Have you ever driven or walked around the Mahar campus and noticed signs that discourage idling? I am not certain when these signs were put up – but they make sense and save cents at the same time. Parents and guardians who are picking up their students from school should pay close attention to these signs, not only because turning off the engine in a car that is standing still saves money and the environment, but because it is now a law.
Recently I was told that schools are now required to have signage that informs those in waiting cars around the school that there are fines associated with idling for more than five minutes. Apparently sitting at the side of a road with a car engine running can mean a fine of $100.00 for the first offense if ticketed by an officer of the law. School officials will not be issuing tickets or fines around Mahar, but will continue to abide by the requirement that signs appear around the school.
I know that this new law is in effect for many reasons. While it saves money for the individual consumer, it diminishes the amount of gasoline that is being burned at the same time. It also lowers emissions from automobiles – which improves our air quality and who could complain about that? I believe that this law is in place to call upon citizens to continue to be mindful about how our acting locally can have a global impact.
*Please accept today’s post as a request for Mahar parents, bus drivers, employees, and student drivers to abide by this new mandate.
Tuesday, September 15, 2009
Thursday, September 10, 2009
My Friend Angelo
Today I was thinking about a next door neighbor that I had when I lived in Western New York. His name was Angelo and over twenty or so years we had a relationship that changed many times. As a child he chased me from his yard and actually brought me to my mother because his yard was off limits. Angelo’s back garden cut a good portion of my trip to a local mini-mart, so I recall good reason for jumping his fence. I also got into trouble for picking his grapes, taking peaches from his trees, and for picking at his sunflowers. Fortunately for Angelo, my friends and I didn’t like the taste of raw tomatoes or we would have gotten in trouble for taking them just the same as the peaches and grapes.
Angelo met me when I was born and I knew him until I was nearly twenty five years old. In my adulthood I realized that we had the common problem of a shared driveway and winters anywhere near Buffalo helped neighbors become the best of friends. When I was twelve years old Angelo had a snow blower and I had a shovel. When I was twenty-two Angelo was too frail to push his snow blower while I shoveled, so the snow blower became mine along with the responsibility of the entire driveway. I should probably say that my friendship with Angelo got better as both of us aged – and it was strongest when he was in his mid eighties and I was in my early twenties.
I recall a spring morning when I was in the backyard with my dog and Angelo called me into his backyard. He told me that morning that his grapes were my grapes and his peach trees were mine too. He encouraged me to take some tomatoes to my grandmother, and he showed me where to find the cucumbers and eggplant if I so wanted. This was a weird and unforgettable moment – for sure. We began to talk about how one learns to grow such things, and I was particularly interested in the peach trees. He had a knack for peaches – his were the best.
Just days after this I went out to mow our lawns and Angelo wanted to talk again. He brought me to the middle of my backyard to show me the tiny peach tree that he planted there for me. He had to show me so that I did not run it over with the lawn mower. He gave me instructions on when to water it and told me that he would show me what to spray it with when the time came. The tiny tree grew quickly, but it would take a couple of summers before it actually produced peaches. When the tree was about three feet high, Angelo showed me how important it was to pluck the leaves and buds that were at the very bottom of the longer branches. He explained that the energy that the tree put into those new leaves in its trunk would be taken from the larger more important fruit bearing branches. I will never forget that he told me how this was not only true for trees. He said in his Italian accent, “Dis-a true-a witha you life-a too.” For those of you who don’t speak broken English he said, “This is also true in life.”
Standing by my new peach tree on that day I was given quite the message. I was told that in all things there would exist smaller (seemingly important) detractors that removed energy from what was most important. The message that Angelo gave me on that day I now see as a lesson. It is true in relationships just as much as it is in tasks at work. It is also true in the classroom if a teacher sees the objective of his or her lesson as the branch of a tree that will bear fruit. With this philosophy, lesson intrusions (like the leaves at the trunk of the tree) are identified and diminished so that maximum energy goes into teaching which results in more learning for our students.
*Today’s blog is written in memory of my good friend Angelo Ruggeriello who taught me how to grow a good peach, and so much more.
Angelo met me when I was born and I knew him until I was nearly twenty five years old. In my adulthood I realized that we had the common problem of a shared driveway and winters anywhere near Buffalo helped neighbors become the best of friends. When I was twelve years old Angelo had a snow blower and I had a shovel. When I was twenty-two Angelo was too frail to push his snow blower while I shoveled, so the snow blower became mine along with the responsibility of the entire driveway. I should probably say that my friendship with Angelo got better as both of us aged – and it was strongest when he was in his mid eighties and I was in my early twenties.
I recall a spring morning when I was in the backyard with my dog and Angelo called me into his backyard. He told me that morning that his grapes were my grapes and his peach trees were mine too. He encouraged me to take some tomatoes to my grandmother, and he showed me where to find the cucumbers and eggplant if I so wanted. This was a weird and unforgettable moment – for sure. We began to talk about how one learns to grow such things, and I was particularly interested in the peach trees. He had a knack for peaches – his were the best.
Just days after this I went out to mow our lawns and Angelo wanted to talk again. He brought me to the middle of my backyard to show me the tiny peach tree that he planted there for me. He had to show me so that I did not run it over with the lawn mower. He gave me instructions on when to water it and told me that he would show me what to spray it with when the time came. The tiny tree grew quickly, but it would take a couple of summers before it actually produced peaches. When the tree was about three feet high, Angelo showed me how important it was to pluck the leaves and buds that were at the very bottom of the longer branches. He explained that the energy that the tree put into those new leaves in its trunk would be taken from the larger more important fruit bearing branches. I will never forget that he told me how this was not only true for trees. He said in his Italian accent, “Dis-a true-a witha you life-a too.” For those of you who don’t speak broken English he said, “This is also true in life.”
Standing by my new peach tree on that day I was given quite the message. I was told that in all things there would exist smaller (seemingly important) detractors that removed energy from what was most important. The message that Angelo gave me on that day I now see as a lesson. It is true in relationships just as much as it is in tasks at work. It is also true in the classroom if a teacher sees the objective of his or her lesson as the branch of a tree that will bear fruit. With this philosophy, lesson intrusions (like the leaves at the trunk of the tree) are identified and diminished so that maximum energy goes into teaching which results in more learning for our students.
*Today’s blog is written in memory of my good friend Angelo Ruggeriello who taught me how to grow a good peach, and so much more.
Wednesday, September 9, 2009
Mick Jagger Lied
Since my post on Thursday which provided information about how and when our students would be able to access President Obama’s address to students I have had two very thoughtful responses on this blog, two teachers visit me, and one phone call from a community member who felt that the President’s address should have been more of a priority at Mahar. In my personal meeting with the aforementioned teachers and in my phone conversation with a thoughtful and concerned community member I found myself explaining our reasons for leaving the presentation of the speech at the discretion of our teachers and asking that it be connected to instruction.
The President’s address has provided an excellent opportunity for dialogue about how our school district is responding to the call of our federal and state governments to provide our students with a high quality education. The accountability standards set forth by the legislation in the No Child Left Behind Act has called upon school and district administrators to examine every opportunity to maximize teaching and learning opportunities for students. As was the case with specifying that the President’s address be used not only as an opportunity for inspiration but as a tool for instruction, Mahar continues to focus on every aspect of education to improve outcomes for students.
Inside the School
Inside the school our students and community will find that we have a brand new facility that is spacious and clean. We have all of the technological enhancements that one would expect in a school and much more. Networked computers are in every classroom, video projectors with SmartBoards ™ are available for our teachers, and we subscribe to a number of on line search engines from which our students can retrieve information. We have a highly qualified and dedicated instructional force paired with a dedicated staff to support our students’ learning and emotional needs alike.
Outside of the School
Outside of school we provide our students with opportunities to participate in athletics during all three seasons and in all grades. We have after school clubs and activities for students who prefer engagement outside of our athletic offerings, and seek to expand these activities this academic year. We provide academic programs that are innovative after school hours (PM Instruction Program) and off campus (Gateway to College at Mount Wachusett Community College), yet like many schools in the Commonwealth and in America even with our great efforts we know that there is room to continue to improve. We ask ourselves, what else can we do?
Putting Time on Our Side
I know that Mick Jagger said it first, “Time is on my side, yes it is” and you know what? For educators, this might not be true. Just the same as any school in Massachusetts we have 180 school days to prepare our students for year end assessments, the next grade, and to prepare our seniors for college. Each year we are given just slightly more than 990 hours to provide requisite instruction and assess our students to see that they have responded to the program that we offered. That’s it, 990 hours. Is the school year too short? Is the school day not long enough? Should students go to school in the summer? To these questions I only have opinions. The one thing I know for sure though is that educators must examine what students are doing in the 990 hours we do have, and take steps to see that every minute of every hour is put to proper use.
The President’s address has provided an excellent opportunity for dialogue about how our school district is responding to the call of our federal and state governments to provide our students with a high quality education. The accountability standards set forth by the legislation in the No Child Left Behind Act has called upon school and district administrators to examine every opportunity to maximize teaching and learning opportunities for students. As was the case with specifying that the President’s address be used not only as an opportunity for inspiration but as a tool for instruction, Mahar continues to focus on every aspect of education to improve outcomes for students.
Inside the School
Inside the school our students and community will find that we have a brand new facility that is spacious and clean. We have all of the technological enhancements that one would expect in a school and much more. Networked computers are in every classroom, video projectors with SmartBoards ™ are available for our teachers, and we subscribe to a number of on line search engines from which our students can retrieve information. We have a highly qualified and dedicated instructional force paired with a dedicated staff to support our students’ learning and emotional needs alike.
Outside of the School
Outside of school we provide our students with opportunities to participate in athletics during all three seasons and in all grades. We have after school clubs and activities for students who prefer engagement outside of our athletic offerings, and seek to expand these activities this academic year. We provide academic programs that are innovative after school hours (PM Instruction Program) and off campus (Gateway to College at Mount Wachusett Community College), yet like many schools in the Commonwealth and in America even with our great efforts we know that there is room to continue to improve. We ask ourselves, what else can we do?
Putting Time on Our Side
I know that Mick Jagger said it first, “Time is on my side, yes it is” and you know what? For educators, this might not be true. Just the same as any school in Massachusetts we have 180 school days to prepare our students for year end assessments, the next grade, and to prepare our seniors for college. Each year we are given just slightly more than 990 hours to provide requisite instruction and assess our students to see that they have responded to the program that we offered. That’s it, 990 hours. Is the school year too short? Is the school day not long enough? Should students go to school in the summer? To these questions I only have opinions. The one thing I know for sure though is that educators must examine what students are doing in the 990 hours we do have, and take steps to see that every minute of every hour is put to proper use.
Tuesday, September 8, 2009
Every Minute in Every Class
This afternoon President Obama addressed the students at Wakefield High School in Arlington, VA with a speech that was intended for all of the students in America from Kindergarten through grade 12. In classic Obama fashion our President delivered an inspirational message with an emphasis on students doing their part to succeed in school. He reminded students that each one of them is good at something and that each one of them has something to offer.
Today, some Massachusetts schools stopped everything to ensure that each student heard President Obama’s message while others limited when and where the speech could be seen and/or heard. At Mahar, students may see the speech at the discretion of their teachers when and where it is pertinent to the subject matter being taught. The decision not to play President Obama’s speech live was a pragmatic one which allows for the continuity of instruction that has been established in our classes to continue. We are also fortunate to have the technology available to copy the speech and play it at any time - when it is appropriate.
The President’s speech was nearly twenty minutes in duration. Twenty minutes in the classroom is really more than twenty minutes when one considers pre-lesson activities, post-lesson follow up and time to transition from one topic to another. Furthermore, the school only has so many televisions and if the whole school were to have to move to larger areas to view the speech, twenty minutes could have quickly become up to an hour out of regularly scheduled classes.
Finally, in the age of “No Child Left Behind” teachers and administrators are being held accountable when students do not achieve certain benchmarks on yearly tests. This is very serious. Our school is required to make “Adequate Yearly Progress (AYP)” on the MCAS. In some cases school districts have missed making AYP by one tenth of one point and have been determined to be Schools In Need of Improvement, In Corrective Action, or In Need of Restructuring. Twenty minutes out of a class for one student is 20 minutes. 20 minutes outside of a class for 800 students is 1600 minutes. That 20 minutes could very well be one tenth of one point on an assessment for which teachers are here to prepare our students. Every minute in every class counts.
Today, some Massachusetts schools stopped everything to ensure that each student heard President Obama’s message while others limited when and where the speech could be seen and/or heard. At Mahar, students may see the speech at the discretion of their teachers when and where it is pertinent to the subject matter being taught. The decision not to play President Obama’s speech live was a pragmatic one which allows for the continuity of instruction that has been established in our classes to continue. We are also fortunate to have the technology available to copy the speech and play it at any time - when it is appropriate.
The President’s speech was nearly twenty minutes in duration. Twenty minutes in the classroom is really more than twenty minutes when one considers pre-lesson activities, post-lesson follow up and time to transition from one topic to another. Furthermore, the school only has so many televisions and if the whole school were to have to move to larger areas to view the speech, twenty minutes could have quickly become up to an hour out of regularly scheduled classes.
Finally, in the age of “No Child Left Behind” teachers and administrators are being held accountable when students do not achieve certain benchmarks on yearly tests. This is very serious. Our school is required to make “Adequate Yearly Progress (AYP)” on the MCAS. In some cases school districts have missed making AYP by one tenth of one point and have been determined to be Schools In Need of Improvement, In Corrective Action, or In Need of Restructuring. Twenty minutes out of a class for one student is 20 minutes. 20 minutes outside of a class for 800 students is 1600 minutes. That 20 minutes could very well be one tenth of one point on an assessment for which teachers are here to prepare our students. Every minute in every class counts.
Thursday, September 3, 2009
President Obama to Address Students
This afternoon the Massachusetts Superintendent’s List Serve (E-mail messages between most Massachusetts Superintendents) had a frenzy of activity. The issue that was predominant today was the upcoming address that President Obama has planned for students. On September 8, 2009 at noon our President will deliver a national address to the students of America. According to the United States Department of Education the president will speak directly to the nation’s children and youth about persisting and succeeding in school. More specifically, the president will challenge students to work hard, set educational goals, and take responsibility for their learning.
The debate among teachers, principals, and superintendents today has been whether this event will be required, optional, allowed in certain circumstances, or not at all in classrooms, schools, and/or districts. Concerned parents have been calling schools with questions about the President’s address, some stating that they did not want their children to take part in viewing it. The aforementioned debate when paired with the concerns of parents has called upon superintendents around the Commonwealth to issue proactive statements with regard to the President’s address.
The students at Ralph C. Mahar will not be viewing the President’s address live. We have the technology to record the presentation and then use it at appropriate times in instruction, and this is what we have planned to do. This will allow our teachers the appropriate time to view the address and create lesson activators, lesson plans, and activities that will allow it to be connected with the Massachusetts Curriculum Frameworks. What is more important is that our students do not have any reduction in teaching and learning time in mathematics by what appears to be an excellent lesson in civics.
If the President’s message is of particular importance to our families, we encourage that it be viewed at home. The US Department of Education has posted the many different ways in which the President’s address can be seen live or later on. President Obama’s address might stir up interesting conversations at home about school, motivation, learning, and educational success – great topics for the dinner table! I have posted the link to the United States Department of Education’s page below.
http://www.ed.gov/admins/lead/academic/bts.html
The debate among teachers, principals, and superintendents today has been whether this event will be required, optional, allowed in certain circumstances, or not at all in classrooms, schools, and/or districts. Concerned parents have been calling schools with questions about the President’s address, some stating that they did not want their children to take part in viewing it. The aforementioned debate when paired with the concerns of parents has called upon superintendents around the Commonwealth to issue proactive statements with regard to the President’s address.
The students at Ralph C. Mahar will not be viewing the President’s address live. We have the technology to record the presentation and then use it at appropriate times in instruction, and this is what we have planned to do. This will allow our teachers the appropriate time to view the address and create lesson activators, lesson plans, and activities that will allow it to be connected with the Massachusetts Curriculum Frameworks. What is more important is that our students do not have any reduction in teaching and learning time in mathematics by what appears to be an excellent lesson in civics.
If the President’s message is of particular importance to our families, we encourage that it be viewed at home. The US Department of Education has posted the many different ways in which the President’s address can be seen live or later on. President Obama’s address might stir up interesting conversations at home about school, motivation, learning, and educational success – great topics for the dinner table! I have posted the link to the United States Department of Education’s page below.
http://www.ed.gov/admins/lead/academic/bts.html
Wednesday, September 2, 2009
The Change In My Pocket
If you want to make enemies, try to change something.
- Woodrow Wilson
I love quotes. Now that I am thinking about it, I just realized that I have taken the time with my friends to create and debate about top ten lists of favorite movies and favorite songs, but have never taken the time to develop a list of top ten favorite quotes. I just added an item to my “to do” list – but I need some time to find the quotes and then rank order them.
The quote above is what is on my mind right now. I don’t think it is as profound as some others that I like, but it is perhaps the truest of statements and was said by a man who knew how difficult it was to change something, or anything for that matter. Change is so difficult and so complex that one could fill a classroom with books from the floor to the ceiling, and wall to wall with books on the topic. There are books about change theories, change processes, change experiences, how to change an organization, and even books about how to change relationships. There are different schools of thought on change, such as change from within an organization, and others on the archaic “top down” approach which is pretty much rejected throughout the education system.
Any student in an educational administration program today reads about, discusses, and writes about the complexity of change. The reason for this is quite simple. Change brings struggles, particularly in organizations such as schools. The education system is “systemized” – in structure it has been the same for a very long time and attempts to alter structures that have existed for any length of time brings about personal feelings of anxiety, fear, and in some cases anger.
In education we have to accept the challenges that accompany change. For those involved in the change process the challenge of change often equates to a modicum of personal struggle. For those who have an understanding of history in our country and in the world, it is understood that struggles associated with change have made the world a better place. Just one hundred years ago Frederick Douglass commented about this. I am not sure if President Wilson ever made the acquaintance of Frederick Douglass but when Douglass was in his seventies, Wilson was in his thirties – so it is possible. That is a just a side thought.
“Without struggle, there is no progress.”
- Frederick Douglass
- Woodrow Wilson
I love quotes. Now that I am thinking about it, I just realized that I have taken the time with my friends to create and debate about top ten lists of favorite movies and favorite songs, but have never taken the time to develop a list of top ten favorite quotes. I just added an item to my “to do” list – but I need some time to find the quotes and then rank order them.
The quote above is what is on my mind right now. I don’t think it is as profound as some others that I like, but it is perhaps the truest of statements and was said by a man who knew how difficult it was to change something, or anything for that matter. Change is so difficult and so complex that one could fill a classroom with books from the floor to the ceiling, and wall to wall with books on the topic. There are books about change theories, change processes, change experiences, how to change an organization, and even books about how to change relationships. There are different schools of thought on change, such as change from within an organization, and others on the archaic “top down” approach which is pretty much rejected throughout the education system.
Any student in an educational administration program today reads about, discusses, and writes about the complexity of change. The reason for this is quite simple. Change brings struggles, particularly in organizations such as schools. The education system is “systemized” – in structure it has been the same for a very long time and attempts to alter structures that have existed for any length of time brings about personal feelings of anxiety, fear, and in some cases anger.
In education we have to accept the challenges that accompany change. For those involved in the change process the challenge of change often equates to a modicum of personal struggle. For those who have an understanding of history in our country and in the world, it is understood that struggles associated with change have made the world a better place. Just one hundred years ago Frederick Douglass commented about this. I am not sure if President Wilson ever made the acquaintance of Frederick Douglass but when Douglass was in his seventies, Wilson was in his thirties – so it is possible. That is a just a side thought.
“Without struggle, there is no progress.”
- Frederick Douglass
Tuesday, September 1, 2009
Primetime Teaching: Controversial Issues in the Classroom
When I was in school studying to become a teacher one of my favorite professors, Tom Sheeran talked in my Instruction and Assessment class about the importance of not missing “the teachable moment.” Dr. Sheeran explained to us that there would be times when we taught that we would have the students’ attention in what he referred to as “Primetime.” According to Dr. Sheeran, “Primetime” was any moment in which all of the students were focused on one thing – and for whatever reason, harmony existed among a class because of it.
The state of affairs in our country continues to create teachable moments in our classrooms. More specifically, controversy over a number of topics helps create educational situations that stimulates and involves young minds. Politically, high school students can have different opinions about immigration, Iraq, Afghanistan, world trade, and most recently, health care. These “Primetime” topics can heighten our students’ attention level along with their awareness about what is going on in world as it changes around them.
The recent debates over healthcare can be used in mathematics classes as students learn computations. They can learn to project costs, analyze savings, and estimate levels of service based on the number of healthcare workers in relation to our current population. Students can use their calculations in the creation of position papers supporting their ideas, and they can even learn about various bacteria and viruses in their science classes to add to their understanding of a controversial issue such as healthcare.
What is even more important is that our students learn that their opinions are among many others that may be different. They learn to listen to one another’s thoughts and proposed solutions on difficult topics. Dr. Sheeran would tell us that “Primetime” teaching means that students are learning substance, etiquette, and practicing communication skills all at the same time. I think it is most important that our students learn to respect one another while they are learning, and the controversial issues of our time provide us with an excellent opportunity to do this. I also think that Dr. Sheeran would agree.
The state of affairs in our country continues to create teachable moments in our classrooms. More specifically, controversy over a number of topics helps create educational situations that stimulates and involves young minds. Politically, high school students can have different opinions about immigration, Iraq, Afghanistan, world trade, and most recently, health care. These “Primetime” topics can heighten our students’ attention level along with their awareness about what is going on in world as it changes around them.
The recent debates over healthcare can be used in mathematics classes as students learn computations. They can learn to project costs, analyze savings, and estimate levels of service based on the number of healthcare workers in relation to our current population. Students can use their calculations in the creation of position papers supporting their ideas, and they can even learn about various bacteria and viruses in their science classes to add to their understanding of a controversial issue such as healthcare.
What is even more important is that our students learn that their opinions are among many others that may be different. They learn to listen to one another’s thoughts and proposed solutions on difficult topics. Dr. Sheeran would tell us that “Primetime” teaching means that students are learning substance, etiquette, and practicing communication skills all at the same time. I think it is most important that our students learn to respect one another while they are learning, and the controversial issues of our time provide us with an excellent opportunity to do this. I also think that Dr. Sheeran would agree.
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