ZAP: Where did it come from?

My response to a blog posting, Zeroes Aren't Permitted(ZAP program) , in the Karl Frank, Jr Communicator, of the Mehlville School district in ST. Louis, MO. This posting was a condensed version of a journal article written by Dr. Christa Warner of Wohlwend Elementary, and published in the professional journal ASQ - American Society for Quality.

Glad to see such a fine description of ZAP, also known as Zeroes Aren't Permitted. It is a very effective tool for helping children learn what quality is and how their choices can affect and improve that quality in their lives.

I found this blog in an online search with the tag "Zeroes Aren't Permitted". This is a self-directed professional development webquest that began with an article I read online at Teacher Magazine, Okla. School Zeros In on Missed Assignments. The article is the inspirational story of a school in Glenpool, OK and their successful use of ZAP to improve the quality of student homework efforts.

In my opinion, the reporter following the story wrote about ZAP in such a way that one would think it sprang forth from the school district, like Athena from the head of Zeus. While ZAP is exciting, I knew it hadn't begun in Glenpool, OK. Why? I knew it hadn't started in Glenpool, because I have used ZAP for years. I learned about it from other teachers who used ZAP before me.

I personally began using this ZAP system over 6 years ago. Many of the elementary and middle schools, in the Wichita, KS public schools, began using ZAP before I did. That knowledge of the earlier existence of ZAP was the impetus for this webquest.

My quest is to answer the question, "Can we find the source of ZAP?". That question led me to find a large number of websites and blogs about the Zeroes Aren't Permitted program called ZAP.

Congratulations on your choice of ZAP as a way to help students model quality by teaching them to evaluate their homework assignment completion skills.

BTW, cool blog!

What Do Teachers Need?

What do we, as educators, require from teaching tools, resources and references?

When I began teaching children there were very few references that I could access to improve my teaching practice. There were no computers and only a few tools like calculators were available. Many times I couldn't complete lessons or projects in the way I envisioned them, because the tools or the natural abilities to fulfill what I envisioned were not available or didn't exist.

Since I grew up in a home that always embraced the future, I also did. One example is when I bought an electronic calculator as soon as I could afford it. My first one was about the size of a paperback book, and I was thrilled knowing this was high technology. All my other college friends and I were very self-congratulatory about these purchases. I would compare the social impact of these calculators, at that moment in time, with that of the iphone today.

Materials like glitter pens, fancy paper and similar technological advances were not available. Recycling was in, and that was great because I could easily cover Velveeta boxes, large manila envelopes and other stuff with a new colorful, sticky plastic, called Contac Paper. I loved Contac paper!

Living in such a special time when technology was moving faster and faster, I was still humble enough to realize that many of my older relatives, and later my older teaching colleagues, still knew way more about life and teaching than I did.

Looking back, it seems to me, I lived in a family where it was very important that children should carry on the best of the family traditions and common knowledge. To be allowed to sit with the grownups, and LISTEN was such an honor. I loved that, but if I was noisy...I had to leave. I guarantee that didn't happen very often. We lived in New Mexico, and we didn't see our family living in Oklahoma often...this was my best opportunity to learn and I couldn't blow it.

These Elders talked of our past, our present and our future with such passion that I just couldn’t wait to be one of them. They all looked forward to the future while living gracefully in the present. We can hope to be so lucky today!

In an ongoing series on teaching tools and professional resources, I will compare and contrast the development of various tools or resources and their impact on education during my career. I do this to help new teachers learn and develop their philosophy so they may effectively guide their social and technical interactions as they begin their career. Also, I do this for myself and my age peers. I want to remind us that we were young and smart and wet behind the ears at one time when older teachers befriended us and made us feel special.