It Has Come To This!

I am actually writing this article on the morning when the headline  on CNN.com says AMBUSH, in reference to six cops shot in Baton Rouge, Louisiana, which comes on the heels of a brutal week when two unarmed African-American men were killed by cops, and then five cops were killed by a lone gunman in Dallas, with another seven injured.  Then throw in the crazed truck driver that mowed down hundreds of people in Nice, France, killing at least 80 and one has to ask “Have we all gone mad?”  Racism, terrorism, guns, religion, politics . . . all of these have played a role in  what is going on.  I was a very young boy and have little memory of the “hot summer of 1969” when cities in our country burned, primarily due to civil unrest.  I am worried about what is happening right now because just when you think it can’t get any worse, it does.

Over the course of my 54+ years on this planet, I have seen unthinkable things happen, some of them to the extent that I have really questioned humanity and whether there is really any hope for the human race.  As I have gotten older it has been harder to accept the atrocities that man has been responsible for, yet I continue to believe that there is more good in this world than bad, though that belief is really getting a challenge here in the summer of 2016.  Toss in the incredibly mean-spirited and boorish campaign being led by our Republican candidate for President and my faith is really being tested.  With all of that said, I recently saw something that I never thought I would see.

Since I have been the principal at North Fayette Valley High School, one of the neatest things I have had the honor of being part of is the exchange with Uberlingen Gymnasium in Germany.  This is truly an incredible experience and in the three that I have been involved with, I have seen nothing but positive experiences and goodwill between people from two different cultures.  Yes, many of us in our community are of German ancestry and these folks really aren’t much different from us.  However, in the last two exchanges, because of world events there has been at least a little bit of trepidation about travel because of concerns of what is happening in other parts of the world.  From a more personal standpoint, my wife loves to travel and has been to Europe a handful of times in addition to a few other countries, and in recent years we have started paying attention to what the State Department has said about safe travel in other parts of the world.  In all honesty, along with my daughter, I was very concerned about traveling to Mexico last Christmas, even though we were headed to safer part of the country dominated by the tourist trade.  It is not uncommon for us to hear about “no travel” warnings because of unrest in various parts of the world. 

However, did you ever imagine that our country would be the one where warnings were given regarding travel?  Can you believe that other countries are warning their citizens that it is not safe to travel to the United States of America?  Well, it’s true.  On July 10, 2016, The Bahamas' Ministry of Foreign Affairs and Immigration warned its citizens traveling to the United States of "recent tensions in some American cities over shootings of young black males by police officers.  The government of the majority-black Caribbean nation emphasized in a statement that its travelers should avoid crowds and demonstrations in the U.S. Young men, specifically, should "exercise extreme caution in affected cities in their interactions with the police ... Do not be confrontational and cooperate.”  That warning came ahead of the Bahamian Independence Day when many Bahamians travel to the United States.  Earlier this year, the United Kingdom cautioned its LGBT community to steer clear of North Carolina and Mississippi due to recent legislation passed in both states.  It seems that the shoe is on the other foot.

I have never had the courage that my wife has had when it comes to exploring new places.  She can tell you a number of embarrassing stories about my fears when we have traveled, even here in the United States!  But that said, I believe that most of us have a strong belief in the safety of our country.  No, there are places that many of us would not feel safe, but we have a choice of whether or not we go to those places.  However, it seems very strange for the United States to be lumped into a group of countries that includes Iraq, Syria, Mali, Bangladesh, Mali, Laos, and Venezuela as dangerous places for visitors.  It seems disheartening to me that we are included on the same list as those countries where one would have to fear for their safety.  Yes, it has some to this.

Updated Information on the Effects of Social Media

I understand if people think that I have gotten a little lazy this summer with my blog posts, relying upon the work of others and just passing it on to you rather than writing my own.  And yes, to an extent, that is true.  However, I have been writing on a number of topics so that I have at least all of my first semester articles ready before school starts next month.  For this one, I am falling back to Tim Elmore again and am sharing three articles he posted in the past couple of weeks about social media.  Elmore has conducted a number of focus groups as part of his research and shares about what he learned about social media.  There are three articles that will basically give you the pro’s and con’s of social media.  After reading them myself, all of these observations are true about students at North Fayette Valley High School.  I believe that we have taken a very reasonable approach that has evolved over the years in terms of access to phones and media, but in the past year we have had conversation that perhaps we need to tighten things up.  This fall there will be at least a few teachers that will not allow student to have possession of their phone in their classroom.  I think after reading these articles you will understand why.

Six Potential Downsides of Social Media

The Potential Upside of Social Media

Raised in a Day of Social Media

Iowa, Did You Know?

Five years ago this August I was in attendance at the School Administrators of Iowa Conference in Des Moines when this video was shown for the first time.  I had not watched it again until one of our teachers sent it to me recently. To truly digest it all a person needs to watch it two or three times and then reflect a bit upon some of the statistical information that is presented.  I can hear people saying “change is tough” and others “why do we have to change?”  Rarely do I have conversation of any length with people when some reference to the past isn’t made, often nostalgic.  But the reality is that change happens and things are not the same as they once were, and they are not going back.  Iowans are bright, hard-working people, and despite what critics say, we are still providing a top-notch education for our students thanks to dedicated and committed educators.  Can that be sustained?  Not unless changes are made.  Can Iowa compete in the global economy?  Only if changes are made.  Take a little time to watch this video.

Iowa, Did You Know?

We’re On The Right Track

According to one analysis of educational requirements for the class of 2014, 32 states did not require that all graduates take four years of English and math through Algebra II or its equivalent, which is often defined as the minimum to be prepared for college.  At North Fayette Valley High School we have started to pay closer attention to the college readiness data produced by ACT when our students take that assessment, and we are finding that we are coming up a little bit short.  We recognize that we need to assess where we are at in terms of course offerings and requirements, as well as how we work with students who intend to go on to a four-year college and their course selection while in high school.  

There is some good news off the top as we have required four years of English Language Arts for a number of years.  And, we made adjustments a few years ago offering more specific courses with the goal of meeting the various needs of students going on to different types of post-secondary programs.  So from the perspective of providing quality preparation for college bound students in the area of English Language Arts, I am confident that our students are ahead of the curve.

When it comes to math, there has been research duplicated over the years that supports the idea that the best predictor of college success is whether a student takes a math class their senior year in high school.  We recognize the importance of this even though our requirement is three years of math to meet graduation requirements at NFVHS.  We strongly encourage our students to continue their math study, and during the 2015-16 school year, 52% of our seniors took a math class.  42% of those students have taken Algebra II or higher, though that does not include students who may have taken at least Algebra II or higher their junior year but are not taking a math class their senior year.  Of our seniors taking math, 36% have taken our Functions class or higher. 

Based on the data it would appear that we have some work to do in the area of math preparation.  That said, while we have between 85-90% of our students go on to post-secondary education, a large percentage of those students will go into a two-year type program where the math requirements are not quite as high.  This is somewhat of a double-edged sword because for years the perception  about going on to a two-year program has been that it does not require as rigorous of academic preparation.  However, in our changing economy there is a high demand for young people in highly skilled job areas that require a high level of math.  Because of that we have been pushing more of our students to continue their math study, but that has been a challenge because of long held perceptions.  As with many things, changing beliefs and attitudes takes a lot more time and effort than changing a rule or policy.  

 

“Students and their families rely on and trust the high school diploma as a signal of readiness,” said Alissa Peltzman, the vice president of state policy at Achieve, a nonprofit that performed the study. “It needs to mean something. Otherwise, it’s a false promise for thousands of students.”

When one looks at that quote we recognize that we need to give some serious consideration to our math requirement.  Are we doing a good enough job preparing our students?  Do we need to require four years of math for all of our students?  How do we help our students and their parents better understand the importance of taking high level math regardless of the college path that lies ahead?  This is certainly something that lies in front of us as we work through the implementation of Iowa Core Standards and work to better assess our student’s learning.

Failure and Motivation

Through one of our teachers I have run across a website that I find very informative when it comes to explaining how the teenage mind works, and more important, how we as parents and teachers can better work with our kids.  The website is called Mind/Shift: How we will learn and can be found at http://ww2.kqed.org/mindshift/.  I have not read a lot of articles up to this point but have added it to my Favorites and drop in from time to time.  A number of the articles I have read reference the breakthrough book Mindset: The New Psychology of Success by Carol Dweck.  The fundamental tenant of her work is the difference between fixed and growth mindsets.  At NFVHS we have had some exposure to her work and while I have started and stopped a couple of times, her book is at the top of my summer reading list.  

The article that I have shared with you from Mind/Shift deals with how parents can support their children when they experience failure in school.  How we react when our daughter comes up with a low mark sends a powerful message that she internalizes.  Most important, when we react appropriately, learning takes place in a manner that the child can move forward.  Give this a read!

Talking About Failure: What Parents Can Do to Motivate Kids In School

http://ww2.kqed.org/mindshift/2016/05/08/talking-about-failure-what-parents-can-do-to-motivate-kids-in-school/

A Legal Age to Play Football?

A few national sportswriters and pundits have started to bemoan what they allege to be the “war on football” that the media is engaged in, defending the sport for what it is and attacking those that are trying to eliminate it from the face of the American landscape.  Right now, there is significant research that supports waiting until youngsters are at least 12-years old before they are allowed to play contact football, specifically in a study  published in the medical journal Neurology by researchers at the Boston University School of Medicine.  While the justification for this argument is the physical development of the youngster, there is another argument that based on who is making it and the substance of the argument, I find quite interesting.

You may be familiar with Dr. Bennet Omalu, or have at least heard a little bit about his research.  Perhaps you are aware of him being played by Will Smith in the movie Concussion.  Omalu is a forensic pathologist and the leading expert in the growing field of concussion research, as well as the individual that initiated the study of the brains of former NFL football players.  He identified what is commonly referred to as CTE.  Chronic traumatic encephalopathy can cause “major depression, memory loss, suicidal thought and actions, and loss of intelligence as well as dementia later in life.”  According to Omalu, what makes this particularly scary is that “the brain, unlike most other organs, does not have the capacity to cure itself following all types of injuries."

In late 2015, Omalu provided an op-ed piece to the New York Times in which he proposed that there should be a legal age established for children to reach before they can play football and other high contact sports.  In essence, he proposes an age of legal consent, where the individual makes a legal decision as to whether or not they play the sport.  According to Omalu: "Our children are minors who have not reached the age of consent. It is our moral duty as a society to protect the most vulnerable of us. The human brain becomes fully developed at about 18 to 25 years old. We should at least wait for our children to grow up, be provided with the information and education on the risk of play, and let them make their own decisions. No adult, not a parent or a coach, should be allowed to make this potentially life-altering decision for a child.”  Obviously, that could have huge implications for high school football, the sport with the highest level of male participation in the country.

Switching gears a little bit, there are those devoted to the other brand of “football,” the international game we refer to as soccer, that also resent the “war” being waged on their beloved sport.  For females, the sport with the highest incidence of concussions is soccer, followed by volleyball.  Leaders in the sport of soccer in the United States have taken steps at youth levels by instituting changes in the rules.  There were attempts at the development of various kinds of headgear for protection, but those proved either cumbersome or not effective.  So, another step was taken: a ban on “heading” the ball until players reach a certain age.  Purists in this sport are saying that the specific rule change is ruining the integrity of the game, the purity of the sport.  Heading is a fundamental skill of soccer and to remove it significantly changes the game.  So, it isn’t just proponents of American football that are facing a new reality in terms of the impact concussion research is having on a sport.

The issue of concussions is a serious one, and more is being learned each day.  Are concussions among our  youth athletes a major health concern?  I have not heard that.  But it is serious enough that youth football programs, and even the N.F.L. have developed programs and changed rules to make it more safe.  But, even with those changes, Omalu stated that in our country laws have been written to prevent children from harming themselves in other ways.  For example, it is illegal for those under a certain age to smoke cigarettes or consume alcohol. They cannot enlist in the military until they are 18 because of the seriousness of that decision.  So, based on the risks, Omalu reasons why not require young men to reach the age of consent before they can make their own decision on whether or not they play football?   Obviously the implications on high school athletics would be huge, and from my perspective, I do not see this happening.  However, it is a perspective that some people are going to listen to and could likely contribute to the declining number of children playing the game of football.

Pressure In the Wrong Places

I can’t count the number of times I have made the comment “An 18-year old today is not nearly as mature as an 18-year old in the 1960’s and certainly not as mature as an 18-year old in my grandfather’s generation, commonly referred to today as The Greatest Generation.  Whenever I think about those 18-year old young men, some younger, who volunteered to go and fight in Europe or in the Pacific,  I envision those young men who made an incredibly mature decision to go and fight for freedom.  Many of those young men were already married at a young age, some of them having children and working a job.  When they set foot on foreign soil, they did so with the balance of freedom on their shoulders.  They were men that came from every walk of life and they knew full well what they were getting into, and why.  Today, I do not see adolescents and young adults faced with the same kinds of decisions or realities.

The paradox is that young people are physically maturing earlier than previous generations.  Young boys and girls today experience puberty at a far younger age that even a couple of generations ago.  That leads to a dynamic that is much different in terms of the total maturation process.  Sexually mature individuals are living for six years or more under the direct authority and supervision of their parents.  This extends the amount of time that students are dependent on their parents and delays the need for young people to make major decisions on their own.

What we have now is a population of highly educated young people leaving the nest that lack important life skills.  High school graduates today have a much higher level of education today than at any other time in our nation’s history.  They also have access to more resources than any time in history, yet college professors sometimes remark “26 is the new 18,” referencing their perceptions of how immature and unprepared people are for adult life.  In other words, adolescence has expanded into the twenties!

What has happened to cause this?  Researchers point to the notion that adults do not apply as much pressure on them as my great grandparents did during the time they were raising their kids.  More important, the pressure that is being applied is in places where it does not matter as much in terms of preparing individuals to deal with adult life.  In previous generations, parents put pressure on their kids to experience different work scenarios, prepare for family life, interact with people from different age groups, and develop a strong work ethic.  But that has apparently changed.  Today the pressure parents exert comes in different places that in the big picture do not make a big difference in preparing young people to become mature and productive adults.

So, what are the areas where parents are putting pressure on their children, and why doesn’t it help them become adults able to live independently?  Tim Elmore identifies three: grades, sports, and prestige.  Think about the amount of attention is given to each of these in your household.  Elmore states that “no one except our mom cares about your grades twenty years later,” and that their importance is overblown when it comes to scholarships and college admission.  Corporations and workplaces express that high school and college grades are not a very good reflection of job success. 

Overzealous parents are pushing their kids to excel on the playing field, hauling them all over the country to play on travel teams, and paying for private coaching.  The reality is, less than 1% are going to get college scholarships to play sports, and less than that are going to make their living playing sports.  Those kids are going to be software developers, nurses, and accountants, not point guards or shortstops.

Parents are also pushing their kids to be popular, and this pressure manifests itself in a number of different ways that in the big picture do not matter one iota.  Keeping track of and trying to accumulate as many Followers, Likes, and Views as possible is the new scoreboard for popularity.  In small schools in particular, the pressure to be popular also comes with challenges to value systems that students are still developing.  The reality is that this is fleeting, for some disappearing overnight should they take a social misstep.  For the rest, once graduation day is over, no one cares who the popular kids were.  There is no longer a need to have a pecking order.

 

When the young person moves beyond high school, it isn’t long before most of them recognize that they had been playing a game, and realize that those things they put a lot of emphasis on really do not matter.  And then, they recognize that they are not prepared for those things that are really important because the never had the pressure in those areas before.  For some, they experience emotional issues as they try to rationalize meaning with what they have accomplished up to that point.  Since they have not been prepared for the real responsibilities of life, they struggle, and many deal with those struggles by falling back into their comfort zone, which is a dependence on Mom and Dad.

If this is the case, then what should be done differently?  Again, according to Tim Elmore, the adults need to apply pressure on things that matter.  One example is to help children identify their strengths, develop them, and become very aware of their personal identity.  They need to know who they are and have confidence in what they can do.  People of character are also going to get further in life, and thus it is imperative that parents pressure their children to do the right thing, no matter the circumstances.  And finally, parents need to insist that their son or daughter develop a strong work ethic.  The need to understand that the quality of work they do is important, and that they also need to work to serve others.  These are the qualities that will lead to success in their future.