Feedback

I was utterly shocked with what occurred in one of my classes today: our Professor actually had the class give him positive and negative feedback about his teaching style.  Don’t get me wrong, I’ve done plenty of teacher evaluations- but at the end of the semester (also knowing your grade is already set in stone).  However, today was a very pleasant experience. After the initial shock factor when he told us our assignment for the day, the tone in the classroom was very positive.  Not only did it give the class a chance to talk about what does and doesn’t work for each of us, but the end result seemed to be a high regard and even more respect for our Prof who actually took the time, in the middle of the semester, to find out what WE think. I know my classmates all greatly appreciated being given the ability to help transform the class for ourselves, not for next year’s students. Overall, I found it to be a very useful tool for the classroom environment.

-Kristina DePue

ESPN Visiting Peabody

Ok, so ESPN College GameDay will not be live from my classroom in Payne this Saturday, but it will be pretty close. Beginning at 9:00 a.m., the weekly show will broadcast from The Commons. While I knew GameDay was coming, I did not know it would set up shop in The Commons until one of my cohort colleagues emailed us an encouragement to come early for coffee to avoid the crowd. I think it will be one of two things, either everyone will go for a beverage from Common Grounds that morning in hopes of seeing what all the buzz is about, or no one will go, because we are in doctoral student mode and will avoid the distraction. I am really excited about the presence of GameDay, though, so I might try to get close and check it out. If you don’t have class this weekend, you definitely should wear school colors, make posters, and paint your faces. Hey, we’re having an awesome football season, so why not?

-Teresa Bagamery Clark

Interesting. . .a “fair” grading policy

Always interested in what others have to say about education policy, I clicked on a little link taking me to a blog entitled Thoughts on Education Policy, where I was promptly horrified by the very first post.

In this post, the author argues against a grading policy in Pittsburgh that states no teacher shall record a grade lower than 50% in the gradebook. The author goes on to state that the policy is unfair because a student who receives a 10% on one test and an 80% on another test will receive the same average as a student receiving a 50% and an 80% because the teacher was forced to record both the 10% and 50% the same – 50%.

How true! you cry because you, like most of us, were educated in a school system that had no understanding of standards, standards-based grading, or what they mean. Please, allow me to explain why this bloggers argument is short-sighted and definitely not “fair”.

A standard is a threshold that all students should be able to reach. When a child does not reach that threshold, it is the responsibility of the teacher to do whatever is possible to help that child. Unfortunately, some teachers hold on to the old idea that all they need do is record the grade and admonish the student to study harder next time. Pittsburgh is changing that mindset by telling teachers they may not record a grade lower than 50%. That does not mean they should falsify grades. It simply means that when a student receives a lower grade, the teacher does not record it, and then works harder with that child until the child can meet the minimum requirement of the standard at 50%. This encourages good teaching – providing children with the instruction they need until they meet success!

All of that leads to the second reason our poor blogger is missing the point. Grades should not be averaged. In standards-based education, we are looking for growth over time. We expect children to receive lower grades at first because the concept is new. As they receive more practice and, hopefully, more instruction, their skills improve. The final grade should be a reflection of the child’s ability to meet the standard after an appropriate amount of time and instruction. Averaging grades is really silly if you think about it. After 20 years at your job, do you want to be paid the average of your salary over those twenty years? Aren’t you worth more than that because all that you have learned about your particular trade? Students are also worth more.

It saddens me to see education advocates and teachers railing against policies that are designed for the improvement of student learning. After all, isn’t that why schools were built?

-Ted Murcray

When Economics and Education Collide

One of the nice things about working in education is I always told my friends it was a guaranteed job.  Regardless of what the economy did, there would always be a need for teachers, so we weren’t going to find ourselves destitute any time soon.  That may still hold true to some extent, but the education system is about to take a big hit.

While looking through the real estate information about my home city in California, I realized that there is an entire community in the midst of foreclosure.  In the middle of that community, a brand new elementary school.  Millions of tax dollars were invested in a school that may soon lose the students necessary to keep those doors open.  Homes in foreclosure are being abandoned, leaving neighbors to decide whether they should stick it out virtually alone, or abandon their homes as well.  On this interesting blog, the author posts a picture of bobcats hanging out in an abandoned neighborhood.  Yes, you read that correctly, bobcats hanging out in a neighborhood that is virtually abandoned.

Short of enrolling these unusual students in the classroom, I am not sure how the local elementary school is going to deal with the loss of an entire subdivision, for I am sure that once the word gets around that bobcats have moved in, anyone left is bound to leave.  

School districts have faced loss due to population drift, but in some of these cases, the district just passed huge bond measures to build schools fast enough to keep up with the housing boom.  These are the same districts that are facing, not a drift, but an exodus.    What cuts will districts have to make to keep up with the tax loss from the houses no longer selling as well as the revenue loss from students no longer attending?  What happens to the teachers of these schools?  One might argue the teachers will have to move where the students are moving, but these teachers are going to have to sell their houses in order to move, and that’s just not realistic. 

I’m afraid that as much as we would like to believe the optimistic economists who say 2009 is our turn around year, we are still far from the bottom.  There is still quite a bit that needs to shake out.  In the end, before it starts to all come back together, someone is going to have to ask the bobcats to leave. Nicely.

-Ted Murcray

Better than home

One of the hard parts about moving across the country to attend Peabody is the crushing realization that many of the places that you enjoyed do not exist in your new environment. For example, Sprinkles cupcake shop was a favorite destination to satisfy the craving of a sweet tooth. As a matter of fact, one family member stood in the rain for 2 hours while in line at one Sprinkles shop just to gather these delectable treats for a family birthday party.

However, do not worry, dear reader, for here in Nashville we have found a treat that does not simply meet our expectations, but surpasses them. The cupcakes at Gigi’s are not only fantastic, piled high with delicious flavors of icing, but it is only a brisk walk away from the Peabody campus (much closer if we drive). And yes, we did in fact buy 13 cupcakes because we absolutely had to try each flavor. So, as I bite into my fifth cupcake of the day, I bid adieu to Sparkles, I mean, Pinkles, I mean. . .aaahhh, never mind. I’m enjoying my cupcake.

-Ted Murcray

We Didn’t Start the Fire

Tonight, as I watched our President address the Nation and use words like “widespread panic”, “loss of confidence”, “credit has dried up”, “gears of our financial economy grinding to a halt” and “long and painful recession”, I couldn’t help but think back to the well-known and well documented time period of 1949 – 1989:

“We Didn’t Start The Fire” by Billy Joel

Harry Truman, Doris Day, Red China, Johnnie Ray
South Pacific, Walter Winchell, Joe DiMaggio 

Joe McCarthy, Richard Nixon, Studebaker, television
North Korea, South Korea, Marilyn Monroe

Rosenbergs, H-Bomb, Sugar Ray, Panmunjom
Brando, “The King and I”, and “The Catcher in the Rye”

Eisenhower, vaccine, England’s got a new queen
Marciano, Liberace, Santayana goodbye

CHORUS
We didn’t start the fire
It was always burning
Since the world’s been turning
We didn’t start the fire
No we didn’t light it
But we tried to fight it

Josef Stalin, Malenkov, Nasser and Prokofiev
Rockefeller, Campanella, Communist Bloc

Roy Cohn, Juan Peron, Toscanini, dacron
Dien Bien Phu falls, “Rock Around the Clock” 

Einstein, James Dean, Brooklyn’s got a winning team
Davy Crockett, “Peter Pan”, Elvis Presley, Disneyland

Bardot, Budapest, Alabama, Khrushchev
Princess Grace, “Peyton Place”, trouble in the Suez 

CHORUS

Little Rock, Pasternak, Mickey Mantle, Kerouac
Sputnik, Chou En-Lai, “Bridge on the River Kwai”

Lebanon, Charles de Gaulle, California baseball
Starkweather homicide, children of thalidomide

Buddy Holly, “Ben-Hur”, space monkey, Mafia
hula hoops, Castro, Edsel is a no go

U2, Syngman Rhee, payola and Kennedy
Chubby Checker, “Psycho”, Belgians in the Congo 

CHORUS

Hemingway, Eichmann, “Stranger in a Strange Land”
Dylan, Berlin, Bay of Pigs Invasion

“Lawrence of Arabia”, British Beatlemania
Ole Miss, John Glenn, Liston beats Patterson

Pope Paul, Malcolm X, British politician sex
JFK, blown away, what else do I have to say

CHORUS

Birth control, Ho Chi Minh, Richard Nixon back again
Moonshot, Woodstock, Watergate, punk rock
Begin, Reagan, Palestine, terror on the airline
Ayatollolah’s in Iran, Russians in Afghanistan

“Wheel of Fortune”, Sally Ride, heavy metal, suicide
Foreign debts, homeless vets, AIDS, Crack, Bernie Goetz
Hypodermics on the shore, China’s under martial law
Rock and Roller Cola Wars, I can’t take it anymore

CHORUS

We didn’t start the fire
But when we are gone
Will it still burn on, and on, and on, and on…

Take a moment to reflect on the major events we’ve seen in our nation’s history over the past decade, year, week. Now take a moment to reflect on the major events in your own life over the past decade, year, week. There will always be defining moments in our history – whether they were caused by us or done to us, they are all impactful.

Additional Resources:
Wikipedia timeline of “We Didn’t Start the Fire”
Historical video set to music 

 

-April L. Mollerberg

Early Flu Season?

          My classes over the past week have been filled with coughing, sneezing, and sniffling. Up until now, I have been shocked and thrilled that I was not one of the unlucky few to be overcome with illness. But alas, I woke up yesterday to all the afore mentioned symptoms. In undergrad, getting sick wasn’t fun, but it was a  ticket out of class for a day – a guiltless excuse to watch TV, lay in bed, and do crossword puzzles. That little note from Student Health just doesn’t carry the same weight in grad school. How can I miss a class? We meet for three hours one time a week. Missing one graduate class is like missing 3 consecutive undergrad classes (which is practically unheard of). So, my classmates and I must trudge through this early season of sickness together; which is hopefully an early arrival at the flu season and not a forewarning of what is to come.

- Kristina DePue

The Year I’ve Had

The past week, homework has had to take a backseat to life. I finished my reading for weekend one of Public Policy at Chicago-Midway last Wednesday night. Some people were resting, some were watching Wife Swap on the TV hanging overhead, some were chowing down on McDonalds, and others were loudly talking on their cell phones. Even if I was not able to attend class, I figured at least I could complete the reading. It seems since January that I have done quite a bit of reading on planes between Nashville and visiting my ailing father in Pittsburgh. It’s weird, because sometimes I remember certain articles by where I read them; on the plane, in the airport, at my mom’s house.

They say keeping busy provides a distraction from the grief of losing a loved one. I suppose, but conscious reflection does more long-term good than merely ignoring the recent events. Still, the legacy that my dad has left in terms of the degrees he earned, the years he taught, and his massive thesis on industrial economics that sets in the University of Pittsburgh’s library motivate me in my own educational endeavors. He was a thinker, a student, and a teacher in the classroom and out. It is with his inspiration I press on toward fulfilling my doctorate, for he taught me the importance of the pursuit of knowledge and the pride of academic success.

-Teresa Bagamery Clark

Behold the Power of Procrastination

I’ve been putting off writing this blog entry for 2 days now. It’s not that I’ve dreaded writing, I’ve just had other things to do (who doesn’t, right?). In some ways, I’ve let the urgent trump the important.

Procrastination. We all know it’s bad, but just how bad? Well, it can be quite devastating to us – we may jeopardize our health if we routinely put off doctors’ visits; we may end up penniless in our golden years if we delay saving for retirement; we may harm our personal relationships if we fail to follow through on our promises. On a macro level, some sources estimate that procrastination can cost the US economy upwards of $70 Billion per year (Source: The Observer News & Media). Billion with a “B” – yes, you read that right. And, at 1/10th the amount of Congress’ proposed bailout plan, that could go a long way in improving consumer confidence.

Top 10 things people procrastinate:

1. Exercising
2. Cleaning out house/closets
3. Losing weight
4. Household cleaning
5. Preparing a will or estate planning
6. Keeping up with reading related to work
7. Writing letters (personal correspondence; not work related)
8. Investing/saving for the future
9. Making home repairs (or arranging for someone else to do them)
10. Getting organized (in general)

(Source: The Complete Idiot’s Guide to Overcoming Procrastination)

There is actually a Procrastinators’ Club of America (PCA) founded in 1956 but don’t get excited just yet – getting in touch with them may prove a little difficult: they haven’t yet gotten around to creating a website.

One of my very best friends – I’ll call her “Christin” – and I were discussing the topic of procrastination this morning. She had, at that time, over 216 unread emails in her inbox. Naturally, I felt compelled to send her another:

The population of this country is 300 million.
 
160 million are retired.
 
That leaves 140 million to do the work. 
 
There are 85 million in school.

Which leaves 55 million to do the work.

Of this there are 35 million employed by the federal government.
Leaving 15 million to do the work.

2.8 million are in the armed forces preoccupied with killing Osama Bin-Laden.

Which leaves 12.2 million to do the work.
 
Take from that total the 10.8 million people who work for state and city governments.

That leaves 1.4 million to do the work.

At any given time there are 188,000 people in hospitals.

Leaving 1,212,000 to do the work.
 
Now, there are 1,211,998 people in prisons. 
 
That leaves just two people to do the work.

You and me.
 
And there you are,

at your computer,

reading jokes.

Nice. Real nice.

I hope that everyone is having a productive & procrastination-free day!

 

-April L. Mollerberg

The Impact of the Education Profession

I’m writing this entry far in the great state of Pennsylvania and with a very heavy heart. Yesterday was the funeral of my father-in-law, Frank Bagamery, a devoted educator at the college level for well over 30 years. Frank was a great man and an excellent teacher. In his 86 years on this earth, he saw a number of changes in our country, and was a first hand beneficiary of many of the educational advancements in the 20th century. He fought in WWII and went to college and graduate school on the original G.I. Bill in the late 1940s and 1950s. He was truly a great man and an outstanding professor, as was evidenced by the large number of former colleagues and students that came by to visit his family over the past few days.

I believe that working in the education field is one of the best ways to impact the lives of others. Most people can probably remember a teacher or a class that changed the course of his or her life, and in that way, education is truly a life changing profession. While Teresa and I are saddened right now, we know that her father did a great service to a great number of people, and we are honored to have the opportunity to follow him in that tradition.

- Landon C. Clark