5 Things Teachers Wish Parents Knew

I value the opportunities I have on the weekends when I have a little time to myself and can work through a number of things that I have been waiting to read.  One of the teachers at NFVHS shared the link below with me and after reading it I thought I would share it with you.  We just came off parent-teacher conferences a couple of weeks ago, and I thought that this is fitting.  This writer from the New York Times shares some things that teacher often want to say, but find very difficult when they meet face-to-face with a parent.  We should not have this barrier, but sometimes it is easier to let someone else articulate some true feelings.  So, please read the article and if you are so inclined, let me know what you think!

5 Things Teachers Wish Parents Knew: Your Children Can Do More Than You Think

Why Do We Still Want Our Kids to Go to a 4-Year College?

A little over a year ago I attended the STEM Connections Conference in Des Moines and listened to some very interesting speakers, including business leaders from John Deere, HON, and National Instrument.  STEM is one of those education acronyms standing for Science, Technology, Engineering, and Math.  So, how does the fact that I went to a conference on those four topics relate to the title of the article which would lead one to believe I am questioning why kids should go on to a traditional four-year college?  Aren’t science, technology, engineering, and math subjects for those really smart, high achieving students?  Yes, but they are also topics that are very important for the highly skilled workforce that our country so desperately needs.

Since that conference, I have become more convinced that a very strong, viable option for all of our students, especially those who are strong in math and science, is to attend a community college or trade school, or enter into the workforce and apprentice in a skilled trade.  This is a hard adjustment in perception and belief for many people to make.  I continue to struggle with this quite a bit, particularly when it comes to my own children.  I have had conversations with staff members at school who have the same difficulty.  For a couple of generations going to a four-year college or university was the pathway for future success.  Parents and grandparents, particularly in the Midwest, could take a great deal of satisfaction if their child or grandchild went off to Iowa State or Luther, because in many instances, that would be the first family member to take that step.  In conversations with our guidance counselor, we have both struggled with how we say to parents that they should not want their child to go to a four-year institution.  That is so different from the message and position we have taken for years!

However, from my perspective, there are two fundamental reasons that this makes sense.  First, when one looks at the future of the job market, there will be a huge demand for highly skilled workers, particularly in the manufacturing industry.  In fact, the demand for occupations requiring a two-year degree is very high right now.  Couple that with what is currently happening with graduates of four-year programs and one needs to really keep their eyes open to future choices.  According to MyNorthwest.com, about 41% of 2011 and 2012 college graduates  are “stuck in jobs that don’t require their degrees, and nearly two-thirds say that they will need more training in order to get their desired job.”  In addition to these underemployed individuals, 18% of graduates from the same two years were either unemployed at the time of the survey or had not had a job since graduating.  A 2010 Federal Reserve Bank study showed that only “62.1% of U.S. college graduates had a job that even required a college degree, and just 27.3 percent of college grads had a degree that was related to their major.”

The second reason that this makes sense is because of the amount of debt that college students are accruing.  In this country college debt has exceeded $1 trillion, and with college graduates struggling to find jobs for which they were trained, it only multiplies the problem.  In 2011, six million graduates are still living at home with their parents.  According to The Project On Student Debt, 7 of 10 college seniors who graduated in 2012 had a student loan debt with an average of $29,400 per borrower.  In Iowa, the average debt of 4-year college graduates in 2012 was $29,456, which ranks the state 6^th among public colleges and 3^rd for private institutions.  According to a recent article in the Pittsburgh Post-Gazette, the graduating class of 2012 is in a deeper hole with student loan debt than any class before.

From the time of that conference in Des Moines, we have made adjustments at NFVHS, including the addition of the Project Lead The Way program, Virtual Reality Educational Pathways classes, adjustments in our science and math courses, training of teachers for the Introduction to Engineering Design, the formation of partnerships with members of business and industry, and numerous other changes.  It is our goal to provide direct instruction and support to students so that they have the preparation to choose to either go into training for a highly skilled occupation or go to a four-year institution.  We are also working to develop a system to place focus on employability skills, often called soft skills and non-cognitive skills, so that our students have some foundation as they move forward in life.

The world of work is changing, but we are slow to change our attitudes, particularly in rural areas.  With two kids of my own in high school, and one trying to make college decisions right now, this is a very difficult time to be making life-changing choices.  As a school administrator who has spent the vast majority of his life pushing kids to go to college, as well as one who grew up with the belief that a four-year college degree was the key to success, I find myself conflicted as I don’t want to ever “sell a kid short.”  But at the same time, I have seen families struggle with debt as well as college graduates forced to take any job they can to earn a paycheck.  It is time to keep eyes open.

Seven Crippling Parental Behaviors That Keep Children From Growing Into Leaders

I have reference Tim Elmore in previous posts, and I have shared my thoughts about both parenting and the development of resiliency or grit among young people.  This is a topic that I continue to dig into as in my opinion there may be no issue more important from an educational perspective.  As parents, many of us are suffocating and debilitating our kids through good intentions and what I believe is a warped perspective.  We want what is best for our children, but in my opinion, we drank from the wrong glass of Kool-Aide.  The whole self-esteem movement has ended up crippling a generation of young people who lack the ability to fend for themselves, pick themselves up when they fall down, and tackle problems that they cannot resolve in short order.  Kathy Caprino, a contributor to Forbes, shares her perspective on the topic along with Elmore's in this article from last month.

7 Crippling Parental Behaviors That Keep Children From Growing Into Leaders

“We” Didn’t Play The Game

I got into a debate with an online friend after a Nebraska football game that on the surface may appear to be about vocabulary, but in reality goes much deeper than that.  First off, I am a loyal member of a community of Big Red football fans that watch our beloved team play on television and communicate through an online thread, chatting about the game.  Yeah, it is kind of nerdy, and yeah, I could probably do things a lot more productive than chat on my computer with other folks, only a couple that I know face-to-face.  But I enjoy it and it keeps me connected to my alma mater’s football team, and gives me a chance to “hang out” with friends that love the Cornhuskers as much as I do.

Okay, so what was that debate?  What it really comes down to is the use of the word “we.”  I do not use the word “we” when my favorite football team wins.  I am not part of the team.  I do not practice with the team.  I do not sweat with the team. I do not coach the team.  I watch the team.  I do not own the team.  I do not contribute large sums of money to the team.  I watch the team.  I wear red clothes with the team’s name on it.  I have a cap with an “N” on it.  But, I am not on the team.  The same is true for any fan.  So, when I hear a fan say  “we kicked your butt” or “we’re number 1!” it gives me pause because those making the statement generally did nothing to earn the right to make the statement!  There are people that is seems live so vicariously through their favorite team that they honestly believe they have a stake in the teams success!  I find that incredible!

This manifests itself in a couple of ways that I find interesting.  First of all, in our society we place a very high value on being a winner, and if you cannot distinguish yourself as a winner by your actions or accomplishments, people will “hitch a ride” with one so that they can proclaim themselves a winner.  I have been fortunate to be at a number of national championship events, including the football game a few years back at the Fiesta Bowl between Ohio State and Miami.  When it was over, you would have thought that all of those Buckeye fans were out there on the field playing the game!  The fact that it has been a number of years since Nebraska has won a conference championship has had an impact on the psyche of Big Red fans.  I believe that the reason many of them are so critical of their coach, who by the way, has won a minimum of nine games since he took over, is because they can’t strut around like roosters with their chest pumped out feeling good about themselves.  They want to be able to brag to fans of other teams that their team is best, kind of like that childhood argument of “my dad can beat up your dad!”  The fans want to be viewed as winners!

The other part of this that intrigues me is that fans believe that their opinion should matter.  I got news, unless you own the team, fund the team, or are a member of the team, you’re opinion really doesn’t matter!  I understand the role of boosters, but the reality is that unless we are talking about professional ones, teams are part of an institution and answer to the people in charge of the institution.  It is part of a community, but it is not the community.  However, those of us on the edge or the periphery need to be careful of putting ourselves too close to the group that did the work!  In our case at NFVHS, I didn’t see too many 40-somethings out there on the football field this year!

Perhaps more concerning to me on this whole “we” thing is the parent that lives vicariously through their child.  I could go on and on with this and actually get quite nasty.  Generally speaking, those parents that do this are frustrated former student-athletes that were never as good as they thought they were.  The most common indicator is when talking about their child they use the term “we.”  “We” think “we” have a good chance to beat Joe Schmo.  “We” are looking forward to taking on Billy Bruiser.  “We” think there’s a good chance to get to state.  “We’re” working real hard on improving our swing.  The parent is so wrapped up in the pursuits of their child that they are living vicariously through them!  And you can often seem them on the sidelines emotionally and sometimes physically invested in their child’s performance far beyond what is normal.  They fail to see the reality that it is not “we” but rather “he” or “she.”

It’s The Little Things: Details Are Important

I sweat the details.  I always have.  Both my parents, but especially my dad, are detail-oriented people.  My wife pays close attention to the details.  My kids are detail oriented as well.  A couple of us (me?) are maybe even detail obsessed!  It is frustrating to all of us when people do not pay attention to the details.  I recall hearing a statement and then reading a book that was called Don’t Sweat the Small Stuff, and some people add on to it and say, “it’s all small stuff.”  I guess it depends on perspective, and I do know that for those that are of the “don’t sweat it camp” they are basically talking about stress relief.  But that being said, try as I may to “not sweat it,” it is my opinion that details are important and cannot be ignored. 

In the classroom there are examples on both sides of the teacher-student relationship.  For example, as much as teachers try to be clear and concise in their explanation, from time to time they over look a small important point.  Without that information a common result is confusion on behalf of the students.  On the other side, a skill that a lot of students lack is writing in a detailed manner.  “Give me the details!” is often heard when proofing or correcting a student’s writing. 

I deal with a lot of incidents where something has happened to a student and I let them tell their story before I start asking questions and so often they leave out the details, which are critical because the details tell the story.  I alluded to it earlier, but it amazes me that details are seemingly skipped over.  I generally start the student over, slow them down, and ask a lot of questions to get to the details.

I see it all the time in athletics.  We are in an era where kids play a lot of games, but have paid little attention to the fundamentals.  The fundamentals are the details, and even then there are details to the details.  Coaching softball, I see a lot of pitchers that do not snap their wrist at release or do not get up on top of their drag toe on their drive foot, two little things that can mean the difference of up to five or six mph.  In basketball the angle of release with their shooting arm it critical to increasing the odds that they will make a shot. 

As I have visited both our chorus and band rooms, instructors hone in on what appear to the untrained ear as very subtle differences, but in when you hear the entire group make an adjustment, the difference in sound is incredible. 

Another example that I cannot believe is overlooked is proofreading.  Students hate to proofread, but it is incredible what a difference it makes when you do!  I proof nearly everything I write, or in some instances ask my secretary to do so.  And even then, I miss things.  Young writers that do not proofread generally turn in papers with a ridiculously high number of errors.  Why not proofread?  Perhaps it is because there is a desire to be done, and by proofreading there may still be work to do!

All of this is kind of like reading the fine print.  In the cyber world, people have found that if they do not read the fine print, it may cost them thousands of dollars.  Consumers have recently been successfully sued because they have posted derogatory comments online about certain companies in violation of conditions they agreed to, but did not bother to read.  It was in the fine print.

It is easy for the sake of time or convenience to skip over the details.  It takes a lot of work when it comes to taking care of the details.  However, if a job is going to be done well, one must make certain to pay attention to them.  Otherwise, something important will most likely be left out, and it could be costly in the long run.

Is Public Education In America As Bad As Some People Say It Is?

I have become frustrated with the political ping-pong ball that public education has become in the past ten to fifteen years, smacked unmercifully by people that manipulate statistics, data, and other information to push agendas and special interests.  Are their problems with public education?  Yes.  And, there is a tremendous amount of research out there, as well as models of very effective education programs that need to be used as guidelines as to how to make changes that will in fact lead to better education programs for our children.  However, a lot of the changes being proposed by politicians, most of whom have little or no expertise in education, are not the changes that have been shown to work.  In fact, privatization, charter schools, and many of the accountability systems that some insist on have been shown to not work, or certainly not any better that what is currently in place!  Maybe we ought to look at the things that do work.

I have included a link to a slide presentation that appeared shortly after the most recent results of the PISA test.  The PISA test is an international assessment that is probably the best comparison of educational programs between nations.  This is the one that many refer to when wanting to point out that America's schools are failing.  However, that is a surface level assessment of the data.  When one takes a deeper look, there is a totally different story to be told.  You will fine that the quality of education is not declining and for the vast majority of students, their performance is quite good.  Do we have problems?  Absolutely!  However, they are not necessarily education problems.  Take a look and decide for yourself.  

Note: While the slide presentation was put together by the American Federation of Teachers, this data and the analysis is supported by numerous educational researchers.

5 Myths About Our Schools That Fall Apart When You Look Closer

Nature, Nurture, Luck? What Leads to Success?

When I interview prospective teachers, I pull a couple of questions out of left field with the intention of getting to know a little bit about them that I might not otherwise find out.  The first question is “What is the last book you read?” followed by “What book has made the greatest impact on your life?”  I won’t go into the purpose of each question at this point, but I now have a new answer to the second one if it were asked of me.  A couple of years ago I read Malcom Gladwell’s Outliers.   My cousin gave it to me when we were together on a trip to Costa Rica and insisted that I read it.  I was actually familiar with it as I read a review in a magazine and had intentions of picking it up.  Well, I started reading the book in the airport in San Jose and could not put it down.  So, why has it had such an impact on my life?  Well, here we go!

Gladwell, journalist, bestselling author, and speaker, became interested in the factors that contribute to high levels of success, looking in a variety of different areas to support or dispel notions that we have.  He looked into some interesting places, including Canadian hockey to explain why such a very high percentage of players on rosters of elite teams were born in the first three months of the calendar year.  He dug into Bill Gates’ background trying to figure out why he was able to achieve such great wealth, as well as into the lives of the Beatles, who became arguably the most successful musical act in human history.  Gladwell looked at two people with exceptional intelligence that ended up with significantly different wealth, and how a New York law firm rose to one of the most successful in the world.

Each chapter focused on a different “contributor” to success, or at least what some of us attribute to being successful.  He digs into the above mentioned topics to identify why they are successful, actually, exceptional.  What he shares is actually fascinating.  First and foremost, Gladwell refers numerous times throughout the book that the key to success in any field is what he calls the 10,000-hour rule.  Coaches, directors, teachers, and others have preached the practice-makes-perfect philosophy for years.  Gladwell claims that to a large extent, the key to success is practicing a specific task for a total of around 10,000 hours.  To put that in perspective, that means practicing a specific task for an hour a day, every day, for over 27 years!  The incredible thing is that there are people that have done this, and they are truly exceptional.  While I don’t remember specifics, Steve Alford, one of the greatest pure shooters in the history of college basketball, shot for hours on a daily basis.  The time that professional golfers spend on the practice range are incredible.  And while I fought every minute of practicing the piano, those who are at the top of their field put tremendous focus on practice.  Gladwell found that over the course of four years, the Beatles performed live in Hamburg, Germany over 1200 times, easily reaching the 10,000 hour rule, as did Bill Gates at age 13, who acquired a high school computer in 1968 – well ahead of most students – and was able to meet the 10,000 hours of computer programming.

While practice is the fundamental contributor to success, Gladwell researched other factors as well, sharing about how family, culture, intelligence, family, and luck factor into a person’s success, and at each step through the book he questions whether successful people deserve the praise that is heaped upon them.  For example, Gates happened to live in a community where the schools had access to “cast off” computers and a very aggressive parent support organization that sought out these computers for their children’s schools.  While Gates would still be a highly intelligent and most likely successful individual, the fact that he was in the right place at the right time cannot be discounted.  A similar example has to do with the birth dates of Canadian hockey players who are born in the first three months of the calendar year.  In Canada leagues are set up to include children born January 1 to December 31 of the same year and at a young age, those born earlier in the year are generally bigger and more mature than those born later in the year.  Thus, they are more likely to get selected to all-star teams and elite leagues, giving them access to more ice time and better coaching.  In some respects, this follows the concept of “the rich get richer,” and simply because of when one is born, there are advantages.

So what about intelligence?  Certainly this is an advantage when it comes to being successful.  While important, Gladwell argues in the book that it is not the most important factor in determining success.  To prove his point, he cites two individuals: J. Robert Oppenheimer and Christopher Langan.  Oppenheimer a noted physicist is most often referred to as “the father of the atomic bomb.”  Langan owns a horse farm in Missouri.  What they have in common is an incredibly high IQ:  195.  To put that in perspective, Gladwell claims that Einstein had an IQ of 150.  According to Gladwell, because of this tremendous gift both men should have become very successful, but as he points out, intelligence alone is not enough.  Individuals need access to other tools, and in Oppenheimer’s case, his families wealth opened doors for him, attending the finest schools and associating with people of great success as he grew up in one of the wealthiest neighborhoods in Manhattan.  Langan grew up in poverty in a rural area, was often beaten by his stepfather, and for the most part taught himself his high school curriculum.  By his mid-40’s he has worked as a construction worker, cowboy, forest service firefighter, farmhand, and a bouncer.  While he has been recognized the smartest man in America and developed a theory of the relationship between mind and reality, because of a lack of social skills and a lack of tools from growing up in poverty, Gladwell states that he did not come close to reaching his potential.

Reading this book has put a lot of things in perspective, especially as I work with students and families in my role as an educator.  We all want to be successful, and when it really comes down to it, there is no replacement for practice, practice, and more practice.  My experience is that most high school kids do not want to put in the time practicing.  There is a disconnect between where they want to go in life and what they need to do to get there.  When one looks at the performers and athletes at the top of their field, most of us have no idea what they have done to get where they are.  To reach that level takes more than most of us are willing to give.  That’s why there are so few who are truly exceptional.