I want to share a short CBS video about the current state of education.
Schools Face an Uphill Challenge
Interestingly, the Harvard Ed.D. program that is mentioned is one that I (and many others) have highly coveted. Although I certainly would not change my path, I do wonder what life would have been like had I accepted Teach For America and then applied for a Education Policy program in Fall of 2011.
I digress... The clip is a nice snapshot of the larger picture of education, and Michelle Rhee seems to be the poster-girl of neo-education policy reform.
Monday, February 1, 2010
Thursday, January 28, 2010
Barefoot Running!
Last summer, JR, a good friend and author of playthink, approached me with the notion that running barefoot may be better than running with highly structured, highly padded shoes. The Barefoot Revolution, he called it. The idea seemed dangerous but simple and alluring. One of the largest instigators for this debate is a book called Born to Run, which chronicles the current state of the shoe industry and a hidden tribe that has members running extreme distances with no shoes or light rubber sandals.
If you don't have time to read the book, see the links below:
Should You Be Running Barefoot? (Time)
Humans Were Born to Run (NPR)
I am currently training for my first marathon, and I have not completely adopted this minimalist running. I have, however, shortened my stride and started landing on the balls of my feet. Anecdotally, I have seen great improvements in my knee pain and my ability to run day after day. While I do believe there are benefits to barefoot running and the shoe industry does not necessary have runners' best interest in mind, I continue to run in running shoes. For me (for now), the take-home message has been run like you are barefoot.
The debate continues, but I encourage more runners to take a seat at the table.
If you don't have time to read the book, see the links below:
Should You Be Running Barefoot? (Time)
Humans Were Born to Run (NPR)
I am currently training for my first marathon, and I have not completely adopted this minimalist running. I have, however, shortened my stride and started landing on the balls of my feet. Anecdotally, I have seen great improvements in my knee pain and my ability to run day after day. While I do believe there are benefits to barefoot running and the shoe industry does not necessary have runners' best interest in mind, I continue to run in running shoes. For me (for now), the take-home message has been run like you are barefoot.
The debate continues, but I encourage more runners to take a seat at the table.
Wednesday, January 27, 2010
California Education Woes
In the Summer of 2008, I moved across the country to attend graduate school. At the time, UC Berkeley was the #1 Public University in the world. It was an offer I could not refuse-- a first-class education for one of the cheapest pricetags available. While the first attribute remains, the second is fleeting. Since the economic downturn (and before then according to some) a UC education has grown more expensive, semesters have shortened, and classes have become more restricted. Worse, there are fears that professors will leave the UC system amidst the turmoil, which would impact that first attractive element of UC Berkeley. NPR addresses the current budget woes of the UC system:
California Budget Woes Hurt University System
The segment addresses others' situations, which are far worse than mine. It brings the hardship of finding the money for college to light. At present, there are bonafide concerns about both the quality and affordability of a UC education, and there are ominous signs that UC Berkeley may be headed towards a more privatized model. Interestingly, the highly controversial President Yudof comments on these concerns.
In tonight's State of the Union, President Obama said that the best anti-poverty reform is a world-class education. The president also spoke to the growing insufficiency of a high school diploma is today's society. If we hold these tenets as true, then making college financially and pragmatically accessible should be held on high in any economic climate.
California Budget Woes Hurt University System
The segment addresses others' situations, which are far worse than mine. It brings the hardship of finding the money for college to light. At present, there are bonafide concerns about both the quality and affordability of a UC education, and there are ominous signs that UC Berkeley may be headed towards a more privatized model. Interestingly, the highly controversial President Yudof comments on these concerns.
In tonight's State of the Union, President Obama said that the best anti-poverty reform is a world-class education. The president also spoke to the growing insufficiency of a high school diploma is today's society. If we hold these tenets as true, then making college financially and pragmatically accessible should be held on high in any economic climate.
Monday, January 25, 2010
Evaluating Teachers: Part II
A few days ago, I addressed the complexity of quantifying and gauging teachers' performance. Recently, I ran across an article in the Atlantic that pushes this discussion further.
What Makes A Great Teacher?
Succinctly, Amanda Ripley reveals the data and conclusions from Teach for America's (TFA) internal study. "Right away, certain patterns emerged. First, great teachers tended to set big goals for their students. Great teachers, he concluded, constantly reevaluate what they are doing." Further, in reviewing the efficacy of its own teachers, TFA concluded that there are four aspects that make a great teacher:
1. They avidly recruited students and their families into the process.
2. They maintained focus, ensuring that everything they did contributed to student learning.
3. They planned exhaustively and purposefully—for the next day or the year ahead—by working backward from the desired outcome.
4. They worked relentlessly, refusing to surrender to the combined menaces of poverty, bureaucracy, and budgetary shortfalls.
Albeit somewhat vague--Ripley pushes these conclusions and makes them more operational. Also, she articulates predictors of teacher success and debunks many commonly-held misconceptions. For example, a past history of achievement (like GPA) and leadership strongly predicts teacher efficacy, whereas a master's degree in education is a relatively weak predictor.
Interestingly, Ripley mentioned a new metric that DC public schools is implementing. Much like my educator rating suggestion, which was inspired by the NFL's passer rating, DCPS is using a composite metric of student progress and teacher observations from the principal, assistant principal, and a group of master educators.
I have linked the full article above. It is insightful, thought-provoking, and worth the read.
What Makes A Great Teacher?
Succinctly, Amanda Ripley reveals the data and conclusions from Teach for America's (TFA) internal study. "Right away, certain patterns emerged. First, great teachers tended to set big goals for their students. Great teachers, he concluded, constantly reevaluate what they are doing." Further, in reviewing the efficacy of its own teachers, TFA concluded that there are four aspects that make a great teacher:
1. They avidly recruited students and their families into the process.
2. They maintained focus, ensuring that everything they did contributed to student learning.
3. They planned exhaustively and purposefully—for the next day or the year ahead—by working backward from the desired outcome.
4. They worked relentlessly, refusing to surrender to the combined menaces of poverty, bureaucracy, and budgetary shortfalls.
Albeit somewhat vague--Ripley pushes these conclusions and makes them more operational. Also, she articulates predictors of teacher success and debunks many commonly-held misconceptions. For example, a past history of achievement (like GPA) and leadership strongly predicts teacher efficacy, whereas a master's degree in education is a relatively weak predictor.
Interestingly, Ripley mentioned a new metric that DC public schools is implementing. Much like my educator rating suggestion, which was inspired by the NFL's passer rating, DCPS is using a composite metric of student progress and teacher observations from the principal, assistant principal, and a group of master educators.
I have linked the full article above. It is insightful, thought-provoking, and worth the read.
Sunday, January 24, 2010
Events on the Horizon
Here is a mix of the education-related and athletic endeavors on tap for twenty-ten. I am excited! I've linked each event to the website:
February 7: Kaiser Half Marathon (San Francisco, CA)
March 7: Napa Valley Marathon (Napa, CA)
My first marathon.
April 9: D.C. Public Schools Urban Education Redesign Competition (Washington D.C.)
April 17: Sea Otter Classic (Monterey, CA)
100 mile Gran Fondo!
May 7: UC Berkeley School Psychology Conference (Berkeley, CA)
Addressing student stress in high and low-SES environments.
May 14: CATOGA (Dana Point, CA-Tybee Island, GA)
J.R. and I embark on a month bike ride across the US along the Southern Tier
August 12: Presentation at APA Conference (San Diego, CA)
October 10: Diablo Challenge (Danville, CA)
Looking to avenge last year's 8.5 second shortcoming.
...Should be great, could be epic...
February 7: Kaiser Half Marathon (San Francisco, CA)
March 7: Napa Valley Marathon (Napa, CA)
My first marathon.
April 9: D.C. Public Schools Urban Education Redesign Competition (Washington D.C.)
April 17: Sea Otter Classic (Monterey, CA)
100 mile Gran Fondo!
May 7: UC Berkeley School Psychology Conference (Berkeley, CA)
Addressing student stress in high and low-SES environments.
May 14: CATOGA (Dana Point, CA-Tybee Island, GA)
J.R. and I embark on a month bike ride across the US along the Southern Tier
August 12: Presentation at APA Conference (San Diego, CA)
October 10: Diablo Challenge (Danville, CA)
Looking to avenge last year's 8.5 second shortcoming.
...Should be great, could be epic...
Wednesday, January 20, 2010
Law & Order: Bay Area
In my fourth semester as a School Psychology Ph.D. student, my involvement within the school has gotten real real fast. After hours and hours of observation and practice tests, I am in my assessment placement and working on my first IEP evaluation with a 7th grader. The experience has been nerve-wrecking, but it has also filled me with importance. The data that I'm collecting are legal documents and are being aggregated to the benefit of a real student in need. Although some of my superiors in the field are burnt-out with their caseload or disenfranchised with the process, it is all very new and exciting to me.
Today, I was imagining I was a detective in Law & Order. At one moment I was testing the student's IQ, then (play Law & Order transition sound) I was interviewing the parents about their son's stregnths and weaknesses, and then (replay transition sound) I was watching the student interact with his peers at P.E. Next, I bring piles of records and data points back to the office to crack the case (or in my situation, prepare for a triennial). I even went as far to imagine the IEP meeting to be the courtroom scene where the true culprit is revealved to the audience. In Law & Order: Bay Area, however, no culprit is present. Rahter, the panacea for helping a special education student, which was overlooked by everyone else, is revealved in a eloquet and sophisticated monologue by me.... Roll credits... Created by Dick Wolf....
Okay, I've taken this vision too far, and in reality, I forsee no epiphanies for a child who has been in special education for three years and is only being reevaluated because of a federal mandate to keep records current. Nonetheless, putting the puzzle that is this student together has been challenging and envigorating. And here's to hoping that the newness never wears off! Who knows, maybe I'll get a TV show out of it... (I hear there's an opening on NBC these days.)
Today, I was imagining I was a detective in Law & Order. At one moment I was testing the student's IQ, then (play Law & Order transition sound) I was interviewing the parents about their son's stregnths and weaknesses, and then (replay transition sound) I was watching the student interact with his peers at P.E. Next, I bring piles of records and data points back to the office to crack the case (or in my situation, prepare for a triennial). I even went as far to imagine the IEP meeting to be the courtroom scene where the true culprit is revealved to the audience. In Law & Order: Bay Area, however, no culprit is present. Rahter, the panacea for helping a special education student, which was overlooked by everyone else, is revealved in a eloquet and sophisticated monologue by me.... Roll credits... Created by Dick Wolf....
Okay, I've taken this vision too far, and in reality, I forsee no epiphanies for a child who has been in special education for three years and is only being reevaluated because of a federal mandate to keep records current. Nonetheless, putting the puzzle that is this student together has been challenging and envigorating. And here's to hoping that the newness never wears off! Who knows, maybe I'll get a TV show out of it... (I hear there's an opening on NBC these days.)
Monday, January 18, 2010
How Should Teachers Be Evaluated?
In football, the quarterback is the leader of the field. He is involved in almost every offensive play and is paramount the team's success. Every year college and professional teams spend millions to secure and protect their quarterback. But how do teams appraise the value of a quarterback? In other words, with so much riding on a quality quarterback, how do teams quantify the effectiveness of the quarterback? In the National Football League, there is a statistic called Passer Rating. This score is an aggregation of statistics (i.e., passing yards, touchdowns, completions, and interceptions) with a specific weight. This measure is a decent metric for measuring quarterback's passing ability. For example, Steve Young, a hall of fame player and Superbowl Champion, holds the record for highest career passer rating. It should be noted though that, for passing alone, this is an imperfect metric, and for measuring the whole value of a quarterback (e.g., leadership, courage, decision-making, and running ability), passer rating is quite insufficient.
The outstanding point of my quarterback commentary is to accentuate the importance and difficulty of measuring the complexity of human performance. Like the quarterback, the teacher of a classroom and is the leader and plays a pivotal role in the academic and social-emotional development of each student. The evaluation of teachers is equally difficult, but there is much more at stake than the success of a sports team.
Below is a link for a NYT article that addresses the elusive metric for assessing teacher effectiveness. The article raises the question, but does a poor job of suggesting possibilities.
How Should Teachers Be Evaluated?
Maybe we should take a page from the NFL. Could an Educator Rating be adapted from several sources of information (e.g., student evaluation, third-party observations, student score improvement, and a school climate measure)? From lessons learned in baseball and football, it is unlikely that this composite score would appraise all teachers perfectly and fairly. It may, however, be a more objective, accurate, and agreeable than the current methods used today.
Just food for thought. If you're curious, the NFL passer rating is below:
The outstanding point of my quarterback commentary is to accentuate the importance and difficulty of measuring the complexity of human performance. Like the quarterback, the teacher of a classroom and is the leader and plays a pivotal role in the academic and social-emotional development of each student. The evaluation of teachers is equally difficult, but there is much more at stake than the success of a sports team.
Below is a link for a NYT article that addresses the elusive metric for assessing teacher effectiveness. The article raises the question, but does a poor job of suggesting possibilities.
How Should Teachers Be Evaluated?
Maybe we should take a page from the NFL. Could an Educator Rating be adapted from several sources of information (e.g., student evaluation, third-party observations, student score improvement, and a school climate measure)? From lessons learned in baseball and football, it is unlikely that this composite score would appraise all teachers perfectly and fairly. It may, however, be a more objective, accurate, and agreeable than the current methods used today.
Just food for thought. If you're curious, the NFL passer rating is below:
Then use the above calculations to complete the passer rating:
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