Events & News

1.  The Ohio Middle School Association’s Annual Conference in Columbus, OH meets this week.  (Conference Program)
2.  Middle Level Essentials Conference, April 4-5, 2008 in Minneapolis
3.  The Michigan Association of Middle School Educators Conference in Saline, MI, March 13-14.

Advisory:  Origami
So caught between the Reading Committee’s demand for dropping everything and keeping Advisory moving and active?  What about taking the pages of an origami book, offering several selections based on level of difficulty, and allowing the students to pick a project to produce and then teach others in the advisory?  Scale it to teaching another advisory (preferably another grade level).

Place it in order:
8,5,4,1,9,7,6,3,2,0
Why do these numbers belong in this order?

Get kids to think in different ways. This comes from a 16 year old in New York. He rode the bus for 2 hours a day. He started a “logic class” in the back of the bus. In order to join the class, a student had to present a logic problem. This one comes from a 13 or 14 year old.

Special Ed must Give way to NCLB:

http://www.edweek.org/ew/articles/2008/02/20/24nclb.h27.html?tmp=820046599
A three-judge panel of the U.S. Court of Appeals for the 7th Circuit, in Chicago, ruled unanimously on Feb. 11 that even if the NCLB law was at odds with the Individuals with Disabilities Education Act, the special education law “must give way” because NCLB is the newer statute.
But the 7th Circuit panel quickly moved on to conclude that, on the merits, the Illinois suit “is too weak to justify continued litigation.”
“There are many school districts that are missing AYP only because of special-needs children, and only because they are being required by the regulators to measure [such students’] progress by standardized tests, in a manner that is inconsistent with their” individualized education programs, Mr. Izzo said.

Reading List:

Innovate Like Edison:  The Success System of America’s Greatest Inventor  Innovation Literacy

“We’ve got to get every member of the organization, from top to bottom, literate in innovation just like we make them literate in finance, or literate in marketing, or literate in an other management disciplines.  Innovation is not about ideas and creativity, it’s a whole discipline about how you turn an idea into reality.  Innovation literacy has to be across the board.  It’s got to be done.”

Edison’s Five Competencies of Innovation:
1.  Solution-centered Mindset:  Setting the goal and defining success at the outset.
2.  Kaleidoscopic Thinking:  Making creative connections between ideas and concepts.
3.  Full-spectrum Engagement:  Balancing work and play, solitude and collaboration, concentration and relaxation.
4.  Mastermind Collaboration:  The “… coordination of knowledge and effort in a spirit of harmony, between two or more people, for the attainment of a definite purpose.”  -Napoleon Hill
5.  Super-value Creation
See a sample here:
“He formed multidisciplinary teams to develop his products.”  – Curtis R. Carlson

Commenters Criticize Spellings After Homecoming

Secretary of Education Margaret Spellings, at right, is barnstorming states trying to improve NCLB’s image. The press coverage of her stops so far has been rather favorable, leaving out some of the voices of the law’s most strident critics. See, for example, this story in the San Diego Union-Tribune.

But when the secretary stopped in her hometown of Houston last week, commenters on this Houston Chronicle story weren’t buying her message. One pointed out the logical inconsistency of all students reaching grade level if that term is defined as the 50th percentile. Another calls her a name that my sons (ages 10 and 7) like to use on each other, and then adds that the secretary enrolled one of her daughters in a Catholic school. (That’s news to me. Send me an e-mail if you know this to be true). All in all, not a good hometown reception.

But I doubt Spellings will be deterred by these remarks. She’s been using pseudo-religious language about NCLB’s achievement goal, calling it “righteous” in interviews and public appearances. Maybe she’ll find comfort in Matthew 13:57.

http://blogs.edweek.org/edweek/NCLB-ActII/

NCLB for Lawyers & Advocates:
Questions for the Attorney and Advocate

• Is the child proficient in reading?
• Is the child proficient in auditory processing?
• Does the child have phonemic awareness?
• What is the child’s grade equivalent level when reading aloud as measured by the Gray Oral Reading Test?
• What is the child’s grade equivalent level when reading silently as measured by the Woodcock Reading Mastery Tests Revised or the Gates MacGinitie Reading Test?
• If the child is not proficient in reading, what steps has the school taken to bring the child to proficiency?
• Has the school administered a screener? If so, what were the findings?
• Has the school administered a diagnostic reading test? If so, what were the findings?
• What reading program is the school using to teach the child to read?
• Is this program a research-based reading program? Does this reading program include the “essential components” listed in 20 U. S. C. § 6368(3)?
• What research supports the use of this program?
• What assessments does the district use to identify children who may be at risk for reading failure or difficulty learning to read? Has the district used such an assessment with this child? What were the findings?
• What “additional educational assistance” is the district providing to this student?
• Is the child’s teacher qualified to teach reading?

http://www.harborhouselaw.com/articles/nclb.reading.research.htm

Teaching Ambassador Fellowship
http://www.ed.gov/programs/teacherfellowship/index.html

Margaret Spellings is asking teachers with three years or more classroom experience to apply to be an “Ambassador” teacher and consult with the Department of Education on the application of No Child Left Behind. There are three levels of participation. Twenty-Five Teacher Ambassadors will be selected from applicants who are highly qualified and paid an hourly rate. 20 Classroom Fellows will be selected and paid a stipend on an hourly rate and 5 will be Washington Fellows and work on a one year contract for the Department of Education out of Washington D.C. itself. The participants will put together a project for them to complete during the year and the U.S. Department of Ed. will provide resources to finding funding through grants and other sources. Collaboration will be encouraged after the program is over in June of 2009. Applicants have to demonstrate an impact on student achievement, potential for contribution to the field and leadership qualities.

Teams that Make a Difference Award – NMSA

Know a team that has done an outstanding job implementing the middle school concept, give ’em some NMSA recognition!

Advisory Idea: Teaching Moments – Educational Ownership – Homework Help
http://www.teachingmoments.com/ (a curriculum)

Goal Setting for Students is divided into eight sections:

• What is Success
• Principles of Goal Setting
• Samples & Practice
• Investing in Yourself
• Measuring Your Progress
• Meeting the Challenges
• How to Get Started
• Summary

The website promotes their book with the above sections. In addition to the book, there is an email component that provides regular features and topics. I love the initial sentence on the Teacher page, “Teachers want you to succeed but YOU have to help them!” On the website are free resources called “Teaching Moments” and many are archived for quick usage. Here’s what a sample looks like:

10 Ways to Help Your Teacher

Your teachers want you to succeed, but YOU have to help them.
They teach you about a particular subject like science, math, or English. And they do much, much more.

In combination with your parents, teachers show you how to take responsibility, how to get along with others, how to handle stress, how to improve your communication skills and how to believe in yourself. They teach you how to manage your time, how to set goals, and how to make better personal decisions. So how can you help them?

10 Ways to Help Your Teachers

1. Listen – really listen – in class
2. Improve your note-taking skills
3. Take part in the class discussions
4. Review your subject notes before class
5. If necessary, change your seat assignment
6. Do an extra-credit project
7. Ask questions
8. Double check your homework and test material before handing them in
9. Hand your homework in on time
10. Two days before a test, do some additional studying in that subject area

Teachers have goals, called lesson plans, for each of their classes. For example, how do you teach students about the metric system if they have never been exposed to the concept? A lesson plan is a step-by-step breakdown of how the teacher plans to accomplish this task. Then, how do teachers measure how well you are learning the material?

You guessed it. Tests, quizzes, class participation and term papers are the tools they use to measure their success. They tell the teacher if your class needs further review or can move to a new topic.

Here’s the key. The above ten rules will help your teacher succeed. The bonus – you will succeed also.

Ideas for implementation:
Take one item for the week and work to improve in that area.
Show your teachers what you are doing and ask for their help.
As a student who is good in note taking to give you a couple of pointers.

Taken from: Teaching Moments at http://www.teachingmoments.com/Teaching-Moments-10-Ways-to-Help-Your-Teacher.html

Transitions: Smoothing the Way for Students and Parents –
In combination with your parents, teachers show you how to take responsibility, how to get along with others, how to handle stress, how to improve your communication skills and how to believe in yourself. They teach you how to manage your time, how to set goals, and how to make better personal decisions. So how can you help them?

What kids are concerned about:

• Changing classes
• Having multiple teachers
• Not having recess
• Peer Pressure
• New Friends
• Lockers & Locks
• Finding the Bathroom
• Changing into P.E. Clothes

Note: Survey your students to find their particular concerns and needs.

How to help:

1. During Spring have 6th grades go back to the elementary schools
   1. Take work samples
   2. Explain how things really work
   3. Reassure the students
2. Allow students to tour the building and ask questions
3. Have a Parent Night to allow parents to tour the building and ask questions
4. Distribute student schedules just before school starts

Wisconsin moves to Avert Court Shutdown of Virtual Schools:
From Education Week – January 30th edition:

Wisconsin lawmakers announced a compromise this week that would allow virtual schools to remain open and receive the same amount of state aid as they do now.
“Allowing parents to choose virtual schools helps keep Wisconsin a national leader in education policy,” said Mr. Davis, the chairman of the education committee in the state Assembly, the legislature’s lower chamber.
Virtual schools allow students to learn from home under the guidance of their parents and instructors who teach over the Internet.

They are a growing and popular option for families who want their children to learn from home instead of at traditional public schools.
But critics, such as teachers’ unions, have started to question their quality and complain they drain money from public schools. Some say they amount to taxpayer- subsidized home schooling.

“People are paying attention because online learning is really a growing phenomenon,” Ms. Patrick said of the Wisconsin controversy. “And for us to arbitrarily shut down online learning for students is a very dangerous precedent to set.”

Mr. Lehman said he was proud of the compromise, pointing to new rules that would require schools to provide a minimum number of hours of education per year and have parent advisory boards that meet regularly, among other provisions.

Looking for a creative way to write to send us a comment?  Give The Bureau of Communication a try.  Select the appropriate form, fill in information you’d like us to know and zip it off to middleschooleducators@gmail.com.

Middle School Matters Podcast #21

How has professional practice changed over the last 10 years?

• Medical Model.
• Teaching ALL (Each and Every) Student
  • Inside-Outside in the Middle Reflective Strategies for Middle Level Teachers by David L. Puckett
  • Drumming to the Beat of a Different Marcher by Dr. Debbie Silver
• Data
• Collaboration
• Expectations
• Edutainer

How do you tear down the walls of the fiefdom?

• Establish a relationship with another teacher.
• Videotape yourself
• Discuss practice
• Interdisciplinary units

Observation of another

• Set up a reciprocal arrangement
• Agree to the ground rules and norms of observation.

Center the Observation and discussion around observable characteristics:

Observable Characteristics of Effective Teachers

• Begins class promptly and in a well-organized way.
• Treats students with respect and caring.
• Provides the significance/importance of information to be learned.
• Provides clear explanations.
• Holds attention and respect of students, practices effective classroom management.
  • “Studium Discendi Voluntate Quae Cogi Non Potest Constat.” – Marcus Fabius Quintilianus
• Uses active, hands-on student learning.
• Varies his/her instructional techniques.
• Provides clear, specific expectations for assignments.
• Provides frequent and immediate feedback to students on their performance. Praises student answers and uses probing questions to clarify/elaborate answers.
• Provides many concrete, real life, practical examples.
• Draws inferences from examples/models and uses analogies.
• Creates a class environment which is comfortable for students….allows students to speak freely.
• Teaches at an appropriately fast pace, stopping to check student understanding and engagement.
• Communicates at the level of all students in class.
• Has a sense of humor!
• Uses nonverbal behavior, such as gestures, walking around, and eye contact to reinforce his/her comments.
• Presents him/herself in class as “real people.”
• Focuses on the class objective and does not let class get sidetracked.
• Uses feedback from students (and others) to assess and improve teaching.
• Reflects on own teaching to improve it

http://www1.umn.edu/ohr/teachlearn/resources/peer/guidelines/index.html

National Middle School Association Standards

• NMSA standards and guidelines could be turned into observation statements and used to help assess teacher performance.
• What if we took a snapshot of ourselves as teachers from the viewpoint of the stakeholders?
• Survey Administrators, Parents, Students, and Teachers.
  • Survey Prototypes:  Listed as “Dispositional Inventories”

Other:

• The Ohio Middle School Association’s Annual Conference, February 21-22, 2008 in Columbus, Ohio (www.ohiomsa.org)

1. • Sample of session topics:
     • Dealing with difficult people, Ed. Vittardi
     • Because You Teach, Monte Selby (Keynote)
     • NMSA Toolkit, John Swaim
     • Effective Collaboration Practices, J. Wilson
     • Enhanced Leadership: The Principal’s Role as a Change Agent, D. Major
     • Podcasting: A Creative Hook to Master the Achievement Tests, H. Grunenberg
     • Starting RTI at the Middle Level, B. Kermayner
     • Transescent Transitions to Middle School, S. McGirr (Magnolia Room, Session III 1:45 – 2:45 p.m.)
     • Engage ’em, Assess ’em, … and Watch ’em Achieve: The Classroom Performance System, D. Delaney

• The Michigan Association of Middle School Educators, March 13-14, 2008 in Saline, Michigan. (www.mamse.org)
• Japanese Scientists put a camera in a brain!
  • What I could do with this ….
• Michigan Joint Education Conference, July 25, 2008 (www.mijec.org)
  • Presenters wanted on interdisciplinary education topics.