The One Thing Scott Walker & I Agree Upon…up to a point.

Wisconsin educators and the governor agree on very little right now – except this: Wisconsin Governor Scott Walker stated in his budget speech on March 1, 2011, "I set as a goal that all Wisconsin third graders should be able to read at the 3rd grade level."

How do we work together as a state to accomplish this daunting task?

The answer to having literate 3^rd graders in Wisconsin is not just about reading instruction but about combining reading instruction with arts instruction. Schools, parents and teachers who expose children to the arts, specifically music, theater, books and poetry are teaching their children something called "phonemic awareness" -- the awareness of the sounds and meanings of speech and words.

A baby recognizes her parents' voices, a toddler tests his knowledge of language by giving one word commands, and pre-school children learn nursery rhymes, songs and play pretend using language. Children also see the symbols of the language, the letters on the printed page of story books next to the beautiful pictures and on television shows designed to teach language.
These basic activities are the roots of language awareness; the next step is combining visual and performing arts with language instruction. Physical participation with words, like singing a song with Mom, playing pretend with Dad, or reading a story with Grandma, is key to the child's making sense of the language in his world.

This is where arts education is critical. The Arts Education Partnership has collated 62 studies about arts education in all the disciplines. The total picture about early arts education is clear.

1. Dramatic play enhances reading skills especially for students from economically disadvantaged backgrounds. That pre-school reenactment of the story The Billy Goats Gruff is not only entertaining your child, but helping her to be more ready to read.
2. Dramatic enactment also helps writing skills by helping students to visualize and create language for a particular idea or story.
3. Arts instruction increases spatial reasoning skills, improves problem solving abilities and allows for creative thinking. This helps students apply what they have learned from a text to other activities and other disciplines like math.

Here's how it works: a child seeing a live stage production based on a book she has read will have experienced the story through sight and sound from a trusted adult, a parent, teacher or children's librarian before the production. At the production, she sees, hears and spatially understands the text; the text has come alive on the stage.
Later, after school or on the playground at recess, she embodies the characters in the play through pretending. Last, the child asks for the story to be read again, seeing repeatedly the words and symbols and pictures that readers must decode.

Providing each step of this cycle of learning is essential to teaching reading to young children. Thus it is imperative that our communities provide a rich and varied arts menu for our young children. Support for public libraries, community art centers, theater and music performance spaces, educational performance opportunities, dance instruction, public television shows designed for language instruction and music classes for little ones are crucial for literacy.
And, supporting public arenas for early arts education should be an integral part of reading education in Wisconsin.

One such place where children can experience the arts is the LuCille Tack Center for the Arts in Spencer. Programs like the stage production of the beloved children's story book Click, Clack, Moo May and participation in the Missoula Children's Theater production of Pinocchio, March 28-April 2, performances at and April 2, create literary experiences for children in central Wisconsin.

We invite you to attend or participate in a production with your little language learner or support literacy in Wisconsin. Writing to your local legislator in defense of music and arts education in the public schools, or donating what you can to support your local arts organizations will go a long way in accomplishing our shared goal of making sure every third grader can read at a third grade level.

LuCille Tack Center for the Arts, is located at 300 School Street, Spencer. Box office: 715-559-4499 web: http://www.lucilletackcenter.com/

Gobsmacked

I cried last night so hard that I hit my head on the stove hood and now I have a sore on my forehead.  I think I am going to pick the scab in order to have a scar -- a remembrance of the day when my state government sold my union and my profession down the river. 

I can't be anything but a drama queen.  And I know I'm the drama teacher but my motto has always been: "I prefer my drama onstage, thank you very much."  But I think I speak for many native Wisconsinites when I say I don't recognize my state any more. 

As collective bargaining is eliminated for public employees, I harken back (I know I'm being corny) to the day I decided to become a teacher.  I was helping a friend of the family, a high school teacher, produce a summer musical.  I loved working with the kids.  I thought, "Hey -- this is fun and you can help kids learn really neat stuff."  I have always thought acting and performing was a little selfish -- a little self-aggrandizing and egotistical (no offense meant actors -- it just wasn't for me) after a certain age and so it seemed that teaching was the route for me. 

I caught a lot of flack from my family; With horrified looks they asked,  "Why do you want to work with ...... adolescents?" 

I caught a lot of flack from my fellow students in theater -- "Oh.  High School Teaching.  It's nothing but herding cats and line readings." 

But I was undeterred.  There was the strong appeal of doing something beneficial for my community -- and receiving little pay, but maybe a decent retirement and the hard won respect of parents and students. 

I did not have an easy time getting a job -- Wisconsin educates 3 teachers for every available position. 

I did not have a good experience in my first job.  There was no formal mentoring and I was thrown to the wolves with remedial classes in the near suburbs of Chicago.  My lunchtime duty was standing in the girls bathroom to prevent girls from smoking and fighting.  I was threatened, offered bribes and physically broke up fights.  I founded a theater program in a school where there was none, producing three shows a year.  And, because of a change in the administration, I was not offered a new contract at the end of my second year and because I had not yet received tenure, I couldn't grieve the decision.

But still I perservered.  I got two waitressing jobs, substituted anywhere they would have me and finally sweet-talked my way into a full-time job at a private school that paid less than $20,000 dollars and came with no benefits.  I learned a lot about myself at that job, and I learned a lot about teaching. 

Later, to get back into public school teaching, where my heart was, I was a teacher's aide for a year, observed many brilliant and caring teachers while supporting them,  and finally got a long-term subbing job.   After four years of clawing my way back in,  I got a full-time contract.  I had to leave that job to raise twins. 

When the kids were nearly out of pre-school I luckily found a job in a cute little town, where I fit in, where kids were mostly well-behaved, and where I have taught for seven great years.  It's not perfect, but I love it and I love the kids that I teach. 

Now, because of the budget cuts, the death of bargaining rights and the uncertainty of the state of education in our state, I find myself with a layoff notice.  The day after I received a nomination for a second teaching award, I received the layoff notice.   

Governor Walker has mentioned on his website the award-winning first year teacher who lost her job because of the seniority system.  But he is missing (as usual) the big picture.  Many award winning teachers, some who have dedicated their lives to teaching, are losing their jobs -- I have almost 20 years of teaching experience and I am on the chopping block, too. 

The "tools" Mr. Walker  is giving the school districts are untenable.  In order for my district to hire me back, they must do so at the expense of the rest of the faculty at my school, my beloved, supportive co-workers.  The staff who have not been laid off will have to give up part of the paltry pay and benefits they have earned for many of work and dedication to make sure that class sizes (they are about 25 right now) only grow to 30 -- not to 40.   Classes of 40 students rarely go beyond attendance & discipline.  There is no room for individual attention. 

I don't want to ask for this, but I have three children to feed.  I don't have any choice. 

Mr. Walker, until you and the legislature give up your rights to give yourselves raises, your rights to schedule your hours and to determine your benefits I cannot respect your choices. 

Until you and Republican controlled legislature put the children and the workers of Wisconsin ahead of your political  and corporate agenda, I cannot do anything but work for your recall.

Practically Positive in Every Way

     At parent-teacher conferences, the parents who show up are super-supportive of what we do in the classroom. 
     Case #1:  As I left the building to grab lunch before conferences there was a sign across the street from the staff parking lot with the phrase " <3 teachers the way they <3 your children" -- one of the WEAC sponsored signs from the protests in the state capitol and around the state.  I know who lives in that house (it's a small town), and she's not a teacher, she's a nurse (but isn't a public worker), and I have taught all three of her children. 
     When she came in to discuss her daughter's progress with me (her kid is an excellent student and human being -- like her mom), I asked her about the sign and thanked her for putting it up.  She said she'd been to Madison, carried that sign around with her all day, and when she returned she stuck it in the snow bank because she knew that the teachers from our school would see it when they left that night. 
     After the emotional roller coaster of the last three weeks, I nearly teared up.  She went on to say that she was so impressed with the education that her kids had gotten at our school, that she wanted to let us know how she felt and so she put up the sign. 
     Case # 2: A parent, and my son's cub-scout leader came to see me during conferences (I don’t have any of his kids in class right now, but have taught two) to assure me that he and other parents were going to make sure the referendum we have on the ballot April 5, would pass. (If the referendum does not pass, my job, or the size of my job is in jeopardy.  I received notice this week.) And, he said, he was going to march in the streets, and knock on doors to get people to vote. 
     Case # 3: A mother of one of my daughter's best friends stood at the entrance to the school, passing out pamphlets to incoming parents about the referendum.  She also was concerned about my situation, and expressed dismay at the state of the state. 
      In the eight-hour marathon of parent teacher conferences (after 4 hours of teaching kids who know they are out at noon...) I found more encouragement from outside my profession than I have had in the last five years of my career.  Thank you.
     Teachers don't ask for or need a lot of outside encouragement.  We are motivated by those "light-bulb" moments we see in our students.  But this week has taught me that although the rhetoric in the country is negative, many will stand up when they see the rhetoric affect the people in their own town. 
      And thank you to Jon Stewart and Ed Schultz this week who testified on the national stage to the incredible difficulty of our profession by honoring their mothers who were teachers. 

Now Scott Fitzgerald Poisons Canada

Last night in an attempt to avoid the news in Wisconsin, I was listening to Canadian Broadcasting Company's As It Happens on the local WPR station. However, even in Canada, Scott Fitzgerald, majority leader of the WI Senate was more than happy to explain to those lovely, too polite Canadians what he thought was happening in our fair state.

The interviewer asked about Walker's "considering hiring outside demonstrators to disrupt the protests."

Here is what our majority leader said:

"I haven't heard the phone call but I do know that Governor Walker and I have spoken about those agitators -- really though, it was in relationship to the AFL-CIO sending in agitators last Saturday when we had massive crowds to try and pick fights. There were some great security concerns about what were the private sector unions -- what was there goal on last Saturday? Was it to actually have a situation where the crowd became a security risk? No and that's a big concern of ours, the amount [sic] of people being bussed in from out of state and both from the private sector unions and the public sector unions. Just yesterday literally hundreds of protestors from Los Angeles who flew in to the Dane County airport just to come and protest around the capitol. Obviously Wisconsin is the tip of the spear on this debate and as a result of that the major labor unions are starting to weigh in and we're worried about some of the tactics that might be available to them."

 

I have a number of issues with Mr. Fitzgerald's comments:

1. He hasn't listened to the phone call? REALLY? What rock is he living under? AND if my boss was caught doing something shady, I would definitely want to know what he did so I could wash my hands of his filth.
   
2. I didn't notice the AFL-CIO as an official presence in the crowd at the demonstrations on Saturday (there was a speaker there) which is not to say that they weren't there in the crowd. What I saw were mostly local private and public union members, leaders and UW-Madison students. There was a presence from the Tea Party, many of whom were from out of state, and a smattering of Teamsters, teachers and rank & file union members from Illinois marching about. None of the out-of-staters on the union side seemed super-organized. Most had home-made signs.
   
3. There were 68,000 protesters and no arrests February 19, the day to which Mr. Fitzgerald is referring . Clearly Mr. Fitzgerald's fears were unfounded. The Madison police chief was so impressed by the good behavior that day that he wrote a letter of thanks to the protesters.
   
4. Mr. Fitzgerald was worried about union protesters from Los Angeles but he was not worried about the Tea Party protesters from New York and Virginia who were in Madison last Saturday. Why would outside union protestors be any more likely to be violent or unruly than Tea Party protestors?
   
5. What "tactics" is Mr. Fitzgerald referring to? The "thug" tactics that Fox News and Mr. Limbaugh have been espousing? Show me the thug tactics done by unions in Madison – They don't exist.
   

Mr. Fitzgerald should be ashamed of himself for being uninformed, turning the governor's own thug tactics back around on the peaceful union protestors and making the super-nice Canadians think United States union members are a bunch of violent, sneaky criminals.

 

 

 

What I Don't Understand

What I don’t understand:  The feeling of many of the counter-protesters is that many teachers and public workers are making too much money when statistics show that we are actually making less than people of similar education in the private sector. 

In a free-market system, certain jobs are paid more than others because they require more education, training, or skill.  And in a perfect free-market system, we train ourselves at what we do well, so that we will be rewarded for the contribution whether it is selling cars, running a company, fixing a computer, policing a city or assembling a product.   Each job is important. 

Some job skills can be learned in high school or on the job, some take a short training period and some take much more training.  If the jobs that require more skill and training do not make more money than the jobs that require little skill or training, there is no incentive to train for the highly skilled positions like teaching or engineering. 

So, yes, I make more than the factory worker.  I also spent five years in a state university studying my butt off (teachers in the UW system must maintain a 3.5 grade point average in their chosen subjects and in their education courses) , not making any wages, becoming an expert in two subject areas and learning how to be a good teacher. 

I have skills that I paid in cash and sweat to get.  I work hard and pay dearly to maintain my skills as a professional.  It’s not simply “It’s not fair that teachers make more money than factory, retail or construction workers”.  It's right. 

And anyone who doesn't think so is a communist.  ;)

Tolerance for Teachers

Teachers deserve more credit.

As I take a break from hours of essay grading this morning I am pondering the lack of respect teachers are being afforded by local communities and by the state government. 

Here are the facts:

Teachers make 4.8% less than workers in the private sector for their education and experience.  This accounts for benefits and our “summers off” but does not account for the money we must spend training to keep up our teacher certification.  http://www.epi.org/publications/entry/6759/

Teachers have some of the poorest working conditions for professionals:  Death threats, bomb threats, threats of bodily harm, insulting and insubordinate language directed at the teacher are a daily part of a teacher’s life in a high school. 

In addition, most of a teacher’s “breaks” during the day are used to help students or to catch up on grading or preparation. 

Furthermore, only 3/4ths of a teacher’s workload is accomplished at school leaving much to do at home, often limiting or interfering with family life. http://nces.ed.gov/pubs97/97371.pdf

Also, many teachers take on extra duties which require work much beyond the school day, and on weekends and summertime.  Many of these extra duties are done for no pay or for very little compensation. 

We are expected to work miracles with kids who have no sleep, no breakfast, no rules at home, and from students who have little respect for our profession.   

Good teachers are unfairly criticized in public, equated with the few bad apples, and accused of getting rich on the tax payer’s dime.  They forget that we pay taxes, too, and that the majority of property taxes go to support local government and services, not schools. 

Teachers work harder, for less money, and for little credit.  We don’t ask for much – just a living wage, enough health insurance to cover our job related stress “injuries” and a decent retirement for when we do, eventually burn out from the physical and emotional toll of our jobs. 

For the last 10 years, as health insurance costs have risen, many teachers’ unions have forgone pay increases to pay for insurance making our health insurance rich and our paychecks poor. 

Most private sector employees have been forced to pay more for health insurance, but their pay has increased with the cost of living. 

If Governor Walker’s proposal is passed, many teachers will have lost all the health insurance leverage we have bargained for in the past.  We could not have predicted this turn of events. 

 Teachers are a bargain at any price, but when the governor threatens to take away our bargaining rights, we are not just whining.  If we are asked to do even more with even less, we just won’t be able to physically do our jobs well and students will get less teaching and helping time. 

Please take time to contact your state legislators and your governor to oppose the attack on public worker’s rights; it’s unfair, lacks foresight, and will create an even more hostile relationship between schools, government and communities. 

Shouldn’t we all be working together?

It Gets Better

A new video for you!  Dan Savage called her the "Butch Britney" (so cute1) NSFW or children but funny and entertaining.  It really hammers home the violent and disgusting language kids who present as gay have to live with. 

Listen carefully to the message about bullying at the end.  It's brilliant!