Teaching, and Making Kids Learn

i was in the midst of a conversation today, which happens so very often, and my profession came up as part of the discussion... as most of you know, i am a teacher... there are many things that are included in my job description, but first off, we will start with a general definition according to dictionary.com

teach·er

   [tee-cher] Show IPA

–noun

a person who teaches or instructs, esp. as a profession;instructor.

ok, so the basic of my job is to teach... wait, what does it mean to teach??? lets look that up why dont we...

teach

   [teech] Show IPA verb, taught, teach·ing, noun

–verb (used with object)

1.

to impart knowledge of or skill in; give instruction in: Sheteaches mathematics.

2.

to impart knowledge or skill to; give instruction to: Heteaches a large class.

–verb (used without object)

3.

to impart knowledge or skill; give instruction.

ok, so by the basic definition of my job, i am to impart or provide knowledge to the kids that are under my instruction... now of course, districts give me additional responsibilities, like lesson planning, curriculum writing, morning duties, tutoring, etc... all of those are reasonable responsibilities, essentially necessary for the machine to run properly...

i have no issue with this... these are not irrational demands of someone whose soul purpose is to provide knowledge... the problem lies in the misunderstanding of the job....

there are parents, and administrators, and even state entities that have mutated the definition of a teacher, and misconstrued what it means to teach... what these parents, admins, and lawmakers expect for us is simple, yet reasonably insane... their definition of teacher looks something like this...

teach·er

   [tee-cher] Show IPA

–noun

a person that makes students learn.

and their definition of teach looks like...

teach

   [teech] Show IPA verb, taught, teach·ing, noun

–verb (used with object)

1.

to make someone retain knowledge.

2.

to create learning.

–verb (used without object)

3.

to make learn.

this is not reasonable at all... i can impart knowledge... i can present information... i can simplify difficult concepts... i can explain, and give real-world examples, and demonstrate, and design intricate labs... i can create the most inviting environment, capable of making every child in my class feel comfortable opening up and discussing all sorts of topics...

but i cant make kids learn... none of us can...

that responsibility should not be ours... unfortunately that responsibility fall on no one else but the student...

the key is this... parents must create a desire to learn in their children... one that can be fostered by us teachers in the classroom, with knowledge and good grades... those things should be rewarded... and there should be consequences tied to a lack of desire to learn...

i have more to say, but i want to know what you think... feel free to comment...

a grown man's thoughts on fights and fighting...

some of you may know that i practice martial arts... well there's a part of martial arts called sport karate, and i greatly enjoy this part of it all... so much so, that i have traveled near and far to participate in tournaments...

well this weekend was the US Open, likely the largest sport karate tournament in the country. Teams from all over the world showed up to participate... Germany, England, South Africa, Virgin Islands, Jamaica, Bahamas, Venezuela, and Puerto Rico just to name a few... this thing is such a big event, that it usually takes two full days to get through the entire competition... camera crews from websites, various blogs, and even ESPN regularly show for this event...

ok, so now that ive put down enough of a backstory, i have a few things that i wish to talk about... i guess my biggest thing is this... sport karate is just that, sport... its not for a large purse, like boxing or mma... if you wanted to fight for real, pursue kickboxing, which is pretty lucrative...

its funny, because this weekend i ended up with 3 fights, the most fights ive had this year in a tournament, and each one of them was a good fight against a tough opponent... although i do have to say, interesting...

the first guy was about my size, maybe a little bigger, but slower... he wanted to fight... the first break he punched me square in the face, and i could tell he wasnt holding back... i dispatched his attempt to intimidate me, and mustered on...

the second fight was by far my favorite... it was against a Venezuelan gentleman, and it was a GOOD fight... we went back and forth trading points, and were tied until the last moment...

the final fight is what had me puzzled... it was against a puerto rican guy nearly half my size... normally fighters are separated by weight, but for some reason this day, that was not to be so... if it had been, we would have both had the opportunity to be named world champion, but unfortunately there would be only one this day... dude was fast, but predictable... after the fight, he came over and proceeded to tell me that he was initially intimidated by my size, thinking that i would just wail on him, and that i fought with great control... im no stranger to this comment, but it still has be befuddled...

the purpose of pointfighting is to do just that, score points... the objective is to score more points than your opponent before time runs out... it isnt a contest to see who can hit harder, those people do breaking competitions... it isnt to knock the other person out, those people box, do mma, or kickbox...

one of the the keys to becoming a blackbelt is being able to control your body in all situations... as you rank up, you should be able to control yourself more... if these other fighters arent willing to use the control, then they shouldnt be ranked up... the last thing that i would want is a bad reputation from judges and officials from being to wild and crazy in the ring... as it stands now, ive only been in sport karate for a short time on the national level, but people seem to recognize and remember me, even going so far as to give me tips and pointers for improvement... and i take them willingly, knowing that everything they show or tell me will make me better...

On a roll???

I figured since i have posted on almost consecutive days, i should keep the party going and move the thinking process along...

lets begin with my surroundings... second to last day of summer school (thank god) and im in my classroom...

ok, ive talked enough about summer school and kids and education, i dont much feel like doing that right now... this will likely make for a boring entry, but oh well...

damnit... outside of work, theres not much else to talk about outside of my work... theres not much else that i do... i work, come home to go to another job, then sleep... on the days that i dont have my second job, i workout... which might as well be considered work....

i never expected that i would think of myself as a workaholic... ive always been for the whole "work smarter, not harder" mantra, and tried to make work more of an intellectual duty than physical labor... but in some instances i guess it cannot be avoided...

This and That...

i guess there is no particular mood necessary to write... for i am in no particular mood, other than wanting to write... there is no pressing issue forcing its way to the front of the line, nothing droning out the other thoughts in my head like a mass of vuvuzulas at a world cup match...

really there is nothing there, save for my disappointment in the will of my summer school bunch to pass... im guessing there are misconceptions that these children have that have not quite been cleared up... that a) summer school is supposed to be fun; and b) summer school was meant to be easy...

there is no place that i know of, that you can arrive to unprepared, not having anything necessary to complete the tasks required, and still be successful... but that is exactly what these children are doing... no pens, no pencils, no paper... not even the paper i gave them with the information to learn on it...

sad, just plain sad...

might as well just give them some khakis and a blue shirt, and prepare then for a career at wal-mart.

Everything I needed to know...

I learned in summer school... sounds funny, but its true... there are some observations that i have made over these past 12 days that are very likely going to influence the way i approach teaching from now on... whats yet to be determined is whether or not these changes are good things, or bad...

#1 kids today are far too used to getting it their way...

ive had more kids try to negotiate grading terms with me than i hope to ever experience in my life... too many of our children are asking for extra points, looking for crack in a teachers armor, only to pounce on any weakness and expose the fleshy parts for their classmates to devour... ive seen others crack under the pressure, ive felt it myself... kids repeatedly asking the same question over and over, waiting for frustration to set in, and the teacher to fold...

#2 kids are wrongfully being treated as adults.

its far too often that i see children treating their parents and other parental figures as equals. daughters talking to their mothers like they're sisters, and sons dismissing their mothers as if their words have absolutely no value at all... it really saddens me to see and hear these conversations take place... even worse to see the results in the classroom environment... some of these kids treat their teachers as things less than equals... truthfully, teaching IS a public service position, but being a public servant shouldn't subject us to such disrespect as some of us receive on a daily basis... this has to be put plainly on the people responsible for their rearing... either there is a lack of presence in the household, and the children are left to raise themselves, or the children are given far too many freedoms too early, and have taken those liberties too far...

#3 education has become a right, and not the privilege it used to be

this is probably the biggest complaint i have with NCLB... the fundamental belief behind the legislature is that ALL children should be afforded the same educational opportunities.. the flaw is that the financial side has basically forced the hands of the districts to get maximum funding by dragging in people that truthfully DON'T WANT TO BE THERE... these kids then devalue the education provided by distracting the masses... education is too readily available to the masses... i think once we start denying people access to education, we will see a decided increase in scholastic activity amongst the kids...

#4 teachers are not paid enough

ok, so this may be the most selfish of my observations, but it is very valid... as the professionals responsible for the future of the country, we are highly undervalued... there has to be a strong increase in salary, this would attract a more qualified educator, further increasing the educational value... simply put, if you paid teachers more money, you would get better teachers...

ill stop here for now, more later...

Excellence or Education... An insider's look into the hits and misses of public education...

this is not intended to point fingers directly at institutions or people, but it will... not intended to step on toes, but if you feel pressure on your feet, just know that i am only trying to incite some change... create some discomfort to cause some ripples...

mind you, im fairly new to education, at least from the point of view of the teacher... having been a student for over 20 years from first through college, i have vast experience as a student... but in the midst of my second year as a teacher, i have made some observations has led me to draw some conclusions regarding the public educational system...

ive seen the slogan "Excellence in Education" in many places, and used as a "call to arms" so to speak... ive attended ceremonies with motivational speakers, and big grand performances reminding me that the students we service are "the future of our nation"... im reminded consistently to "not give up" on my kids, and to "keep up the good fight"... i have to keep my team motivated in meetings, and redirect any conversation thats headed down a negative path...

all of that is well and good, and it makes for good drama... but when it comes to actually being in the classroom with the kids, it means nothing... no amount of pep talking, or motivational speaking can make a productive classroom... and lets be honest, as an educator, my livelihood depends on my students...

from the beginning, we are beset on both ends by hostiles... on one side we have our administration... an administration that is under the microscope from governmental agencies to educate everyone... which brings about a conundrum... we are charged with the task of educating every citizen... but not every citizen wants the education we provide...

revisit... i just went blank...

ok, ive had a couple more months of experience, and i guess from this point i can continue the thoughts i so passionately wished to express earlier...

truth of the matter is, not everyone wishes to have the kind of education we are forced to provide them... i know thats hard to believe, but there are people out there, that their goal in life is to be a truck driver, or ultrasound technician, or work offshore, or go into the military... for those people, the kind of education that we are pressing upon then, the things that we are asking them to know, are counterproductive to them actually getting out there and pursuing their lifes work...

then there are those that just dont wish to be there at all... the ones that come to school for the sole reason that they are legally obligated by their age to attend school... these kids are easily recognizable by their active participation in failing and rule-breaking... these are your 17-year old freshmen... the kids that spend more energy running the hallways skipping class than would be needed to go to class and sleep in the back...

i am a firm believer that if you don't want to be here, i don't want you here... for those kids, i would undoubtedly reinstate expulsion... and if i were a government official, required enlistment into the military...

i truly think that the problem is that these kids see no real consequence of their actions... teenagers by nature are a "right now" minded group, they cant cognitively comprehend long-term consequences of their actions... one thing that i have noticed about NCLB, is that it has successfully removed short-term accountability from the hands of the administrator... Principals are more concerned about attendance and enrollment, and the amount of funding they get... yes, they are responsible for providing a safe environment, but when we cannot essentially refuse those that create the adverse environment, then we make it that much more unsafe for those looking to achieve...

ok, so lets talk about where this behavior comes from... because it had to start somewhere... yes, i am talking about the parents now... well lets look at this... this are the grandchildren of the civil rights movement of the 60's, the children of the teens of the 70's and 80's... these are the result of 'black folks doin better"... the kids that grew up watching the cosby's and a different world... also the kids of the "john singleton movie era", where violence and thuggery were romanticized... these are the kids if the "tupac and biggie" era...

what im trying to get to is this... these are the children of the kids that were taught to "get ahead" and also to 'not forget where you came from"... i know we are all taught that, but none were subjected to this more... at least in this exaggerated world of music and film... we were told to get money, but when we did, we were marked as a sellout for doing so... so our goal was to remain as typically "black" as possible, while being as ambitious as possible for our place in life...

the children of these parents grew up with a strange conflict... they are spoiled, spoiled rotten some of them, but they are also taught that they must be a s "real' to who they are as black children... meaning they have to be hard, have to be the stereotype, have to "not be a punk"... which leads even the intellectuals at my school to perpetrate with sagging jeans, and tall t-shirts... even years after the fad has passed, and jeans have returned to a reasonable level, these kids have to hold on to what they know to be true, that anything less would single them out as a punk and subject them to ridicule...

more later, gotta take a break...

Distance

Saved for later: expand distance formula to include acceleration and initial velocity...