This quote comes from Educational Leadership, September, 2010:
As a teacher once said, "I never heard of a student not doing his work; it's our work he's not doing."
-- Cathy Vatterott, p. 10
Wow! Is it that simply explained? Could this be why some (many? most?) students don't do assigned work, especially "homework"? Maybe if it had more to do with them, they'd do it. That is, if they were assigned to do work they found engaging, that they found meaningful, that they found relevant (There's that word, again!), students would be more apt to complete the assignment.
Did ya know?
"Two of three respondents" to the annual survey on student engagement "(66 percent) indicated that they are bored at least every day in class. But students also clarified the kinds of work that would engage them. They rated the following most highly: discussion and debate (61 percent); group projects (60 percent); and projects and lessons involving technology (55 percent). Following close behind as favorites were presentations (46 percent); role-plays (43 percent); and art and drama activities (49 percent). It's no surprise that teacher lecture got the highest 'like not at all' votes (44 percent) and the fewest 'like very much' votes (6 percent). Students also indicated that they enjoy discussions in which there are no clear-cut answers (65 percent) and that they would welcome the opportunity to be more creative in school (85 percent)." -Ed Leadership, Sept. 2010, p. 8.
Sounds like I may be barking up the right tree when I tell teachers in the district that they should be making work more relevant to students, particularly in their discussions of matters where "there is no clear-cut answers." That's a four rating on the Rigor and Relevance Framework's APPLICATION continuum; right?
And then there's Sir Ken Robinson's position about schools and their need to be better places for kids to find out what they're good at and encouraging creativity. Students, 85 percent of them anyway, would like to be more creative in school.
Looks like ol' Les is on to something, if I do say so myself. And I do.
Innovate, teachers.
Take risks, teachers.
Don't fear failure. Remember! It's a requirement...for success.
Each failure leads us further down the road toward success, especially if we're reflecting on the failures and learning from our mistakes. Failure is succeeding in learning what didn't work!!!
Parents, if you have questions about all of this nonsense, give me a call or e-mail me.
217-374-2842 lstevens@northgreene.com
Thursday, September 2, 2010
Friday, August 27, 2010
Welcome to a New School Year
The 2010-2011 school year is underway in North Greene and we've already had some excitement. The 340 or so Roodhouse Elementary and North Greene Junior High students gained access to their MacBooks on Thursday, August 26 with a wonderful Roll-out event that was truly magnificent. Dr. Cindy Carlson Rice saw her dream come true as students unpacked and began to charge their new machines one-by-one.
Meanwhile the faculty members at North Greene High School got their individual Apple iTouches with the simple instruction to "dig in and see how these might be useful in your classes during this school year." We hope in the future to see such devices in the hands of all high school students OR to make use of the smartphone technology students already have at their disposal as they pursue their educational goals. This, too, is an exciting prospect.
Making use of available technologies as educational tools is a change in mindsets for staff and students alike. It'll take a bit of time for the learning curve that almost always accompanies such a sea change. But at some point in the near futurer, we should see increased achievement on the part of our students, as they and their teachers learn to make effective use of these technologies.
Congratulations to the teachers and staff at NGHS. Despite once again failing to make AYP (adequqate yearly progress) as measured by standardized tests, they did see five-year high's in all areas of the ACT test. That's reading, mathematics, science, as well as the composite scores. Congratulations, too, to those students who did so well on the ACT last spring, a group mostly made up of the Class of 2011, this year's senior class.
We may continue to miss the target set by NCLB legislation, as so many more schools are - because the qualifying standard score gets raised each year. But we're going in the right direction and look for continued climbs in our test scores, while at the same time realizing those test scores never have told the complete story concerning North Greene students or their learning and academic achievement. We are seeing them gain more content knowledge and acquire 21st century skills each and every day. The tests? They take place over two days each spring, hardly a true picture of how students are doing or how we're doing as a school.
As you may have heard me say, previously, "Test scores tell us something about our schools. But they never tell us the whole story."
Meanwhile the faculty members at North Greene High School got their individual Apple iTouches with the simple instruction to "dig in and see how these might be useful in your classes during this school year." We hope in the future to see such devices in the hands of all high school students OR to make use of the smartphone technology students already have at their disposal as they pursue their educational goals. This, too, is an exciting prospect.
Making use of available technologies as educational tools is a change in mindsets for staff and students alike. It'll take a bit of time for the learning curve that almost always accompanies such a sea change. But at some point in the near futurer, we should see increased achievement on the part of our students, as they and their teachers learn to make effective use of these technologies.
Congratulations to the teachers and staff at NGHS. Despite once again failing to make AYP (adequqate yearly progress) as measured by standardized tests, they did see five-year high's in all areas of the ACT test. That's reading, mathematics, science, as well as the composite scores. Congratulations, too, to those students who did so well on the ACT last spring, a group mostly made up of the Class of 2011, this year's senior class.
We may continue to miss the target set by NCLB legislation, as so many more schools are - because the qualifying standard score gets raised each year. But we're going in the right direction and look for continued climbs in our test scores, while at the same time realizing those test scores never have told the complete story concerning North Greene students or their learning and academic achievement. We are seeing them gain more content knowledge and acquire 21st century skills each and every day. The tests? They take place over two days each spring, hardly a true picture of how students are doing or how we're doing as a school.
As you may have heard me say, previously, "Test scores tell us something about our schools. But they never tell us the whole story."
Tuesday, September 15, 2009
Superintendent's Forum on Boys
I invite sections of the public to join me at NGHS in the Commons - Tuesday, October 20, 2009 at 6:30.
I'll present information to parents of boys - on BOYS. You'll be particularly interested in this presentation if you are a parent of a boy or boys who struggle in school. Other interested adults are welcome to atttend the event, as well. This will be a frank discussion of the five factors that contribute to what has become, by some accounts, an epidemic of disengaged boys who struggle with maturing into self-supporting, self-sufficient, mature young men.
A "failure to launch" phenomenon is sweeping the country, indeed, much of North America and can also be seen in Japan, according to author Dr. Leonard Sax. Dr. Sax, the author of Boys Adrift and Why Gender Matters, is a noted speaker. He is a practicing physician and has his PhD., as well.
If you have a son who is an upperclassman at North Greene High School, you are invited to bring him along. It might be interesting to draw from his perspective on some of the information being presented. A word of caution: STUDENTS WHO ARE NOT YET JUNIORS OR SENIORS ARE DISCOURAGED FROM ATTENDING THIS PRESENTATION. Some material is intended for mature audiences only and facilitates serious discussion between parents, educators and very mature students. Less mature students will probably not benefit from the discussion at this time.
Educators working in the North Greene Unit District No. 3 have already heard much of the information I have to offer on this very interesting and somewhat disturbing topic. They are, of course, welcome to join us on October 20, as are educators from other school districts in the area. Introductions will be followed by a PowerPoint presentation and discussion of the topic. Ministers from the local churches are especially welcome, as are other interested adults from the community.
I'll present information to parents of boys - on BOYS. You'll be particularly interested in this presentation if you are a parent of a boy or boys who struggle in school. Other interested adults are welcome to atttend the event, as well. This will be a frank discussion of the five factors that contribute to what has become, by some accounts, an epidemic of disengaged boys who struggle with maturing into self-supporting, self-sufficient, mature young men.
A "failure to launch" phenomenon is sweeping the country, indeed, much of North America and can also be seen in Japan, according to author Dr. Leonard Sax. Dr. Sax, the author of Boys Adrift and Why Gender Matters, is a noted speaker. He is a practicing physician and has his PhD., as well.
If you have a son who is an upperclassman at North Greene High School, you are invited to bring him along. It might be interesting to draw from his perspective on some of the information being presented. A word of caution: STUDENTS WHO ARE NOT YET JUNIORS OR SENIORS ARE DISCOURAGED FROM ATTENDING THIS PRESENTATION. Some material is intended for mature audiences only and facilitates serious discussion between parents, educators and very mature students. Less mature students will probably not benefit from the discussion at this time.
Educators working in the North Greene Unit District No. 3 have already heard much of the information I have to offer on this very interesting and somewhat disturbing topic. They are, of course, welcome to join us on October 20, as are educators from other school districts in the area. Introductions will be followed by a PowerPoint presentation and discussion of the topic. Ministers from the local churches are especially welcome, as are other interested adults from the community.
Wednesday, June 3, 2009
Contact your legislator or Governor Quinn
I have, today, sent correspondence similar to that below to Senator Deanna Demuzio, Representative Jim Watson and Governor Patrick Quinn. It is my hope that you, too, are in favor of fully funding these programs, so vital to North Greene Unit District No. 3. If so, I urge you to send a note or an e-mail to one, two or all three, asking that they fully fund the programs mentioned in my message below.
***
As I understand the current situation, there is no money currently appropriated for programs very important to our school district. I urge you to speak out in favor of funding the following initiatives in the House and do whatever you can to see that the high quality of education we try to provide our students does not suffer due to tough economic times. Following are some examples of programs we cannot afford to lose or see watered down as a result of the budget mess with which you're currently dealing:
Early Childhood Education Block Grants - Our EC programming here has effectively addressed the need for parent training, in addition to preparing younger children for school. We cannot afford to lose this program or see it watered down.
ADA Block Grant - We have made very effective use of this grant money during FY09. We've facilitated parental contact with instantaneous phone calls to their homes in the event of an emergency. We have enhanced our high school juniors' chances of performing better on ACT/PSAE tests by purchasing graphing calculators for each of them and providing instruction in their use. We've purchased an additional copying machine. We've purchased name plates for marking equipment purchases with permanent inventory id tags. Recently we purchased a Promethean board for the high school teachers to share in our study hall classroom next year. The $32K we received this year was a boon for the district, providing me with great flexibility in the uses for this money. It needs to be fully funded for FY10.
Agriculture Education and Career & Technical Education - These programs are vital to our area. Greene county is one of the poorest counties in Illinois and unemployment was rampant before other parts of the United States suffered because of the current economic downturn. We desparately need to hang on to this funding, as it affords our students a chance for future employment by providing them with the skillset they need to work in agriculture and in technical careers.
Reading Improvement Block Grant - While we've made some progress, our reading scores still lag behind national and state standards which increase with each passing year under NCLB. More importantly, reading is the key to all learning. If our students cannot read well, they cannot access content information in any other discipline of study. We must continue our efforts to assist those students who come to our schools lacking in literacy skills because of the aforementioned parenting issues. We must have the funding to do so.
Truant prevention and dropout assistance - We are appropriately held accountable on these two fronts and have, I am happy to point out, made improvements in these areas. But dropping funding now or in the future only compounds the problems we have in holding students' feet to the fire regarding compulsory attendance and further compounds our unemployment problems in the future. These programs need to be funded. If we fail to keep kids in school, they continue down a path leading to unemployment, crime and drug abuse.
Regional Safe Schools - Some students, unfortunately, are not "wired" for the typical classroom. They find it impossible to "stay in line," keep their mouths shut and "play the game" we call school. Alternative classroom settings with "better" student:teacher ratios and more individualized programming are required. The cracks through which these students fall will widen with a drop in funding for these safe schools. Don't let this happen, please.
Again, we greatly appreciate your consideration of these issues, your commitment to education and the work you've consistently done on our behalf. We know the job ahead of your and your colleagues is not an easy one and we appreciate your efforts. As I stated recently to the media, we need someone in Springfield to take the lead and do what's right for all Illinois citizens, especially those who do not yet have a vote on issues that affect them now and well into their futures. I look forward to working along side you and we all look forward to better times ahead.
Thanks.
Les Stevens, Superintendent
***
You may contact the senator, the representative and the Governor in the following methods:
Senator Deanna Demuzio
140 Carlinville Plaza
Carlinville, IL 62626
demuzio@senatedem.state.il.us
Representative Jim Watson
District Office
325 W. State St.
Suite 102
P.O. Box 160
Jacksonville, IL 62650
jimwatson@localnetco.com
Governor Patrick Quinn
Office of the Governor
207 State House
Springfield, IL 62706
http://www.illinois.gov/gov/contactthegovernor.cfm
Should you decide to contact any or all of these individual, realize that we must respectfully make our requests, providing reasoning for our making these requests. You can make a difference.
***
As I understand the current situation, there is no money currently appropriated for programs very important to our school district. I urge you to speak out in favor of funding the following initiatives in the House and do whatever you can to see that the high quality of education we try to provide our students does not suffer due to tough economic times. Following are some examples of programs we cannot afford to lose or see watered down as a result of the budget mess with which you're currently dealing:
Early Childhood Education Block Grants - Our EC programming here has effectively addressed the need for parent training, in addition to preparing younger children for school. We cannot afford to lose this program or see it watered down.
ADA Block Grant - We have made very effective use of this grant money during FY09. We've facilitated parental contact with instantaneous phone calls to their homes in the event of an emergency. We have enhanced our high school juniors' chances of performing better on ACT/PSAE tests by purchasing graphing calculators for each of them and providing instruction in their use. We've purchased an additional copying machine. We've purchased name plates for marking equipment purchases with permanent inventory id tags. Recently we purchased a Promethean board for the high school teachers to share in our study hall classroom next year. The $32K we received this year was a boon for the district, providing me with great flexibility in the uses for this money. It needs to be fully funded for FY10.
Agriculture Education and Career & Technical Education - These programs are vital to our area. Greene county is one of the poorest counties in Illinois and unemployment was rampant before other parts of the United States suffered because of the current economic downturn. We desparately need to hang on to this funding, as it affords our students a chance for future employment by providing them with the skillset they need to work in agriculture and in technical careers.
Reading Improvement Block Grant - While we've made some progress, our reading scores still lag behind national and state standards which increase with each passing year under NCLB. More importantly, reading is the key to all learning. If our students cannot read well, they cannot access content information in any other discipline of study. We must continue our efforts to assist those students who come to our schools lacking in literacy skills because of the aforementioned parenting issues. We must have the funding to do so.
Truant prevention and dropout assistance - We are appropriately held accountable on these two fronts and have, I am happy to point out, made improvements in these areas. But dropping funding now or in the future only compounds the problems we have in holding students' feet to the fire regarding compulsory attendance and further compounds our unemployment problems in the future. These programs need to be funded. If we fail to keep kids in school, they continue down a path leading to unemployment, crime and drug abuse.
Regional Safe Schools - Some students, unfortunately, are not "wired" for the typical classroom. They find it impossible to "stay in line," keep their mouths shut and "play the game" we call school. Alternative classroom settings with "better" student:teacher ratios and more individualized programming are required. The cracks through which these students fall will widen with a drop in funding for these safe schools. Don't let this happen, please.
Again, we greatly appreciate your consideration of these issues, your commitment to education and the work you've consistently done on our behalf. We know the job ahead of your and your colleagues is not an easy one and we appreciate your efforts. As I stated recently to the media, we need someone in Springfield to take the lead and do what's right for all Illinois citizens, especially those who do not yet have a vote on issues that affect them now and well into their futures. I look forward to working along side you and we all look forward to better times ahead.
Thanks.
Les Stevens, Superintendent
***
You may contact the senator, the representative and the Governor in the following methods:
Senator Deanna Demuzio
140 Carlinville Plaza
Carlinville, IL 62626
demuzio@senatedem.state.il.us
Representative Jim Watson
District Office
325 W. State St.
Suite 102
P.O. Box 160
Jacksonville, IL 62650
jimwatson@localnetco.com
Governor Patrick Quinn
Office of the Governor
207 State House
Springfield, IL 62706
http://www.illinois.gov/gov/contactthegovernor.cfm
Should you decide to contact any or all of these individual, realize that we must respectfully make our requests, providing reasoning for our making these requests. You can make a difference.
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