I called my younger brother the other day to wish him a happy birthday and found him in a rather disgruntled mood.  Rather than tell me what he wanted for a present, he opted to rail against his AP government teacher and the terrible job she had done preparing him to take the all-important AP test he had taken that day.  I commiserated with him about the poor quality of some teachers given the task of teaching AP level courses simply because the boom in demand for the courses at high schools has surpassed the number of highly qualified teachers those classrooms require.

That AP tests allow students to qualify out of college courses or receive college credit has always been a questionable practice in my mind, at least since I began college.  I have absolutely no doubt that I learned far more in my college courses than was ever covered on an AP test in the corresponding subject.  I got a 3 on my AP Calculus test, but arrived in my second year Calculus class at college woefully unprepared.  I also know that the knowledge that I left those college courses with was far more ingrained and reflective of genuine understanding than what I got from my high school AP courses.  The ability to engage in meaningful discourse on the history and present state of our current governmental nightmare, I feel, outweighs the convenience of not having to take three hours of U.S. History in college.

I understand the benefit of not having to pay $300-1000 per hour for college credits, but as a future educator, I want my students to leave my classroom and school with far more than a piece of paper, and a smaller bill.  My little brother, who probably hates me referring to him as such, who is extremely smart, and largely intrinsically motivated, will probably get at least a three in spite of his teacher.  But I feel very sorry that he was let down by his, and my former, high school.  At the same time, though, I want a student with his gifts to be challenged and educated to the extent of his abilities, and that will probably not happen until college.

This thought speaks to the larger argument I began earlier.  Who is qualified to teach a high school course with an equivalence to that of one at a university?  Is this even possible in principle?  The AP tests were established with the idea that they would be used to help place students in the proper courses once they reached college.  When colleges started offering students credits or exemptions from courses that are perhaps best taught at the college level, that intention was muddled.  I believe that colleges are solely responsible for the curriculum that they require of their students, but the state of the AP testing system, I feel, has lowered the standards of that system.

I want the most for my brother, who is not so little anymore, and for my students, and for the students in all parts of this country.  That’s it.

–Luke Webb

Rochelle Gutierrez, PhD, University of Illinois Urbana-Champaign visited our Learning Sciences Institute recently to present her work on pedagogy and student math teachers. Her presentation draws on Latina/Latino studies to offer a potential framework for reconceptualizing knowledge and for engaging teacher candidates in a process that acknowledges the complex identities of students.

It’s an interesting perspective in identity, power, and shape-shifting which addresses the unique student-teacher relationship of knowing/not-knowing and learning about each other while engaging in learning math.

Watch the video.

This Saturday, I leave Nashville to spend six weeks at Universiteit Utrecht in the Netherlands as an exchange student through the Race, Ethnicity, and Migration Studies (REMS) program, a joint initiative between universities in the United States and the European Union to promote understanding of our ever-more-transient world. I will be paying particular attention to the way these issues impact students in the classroom and the teachers who teach them.

For the first two weeks, we will hear professors from around Europe and the US speak about their research in these areas. Stay tuned for my responses to and critical questions about what I hear.

- Rachel Bowers

Music City’s own Redneck Woman demonstrated that even amongst the glitz of fame and glamour of fortune, education is still important. Singer Gretchen Wilson aimed to set an example for her daughter by completing what she had not had the chance to–high school. Wilson passed the General Educational Development (GED) exam last month and will graduate with her high school diploma next week.

A story like this may get minimal coverage compared to all the juicy scandals in Hollywood, but it is nice to see someone famous honoring the tradition of education. In addition, at the age of 34, Wilson proves it’s never too late to finish school. By completing her GED, Wilson shows that no matter how much stardom you have achieved or material goods you have acquired, education is still personally meaningful.

-Teresa Bagamery Clark

Having just finished my last paper for the Spring semester, I thought I would reflect on my first year as a doctoral student. Even though the readings and papers were seemingly endless, the Ed.D. program has really flown by over the past year. I guess it’s difficult to tell time when there is no real break in the action.

The program at Peabody is really more manageable and appealing than what I had expected. Even going into this past semester (which is becoming legendary as the most difficult of the entire program), I wasn’t that stressed out. Sure it was hard, but that’s what doctoral programs are supposed to like, right? But no matter how difficult the classes, papers, and projects have been, I am actually learning, and more importantly, I am learning how to integrate the theories and applications in my current professional position. Developing professionals is what an Ed.D. is all about, and I doubt any program in the country does as well at this as Peabody.

- Landon C. Clark

Just one year ago at this time, I began my first reading assignments for Dr. Michael McLendon’s leadership course. This weekend, my cohort and I officially start our second year at Peabody. No longer are we first-year Ed. D. students but now second-year. It really makes a psychological difference; we are one-third of the way through our doctoral studies. We are not new to the program anymore. A whole other group of nervous, excited, and curious individuals will begin their Ed. D. studies this weekend. My cohort will be there for them, first of all this Saturday delivering breakfast treats and offering our greetings, but we hope the interaction does not end this weekend. The arrangement of Peabody’s Ed. D. provides the fortunate opportunity of networking and building friendships with classmates, and we hope to foster those sorts of relationships with the new cohort. After all,  we know what is it like to begin this wild and glorious journey that is a doctoral program.

-Teresa Bagamery Clark

What qualifies someone to be president? Historically, its seems to be a combination of Military Career, MBA or JD plus prior political experience. Add some winning charm, charisma, a bit of machismo and you’re in. I realize that not everyone is completely dissatisfied with our current president to the degree which I am, but my opinion of the value placed on a Harvard MBA has taken a severe beating in the last seven years. Not that I blame the Ivy Leagues for the personal shortcomings of the students they graduate (my older brother recently graduated from grad school at Harvard). I am simply questioning the notion that a knowledge of business and economic machinations, or our country’s legal and governmental system are, in and of themselves, accurate predictors of whether someone is qualified to be president.

For the record: Hillary Clinton has her B.A from Wellesley and her J.D. from Yale. Barack Obama has his B.A. from Columbia University and his J.D. from Harvard. John McCain graduated from the U.S. Naval Academy at Annapolis (894 of 899 in his class…for the record).

While I believe that all three have qualifications to act effectively as president, to varying degrees, I want to know when we will have a president who lists an M.Ed or Ed.D. on their vitae? Various researchers have estimated that the average teacher makes between 1000 and 1500 decisions a day that take into account dozens of complex variables. Excellent teachers have to be familiar with the intricacies of all the different cultural variables present within their classrooms, and how those variables affect teacher-student interaction, student-student interaction, and the most effective teaching strategies to employ to attain the desired goals for each student. Teachers need to be able to manage all the skills and personalities of the students in their room as well as those of other teachers and administrators. Teachers have to learn to accomplish a lot with relatively little in the way of resources, support, or cooperation. Teachers have to evolve a complex set of legal and diplomatic skills in dealing with different portions of the school-going population and their families.

This is the worst thinly veiled metaphor, ever. Can I stop now? Have I made a point?

A highly educated, very successful teacher with the right personality and perhaps some political experience is just as, if not a more viable presidential candidate than most (see Ross Perot and his %19 percent of the popular vote in 1992). Consider the remarkable percentage of work and decision making that presidents delegate to others anyway. How many decisions has our current administration made that the President seems to be completely unaware of? A superintendent or principal spend their entire day delegating work and reserving the decisions that are made public for themselves.

Most importantly, though, the quality that we admire most in our best teachers is a genuine sense of compassion and caring for each and every student. A teacher has to want every student to succeed by meeting their full potential. I need a lawyer who can protect my rights. I need an economist who can monitor and regulate our capitalist markets wisely. I need an army that is intelligently and effectively led. But more than any of those things, I want someone guided by a sincerity and compassion that informs their decisions; and the intelligence to delegate those other jobs based upon that larger understanding of striving for ideals both fair and just.

–Luke Webb

I have written poetry for at least 20 years. Last week, I gave my first poetry reading in two. My experience with poetry led me to read about Poetry Out Loud, a national creative arts competition for high school students, co-sponsored by the National Endowment for the Arts.

While doctoral studies do not leave much time for penning poems, I have kept my hobby alive, and I feel pleased that many high school students are fueling their interest in the arts by participating in  Poetry Out Loud. Now, if I could just get my professors to let me submit chapbooks for my final projects, then I would be set. Poems about quantitative methods, anyone?

-Teresa Bagamery Clark

As part of Pope Benedict XVI’s visit to the United States last week, he addressed educators representing the nation’s 200 Catholic colleges and universities at the Catholic University of America. As my cohort has learned in Social Context of Education, religion, like politics, is a sensitive discussion topic in a democracy. However, like the Pope, we should engage in dialogues with our neighbors about subjects that shape us as citizens (see Jean Bethke’s Elshtain’s Democracy on Trial).

Pope Benedict XVI exhorted the crowd at Catholic University with the concept that “faith is compatible with reason.” This is a wise perspective for all institutions of Christian higher education. Teaching biblical beliefs should not water down the content and expertise of education; if integrated correctly, it should improve upon all areas of a university and the college experience as a whole.

-Teresa Bagamery Clark

I will not lie and say that I loved gym class all of my life. In fact, I really did not care for it until about my junior year of high school, which, incidentally is when I finally shed all that baby fat. That year, my friend, Jenny, and I were reigning badminton champions in our physical education (PE) class. As a senior, I enjoyed playing flag football when the weather was just right for lining up in the school yard. Although, running the mile was another story; I always speed-walked it. I have never had the endurance for continuous running.

I support adding a half-credit of PE per semester for Tennessee’s K-12 students. Exercise is good for body and mind, giving students the opportunity to develop fitness habits as well as to ease tension before a big exam. I hope that the schools are also incorporating nutritional counseling with the added exercise, as those go hand-in-hand in combating obesity and developing healthy patterns for life.

-Teresa Bagamery Clark