Arguing Over the Environment

This week my wife and I got into an argument. Ok, so it wasn't really an argument, but more of a heated discussion. She is a nurse and helps manage the children's emergency department. I am always comparing schools to other professions, and hers is often the one I pick. It all started when we got on the topic of the ED being backed up and it taking a long time for patients to be seen. Sometimes they even are seen by doctors and nurses in the hallway when all rooms are full. That just made no sense to me as a comparison. Sure these people got care, by a professional, in a timely manner according to their needs. My argument was this: Imagine if we treated children the same way. If a child came to enroll in school and we had no class below capacity in the subject they needed, would it be ok to put them in a desk in the hallway? Would it be ok if I gave them a book and had the teacher check on them? While they are receiving an education, something doesn't feel right about it. Needless to say, I would expect a heated visit from that child's parent very soon!

My wife contends that I cannot compare the two situations. The management of an emergency room and a school are just too different. Her argument is that while it is not optimal, good nurses can mitigate these issues with great communication and great care. I have to admit, from a management standpoint, I was wrong. I was focusing on the problems with infrastructure, staffing and care. What I should have been focusing on was what really matters, how the patient or child in both situation feels. Children learn when they feel wanted, appreciated and valued. Patients heal under the same conditions. Good teachers, like good nurses, make that happen no matter what the obstacles. Thinking back on it, our teachers make students welcomed and wanted when the roof leaks, AC breaks, the room is crowded or whatever life throws their way. Environment has much more to do with how you feel about what is around you than the building or space within it. So while I work on improving the environment of my own house after being overly critical, I want to encourage each of you to continue to build positive environments in your classrooms and in our school. Remember that teaching is a service industry and our clients deserve to feel great about their product.

Higher Expectations

This week I told two freshman students the truth. We have lied to them long enough. What I told them was harsh and unexpected. "You're not special." The words almost hurt to say each time they came from my mouth. You could visibly see their faces change each time I said it. Both students have goals of being the first from their family to attend college. Both students were not meeting the expectations of their teachers or of any student that I would consider college bound. I said it again. "You're not special. Why would a college want you?" Again I saw their faces drop. 

We spend a great deal of time from Kindergarten through Senior year telling students that they can be anything that they want to be and that they can go anywhere that they want to go. The truth is that unless they distinguish themselves in and out of the classroom, that is a lie. The other truth is that it is our fault. We spend so much time generating positive relationships in the classroom and motivating students to try, that sometimes we short change what they can produce if we pushed them to do more. 

This week our teachers did professional development on generating higher level questions in their classrooms. That is a tough job when sometimes you worry about the students that cannot show success with mid or even low level questions. The other side to generating higher level questions, is generating higher level expectations. That process is not easy or quick, but it is necessary. It's true, average students with average or even good grades are not special. They are average, and they will be competing with all other average students for college admissions. Higher expectations and a strong push can provide them a pathway toward showing abilities and that is how our students can stand apart from the rest. That is how they can be special.

What is College-Ready?

The term "college-ready" is one that has become all too familiar to high school teachers. That term has been used to embrace many different statistics that seek to measure a student's chances of being successful in a college classroom. From our Levels 4 and 5 on End of Course tests, to PLAN, SAT, ACT and DAP scores, everyone seems to have a way of predicting a student's success before they ever set foot on a college campus. Before we accept these tests as the gold standard that they claim to be, there are a few things that anyone associated with a high school in a low-wealth area should understand.

Consider these facts:

• Only 42% of Americans over 25 have a post-secondary degree.
• Research suggests that college recruiters tend to focus on schools with a track record of successful students and may actually be overlooking schools with a high ratio of African American or Latino students, despite their ability to handle college rigor.
• Though the number of African American and Latino enrollments have greatly increased since 1995 (73% and 107% respectively), these students are attending schools with open-enrollment policies that are perceived as academically weaker.
• More African American and Latino students with an A average are choosing to attend community colleges over white students with an A average.
• Each year, there are as many as 111,000 high-scoring African American and Hispanic students that do not attend college or do not graduate. (That makes over 2 million students since 1995)
• The SAT claims that a student scoring a 1550 out of 2400 has a 65% chance of scoring a B average in their first year of college
• Students with this score have a 69% chance of graduating within 6 years of college
• Students below this score only show a 45% chance of graduating within 6 years
• In 2014, less than half of test-takers achieved a 1550
• Only 16% of African American and 23% of Hispanic students scored a 1550
• The ACT claims that students meeting the benchmark score for each area have a 50% chance of finishing with a B average in the subject area in their first year of college
• Only 40% of test-takers met the benchmark in 3 or 4 areas of the test in 2014
• 33% did not make the benchmark in any subject area

These statistics prove what most teachers in low-wealth areas already know. There are many other factors aside from performance on the SAT or ACT that keep minority students from attending college. With these factors hanging over our student's heads, how on earth do we work to continue to make our students college ready? Well, not-so-fast! New research says that these tests are ignoring some very important factors: Grades and Grit. Students with higher GPAs in high school and lower SAT or ACT scores are actually proving to outperform students with just high test scores. Other studies point to students with a growth mindset are also outperforming students with just high scores.

Keeping students working hard in the classroom, taking challenging courses and teaching them the value of grit is showing to be a far better indicator of college readiness than any of the standardized tests that are currently being used. This information is going to be very valuable for us in the next few months. Between upcoming tests where students can work hard to perform, scheduling for next year's classes and an incoming crop of freshmen just 6 months away, grit and grades need to be on everyone's mind! Every teacher and parent can help by preaching the value of hard work and resilience at every opportunity. Let's fill every student's ear every chance we get!

We're In a Relationship

This week I am at the NCASCD conference. I look forward to this week because I always leave with great ideas to come back to school with. At one session I saw a video that I have not seen in a while. If you have not seen the nail video, I strongly suggest that you stop reading and watch it now!

In schools, we spend a lot of time talking about teacher and student relationships. These are so important that I believe that they are equally as impactful as the curriculum or methods that you use in your classroom. With all of this focus on the relationships with students, I think it is easy to put the relationships with other adults on the back burner. Particularly your relationship with school administrators.

All working relationships hinge on the fulfillment of four basic needs. They are: freedom, fun, love/belonging and power. These four domains allow you to be a connected equal in any relationship and I can certainly see how they relate to teachers as well. Teachers need autonomy, enjoyment, appreciation and a voice in what they do everyday. When I started reflecting on this, I instantly thought of times that I was acting just like the guy in the nail video. I recalled conversations with teachers that just wanted to share how hard they were working. They needed validation, not suggestions. And I get it, it's hard to tell me to shut up!

The spring semester is always a blur of events and activity and in the hustle of it all, please remember to focus on relationships. Not just student relationships, but also relationships with adults in our building and the adults that are in our student's lives as well. We all need those four needs to make the very most of our purpose and we can all work to help provide them for each other.