Coming Soon!! Dominic Goes to Hollywood --- for "Kids Jeopardy"

Typically I prefer not to tease future articles, but today I have a good reason.

Last Friday evening (July 8th), Dominic Olivera, a 12-year old from Bristow, VA, competed on the fifth and final installment of Kids Jeopardy. Being lifetime friends with the family, we greatly anticipated the opportunity to watch the game, especially considering the frequent reminders coming from his mother, aunt and grandmother! Given the secretive workings of Jeopardy, we did not even bother to ask any of the relatives how Dominic might have done on the show. We assumed that he performed very well. Here's why.

There is one thing that my wife Elizabeth and I have noticed over the years - that is, Dominic is one of the most brilliant kids we have encountered; in fact, all four of Gina and Rio's kids are highly intelligent. For the sake of background, Gina is a former Air Force officer with a master's degree in public administration while Mario (aka Rio) is currently an Air Force lieutenant colonel stationed in Afghanistan. Legend has it that they met at the "O" club on base. Five years ago, they were stationed at Langley AFB and lived in Newport News. On a visit to their home near the shipyard, we were greatly entertained by the seven-year old Dominic, who kept us in stitches with his imitations of politicians, often quoting them verbatim. Three years later, after the Oliveras had graciously donated a room full of furniture to help us after a house fire, my U-Haul trip to Bristow (which is just southwest of Manassas) was brightened by young Dominic's renditions of "The Entertainer" and other ragtime tunes on the piano, which made the lugging of chairs and couches much easier.

To put this in current perspective, Dominic is about to begin work on his Eagle Scout project. Did I mention that he's 12?

Anyhow, we figured that he did well. After watching the game, which had a phenomenal ending, I had an opportunity to speak with Dominic and his mother. Although I have watched the game for 25 years, our 60-minute conversation enlightened me about the game of Jeopardy in ways that were previously unknown. No, I didn't learn any trade secrets (having grown up in a CIA family, even I am impressed by the shroud of secrecy surrounding the operation), but did gain some valuable insight into the process of getting on the show, the waiting game, the trip to Hollywood (a story in itself!), how the show works, how the buzzers work, how Alex Trebek works... etc...

It didn't take long to realize that I had enough information for a two-part article, and it wasn't going to get finished today :/

So, for the readers of the Wall, I welcome you to look forward to a two-part segment on Dominic Olivera's trip to Jeopardy with posts appearing on Thursday, July 21st and 28th. Of course, the regular educational pieces will be added on Monday July 18th and 25th. Thanks for the support to date. The rate of "hits" has doubled over the past two months and things are continuing to expand!   --- Jim

Community-based curriculum for Black History Month

Perhaps my timing is off with today's post and I will surely amend this version when February rolls back around. However, the point here is to for urban teachers to think of Black History types of activities as more than something to occupy the month of February. If teaching and communicating go hand-in-hand, then the best way to reach students is to meet them with topics they are most interested with. This is not to suggest that every research paper has to be about Lil Wayne and Ice-T, but the four objectives stated here are particularly useful guidelines.

In order for a community-based curriculum for Black History Month to be successful, there are several objectives which must be addressed, not only during February, which is officially Black History Month, but throughout the year.

The four main objectives of a successful program are 1) embracing community involvement, 2) raising awareness to African-American issues, 3) educating about the past, from slavery through the Civil Rights movement, while preparing for the future, and 4) developing a program which will continue to grow and prosper after the month of February. Any flourishing curriculum program will include elements of history, sociology, community service, and to a lesser degree, event planning and business management.

There are several existing programs worth reviewing as examples of successful community–based curriculum ventures. The organizations may have possibly started in February, but developed into worthwhile and successful year-round entities.

RAMP

In the Pittsburgh (PA) region, a volunteer organization called RAMP (Raising Achievement in Monroeville and Pitcairn) has embraced the concept of community involvement by forming a group dedicated to closing the academic achievement gaps which exist between subgroups of students. According to their mission statement, this is created by raising achievement in their students while creating an environment that believes in them. Within their organization, they have created several programs including community gatherings, tutoring sessions and incentive programs which reward students for raising their report card grades by one letter grade or more.

Arthur Ashe Children’s Program

In Washington, DC, the Arthur Ashe Children’s Program, named for the late tennis star and human rights activist, serves over 450 at-risk students in 20 DC schools, combining academics with athletics and life skills. The program reaches students from early elementary through high school and includes student projects which topics such as “The Marketing of Tennis Apparel,” “How to do Stock Analysis,” and “Pollution and the Environment” Combined with a strenuous tennis instruction session along with a Reading is Fundamental (RIF) literacy program, the programs, run through the Washington Tennis and Education Foundation, boast a 100% college acceptance rate for its seniors who have worked through the WTEF Center for Excellence.

History Lesson at the Apollo Theater

In New York City, Columbia University’s Oral Research Office and the Apollo Theater Foundation have joined forces to document and preserve the history of the world-famous theater, which celebrated its 75^th anniversary in 2009 and is known as a centerpiece of the Harlem Renaissance movement. The Oral Research Office has produced more than 150 hours of interviews with Apollo performers such as Smokey Robinson and Leslie Uggams, while also interviewing important black community leaders in Harlem to develop a program which also integrates the history of theater as well as the Harlem neighborhood into one curriculum program.

Columbia has also added three online resources. MAAP, short for Mapping the African-American past, combines interview material with photos and maps among its archives. The Amistad Digital Resource has been developed to assist teachers, while Columbia’s Black History Month Web site looks back on the university’s initiatives and work in research projects as they relate to recent African-American history.

Community-based curriculum starts at school

Successful curriculum programs take advantage of the school as a community learning center, available for all members of a neighborhood. Forming its building blocks toward the young school age student, but looking to develop lifelong learners, there are many resources available to build a curriculum for Black History Month. For example, at Scholastic.com, an entire section of its website is dedicated to lesson plans, activities and instructional guides for the teacher to use for planning purposes. Lessons include “All That Jazz” and “Black History Math Hunt.”

2012 Olympic Track Preview - Three Hampton Lady Pirates in the House

The 2011 USA Outdoor Track and Field Championships, held two weekends ago at fabled Hayward Field in Eugene, Oregon (a.k.a. Tracktown), provided a cursory look at some of the names and faces who will grace television screens around the world next year as part of the 2012 U.S.  Olympic team. The top three finishers of each event in Eugene qualified to represent this year’s American team at the IAAF World Championships in Daegu, Korea, beginning on August 27.

Amazingly, three of the female athletes who earned airtime during the NBC and Universal Sports television coverage of the meet have a common bond in that they are all recent graduates of Hampton University in Southeastern Virginia. Although running more for personal glory than Pirate pride these days, there is still a connection of sorts among the three – Kellie Wells, Francena McCorory and Yvette Lewis, that being the dream of representing their country and winning an Olympic gold medal. The trio didn’t all compete together for Coach Maurice Pierce at Hampton (Wells and Lewis were teammates from 2003 – 2006, Lewis and McCorory in 2006-07, the year after Wells graduated), but do bump into each other frequently at track meets in America and Europe. As the first of a series of profiles into potential members of the 2012 Olympic track team, here’s an introductory look at three Lady Pirates with visions of emerging victorious in London.

The Veteran - Kellie Wells

   Wells is the oldest of the three (29 on July 16th) and possibly the athlete most primed for Olympic gold given her age, experience and record of recent success.

At Eugene, Wells won gold in the 100-meter hurdles, with an inspiring performance in a world best time of 12.50, topping better known competitors such as Lolo Jones and Danielle Carruthers. Speaking to NBC’s Louis Johnson (after hugging him), her emotion was apparent. “I’m speechless and I’m a woman of many words!”

Indeed, Wells had traveled a rocky road. At the 2008 Olympic Trials, the Richmond, VA native competed in the semifinals and crossed the line in a personal best of 12.58 to qualify for the finals. However, with her first step after crossing the line, she heard a pop and suddenly fell to the track. The pop was from a tear in her hamstring and prevented Wells from the opportunity to compete for a shot at making the team.

Most of the 2009 season was spent in recovery mode, but signs of life showed in 2010 as the graduate of James River HS finished second in the 100 hurdles at the USA Outdoor Championships and ended up ranked ninth in the world for the event.

The road to recovery continued into 2011. Wells won her first US title in the indoor 55-meter hurdles with a world best time of 7.79. Her winning ways continued through the outdoor season with strong finishes at meets in Doha and Rome, then reached a new plateau with the race in Eugene. Given that the women’s hurdling contingent is arguably the strongest group of tracksters on the Olympic team, it looks as if the strongest from the group of Wells, Jones and others will take gold at the World Championships and become the immediate favorite for London.

The Phenom - Francena McCorory

McCorory is just 22 years old, but boasts a wealth of accomplishments over her short career. At the 2010 NCAA Indoor Track Championships, she won her second consecutive collegiate 400 title, but this time broke the nineteen-year old American record of Diane Dixon with a blazing time of 50.54. This was not her first American record, having also set the national standards for the 300 (indoor) and 400 (outdoor) as a star athlete at Hampton’s Bethel HS.

In one memorable high school race, at the 2006 Eastern region championships, McCorory ran the anchor leg for the Lady Bruins 1600-meter relay and grabbed the baton in eighth and last place, roughly 70 meters behind the leader. In a memorable comeback, she managed to systematically pass all seven other runners while posting an unprecedented split of 51.9. Accomplishments such as these helped McCorory earn the title of HS Athlete of the Decade from the Peninsula’s (VA) DAILY PRESS newspaper..

McCorory entered the finals of the 400 at Eugene with a strong qualifying time, but a heavy heart. Two weeks before the national meet, her father passed and she was determined to dedicate the finals race to his memory. In spite of a sluggish start, she regained her composure between the 150 and 350-meter marks and almost chased down three-time world champion Allyson Felix while finishing second. The margin (50.40 – 50.49) of difference was close enough to consider the Hampton resident a favorite to win a medal in Daegu, with Felix serving as her main competition for the gold.

The Grinder - Yvette Lewis

To date, Lewis has been a victim of an unusual run of bad fortune in her professional career. In 2007, the native of Newport News, VA finished second in the triple jump at the US Championships only to not qualify for the World Championships due to missing the qualifying standard. At the Olympic trials the following year, Lewis turned in a jump of 13.84/45-5 (after a best of 45-6.5 in the preliminaries), only to finish in fourth and miss making the Olympic team by one place and less than five inches.

The two-time NCAA champ also narrowly missed qualifying for the American team heading to Daegu. At Eugene two weeks ago, Lewis placed fifth in the triple jump, then was disqualified from the women’s 100-meter hurdle finals due to a false start caused by a very minor shoulder move.

However, the future still looks bright for Lewis. At 26, she reports to looking forward to competing in a full slate of meets in Europe this summer while keeping in check for next year’s Olympic trials where she will be a force to be reckoned with in the triple jump and 100-meter hurdles.  Don’t count out the woman who essentially won a state title for the Menchville (HS) girls track team by herself in 2003, then later set a Mid-Eastern Athletic Conference (MEAC) record with 48 individual points at the 2006 meet.

Mentoring Talented High School Writers

 

One of the greatest challenges for a secondary school teacher is working with the talented writer. While having the opportunity to work with a gifted young writer can be one of the greatest rewards from working in the teaching profession, it can also create angst and stress because of the elements involved with developing this unique talent.

However, there is little question of the importance of the writing mentor. Susan Meyers, who has implemented a pilot program called the OSU Writing Liaison at Oregon State, feels a good mentoring program can “give students a practical application for the knowledge they’re gaining in class and provide them with a stronger connection to their community.”

There are a few important points to consider when working with the talented high school writer. The objective is to develop the imaginative side of your student’s writing while realizing the practical opportunities which are created by proficient writing ability.

Finding a Focus

There are three areas of development for the teacher to focus on when working with the talented young writer. The first is maintaining interest. This can be accomplished in several ways, such as holding creative writing workshops, various mentoring sessions with foci on poetry, fiction, non-fiction, journalism and other writing genres. This helps the student find a writing preference. One student may have great talent in researching and biographies while another may be a budding screenwriter or poet. The key is to be exposed to all different types of writing.

Challenge the Student

As with a subject within the core curriculum, the mentor must find ways to challenge the high school writer. In an ideal situation, the students compete with themselves as the mentor works in a facilitating role, escorting the students toward their highest potential. Exposure to all types of writing helps to broaden the writing range of the student. On the other hand, “raising the bar” may challenge the student and help with finding an audience. Examples of this can be entering in essay contests, applying for high school internships with newspapers and radio stations, creating a literary magazine or weblog at the school level and submitting a letter to the editor of a local publication. These lead to practical experience and the opportunity to see ones work published.

Career Exploration

A good mentor keeps students aware of career opportunities, partly through activities as the ones previously mentioned. While many proficient writers wish to hone their journalism or poetry writing skills, it is necessary to help students understand the importance of writing in careers such as real estate, business, politics and police work. The mentor should introduce students to elements of technical writing, including abstracts as well as proposal and incident reports. This helps the student acquire a broad range of skills as well as an understanding of business writing.

Examples of Successful Mentoring Programs

There are many mentoring programs at the school system and local level. Here are two examples.

Capitol City Young Writers is a non-profit organization based out of El Dorado Hills, CA. Their goal, as provided in its mission statement, is to educate today’s youth on the art and business of writing. They are known for exposing students to fiction, nonfiction, poetry, and other forms, such as songwriting.

WriteGirl was developed to “help girls write their way to positive futures.” Founded in 2001, their goal is to help teenage girls who lack access to creative writing or mentoring programs. They also focus on developing writing in all genres through one-on-one mentoring and monthly creative workshops, as well as an annual seven full-day writing workshop.

Meeting Mr. Rodgers - A Morning with the Super Bowl MVP

The events of last Tuesday certainly provided for one of the more interesting days I have had as a writer. It was a bit different from a day in 1986, when I traveled with my friend and Wagnerian newspaper colleague Mystica Alexander and four business students from Wagner College to a business symposium sponsored by some hotshot NYC lawyer. That day was interesting because I got to shake hands with former President Ford. Unfortunately, because of a bathroom break during his speech, I also drew a three-man Secret Service escort to the men's room. Later that day, I had the opportunity to ask Mike Wallace of CBS News a question (against the wishes of my group). Being a business symposium, of course I asked Wallace a journalism question, specifically about Janet Cooke, the woman who won a Pulitzer Prize with the Washington Post for her expose of a 10-year old drug addict, only to be fired when the story turned out to be a hoax. He was interested in the question, but the moderator lawyer was not inspired by Wallace's zest for talking about his own craft, and an argument ensued over Wallace's purpose for the visit. Oops!!

Sorry for the trip down Memory Lane. Tuesday was unique because it was an opportunity to examine what does work with sports. Aaron Rodgers was in town visiting the William and Mary All-Pro camp as the guest speaker. Fortunately, I was asked to cover the visit, and my article for WYDaily and Tide Radio (92.3 - http://www.tideradio.com/)  can be found here.

Over the course of my 60 minutes on the field at Zable Stadium, and later inside of the Jimmye Laycock Football Center (named for the current W&M coach of 31 years), I rediscovered that feeling once experienced as a youth - the sheer excitement of watching sports and seeing the players in person. At 45 years old, I was transformed back to 10 - the kid who got an autograph from Sonny Jurgensen at Luckett Field in Alexandria, chased Brooks Robinson's car (he stopped and signed) after an Orioles game, held a neighborhood parade with my brother and sisters, the Hopewells and other kids from my neighborhood, for Hank Aaron, then later reveled with delight after meeting Hammerin' Hank at a public appearance he was doing for Magnavox in Tysons Corner and handing him a copy of the newspaper clipping while getting my "Aaron" book signed. It didn't matter that half of his head was cut out of our picture together!

On Tuesday, the reigning Super Bowl MVP was in town and there were 400 kids waiting for him.

The morning started out slow. I entered Zable Stadium at the main entrance on the 50-yard line and immediately began walking around the perimeter of the field - first, to meet my contact from the sports information office, but second, to see where Rodgers was. Couldn't find him, and later discovered he was practicing on the adjacent field with another group of campers.

I began the slow process of melting in the 93-degree heat as I didn't have a chance to change out of work clothes beforehand. But the wait was worthwhile as I continued walking around and witnessing the sheer joy in these kids eyes as they worked their way around to different stations, showing their expertise (or lack thereof) in catching, blocking and running pass patterns. The W&M coaches had captured the "spirit of the thing" and offered their encouragement to the campers.. "Good catch! Way to block! C'mon, put your weight into it!"

Not many Packers jerseys..hmmm.

Anyhow, at 10:05, the moment everyone was waiting for happened. A golf cart drove through the corner of the northwest stadium entrance carrying none other than the NFL's all-time passer rating leader. Clad in a black T-shirt and shorts, Rodgers looked genuinely happy to be there. As the cart reached the field, I heard a cry.

"Show us your ring!!!!"

The first thing I noticed was that Rodgers was not wearing his Super Bowl ring. Anyhow, the cart stopped briefly at midfield, then proceeded to the 10-yard line at the south end of the stadium where the quarterback got into position for drills. For today, the drill was simple. Rodgers will toss you a pass --- and you have one chance to catch it.

I couldn't help but think. Wow, the pressure!! Years ago, one of my buddies at our open mike night at the country bar had told a story of having John Riggins pull up next to his truck while he was in the parking lot at the firing range. Noting the stranger in the neighboring car, Riggins reached into his cooler and yelled out his window, "Wanna beer?" I remember Scotty describing the pressure in that situation.

"You know, a football Hall-of-Famer throws you something, you better damn well catch it!"

I couldn't help but think about Scotty while watching these kids catch pass after pass. For those who believe that kids lack concentration, I'm going to beg to differ for a second. But, I also had to look at the kids who dropped their ball. It was kind of sad because there was not going to be a second chance, not today, not ever.

And as will happen when one is wearing a press pass and writing in a notebook, people will come up and talk. I generally don't mind a bit, unless it's at a game and I'm trying to keep stats, especially basketball. One gentleman sauntered in my direction and pointed out a fact I thought was unknown, but had certainly noticed while searching for the Super Bowl ring.

"Look at his hands!!! Wow, they're like... catcher's mitts!"

Indeed, Rodgers has large hands, as he demonstrated while moving the football between his legs in an impressive show of dexterity. I have to thank that man for giving me the angle for the WYDaily story. Right!!! The hands!! Same ones that were on the Lombardi trophy. And look, he's just lobbing these softballs for little kids to catch and smiling right through the whole drill, even as another two dozen youngsters arrive for their turn.

I would find it hard to describe the moments for the kids at William and Mary, but this picture, kindly sent by Pete Clayton from the SID office really sums it up. The kids were loving it.

After the drills, all of the campers, including the ones from the other field, met at the 50-yard line and were recipients of a short talk from the Green Bay QB. I didn't get to hear any of it because we were relocating to the Laycock Center so that the local TV cameras from Richmond and Norfolk could get situated and we could all find our foldout chair and claim our "spot" for the interview session.

Parked inside the Laycock Center and armed with my recorder, about 15 TV and print reporters and I sat waiting the arrival of Mr. Rodgers. Safe to say, the kids got their money's worth and he didn't keep us waiting long. Over the course of his ten minutes in the spotlight, what I saw was an example of how all professional athletes should act. No bling, no foul language, no bravado, no plugging his side gigs. I actually may have made a faux pas by asking him about his newly acquired recording studio. "Actually, it's a recording label," corrected Rodgers. But no mention of the label name (Suspended Sunrise Recordings) or the name of the first group he'll be promoting (The Make). The guy from the Pilot in Virginia Beach made sure to add these to his article, then add a post comment (To Aaron -- you're welcome for the plug).

Rodgers is not a pushover by any means, but he does possess a degree of humility which is rare for a millionaire superstar athlete. Perhaps having Butte Community College on his college resume helps, or even having to spend three years backing up future Hall of Famer Brett Favre while sitting through Favre's public displays of misplaced attention seeking and on-again, off-again bouts with retirement.

"It made me better as a person, on and off the field."

Rodgers talked of being the wide eyed youngster, of not having the opportunity to go to such a camp, of having this experience remind him of what is really important. "Hopefully, the kids will get something out of this."

Looking at the comments at the end of the WYDaily article, it appears that there are a few Packers fans here on the Peninsula. Looks like someone wrote in from Chico, CA, Rodgers' hometown. They all write of Rodgers and other Packers in glowing terms.

I hope to see more of this. In spite of the lockout which cause Rodgers "zero frustration," yesterday was a good day for football. At least it was here.

The Pros and Cons of Blogging

The advances in technology have led to many new tools being made available to educators. One of these advances is the Weblog. Known to some simply as a "blog," it is "part web site, part journal, and part free-form writing spaces that have the potential to enhance writing and literacy skills while offering a unique form of expression. So quotes authors Beverly B. Ray and Gail A. Coulter in their research piece, which was first published in Contemporary Issues in Technology and English Language Arts Teacher Education (CITE). The authors have an interesting concept. They see teachers as naturally reflective people and question whether the reflective medium of blogging can be of benefit to the teachers themselves, and in the classroom.

While judging their findings to be somewhat insufficient, I do see the need to analyze a subject such as this. At face value, it would make sense for a teacher to utilize such a communication medium. The blog author can gather feedback while maintaining control of the discussion. There is no room for sidebars and jagged arguments. The author controls the content and can use the control to gather needed feedback.



There is no current controversy surrounding this subject, but I do hope that more data becomes available to judge the success, or failure of Weblog use for the modern day teacher.


Authors Ray and Coulter enter the discussion with a unique and worthwhile purpose. They view teachers as naturally reflective people, always looking for feedback to enhance their performance in the classroom. Recognizing the changes brought about in the electronic age, they focus on one advance, which was relatively unheard of eight years ago the Weblog. Technologies, including weblogs, provide a unique and authentic opportunity to glimpse the written reflective processes employed by practicing teachers. If this is true, then how could such a tool help the practicing teacher?



The authors put on their researching caps and attempted to answer this question with data driven evidence. They chose the language arts teachers, because they would seem to be the most likely to embrace a technology that required frequent writing. Their purpose was to understand the role and function of blogs as used by language arts teachers. They were not necessarily trying to prove or disprove the effectiveness of the blog. However, they were trying to get a better indication as to the depth and scope of the blog reflections. The authors/researchers used the following two questions to guide their study:
1. Do individual blog entries related to educational practice demonstrate written reflection?
2. If so, what depth of reflection is demonstrated by the entries?

Finding The Participants and Quantifying Results

                                 
It would seem easy to locate a large number of language arts teachers blogs from the Internet. We don't know how many bloggers exist, but the Pew Internet and American Life Project (2006) indicated that the number exceeded 12 million. From this rich pool, the authors decided to identify and collect data only from blogs created by K-12 in-service teachers in the United States. Of the 142 reported during the past year (2005), 33 were known to be language arts teachers blogs. One might assume that the number would increase in a year's time; however, in the fall of 2006, the number located was a mere 11. As a reviewer, my first questions were "How did the number decrease by roughly 67% in a year?" and "Did teachers lose interest in the medium?"


Undaunted, the researchers used the links of the 11 bloggers, as well as Google and Yahoo searches, to locate ten more blogs, raising their total to 21. Hoping to find power in numbers, five entries from each blog were chosen for scoring purposes, making for a total of 105 entries for reflective review. Each entry was reviewed by two experts from the teacher education and instructional technology fields, for a grand total of 210 blog reviews.


The scoring system was broken down into five categories, with each of the five reviews being rated on a 0.0 to 0.2 scale with .005 increments. The highest possible reflective score any set of data could receive was a 1.
Here are the descriptions of each level of blog reflection, followed by the number and percentage of subject scores:
0.0 - There is no evidence of reflective practice within the entry (14 13%)
0.05- The educational blogger reflects on his or her work and improvement, but does not provide examples in the entry (21 23%).
0.1 - The educational blogger demonstrates an ability to reflect on his or her work, but examples provided are of a minimal quality (32 35%)
0.15 The educational blogger demonstrates an ability to reflect on his or her work. A concrete example(s) is provided (14 15%)
0.2 The educational blogger demonstrates exemplary evidence of a range of metareflective practices and provides an example(s) within the entry (24 26%).

 
The examples for each show the difference in entry quality, subject depth, and length of thought. Because of my opinion regarding the findings, the results are not relevant. However, the group mean score is 0.106, which indicates a minimal quality of blog author reflection, on average.I agreewith Ray and Coulter's rationale for attempting to disseminate data on this subject. I do believe that this topic will become more useful in the near future. If language arts teachers know that opening a blog can be a proven method of improving teaching performance, there would be a reason for curriculum leaders to recommend the practice to their teachers. It can be a valuable study. I believe it will become a valuable study in the future.


However, it is hard to justify any findings based on the mere 21 subjects. By comparison, I try to imagine anybody determining the next President of the United States based on a poll of 21 registered voters. I won't see the data as valuable until at least 100 subjects have been rated by at least three experts.


I believe that weblogs can be valuable for the personal growth of a language arts teacher. It may be effective for helping in the classroom. My conclusion is that some day a study will prove this. Ray and Coulter's study is not the one to prove it.

Conclusion

 
Given the amount of material that the authors were able to find on this subject, there is no doubt that the use of Weblogs for teachers is a worthwhile topic of research and discussion. While I find the topic to be valid, I believe that the authors may have diluted their argument by focusing solely on language arts teachers. It is very difficult to prove any meaningful points with only 21 subjects to observe. The authors even admit this themselves in the limitations section. A longer study with more subjects may have shown more pertinent results. I think another, more comprehensive study will eventually prove that a weblog can be an effective tool for language arts teachers, and should be used as a tool for improving ones performance in the classroom.

What teachers do during the summer

To the non-teacher, the world of an educator looks idyllic. The main reason for this view is the perceived teaching schedule. Most school systems operate between 180-200 days a year with each school day lasting between seven and eight hours. In the past, the ideal benefit to any aspiring teacher was the promise of “summers off.

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But do teachers really have their summers free?

In reality, very few teachers enjoy a full summer of vacation. There are several reasons for this.

Summer School

For a few teachers, the economic reality of their position prevents them from having the summer free. Most school systems offer teachers the choice of being paid on a ten or twelve-month plan. Regardless of the pay plan choice a teacher makes, several opt for the opportunity to teach summer school. Generally, the session lasts 4-5 weeks with four 5-hour days, paying between $22 and $30 per hour.

Professional Development

Teachers are required to obtain licenses in order to be certified. Teaching licenses are renewable and require a set amount of professional development hours to be completed for renewal. School systems, as well as individual buildings conduct professional development training for their teachers during the academic year. However, the sessions are periodic and usually can’t sustain the load required for re-certification.

For this reason, many teachers use the summer months to build their points for re-licensure. This can be completed through coursework or by attending extra training. In most states, 180-300 classroom hours are required and there is a three to five year license period in which the hours must be earned. Teachers who are working toward an advance degree can usually satisfy the coursework simply by counting their post-graduate credits, but this requiring taking one or two classes each summer.

National Board Certification

A few teachers have used their summers to earn National Board Certification status.  The process is grueling and requires 150-300 hours of work developing lesson units worthy of advanced achievement. Because of the time and effort involved with earning National Board certification, the seminars are usually held on a statewide basis during the summer months.

Standardized Test Committees

Because of the availability of teachers during the summer months, states and school systems use this time to hold professional conferences. One example of this is the opportunity to work on a statewide standardized test committee. Individuals selected by their principal and school superintendent enjoy the experience of studying future tests to be used in the standardized test process. One committee may review the test content for validity, while another committee may observe the sensitivity and bias of the content being used for a standardized test, particularly on the English exams.

Department Chair Duties

Finally, some teachers take on the added responsibility of serving as the department chair for their group. While the position is financially supplemented, it does require one or two extra weeks of in-school duties, conducting such duties as book inventory, curriculum development, and school leadership activities, such as interviewing new teacher candidates. Additional training within the school system may also be required.

Spurrier Has Great Solution for College Athlete Payment. Too Bad It Will Never Work.

As a lifelong Washington Redskin fan, the past twelve years have been hard to accept. This could be another article for the near future by itself. The only reason I bring it up is that Steve Spurrier has his own chapter in the horrific saga which makes up the Dan Snyder ownership era.

Spurrier came to the Skins as a glorified national championship winning coach from the University of Florida. His college credentials were indeed impressive (122-27-1 with seven SEC titles and a national championship at the U of F). His tenure with the Burgundy and Gold was much less illustrious as a 12-20 career record with ten losses in his last 12 games would indicate. He was immediately fired after his second season.

But there was something likable about Spurrier. In spite of being a Heisman Trophy winner (1966) and professional quarterback for ten seasons, he was humble to a fault. He told reporters that he really wasn’t important, just the “Ol’ Ball Coach,” a moniker which has stuck for years. Unlike Redskin legend Joe Gibbs, who slept in his office while winning three Super Bowls for the fans of D.C., Spurrier would sneak out on Friday nights during the season to watch his son Steve Jr. play quarterback for Loudoun Valley High School. The Loudoun faithful knew who the figure at the end of the back row of the bleachers was.

Even in his post-Redskin life, the Ol’ Ball Coach endeared himself to many college football fans by spurning offers to coach at elite programs and taking a job as the head whistle at the University of South Carolina, a far cry from the lights and glamour of Gainesville. Spurrier is finding gradual success (44-33) with the Garnet and Black, having won the SEC championship last season for the first time.

Like many top tier collegiate coaches, Spurrier commands a multi-million dollar yearly income. Unlike most of his wealthy but quiet colleagues, he has now spoken out on the topic of paying college athletes. A couple of weeks ago, the Gamecock coach made a proposal at the SEC spring meetings in Destin, FL which sounded preposterous at first, but upon further review provided for many second thoughts leading to national headlines.

“Yes,” said Spurrier, “we should pay college athletes. In fact, each coach in my conference should give each of his top 70 players $300 per game.” This line was not earth shattering, but the next was. “Out of his OWN pocket.”

Putting my math skills to work, this comes out to $21,000 per game. Multiply by 13-14 and were pushing $300 K.

This seems like an obscene amount, but maybe not so when one considers that Auburn coach Gene Chizik just won a national title and received a bump from $2.1 to $3.5 million dollars (not including another potential $1.3 million in incentives!) This makes Chizik the FOURTH highest paid coach in his own conference. Not nationally -- just in the SEC.

What a novel concept. A coach rewards the players who maintain his livelihood. At face value it seems so simple and affordable. Further reflection suggests that it could subdue some of the illegal activities (corruption will still exist, but a paying coach might pay more attention) which permeate through towns like Columbus, OH, Storrs, CT and Auburn, AL.

Too bad it will never happen.

In an earlier post on the subject of paying college athletes, I proposed that Title IX would never allow for payment. Of the three dozen or so posts on the “Wall” thus far, this one comment generated the most feedback and the viewpoints split evenly to both sides. On the one hand, I read “Ridiculous...Title IX has nothing to do with it” while on the other, “it (Title IX) could be a real problem.”

Here’s the answer. Title IX is THE main reason why college athletes will never be paid. This is why Spurrier’s idea hit a brick wall and fizzled.

The legislature was generated in 1972 to cover gender equity in all educational activities, but most of the social commentary has focused on athletics. Reasonable attempts have been made to amend Title IX, usually with the intention of adjusting the focus (i.e. athletic vs. non-athletic activities, college vs. secondary school). But, the 800-pound elephant in the room has always been money. A university might have 400 male and 400 female athletes on its rosters and this may be considered equal. But, if the men’s programs are costing $11 million while the women’s programs cost $8 million, there becomes a discrepancy. In our litigious society, many ambitious athletes, parents and their attorneys have poked and prodded to find any example of inequity and taken their real or perceived case to court.

To open a can of worms and start paying college football players $300 each per game would mean paying a group of female athletes $300 a game. But, what female team has 70 members? Certainly not basketball, the largest women’s sports moneymaker. Softball? Nope. Not even soccer. All three combined rosters at a university probably don’t top 70 players.

There’s more. Very few coaches or athletic departments outside of the major conferences could make this kind of financial sacrifice, which would add into the millions of dollars because every athlete would require (by somebody’s law) the same amount in order for the shoe to fit on Title IX.

I have come to agree that in this day in age, a college scholarship, worth $20,000 to $50,000 per year, is suitable compensation for a typical student-athlete. Perhaps there should be a bump for the athletes who get air time on national TV around the end of March and just after January 1^st while helping their schools earn $20 million appearance fees. Coach Spurrier had an interesting and modest proposal. Too bad it will never happen.

How administrators can stay connected to the classroom

As part of their job description, school administrators are expected to be teacher leaders. Since most leaders are former teachers, it is reasonable to believe that many enjoyed a degree of success in the classroom before moving to their new positions.

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Information about an online PhD is available for people who are interested in becoming administrators. Most school administrators have advanced degrees.

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Yet the complaint heard from many administrators is how their other responsibilities prevent them from spending as much time as they would like in the classroom. Aside from the semi-annual rounds of teacher observations, many school leaders find themselves tending to the problems which emerge within a building on a daily basis. Here are some recommendations for the school leader who wants to stay connected to the classroom.

Be Visible

The first way to stay connected to the classroom is to be visible among the students. Administrators are responsible for setting the academic and cultural tone within the school. The best way to know the classrooms is to be familiar with the students inside of them. Having a presence in the morning and afternoon, greeting students as they walk in the front door, and having informal conversations with students are helpful toward understanding what is happening inside the classrooms and assist the administrator with staying aware of what is being taught. Another method is to set aside 10-15 minutes a day to simply walk around the school, being sure to look in classrooms while interfering as little as possible. The least effective school leader is the invisible one.

Stay Updated with the Latest Technology

As an instructional leader, the school administrator needs to keep up with the technological advances available in the classroom. They can best promote technology use in the classrooms by being proficient themselves. Realizing that some teachers are hesitant about using the latest technology, a competent school leader will lead the way by modeling, whether it’s in the form of delivering PowerPoint presentations to teachers at faculty meetings or utilizing the school website as a mode of communication.

Conduct Professional Development

One way to show knowledge of technology is to take a leading role in teacher training, mainly through professional development sessions. As a proficient administrator is also considered to be a master teacher, by virtue of the instructional leader piece of the job description, leading professional development sessions shows an active interest in what the teachers are doing and helps to advance new techniques and technology for the benefit of the classroom. In short, having the ability to use the software expected of teachers is an expectation of a competent school leader. Modeling effective teaching techniques for other instructors also demonstrates leadership at the classroom level.

Attend Teacher Meetings

The best way to stay abreast of classroom activities is to stay connected to the teachers. One way to accomplish this is to visit grade level, team and department meetings. While it is not necessary to provide input, maintaining a presence and being available as a resource during these meetings can be beneficial for both teacher and administrator. Smaller than the school faculty meetings, these settings also provide an informal forum to share classroom strategies, lesson plans and objectives.

Be Diligent With Observations

Maintaining a rigid and disciplined schedule for formal observations and “drop-ins” will also help the school leader stay attached to the classroom. The tendency to avoid is falling behind on the observation schedule and being forced to cram a large number into a short period of time. This takes away from post-observation communication with teachers as well as reflection time after each meeting. Keeping observation appointments well spaced and adhering to the scheduled times allows for a better experience with each teacher and classroom.

Should Students Be Required to Learn Sign Language?

American Sign Language, also known as ASL, is considered to be a beautiful language because of its hand gestures and fluency, as well as the fact that it opens up the student’s awareness to the non-hearing world. Some school systems have started offering the course as an elective and many students have taken advantage of this opportunity.

However, in the new era of standardized testing at the K-12 level, many elective classes, particularly in fine arts and physical education, have been reduced or cut altogether, to allow schools to reinforce teaching the core curriculum. Because of this paradigm change, it is unlikely that an elective course offering in ASL will ever gain enough momentum among administrators, school board members and legislators to become a graduation requirement.

Yet there is a movement which is gaining popularity in several school systems. The concept involves adding ASL as a foreign language course, thus satisfying an existing graduation requirement. Recently, in Loudoun County, Virginia, a group of students wrote up a bill proposal and sent it to numerous state and national legislators in the hopes of finding a legislative backer. Many responses were negative, but State Senator Patsy Ticer (D-Alexandria) and Del. Richard “Dickie” Bell (R-Staunton) agreed to support legislation. The bill cleared its first subcommittee and eventually passed the House and Senate with overwhelming margins. The bill awaits Gov. Bob McDonnell’s signature and could become law on July 1, 2011.

There are two strong arguments presented as reasons to learn ASL. The first is that it is a true language, with the features of other languages such as English or Spanish. The second is that learning sign language can help improve behavioral functioning in developmentally delayed children with communication disorders.

ASL is a Real Language

One of the purposes of formally studying a foreign language is to gain an understanding of another culture that is unlike one’s own. From this perspective, ASL fits perfectly under the definition of foreign language. Although it does not use words per se, the hand gestures, structures and processes used in ASL are much like those of any language taught in a secondary school curriculum. In fact, ASL is equipped with its own unique grammar which makes the user capable of explaining even abstract concepts. It is a completely functional language.

Developmentally Delayed Students Can Improve Behavior

In 2000, Deborah Weinstock, a psychologist, investigated the effects of teaching ASL to developmentally disabled children between the ages of 8-13. Specifically, she was focused on the change in negative behaviors after learning ASL signs. Although her quantitative data did not mark a significant change in the behavior of the seven students, qualitative observations showed support for the use of the signing intervention. Since the process has minimal risks, Weinstock concluded that the practice can be implemented properly to improve behavior in developmentally disabled children.

Other Benefits

According to signingtime.com, a website dedicated to the development of ASL ability with children, there may be other benefits for children who learn sign language, including improved motor skills, enhanced use of senses, a higher IQ, better self-expression and increased confidence when interacting with non-hearing children.

Freedom of Choice

While there are benefits to be gained by students who learn sign language, it is unlikely that the skill will become required within any school system because of budgetary concerns, a desire to focus on the core subjects and the political risk of forcing students to study a changed curriculum. However, with the current popularity of ASL courses in high schools and pending legislation which will include it as a foreign language in the school curriculum, the trend aims toward more students choosing to learn American Sign Language.

Understanding the Decisions of Bernie Madoff

I have to confess. For about a month, I have been thinking of an angle to attack the topic of how George W. Bush will be viewed by history. In my mind, I feel he will eventually be viewed as a better president than right now. After all, that's what usually happens. Truman's positive rating went up from the 28% he faced as an outgoing president; Carter gained favorable reviews because of his work as writer and negotiator, and even Nixon, the disgraced crook, was seen later as a more popular elder statesman.

Here's the thing. I know that at least Carter and Nixon worked hard in their post-presidency years, Carter following his heart and Nixon his legacy. Bill Clinton is also doing a lot of work through his library and in person to build up his post-presidency resume. I have no problem with this.

How about G.W. Bush? Well, I saw him almost get hit by a foul ball two weeks ago. Actually, he seems to be at a lot of baseball games. Obama invited him to Ground Zero after the bin Laden killing, but he said 'No."

I have no problem with this either. It is the right of an ex-president to enjoy some time off. There will be time to work on the legacy.

However, this did not help me as I thought about the Bush that will be viewed in the history books. My point is, I have decided that this probably is not a topic that merits value at this time, mainly because the subject isn't too concerned about it, so why should anybody else be? Perhaps this should be filed under "2016 Topics." I'm shelving it for the time being.

For now, I want to look at another figure viewed with great disdain by many right now -- Bernie Madoff. I'm certainly not trying to distinguish a connection between the swindler and ex-president. But, as many families continue to suffer with financial woes, the Madoff story becomes more unbelievable and indicative of the kinds of lowlifes who helped to screw many other hard working Americans. I was interested with the fact that Madoff really wasn't born with a silver spoon and more fascinated to see the high regard his capabilities were held early in his career, perhaps a main reason why so many people were coerced into investing with him later.

The Madoff Story 

It is hard to fathom that one person could swindle thousands of investors out of tens of billions of dollars over a period believed to be in excess of twenty years. Presumably, in the regulated world of finance, conducting in illegal activities, such as Bernie Madoff’s Ponzi scheme, this would not be allowed to happen. But to understand how such a monetary tragedy took place, one must understand the thinking behind its mastermind, Madoff.

 Madoff’s Upbringing

Suffice it to say, Madoff was not the typically groomed, Ivy League, MBA-type. He was raised in Queens and attended college at Hofstra on Long Island. In an interview, the financier revealed to the Financial Times that he “started with $500 in capital, watched his father go bankrupt and felt very driven... he was always outside the club, the club being the New York Stock Exchange and white shoe firms."

Deep down, Madoff longed to be a major player on Wall Street. His drive to succeed was legendary. As explained by psychologist Alden Cass, “There’s a need to prove to the world that I am somebody powerful – I am so intelligent. Cass is the president of Competitive Streak Consulting and has studied and counseled many Wall Street personalities.

Early Wall Street Career

Starting in the early 1960’s, the firm of Bernard L. Madoff Investment Securities steadily grew into the major force that Madoff had longed for. Most of the credit went to its owner’s knowledge of how the market worked. Because of his knowledge of stocks, coupled with his ability to see the future of trading, Madoff was able to steal volume from the New York Stock Exchange by trading many of its listed stocks. Figuring that trading would soon be done online, he was able to offer competitive prices to clients and his network grew to include larger retail brokers such as Charles Schwab and Fidelity.

Playing the Part

During this robust period, Madoff also honed the persona which allowed him to swindle thousands of investors. Part of this character was developed by Madoff’s relationships with regulators. Although Madoff claims to have been legitimate until the stock market crash of 1987, his work with the SEC goes back before the crash, leading many to believe that he was working with one side to hide the other. Said one individual who remained anonymous because of pending litigation, “He was smart in understanding very early on that the more involved you were with regulators, you could shape regulation. But, if we find out that the Ponzi scheme goes back that far, then he was doing something much smarter. If you’re very close with regulators, they’re not going be looking over your shoulders that much.”

Madoff also became a philanthropist, joining the board of New York’s Yeshiva University, then becoming chairman of its business school. By crafting a public persona which overshadowed his illegal private dealings, Madoff was able to continue cultivating potential new clients in spite of SEC concerns.

Victim of His Greed

Like the Greek tragic figures he has been compared to, Madoff eventually wanted too much. His ego became too great and he began to act more as if he was above the law. Sam Antar, the former chief financial officer of Crazy Eddie in the 1980s, was later convicted of similar offenses and offered his opinion. Says Antar, “he just started the scam and then it built on itself and he couldn’t get out.”

In the end result, it is difficult to know exactly what made Bernie Madoff capable of performing his criminal Ponzi scheme. It could have been his need to accumulate an immense amount of wealth, while others feel it was a need to dominate people and overcome the inferiority complex Madoff felt by the lack of a “blue blood” upbringing.