are not immune to this disorder.  Now that we measure demographic data, discipline data, testing data (both the summative and formative varieties), lest I forget sporting events and extra-curricular band and choir competitions… I could go on and on.  How many times have you passed a car with a bumper sticker, “My child is a honor student at Know-It-All Elementary School?”  We want to be the best… and we want our children to be the best.  I know parents who spend all their free time on the road running their children to every sporting/musical/community organization available.  Long past is the era of family discussions and quite mediation.   Even the Bible mentions running the good race, somehow I feel that the Apostle Paul was referring to the “journey” and not the finish line.

 

Royal is no exception.  Our teachers have set aside Thursday mornings to pour over all sorts of data to see where the kids mastered the standards, and where they have missed the mark.  As we move education into the realm of science it is the job of school administration to focus this effort and stay on the “quest for the best.”  To me, this means focusing 3000 teenagers on the importance of state standardized testing.  Now I know we are in the same boat as every other school in America, we must achieve 100% proficiency by 2013!    Being trained in Texas the birthplace of NCLB, I can not recall a single reference to every school must be 100% in ten years.  I am unsure what happened between Austin and Washington DC, but now a whole bunch of us are now sweating bullets every year when new API scores are released.

 

Now that I have dissected our schools data in every possible way, I came to the conclusion that we needed Testing Centers.   In these Testing Centers we would show videos to help students understand “how” to take tests… we would give them copies of their scores from the last two years so they could set goals for this year and discuss the general importance of testing… I was on a quest for the best!  Of course things never go the way you intend…

 

Our diligent video production teacher had double checked and made sure that she had all classrooms prepared for the reading comprehension video, however, we didn’t count on the sub that called at the last minute asking where the TV was located?  Now this was indeed a problem, being that you actually need a television to view the video.  I scratched my head and asked the question why didn’t that teacher ask me the same question the day before?  I sent a campus supervisor on a "quest" to actually find the TV.  Shortly after the dreaded call came that it was no where to be found.  Seeing that I only a few minutes before viewing, I did what all good administrators do, I punted!  I called our dynamo Web Design teacher and requested the Campus Sup to escort the sub and kids to his classroom to watch the video.  Despite the phone calls with questions that I had previously answered in the staff meeting all went well.

 

If the devil is truly in the details, now I know why I am not a detail person!  Thank heavens for Debbie, who constantly yanks me back down to reality when I go on one of my “vision quests.”  Striving for the best is one thing, mobilizing 3000 teenagers and 100 plus staff members is quite another. 

 

The moral of this story... we should all teach our children (ourselves) to do our best… however we should also understand that perfection is simply not an option.

2-20-08 - Bloggable Moments

I frequently giggle with friends about my “bloggable moments.”  To my delight some of the people I have shared my “bloggable moments” with are now bloggers themselves.  Everyday life presents itself with such insanity that sometimes it helps to just step back and look at the day’s little adventures with humor. I think this act of “thinking about thinking” was coined as “metacognition.”  Now that sounds impressive for a bunch of nonsense doesn’t it?

 

Take today for instance.  I woke up… ok I don’t “think” I ever went to sleep… have you ever tried to sleep with a cone-head dog?  My poor little pooch, Punkin Pie, had surgery yesterday and it was almost more than I could handle.  It would have been ok if the vet wanted to cut on me, but the mere “thought” of him cutting on her perfect little pink belly was simply tearing me up inside.  As requested, Debbie kept me extremely busy because I knew that I would “think” too much and worry excessively.   I picked Punky up yesterday afternoon to find my twelve - pound pup with a big honkin cone around her head.  You see, I raised a “licker” and that contraption was the only way we could keep her from removing her stitches.

 

When I got Punkin home, she just sat there staring into space, I’m sure “thinking” how am I suppose to eat, drink or poop with this huge cone around my neck?  When she stood up, she ran into walls and tipped over.  At one point I heard this awful noise only to find her attempting to go through the doggy door.  She reminded me of a battery-operated toy that had been stopped by a solid structure.  She kept trying again and again to get through that little hole in the door, but that awful cone was preventing her from arriving at her desired destination (aka the back yard.)

 

                                                  

 

 

I began to ponder this… too many teenagers (and adults)  are walking through life with cones on their heads!  Folks are bumping into this or that hoping to stumble into their desired destination.  Take for example, Susana, today she was a perfect picture of what Saturday Night Live termed as a “Cone Head.”  

 

 

After lunch I was tipped that a couple girls had taken pills in choir.   Yeah I know, choir class isn’t usually where you find the dopers!  I located the first girl who walked into my office dazed and confused.  There was no question she was under the influence.  Soon after, we brought the source of this confusion to join her.  While searching her handbag, we found a pharmacy in a tote! (See photo)                   

 

 

By the time I finished with the first girl, she was already sobbing profusely.  She cried out, you all think I’m terrible, that I am a drug dealer!  Well… if it looks like a duck!  She went on to remind me that I had met with her and her father about an attendance issue and she was finally getting back on track.  OK… major derailment! 

 

 

Susana spun a wild tale about finding all the meds in her little sister’s room and had removed them to keep her out of trouble.  When questioned as to why she didn’t give the pills to her parents, she said her parents were not available.  When her father arrived, this was found to be a lie.  I also asked her why it was ok to share these pills with a friend if she was concerned about people getting hurt. 

 

 

This poor child was wandering around life with an invisible cone around her head.  It was as if she knew what she was supposed to do, but some invisible source was preventing her from doing the right thing. 

 

 

It amazes me how some people find it so difficult to take responsibility for their actions.  They find their lives spinning out of control, but they seem helpless in correcting their course.  This particular case is a no brainer, it resulted in a five day suspension pending an expulsion hearing as well as an arrest by the police.

 

The whole scenario reminded me of poor little Punkin’s plight.  Not until I physically picked her up and carried her outside could she get back on track and take care of her business.  The same with this kid… now some over worked probation officer will have to physically point her to direction that willhopefully keep her out of trouble. 

 

My advice… all of us should take a hard look at our lives.  What exactly is it thatis preventing a clear vision of the path we need to walk?  Maybe we all need to re-evaluate, stop being victims of life’s cones and use them for their intended use… ICE CREAM!!!

 

                        

                             

 

2-14-08 – Happy Singles Awareness Day!

Valentines Day, the sweetest day of the year.  Suddenly the front office smells like a florist or a funeral parlor depending on ones perspective!  Love is in the air, couples smooching around every corner… kinda makes you want to gag!!  I look forward to this day as much as I do Groundhog Day being that I am single and unattached myself.  However today I received the best Valentine’s present of all… Diego checked out of Royal!! 

 

 

After my one more strike you're out speech  this week, he couldn’t help himself but to cuss out his PE teacher the very day he returned from suspension.  And… although his mother was a bit reluctant to move him to our continuation school "with all the bad kids,"  we eventually convinced her that he had slim or no chance to graduate from Royal.  We also added he would headed toward an expulsion hearing soon if he remained.   They finally agreed they would check out the continuation school OR send him back “over the hill” (aka Los Angeles) to his sister where he came from in the first place.   Somehow with this news, the cloud lifted from above the office and the day just got sweeter… the smell of fresh cut roses filled the air and all was good in the land!

 

I managed to dodge the Senior Hug Day activities by burying myself in a mound of testing data.  After counting my fingers AND toes I managed to find a positive trend for once.   Today's data digging revealed a 5% increase in the number of students who improved their scores from the previous year.  

 

Last year we began giving incentives or “rewards” for students who improved their STAR scores.   Names of students who had improved from the previous year were put in a hopper for a drawing for gift cards.  Students with the largest gain in each grade were treated to a limo lunch with afriend of their choice.  Now this may sound like bribery to you, but attempting to convince teenagers to take a state-mandated exam seriously with no ties to grades or graduation is an uphill battle.  Of course this exam will ultimately determine whether a school is taken over by the state (PI status) or eventually lose its accreditation.  This however, has no relevance to the average 15 year old.   But… a $50 gifts certificate to Best Buy, now that is a different story.

 

When we were discussing this year’s awards, we launched into a debate about intrinsic vs. extrinsic motivation.   Now being a former psychology teacher, I have never been an advocate for handing out candy bars for A’s on math exams.  I understand that once that Snicker bar (aka stimulus) is removed Pavlov's dogs will stop drooling.  However, in a desperate attempt to convince kids to see the relevance of this exam, we resorted simple bribes. 

 

So what’s up with this generation?  Doing well for the self-gratification no longer seems to work.  We have “conditioned” these children since birth that if they are going to invest their time and energy there should be some reward at the end.  I don’t know the answer to this one.  I do know we are attempting to steer our ship into new waters so that every teacher and student has “ownership” of the school as well as a vested interest in its success.  This process won’t happen overnight… until then bring on the gift cards!

2-12-08 -- Mama Said There Would Be Days Like This!

I was driving to work today when  I was startled by a lightening bolt on a bicycle.  I slammed on my brakes and looked up to see Derek who had just “jay walked” his bike through school traffic.  Luckily, I had good brakes. 

 

At 7:35 am, I walked into school still shaken by the incident, only to be met by a teacher,  “What did Terrance” do now?    I put down my bags and explained that his son, Terrance, had been involved in a theft ring at the Winter Formal the previous weekend.  It seems Terrance and a group of his friends grabbed purses and wallets threw most of them in the toilet in the men’s restroom after stealing cell phones, cameras and cash.  No sooner did I get this out of my mouth before a secretary rushed into my office and said, “Mr. Dody is here and the last time he “dropped by” he became so volatile we had to get the SRO (police officer stationed at school) to escort him off the premises.” 

 

I quickly excused myself and greeted Mr. Dody while escorting him to my office out of public view.  This time Mr. Dody was upset because he heard a rumor that his son was going be stabbed by the friends of a young man that he got into a fight with last week.  Now despite all his own references to those “Mexicans,” Mr. Dody assured us that his son was not a racist and he couldn’t understand why these kids were after him.   You see, this incident began with his son calling the other student “a beaner,” and that was just the beginning of nasty racial slurs shouted from both parties.  

 

Now remember, I work in a good district, in one of the safest cities in America.  If this is happening here…

 

I assured Mr. Dody that the school was doing everything possible to ensure the safety of his son, despite the fact that he had caused all the ruckus to begin with.  I explained that we had been extinguishing the rumor mill since the fight and we would continue to escort his son on/off campus.  He left happy.

 

No sooner did Mr. Dody walk out, than Diego walked in from his suspension from the fight.  You probably remember Diego, we attempted to connect him with the Marines, only to have him come back even more vile than before.  I explained to Diego that this was his “last chance” the next suspension we would recommend expulsion from all district schools.  He claimed his innocence, and our SRO gently reminded him that if he or his friends did anything in the name of a group (aka gang) she would charge them with a felony and personally drive them to “the hall.”  We changed his schedule to avoid conflicts with Mr. Dody’s son and I had him escorted to class.

 

Then, I was met at the door by Debbie, who came to tell me that Juan and his mother were waiting for me.  Did I mention I hadn’t gotten my morning coffee yet?  Juan had also been suspended for the fight.  It broke my heart to tell this mother that her “perfect son” had not only been ditching class, but was also sent to the office for chanting “brown pride” in his special education classroom.  

 

Juan and his mother signed my contract and as I was giving her a big hug and wiping her tears, I was greeted at the door by a campus supervisor.  She was one of our newest campus supervisors but she was forced to resign due to personal issues.  Now we would be forced to go through the hiring process yet again to replace her.  I gave more hugs and wiped her tears and sent her on her way. 

 

I peeked out of the door to see if it was now safe to get that coffee I now needed more than ever!

 

It was now only 9:00 am!  

 

No sooner than I returned to my office from a Tardy Sweep, ensuring our students was making the best use of my tax dollars, than I was notified that SVPD had called.  Apparently Mr. Dody’s good friend had stopped by the police station to complain that his friend was going to get stabbed.  I explained that our SRO and I had met with Mr. Dody himself and he left happy. 

 

By then it was lunchtime.  I have first lunch duty so I did my usual patrol of the perimeter in the golf cart to ensure it was “All Quiet on the Western Front.”   I was pleased to find the children happy and calming eating their lunches.  Most seasoned school administrators can gage the temperature campus by watching the movement of “the herd.”  If you notice the herd moving quickly across campus in stampede mode, they obviously smell the blood of a fight.  Luckily all was calm today; perhaps it was in increased police presence or perhaps they had just become bored with the topic of the week.  We followed the same protocol after school, but once again… all was calm.

 

I returned to my office certain I would be able to make my escape on time for a change, when the dreaded phone message came.  You see, the day after the Winter Formal one of our parents decided to launch her own investigation of the Winter Formal crime spree. 

 

You know its strange how we gave students handouts instructing them to leave valuables at home (not our liability) and even provided a coat/handbag check for them at dance; yet some parents felt we were still responsible for the belongings of the 800 kids that attended the event. 

 

This particular mother had spent all weekend calling kids and parents and had actually recovered some of the missing items beforeschool started on Monday.  We met with, thanked her for her efforts, knowing we couldn’t possibly legally do the same thing she did and for two days three administrators followed up with investigations of their own. 

 

Today she called again and she had received additional phones that were stolen and a tip that one of the students had a contact “over the hill” who was sellingstolen electronics for him.  I wonder what I will be doing tomorrow?

 

The lesson from today… I will drink my coffee BEFORE work!

 

 

2-11-08 -- A Good Email

A good friend sent me this email... sad but many times true.

 

Author Unknown:

School 1967 vs. 2007 
Scenario:  Jack goes quail hunting before school, pulls into school parking lot with shotgun in gun rack.
1963 - Vice Principal comes over, looks at Jack's shotgun, goes to his car and gets his shotgun to show Jack.
2007 - School goes into lock down, FBI called, Jack hauled off to jail and never sees his truck or gun again. Counselors called in for traumatized students and teachers.  

Scenario:  Johnny and Mark get into a fistfight after school.
1963 - Crowd gathers. Mark wins. Johnny and Mark shake hands and end up buddies.
2007 - Police called, SWAT team arrives, arrests Johnny and Mark. Charge them with assault, both expelled even though Johnny started it.  

Scenario:  Jeffrey won't be still in class, disrupts other students.
1963 - Jeffrey sent to office and given a good paddling by the Principal. Returns to class, sits still and does not disrupt class again.
2007 - Jeffrey given huge doses of Ritalin. Becomes a zombie. Tested for ADD. School gets extra money from state because Jeffrey has a disability.  

Scenario:  Billy breaks a window in his neighbor's car and his Dad gives him a whipping with his belt.
1963 - Billy is more careful next time, grows up normal, goes to college, and becomes a successful businessman.
2007 - Billy's dad is arrested for child abuse.  Billy removed to foster care and joins a gang.  State psychologist tells Billy's sister that she remembers being abused herself and their dad goes to prison.  Billy's mom has affair with psychologist.  

Scenario:  Mark gets a headache and takes some aspirin to school.
1963 - Mark shares aspirin with Principal out on the smoking dock.
2007 - Police called, Mark expelled from school for drug violations. Car searched for drugs and weapons.  

Scenario: Pedro fails high school English.
1963 - Pedro goes to summer school, passes English, goes to college.
2007 - Pedro's cause is taken up by state. Newspaper articles appear nationally explaining that teaching English as a requirement for graduation is racist. ACLU files class action lawsuit against state school system and Pedro's English teacher.  English banned from core curriculum.  Pedro given diploma anyway but ends up mowing lawns for a living because he cannot speak English.  

Scenario:  Johnny takes apart leftover firecrackers from 4th of July, puts them in a model airplane paint bottle, blows up a red ant bed.
1963 - Ants die.
2007 - BATF, Homeland Security, FBI called. Johnny charged with  domestic terrorism, FBI investigates parents, siblings removed from home, computers confiscated, Johnny's Dad goes on a terror watch list and is never allowed to fly again. 

Scenario:  Johnny falls while running during recess and scrapes his knee. He is found crying by his teacher, Mary.  Mary hugs him to comfort him.
1963 - In a short time, Johnny feels better and goes on playing.
2007 - Mary is accused of being a sexual predator and loses her job. She faces 3 years in State Prison. Johnny undergoes 5 years of therapy