WORDLE: President Obama's 2010 State of the Union Address

Use WORDLE to summarize important speeches, like President Barack Obama's 2010 State of the Union Address to both houses of Congress given on Wednesday, January 27, 2010.

Opportunity to Comment: Elevate Educators to Professional Status

As the American Education Historian David B. Tyack asserted in his book, The One Best System, on page 10:

It is more important to expose and correct the injustice of the social system [ie. the educational system] than to scold its agents. Indeed, one of the chief reasons for the failures of educational reforms of the past has been precisely that they called for a change of philosophy or tactics on the part of the individual school employee rather than systemic change---and concurrent transformations in the distribution of power....

It seems to me that a single, yet powerful reform can change the way in which educators think and work, as well as, increasing the compensation they receive. Your comments, pro and con, would be greatly appreciated.

If the current reforms in education, as they relate to staffing the ranks of educators, are to be successful, educator status should be raised to the same level as lawyers, accountants and doctors by professionalizing those who meet education and testing standards set by a self-regulatory body, possibly called the American Education Association.

All currently licensed educators, of Masters level or higher, would receive professional status. This would allow them advantages that could be monetized, including income tax deductions similar to those available among other professionals, such as ALL TECHNOLOGY: HARDWARE & SOFTWARE and ALL MATERIALS FOR OUR WORK ($250.00 doesn't cut it). This would provide an automatic pay increase that local governments would not need to pay, because it would be generated through reduced income taxes and more money retained by educators.

This professionalization process would allow for interns and residents to be trained under professional educators and that should be more effective for education reform as well.

As educators, we should avoid the diatribe that has blemished our positive attitudes and educational backgrounds for decades.

No longer are our ranks being filled by young, naive, single girls whose only options, in earlier times, were marriage and family or life as a teacher. This was the case earlier in our American History, as Carl F. Kaestle carefully explains. In Pillars of the Republic his history of American Common Schools, Mr. Kaestle explains the history of the precursors of public schools.

Historically, the use of cheap labor, young local women, exasperating those who considered teaching a profession. This caused the ranks of doctors and lawyers and accountants to expand and professionalize to prevent the same from happening to their positions in these other fields.

Today, most educators have excellent training, yet now the reformers are going after education graduate schools. This has to end, it seems to me. Professionalize and we will no longer be unsure who is qualified. Professionalize and anyone who can pass the professional educators exam would be qualified to teach. Educators should stand up for themselves and claim their professional status.

Opportunity: Speak for the Future

As educators, our primary duty lies in always looking to and speaking for the future.....that is what a teacher does. As an educator, interested in the re-integration of science into our future learning/teaching cycle, I join groups that share my ideals. Recently, a science advocacy group, Science Debate 2008, began by encouraging us to speak up in support of science and technology.

The main focus of Science Debate 2008 was to encourage the candidates to debate the trends and issues related to Science in the United States of America. Americans have long made innovations as science and technology serves us as the engine of economic stability in our country.

Those who joined in the call to bring science and technology back into the public sphere have political leanings that are as varied as the individual snowflakes in a snowstorm, yet we are united in an important cause to promote science and technology. I hope we can encourage the regeneration of science and technology to help stabilize and improve our economy.

Since the election ended, Science Debate 2008 continued to inform us about trends and issues about science and technology in the United States of America.




Just last week, I received an email with important information that detailed the proposed Nelson-Collins cuts in the economic stimulus and tax cut bill. NSF, NOAA, USDA, and a wide variety of governmental agencies focusing on research and education had their money slashed....theoretically. Many of us responded to the invitation to write our congressional representatives in the House and Senate.

After I received the information, I wrote both of my senators. While I knew the chances of them voting for any of the plans were slim, I encouraged them to ask those would vote to NOT cut the science job and education stimulus portion of this bill. I was only one of a multitude of concerned voters who encouraged our elected officials to strongly consider the job creating abilities of NSF, NOAA and other governmental agencies that could immediately grant monies to projects that will put people to work and educate them about science and technology.

As the elections of 2008 are past, Science Debate 2008 has been inspired to continue to support the efforts of individuals like YOU and me. They have listened to our suggestions and will be

"concentrating the majority of our focus on the broad goal of continuing to 'restore science to its rightful place in three ways: championing science debates among policymakers and those running for office; combating the erosion of science and science policy in the media; and new efforts to involve young people in science policy discussions."

Yes, their work is our work. Including young people is a sure fire way to integrate science, math, engineering and technology in their complete education.

WHAT AN OPPORTUNITY! Please join me and the thousands of others in working with Science Debate 2008 to find ways to integrate science and technology into the lives of our students and communities.

Fire the Government? Fire Yourself!

Reports of teacher censorship seem to be on the upswing, as do reports of abuse of power against teachers. A small minority in communities are using scare tactics to justify disrespectful actions against teachers who are trying their best to follow the KNOWN rules and teach our children well.

A teacher began a writing mentor system for students. The students would blog, and the mentors(other teachers) would comment on their blog posting. The teacher trained the students about internet safety, and the students, according to the record of their posts and comment logs were following the safety rules. It seems that a minority of the community was able to complain and convince some in governance that this blogging activity should be stopped.

The school administrator told the teacher that the equivalent of our SRS wanted the protected online posting be discontinued, while they began an investigation. The teacher was very accepting of this situation and asked that standards be developed so similar successful activities like these could continue.

You can find the summary of this story on the teacher's blog posting, Order for Closure: Al Upton and the Mini-Legends. Several other teachers have commented about this situation in their blogs.

Reports are made of teachers being placed in a non-teaching environment, like a holding cell sans physical iron bars, without a hearing or official explanation. I first heard the report on This American Life episode: Human Resources with Ira Glass, so I invetigated this scary scenario.

It seems that the reports are true. These teachers, some after years, in what is called the Rubber Room, teachers are usually fired without fanfare. Occasionally, some teachers are returned to their classrooms. Listen to their amazing stories, and you may wonder where these teachers are. To put you at ease, they are in New York City! Don't believe me, listen to this trailer of Rubber Room, the movie.

There are stories just like these are happening everywhere, in our country and abroad. Forget about fair, most times we can actually focus in on legal. Is the treatment of these teachers legal, and where is their support system?

Members of the community who allow these demoralizing things to happen to teachers should educate themselves. Since schools are under local control, community members are in control. What is your community's legacy to your children?

Community members need to shout, "Fire Yourself!" to school boards and administrators who hire people and then turn around and fire them. The people in the community need to accept their role in government. Go to school board meetings to keep your public servants honest. If you don't, you get the government you deserve.

Communities are hard pressed to find good teachers. Some communities seem bound and determined to undermine the teachers they do hire. What they don't seem to realize is, THEY HIRED THESE PEOPLE, so really they are the people with a problem...not the teachers they hired. If you can't hire a good, quality teacher and then let them do their job, with leadership, not harrassment, get out of the school business yourself.

Communities must remove these ineffectual leaders from their administrative or governing positions as soon as possible, unless the community decides they can be rehabilitated. If so, the rehabilitated person must frequently report to the community on their progress in becoming a lead manager, not a boss manager. They are not the dictator, they are OUR representative to our children and their teachers.

In a timeless balancing act, there is a delicate equilibrium in this human equation between the ruled and the ruler(s). As individuals, humans assert a countervailing weight, to the controlling entity, a ruler(s). The individual's right to control their own body and property must balance the effect of group control over the individual. The sanctity of the individual cannot be abandoned because of ineffective governance.

When ineffective, dysfunctional governing bodies scramble to strengthen control by asserting their need to take questionable actions against individuals, communities as well as individuals lose.

Ultimately, what a community and its governing affiliates achieve will be judged as abusive, benign or helpful. They will be judged by their deeds, evidenced by the respect for individual rights and dignity. Can you say that your community and your representatives treat your employees with dignity?

If you live on a deserted island with no contact with anyone else, only self government applies to you. For the rest of us, there is NO SUCH THING AS SELF-GOVERNANCE, we are part of many groups under many jurisdictions. Because that is true, individuals living and working together, in a democracy, have an obligation to remember that WE are the government. If our representatives are weak and ineffective, WE are to blame.

If you don't know what is happening in your government, I would suggest that you best go find out.

RoadTrip Through Kansas

On the road to Wichita, KS. Then I will travel to Topeka, KS. Need professional development point transcript from Wichita Public Schools, USD#259. Must turn this transcript in with my licensure update application and, of course, a $36.00 fee. When I first started teaching in KS, the certification application fee was $5.00 dollars. What can I say? A lot of water passed under this bridge.