Summer Update

Summer school ends tomorrow. I'm so thankful that it will be over. Teaching summer school once a decade is enough. Still, it was a good experience in many ways. First, I was forced out of my comfort zone teaching a subject I barely remember to a population of students I rarely see on campus. I was forced to work harder than I have worked in a very long time, and that is a very good thing indeed. I reminded myself that I am a competent and dynamic teacher, but not perfect. It's impossible to meet all the needs of any group of students in 11-12 days; but we made some progress. With any luck a few of the students made some progress towards their goal of passing the CAHSEE.

Teaching summer school also gave me something to do while I waited for the house we are trying to purchase to close escrow (it still hasn't closed as of this writing). Without teaching to occupy my time I can only imagine the trouble I could have created for myself. Now I have three weeks until school starts back up again. Plenty of time to pack and move (I hope.)

But first I drive out to Phoenix tomorrow to pick up my daughter who has been staying with my brother and sister in-law for a few weeks. It was 108 here today, and 116 in Phoenix. Should be a fun car trip.

Summer School

Yes, I am teaching summer school for the first time in a decade. CAHSEE (California High School Exit Exam) ELA (English Language Arts) Review. I have 31 students and 13 IEPs (Individualized Education Plan). The good news is that I also have a full-time aid who is AWESOME (no acronym). I completely underestimated the amount of prep I needed to teach the 4:20 daily course that spans 11 days. So the first few days were rocky. Very rocky. But things are better now. I am enjoying this very different population of students from those who take the multimedia courses. And it's good to be polishing up on my English skills.

The Facts

Here is an article published recently in the local newspaper about my students and our class:
http://www.redlandsdailyfacts.com/news/ci_13430044

John Fisher's Evidence Art Show

Artwork by my friend and retired Redlands High School Art teacher John Fisher, video shot by students Trevor Stevens, Edited in Final Cut Pro 6 by me.

Teacher Mojo

This is the start of the 4th week of school if you count the day of the week that school started. So far it's been a great year. I have classes full of fun students who want to learn, work hard, and seem to enjoy the courses. And I am having a great time in the classroom. My teacher mojo is high while my writing mojo is, well, absent. Usually when things are going this well I have lots to write about, but not right now. For right now I am simply loving my job and enjoying spending time with the new students. Isnt' that cool?

Taking Notes and Dropping Out

This from the 3 Farts got me thinking:

Taking Notes and Dropping Out

And Asher at the Guru's Handbook needs to jump into the discussion.

The main focus of high school education in 2009 is still preparing students for higher education (sending them to college). Our graduation requirements are still structured around the University of California's admissions requirements and the UC and CSU systems continue to be the tail that wags the dog of public high schools in California. But if Chris is right about his assessment of the devaluation of higher ed, then I think it's time we changed course at the high school level and focused on preparing our students for the world; a world that MAY include higher education for SOME (not ALL) of our students.

It's starting in California already with the Carl Perkins program and its focus on Career Technical Education. Students will soon be required to take CTE courses as part of their graduation requirement and that is a very good thing indeed. The problem is that many California public high schools are not yet prepared to offer appropriate CTE courses as the main focus of education has been on preparing ALL students for going to college. And with the budgetary issues in California, it seems like more classes are being cut, then are being created. The Perkins funding program helps, but the rules and guidelines are stringent and time consuming enough to make some school districts decide not to participate.

As the universities are forced to charge more and more for tuition fewer and fewer students will be able to afford to go. If theses students have been insufficiently prepared for the world of work by their high school education, where diplomas seem to be an entitlement, then they, and all of us, are in real trouble. Thoughts?

2009-2010 Day 1

And away they go...

Today starts my 15th year as a contract teacher (not including the subbing and student teaching years.) I am at the same time the least and most prepared for the first day of teaching ever. I spent very little time this summer prepping. However, I'm getting to that point in my teaching career where I've worked out many of the wrinkles, so really the only unknown factor is the new students, and they are fairly predictable.

My first day I usually take role REALLY slowly, share a little about me, and then review my curriculum paper. I may change that up a bit today. We'll see how I'm feeling, and what the terrain looks like. Some teachers will tell you not to smile until Thanksgiving. Right. The students absorb the teacher's enthusiasm from the moment the first bell rings. I will smile ALOT today (hey, I'm employed!!!)

Mastery?

Everyone needs to be good at something, to experience what it is to excel at anything, to understand the time, energy, and commitment required to achieve a mastery level. It doesn't matter what the thing is. It could be writing, playing an instrument, throwing free throws, or even, yes, playing video games.

No one gets "good" at anything unless they spend time (lots of time) doing that thing. There are two byproducts of their time investment. 1) they get better at the thing they are doing which makes them feel good and brings them positive attention; and 2) they learn what is necessary for mastery.

The lesson gained from learning what is necessary for mastery can be applied to anything and everything else in life. For me to learn how to make 9 out of 10 free throw shots, I must make a personal investment. The return on this investment is an experience that I can then reference when approaching other challenges in life.

Having experienced some success in the past, I know what mastery feels like and I have a pretty good idea of how to get there. Sure each challenge is different; it's not the way we overcome the challenge, but the attitude and the experience we bring to meet the challenge head-on.

How much time do you spend working towards mastery? We may never reach "master class" in what we focus on, but that's not the point. It's making the commitment, and following through; then applying those experiences to other areas of our lives that is the key to success.

1

After months of planning, prep, instruction, and projects, I gave my first certification exam in Final Cut Pro yesterday. The certification exam is optional, and half of the students enrolled (10) opted to take the test. The test is taken online. There are multiple choice, select all that apply, and find this item in the diagram (screen shot) questions. Test takers are given 90 minutes to complete all 70 questions. The pass score is 80%. I had one student score above 80% (81%). The average score was 56%. Epic fail?

I predicted the student who passed would pass before I ever began to teach him the curriculum. He came in with prior knowledge and experience using the application at home. The next highest score was 76% from a student who is enrolled in two of my classes and serves as my TA in a third. However, another student who spends the same amount of time in my classroom earned the lowest score 36%.

I can reflect on these numbers in two ways. First, most students do not have access to Final Cut Pro outside of my classroom; Final Cut Pro is very expensive to purchase and requires a Macintosh computer. While I gave the students plenty of assignments to complete, and we worked through all of the projects in the text book, mastery of the application requires many additional hours invested in using it to edit.

Second, this was my first time teaching the application, using the text, and proctoring the exam. Past experience dictates that next time I will do a better job of teaching the material and insuring that the students spend even more time using the software. I now have some data to look at and use to help guide my presentation of the material to a new group of students in the fall.

Do I feel like a failure because of these scores? Of course not. Teaching is a process where perfection is the goal but rarely the outcome. The most effective teacher is the one who is at the same time leading and learning right alongside his or her students. Every student who took the course learned from their experience regardless of the percentage of questions answered correctly on the exam. My goal is to get two students above 80% next time and I am confident that they will.

Finally Finals?

Final exams "officially" begin today. However, since our seniors need to have grades calculated a day early, we've been on block schedule for the last two days giving final in the final block of the day. Today we go to the familiar two 2:15 long final periods with a 20 minute break in between, and release at 12:20. (Sigh of relief).

Today is also the day I buy lunch for my advanced class "Digital Dogz" seniors. I have 18 graduating this year, some of whom I have taught every single day of their high school career. It's been my tradition to buy pizza on this day following our "final" period together. I always buy really good pizza, not crappy cheap delivery. But I have to qualify that by explaining that the owner of the "gourmet" pizza shop in town also happens to be my landlord at the moment and always gives me a killer deal. I will spend about three hours with these 18 kids today, and then say goodbye.

I really hate goodbyes. I remember being with my grandmother at the airport when she said goodbye to her sister after a long visit. I saw my grandmother cry for the first and only time ever. Some of you (2) may have read the essay I wrote for The Apple that explained how I laughed at my 4th grade teacher for crying when he said goodbye to us on the last day of school. Poor judgment on my young part. I invest a major portion of my day, and my life, to these young people who then go out into the big-wide-world and I never hear from again.

Facebook helps me keep in touch, or at least monitor some of their good news. And some of my students come back to visit me often. One of my former students is even teaching two of my own children Tae Kwon Do. Two others are currently coaches on campus. Two are at USC and are going to be seniors next year. One of them is at Lucas Arts on an internship this summer. I've sent students to Standford, Yale, and a long list of other great colleges. Many end up in careers related to what I taught them in high school, so I must be doing something right.

Finals are about closure and promotion. Without them we could not justifiably pass our student up to the next rung of their latter, the next plateau of their lives, their next windmill to conquer. If we don't let the current ones move on, then we'll never get a new group to teach, because we can only teach so many at one time. Our students outgrow us and hopefully absorb all that we have to offer. My seniors this year are a hardworking and creative bunch. I will miss them.

Something to Fall Back On?

I was just talking with a graduating student discussing her plans for the Fall. She is concerned about pursuing a course of education that does not allow here "something to fall back on." I explained that the most important thing that she can do is to pursue a course of study that she is passionate about and enjoys; the rest will fall in line.

The worst advice my father ever gave me was to have "something to fall back on." I wanted to be an actor/director. Crazy, I know, and he was right to be cautious. But by telling me to be cautious I doubted my goal and never gave it 100% of my effort. So guess what? I'm not an actor, or director. Am I sorry about that? No. I found the direction of my life, and I LOVE teaching. But there is still that feeling of unfinished business in the back of my mind, and in my heart.

We need to be very careful about how we communicate to our students and children. Proverbs 22:6 states "Train up a child in the way he should go, Even when he is old he will not depart from it." Each of us was made specifically and with a purpose. The parent or teacher does not decide the purpose and has no business doing anything but guiding the child along their path, encouraging them all the way.

Telling a young person that they need "something to fall back on" communicates a lack of confidence in the child's chosen path and purpose. Not a good thing. We, the adults, need to be supportive and respectful of the seed planted in the heart of the child and do all that we can to carefully tend to the needs of the budding inspiration within.

Teaching Disabilities

Its amazing how the commentary at The Onion is often so spot on. I am passing this along as I read it because a colleague brought it to my attention. I spend so much time reflecting on the serious issues surrounding teaching, it's fun to spend some not-so-serious time reflecting.
Report: Increasing Number Of Educators Found To Be Suffering From Teaching Disabilities

Digital Revolution

This is the preface to the 9th edition of my multimedia manual.

"Let's tell our young people that the best books are yet to be written; the best paintings have not yet been painted; the best governments are yet to be formed; the best is yet to be done by them."
-John Erskine

The digital revolution hit filmmaking about a decade ago allowing just about anyone to make a professional looking digital film. The digital revolution is about to hit education and change the way teachers educate, and students learn. With the world at their fingertips via the Internet, and access to inexpensive high-quality tools, students at Redlands High School have access to everything they need to communicate their thoughts, feelings, observations, and conclusions with the world.

Time Management leads to Productivity
Leadership leads to Courage
Communication leads to Community
Commitment leads to Dedication
Value Assessment leads to Accuracy
Critical Thinking leads to Creativity

The multimedia curriculum is designed to teach more than technology. While students have access to great technology, it’s what they DO with the technology that really matters. High school students need to be focused on the fundamental elements of education listed above. Learning how to use the technology is simple; learning what do with the technology is more complicated. So the focus of the multimedia courses is to pair the use of technology with real-life learning opportunities.

I am excited about teaching Final Cut Pro in the Advanced Multimedia and Video Documentary courses this year. I thank Diana Weynand who encouraged me to incorporate the instruction of FCP into the curriculum. This is the 9th version of this multimedia manual. I am happy to share it with anyone who is searching for assistance as they build their own multimedia program, or just trying to figure out how to do some of this stuff.

“I am the Eggman
They are the Eggmen
I am the Walrus, Goo goo g'joob?”
-Lennon/McCartney