Peabloggy

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

I am by no means an expert on charter schools, so I hesitate to post on this topic. But, as I look for teaching jobs for next year, I’ve been thinking about unconventional approaches to education and the possibilities they hold. I spent eight weeks in a comprehensive high school student teaching with 12th graders, and I learned firsthand about many of the limitations involved with teaching 130+ students in 55 minute class periods every day. So, when I heard about Big Picture High School, I was intrigued.

The Big Picture Company, based on a school model based on The Met Center in Rhode Island. The Met model, which is being replicated at Big Picture Schools around the country - including one here in Nashville - focuses on tailored curricula with a vastly smaller number of students than typical students. Teachers are assigned 14-15 students, and they work with those students over the course of four years to develop projects and secure internships that address each student’s unique interests. Teachers have time and opportunity to invest in students’ lives - “one student at a time” - and students see a direct correlation between school and the things that are truly important to them in life.

I’m sure there are drawbacks to the approach Big Picture schools take, but I am intrigued enough to find out more. Eliot Levine’s book, One Kid at a Time, catalogues the Big Picture model as it originated at the Met School, and is worth a read.

- Rachel Bowers

One year ago this week, college students around the country were united in prayer and support for fellow students suffering from shocking acts of violence. As when a brother is hurt or a sister slain, university students cried out as a family against the attack at Virginia Tech. Groups appeared online with courageous words of unity and strength among the collective body of higher education, students standing together with their peers. No longer rivals, colleges throughout the nation rose up to encourage a suffering campus.

University staff all over shuddered at the thought, “could it happen here?” As new emergency plans, evacuation routes, and alert systems have emerged and tightened over the past year, let us hope that the response of teams of campus professionals can prevent another painful memory. Let us hope that with wisdom we may foresee danger, and that the good within us will overcome disaster. We remember.

-Teresa Bagamery Clark

Today, I had my first experience with Tennessee’s annual state mandated assessment, the TCAP. I proctored the Language Arts section of the test for a seventh grade class of 27 students, and I watched them diligently read and bubble. Most of the students seemed to fare well - this school has historically positive TCAP results. And while I have often questioned the validity of tests such as these, I am surprised (in spite of myself) to find that a school can teach to the test and also ensure a good deal of useful learning for students. After the test, the kids were incredibly fidgety for the rest of the day (and I would argue that TCAP week should come with an abbreviated schedule of half-days), and they certainly did not enjoy the test, but it seems like the opportunity for this kind of assessment provides a sense of accomplishment for students and teachers alike.

I don’t think test scores should be used to punish teachers or schools or blame anyone in particular for the ills of a school or district, but I am coming to the conclusion that standardized tests aren’t all bad. I may yet change my mind, though. I still have three more days of testing to proctor.

- Rachel Bowers