Educating in Hard Economic Times

A close look at successful organizations will reveal that their success, in large part, is due the way they take care of their employees primary needs, Maslow's Hierarchy of Needs. With strong emphasis on the well being of family; work place safety, job security, protection from unfair authority, due process and predictable order. Income for food, shelter, insurance, savings, kids education and others. This is why School Districts and labor unions place more bargaining emphasis to satisfy these needs.
During our present economic difficulties in our country, state, city, district, school we can not overlook these needs. This time, we are we are all in the same pickle jar. Have you wondered how your students and their families are meeting these economic challenges at home? Do they have food on the table? Do they come to school with a warm Jacket? Are their parents working? Has attendance decreased? Have you noticed lethargic, worried students in your class and wondered why?

Herein lies the big problem because we will not be able to meet all of their needs in our classrooms. We can, however, help them with some of their other needs; friendship, belonging, support and understanding. I recall that during my teaching years I as the sponsor of the "lost and found", I would always have a collection of unclaimed Jackets and sweaters which were very handy during the cold Winter. Students sitting in our classrooms desperately need to know that they are accepted and belong in your class, school clubs or teams. The need for belonging during difficult economic times is physiologically very important. And if you don't provide for their physiological needs the gangs will.

Just like our teachers, during this harsh perilous time, need to be good classroom leaders; so too, our principals need to be good school leaders. They must know and understand the primary needs of those being led, failing to do so would put the principal in great peril. Those being led will quickly discern if the school leader is unaware or concerned about their primary needs. Just like an uncaring teacher will loose students' respect, an uncaring appointed school leader will look back and no one will be following.

Therefore, principals must be sincere and honest about the difficult financial times school districts are facing, particularly in their school. A prerequisite for successful delivery of bad news is to keep in mind the primary needs of your staff, they are human beings and they are members of your school team, what affects one affects them all. Are you aware whose husband or wife has lost their job? cut back of hours? family illness? How are you notifying them of school of cuts on material and programs? personnel releases, furloughs or non-contract renewals?

Leading people can be very difficult, weather you are trying to get students interested in your class lessons, or trying to motivate a teachers to better performance. They both function as teams one is a team of students in the classroom and one is the faculty team. Both have primary needs that must be met. Both classroom and school leaders are well aware that schools are in the people business with all the interactions of human behavior and conditions. If we wish to be successful in our field we should never loose sight of our duty, treat everyone with a caring, intelligent and helpful manner. Our students and our teachers need support and encouragement during these difficult economic times.


For resources I recommend:
A theory of Human Motivation. A.H. Maslow
Seven Habits of Highly Effective People. by Stephen Covey

1. Be proactive. This is the ability to controls one's environment, rather than have it control you.
2. Begin with the end in mind. See the desired outcome.
3. Put first things first.
4. Think win-win. Very important, cooperative effort.
5. Seek firsts to understand and then to be understood. Developing positive relationships.
6. Synergize. Creative cooperation.
7. Sharpen the saw. Learning from your previous experiences, aspire to higher levels

Interactive Grouping to maximize instruction

We know the time we spend actively teaching is vital, not only to us as professionals, but because we know that it's the single most important factor in determining the success of our students.
If you are teaching elementary school, you probably have thirty to forty students the whole day and five or six subject areas. If you are at middle or high school, you teach 30 to 40 student five or six periods per day. How can a teacher make time for all of them?

The reality is that we need to come up with strategies which will help us increase the teaching/ learning time. This is sometimes called academically engaged time. One of the structures that will increase the amount of time that students can "engage" is the grouping of our students.
A word of advice here... don't do what I did my first year of teaching, what many teachers do today: arrange the class into high, medium and low groups. This is an anathema to all groups especially the low one.

A friend of mine, some years ago, proudly shared with me that in his school they departmentalized. They didn't have three groups instead, one teacher had the high group, one teacher had the medium group and one teacher had the low group. All they did was to make a bad situation worse! these foolish experiments with other peoples children will never help students meet their potential because of low expectations, low instruction and low interaction between students with wide range of abilities. There is a serious danger of locking students into low groups for the rest of their school life. Sometime later he admitted to me that eventually each teacher had three ability level with in each departmentalized class again. All they accomplished was to create more low students. Shame on them!

Hopefully by now you have studied your students school records, scores, previous teachers input in light of your own assessments and observations. You now know your student's strengths and needs, not weaknesses-their needs.

Each student brings to class different levels of ability, cognition and experience. Understanding where the students are will help you plan appropriate lessons and learning environments. We cannot teach everyone the same thing, the same way at the same time and expect them all to learn at the same rate or at the same level of cognition.

So... now that you know where each of your students are performing, it is your responsibility to structure interactions and instruction based on what the student is capable of doing and the grade level expectations (standards). The interactive structure takes the form of collaborative groupings where students of differing abilities collaborate with each other to meet the standard. The communication and interactions that transpire between more knowledgeable or proficients students will help the whole group build better understanding of the concepts being taught. Students learn better from each other. My observations, over the years, of students in collaborative groups lead me to believe that they also help each other in transferring learning into long term memory. They are exited and engaged in their learning.

In order for you to guide your students through the learning task, it is important to recognize the strengths students bring to school, their culture, environment, cognitive and social development what Lev Vygotsky* calls zones of proximal development. (ZPD**)

Using their strengths and attributes to provide and support student learning you, as a more knowledgeable practitioner, will need to guide them into making connections, predicting outcomes, compare and contrast, context clues etc. Provide them with "accurate" examples of what needs to be done and why it is important; articulate and connect the learning goal and its intent or purpose. Proper guidance and methodology connected to the learner's daily contexts of his environment will result in student's intellectual development. You can expect more involvement in class, more discussions, higher level thinking and yes more critical questions for you to guide them through.

When you change from homogeneous groupings to collaborative instructional groupings you need to remember that students move in and out of groups based on the different students ability/outcomes on the subject being studied. The most knowledgeable student in one subject will not always be the most prepared in another. As social interaction with and among students increases, so will the cognitive development of all group members. All of these wonderful interactions will be a symphony to your ears.

With time you will learn to recognize the dramatic impact that collaborative group learning will have in meeting the needs of your students, their needs and learning style. Herein lies the answer to key the question, how can I make time to meet the needs of all my student?

With respect, trust, willingness to change, and the belief that your students bring to the classroom their unique strengths; you and your students will increase both achievement and satisfaction meeting your and their needs. Yes, you in a single classroom will insure that your students will acquire the skills and knowledge necessary for lifelong learning.




* Lev S. Vygotsky is a preeminent figure in the field of education. His seminal work on Social Cognition is based on his theory that learning is largely a socially-mediated activity. Optimum/real learning takes place in one's Zone of Proximal Development.

** " ZPD is the distance between the actual development as determined by independent problem solving and the level of potential development as determined through problem solving under adult guidance or in collaboration with more capable peers." ( Lev S.Vygotsky)

October is Back to School Night

Every school year begins with a wide range of expectations from you, the students and their parents. You expect the students to come to school prepared with their learning tools, you want them ready and willing to learn, you expect them to be good citizens and respectful of you and their classmates, you also expect them to meet the standards for the grade level.
I am sure you had discussions on this subject from the very first day of school. You explained what they were going to learn and why it is important. The first days of school are crucial in order to set the tone for a successful school year. By now your students have a pretty good understanding that you have a clear and precise plan for them to be successful. You shared with them your commitment to their education, they must know that you will be ready each and every day with clear planned instructional program and guide them towards meeting the standards of the grade level or class. If you had these early discussions with them, they know that you will be firm, fair, impartial, caring and successful. Because when they succeed, you succeed.
As you prepare for Back to School Night, the parents will be eager to meet you because they already know something about you... from their children. This will be their opportunity to "size you up". This is also your opportunity to demonstrate your communications skills, your warmth and scholarly IQ. Why? because you have under your control, for the better part of each and every day, their most prized possessions-their children.

Getting the classroom ready for back to school night is no different than getting your home ready for guests. By know you should know the name of the custodian assigned to clean you classroom if not find out. Who is he/she? what are his hobbies, does she have children etc., you'll be surprised what human contact like this can do for both of you. You might even have this person speak to your class and include him/her on special activities. Your classroom will be a especial place for this person, instead of four wall to sweep and take out trash, it will be a place of friendship, a place that deserves special attention.

Have your students help you prepare the classroom for their parents and have them compile a folder of their work. As you prepare keep in mind the following:
1. Have student work displayed for each and everyone of your students, this work should be an example of their best work.
2. Have parents sit in their children assigned seats, so they can freely to look in their desks for the books being used in the classroom.
3. Review your long and short range instructional goals for their children.
4. Explain your grading system.
5. Discuss students behavior; expectations, rewards and consequences.
6. Inform parents what they can expect from you and what you expect of them.
7. Give them a copy of you schedule and when you are available to them.
8. Most of all insure that parents understand that your top priority is the success of their children.
9. Let them know that you are the best teacher in this school for their kids!

Successful teachers know that talking to parents isn't enough. That is why taking steps to have a successful Back to School activity will yield a positive relationship with the parents. This is crucial for helping students, specially when we need their support throughout the school year.

Remember that your responsibility to work with parents is constant, in truth, there will be some difficult parents but we can-not neglect our students for this reason, on the contrary this is the time that we re-double our efforts for the benefit of the student, our code of ethics demands nothing less. As you prepare, let me share the following definitions of education which I have come across in my years in the profession:
1. Education is a debt from the present to future generations.
2. A teacher never knows where his/her influence ends.
3. To render harmless after cultivation.

Have a successful Back to School night.

The lowest quartile

In every school I've worked, I have always encountered the dreaded bottom 25 per-centers. In order to make positive changes in these employees, a good administrator will spend half of his/her professional time trying to make them better teachers. Sound familiar?

We all know them; these teachers work hard at trying to get out of doing what is best for the students and their school. They come to school just before the bell rings. They operate more out of intuition with little planning. They go into their classrooms "cold turkey" with no specific plan in mind. They have little respect for the educational process, their students, colleagues or school. Their students constantly score at the bottom quartile of the state test or any other standardized test.This of course brings down the whole school's ranking. And they will argue with the result, "It was not my fault. I followed the guides", "I lacked materials/supplies", "I didn't get enough support", "They gave me the slowest students"... They blame everyone but themselves.

As a principal, I held annual meetings following the public results of the state tests results. We reviewed strengths and weaknesses and made future plans for strategically addressing ways to improve by grade levels. At this meeting, I also publicly reviewed each individual teachers test results. In descending order, everyone could see all classes and how each class scored. Instead of teachers names, I used a letter to identify each class, them I gave each teacher a sealed envelope with the letter so they could identify their own class. Teachers with the highest scores and all those on the top quartile publicly demonstrated their happiness; most of the teachers who were amongst the top shared the identification of the classroom. They congratulated and hugged each other. To my astonishment, some of those at the lowest 25% would also publicly identify themselves by making comments complaining how hard they worked and how their students had failed them. Unbelievable! Blaming the students for their failure and shortcomings...

These "teachers" truly believe that they are working as hard as they can and should not be expected to do anymore. They have more absences than normal and fail to leave lesson plans for the substitute. They come to school empty handed and leave the same way. They project a poor professional image in dress, personal grooming, classroom environment, community relations. They don't look like teachers and don't behave like teachers, they don't feel they need any assistance and cry harassment when they are monitored too closely.

Does this mean we shun these people, refuse to talk to them, ostracize them? No, but we can never allow ourselves to become accustomed to poor performers. Don't kid yourself, they cause a great deal of harm to your school and our profession. They are in the ranks of your teaching staff. They need to be neutralized and administration needs to terminate them.
Sadly these incompetent employees see themselves as mavericks and there are some teachers who like having them around. They treat them as if they were equally competent but truthfully they put up with them because "they stand up to administration" and in reality having them around takes the pressure off everyone else.

Fortunately we are learning more each day how to deal with the bottom quartile. If we allow these individuals, be it teachers or principals, to bring down our profession, we are all guilty of abandoning our values, and the code of ethics of our profession.

Would you put up with a student like this in your class? Should a principal put up with a teacher like this in her school? Should a superintendent put up with a principal like this? I think NOT!

Methods courses? What methods courses!

After a few years as a principal in different schools, I began to notice that my novice teachers had no idea what I meant when I asked about their college methods courses. It wasn't long before I started receiving complaints from veteran teachers on how ill prepared their new students were. A closer look revealed that a good number were coming from our novice teachers. Sound familiar to you?

I discovered that our colleges and universities no longer taught educational methods courses. Therefore new teachers have no idea of what room environment is or the role it plays in good instruction. They had no training on penmanship, much less how to teach to mechanics of writing or letter formation in the early grades. When they "taught" physical education they would sit on the bench and students were on their own: no rules of the game, no teaching of skills, no sportsmanship taught. They were never taught how to teach literature, math, art, music, principles of student discipline, the role of classroom environment or much less the ethics of the profession. No wonder new teachers had no idea what I was talking about when I mentioned "methods courses"

Do you ever wonder when Johnny started on the downward trend? Yep!... right about that time. So what's a principal to do? Well... I would suggest start teaching methods courses during your professional development time; how to make sociograms, where, how and why you sit students in groups, which students need to be closer to the teacher, who needs to be closer to the board, why you shouldn't sit students facing bright windows, who will be student helpers and so on. The courses not taught leave other questions unanswered like, "Is it important to maintain a clean safe, structured classroom? or " why must a teacher model good penmanship with large letters"? These new teachers may not know how to line students up when entering and leaving the classrooms or why there are assigned line up and play areas out om the yard... and we haven't covered how to teach reading, math, art, music, science and citizenship.

Fortunately every school has some excellent teachers on staff. I call them the upper 25%:they are the gate keepers and they take their profession seriously . They expect only the best from themselves and their colleagues. They are your instructional leaders. They know how to lead and guide. Cherish and support them. You can count on them to help our new teachers and those who need re-tooling. They are the ones who are always alert to new trends and improvements in their profession.

I have encountered many of these continuous learners during my years in the schools. They teach more, teach better, get better student results and, yes, they should be paid more.
I had the pleasure of meeting "some" of these teachers at the last school I worked in for a short time as an itinerant principal. By the way, my experiences tell me that every school has this 25% of competent, caring, hard working, educators. The examples that I recall include a young man deeply committed to his students; anytime I walked into his classroom he was engaged in the teaching learning process. I also fondly remember an experienced teacher who refused to waste any instructional time. She would remind me to cut down classroom interruptions, or the mentor teacher who demanded excellence not only from her students but from other teachers. These are the ones who can help you change your school culture. Seek them out. Support them and use them as a resource to improve the school culture as a whole, before they come looking for you.

The following poem was shared with me by a student poet, a fourth grade student, at one of the schools I worked in LAUSD as interim principal. The reader can judge the results of good instruction.



Stay tuned for the bottom 25%...

Do you have classroom disruptors?

In every school in which I have ever worked, I have always encountered students whom teachers identified as classroom disruptor or problem students. These students disturb other students or classroom instruction on a number of ways. When called upon they give absurd or silly answers almost always followed by laughter, they drop books, make noises, pass notes. They bother students who are busy at work or create arguments. At times these students can become aggressive. Therefore the sooner you address these students, the sooner you'll be able to manage their behavior and teach.
In order for a teacher to work towards changing this behaviors, she/he must recognize that these type of students have some needs that aren't being met. They are seeking attention and successful experiences. More often than not, they have trouble getting along with their parents, siblings and friends because they find it difficult to compete or lack confidence. That is why it's important for a teacher to understand how to best deal with the disruptor. A teacher can not respond to this student's inappropriate behavior by rejecting him or her. They have been dealing with rejections for years. Rather, give them responsibilities which will will force them to have a closer involvement with you.
In your daily planning, you need to provide positive experiences to meet the students primary needs: achievement as well as the secondary need, social status. On-going open communications with parents and active listening to the student will help you respond to the students underlying feelings in influential ways.
Be aware that getting these students to talk rationally when counseling will be difficult. They will usually be quiet until you give them a way out by asking "What can you do about this?" "How can we handle the situation?" "How would you handle this problem?" Your goal is to produce constructive dialogue instead of obstinate silence. These students must be able to experience success. When counseling students much success is gained not by what you say, but by how you phase it, for instance, "John come and sit sit by my desk" is not as effective as "John, please sit here by my desk where I can help you more easily" by adding a benefit to the phrase makes it more affective and you ll create better relationships. Keep in mind you are teaching not only the academics but also teaching your students to have success and improving both classwork and relationships. Remember teachers... all activities in your classroom require good management and problem students are no exception. The best way to reduce behavior problems is by preventive maintenance, action on your part is always necessary in solving them. Finally keep in mind when you send the disruptor to the Principal's office with out planning for their success and improvement you have lost the student, not only in his/her eyes but in eyes of the rest of the students. They will all know that you have given up on one student and you might give up on them all. They will quickly realize that someone else, not their teacher, is in charge of their behavior.The result of this tragedy is that they will more than likely cause more problems is your classroom.

I advise you don't give up on your disruptor. If you need help ask your principal for assistance it's his/her job to assist, not to take over. Never let your students know that you are not in charge. Years into the future these students will be the ones who will remember you with warm thoughts and respect because you cared. You... their teacher.

Instructional Vampires

After three years in retirement I was asked to take a positions as an interim Principal for about six weeks. I was hesitant but exited of getting back to some stimulating interaction with other professional educators. I figured that it was just like being a grandparent; your grand children come to visit for a while but them you give them back to their parents. Right?


I made it a point to visit the school and principal before she went on leave. I wanted to know what were her priorities, concerns and I wanted to reassure her that I would take good care of her students, staff and school.

The most difficult part for me was getting used to LA freeway traffic again, but after a few adjustments in routes and timing I got it under control.

The first thing I needed to do was to meet the parent and staff. My mornings were taken up greeting students at arrival to school, being accessible on the yard at recess and lunch periods, visiting classrooms through out the day. This gave me an insight into the culture of the school.

Fortunately I was very familiar with the instructional programs in reading, math and English Language development used in this District. I asked the instructional coaches to provide me a set on teachers guides for each grade level to take along on my classroom visits. It was important to get to get a sound footing and gage if all teachers were following the programs and pacing plans and preparing their student's for their quarterly assessments. I reviewed the student's data, formulated and prioritized my course of action.

After my first week on the job I had a very good idea of what needed to be done; I could either sit in the principals office and wait for problems to come to me, pass half of them to the assistant principals or I could seek out the needs and work towards solving them. I chose the latter

I quickly identified a number of school and classroom activities which take up too much time out any school's instruction. I baptized them Instructional Vampires these are constant procedures that need to be completed to meet adult agendas, if left unchecked they will suck the life out of your instructional program. Lets discuss a few:

Morning business - teachers take as much as 10 minutes taking attendance each morning. They call the student's name wait for the answer "here" this is repeated 24 times daily. After attendance is taken the cards are sent to the office with two students who in turn take five minutes before returning to class. Next; flag salute, collecting homework, sharpening pencils, etc. by the time the teachers starts a reading lesson as much as 20 minutes of instructional time have been wasted. 20 minutes X 24 students=480 minutes lost in one classroom each morning before instruction begins.

What's a teacher to do!

A successful teacher know that he/she must teach procedures at the beginning of the school year. Attendance procedures; Have the attendance cards placed along the chalk rails, when students c0me in each student picks up his/her card and puts it in the office envelope. Card left on the rail are absentees. Notes from parents regarding previous absences are also put in the attendance envelope, the office will record excuses. As the class goes out for recess a student monitor takes the cards to the office then proceed to the designated play area.

Homework: After each lesson given you know what homework will be going home simply drop it in the "homework box", students will automatically pick their homework assignment from the box at dismissal time.

Returned homework: Have a designated "returned homework box" perhaps different color from the homework going home box, where students simply drop in their papers upon entering the classroom. When you get ready to check the work just pick up the box take it to your desk and go through their work.

Pencils: Have student sharpen their pencil a minute before lining up for dismissal Placed the sharpened pencil in the pencil box. Then you will all be ready in the morning.

Flag salute: it's more meaningful to have a lesson on the meaning and reason why we pay homage to our Country's flag once that is learned, if you wish, have the flag salute on Mondays only.

Following these simple procedures will give you at least 15 added minutes of instruction each day.

If you are familiar with some instructional vampires, share with our readers how you got rid of them. And how you increased you instructional time.

Stay tuned.