Fair vs. Equal

"Don't be in a hurry to condemn because he doesn't do what you do or think as you think or as fast. There was a time when you didn't know what you know today."   ~Malcolm X

For the past month I have had many conversations with staff, students, and parents about the difference between fair and equal.  Amazing how many people believe that these two terms are the same but they are so different.

Fair is defined as "in accordance with the rules or standards; legitimate."

Equal is defined as "being the same in quantity, size, degree, or value".

So in education,  fair means that WE will do all that we can to ensure that students are able to achieve the state standards that have been adopted to ensure that our students are 21st century ready.  That means that what staff members do to help one student achieve that goal might look different.  And equal in education means that we want all students to have an equal chance at reaching that goal.  To help all of our students reach their academic goals we will need to starting thinking about each child as a TRUE individual and not as a group of 4th graders (just an example).

The quote we read in our latest Master Teacher is so true. 

"If a child can’t learn the way we teach, maybe we should teach the way they learn."

 ~Ignacio Estrada

I feel that we are truly a group of educators who believe that each student is unique and deserves the best.  As we finish out this school year, please stay focused and dedicated to giving each student an equal chance at success while doing what is fair for all of our students.

To take this idea one step further, shouldn't we realize that the same concept goes for adults as well?  Each of us might need something a bit different (fair) to achieve greatness (equal) in education.  If that is true, then why do we sometimes wonder why someone gets "this" while someone else gets "that"?  I challenge you to view your surroundings with a "fairness" lens and before you wonder to yourself or aloud to a group of peers why someone was given this or that, think "is this _____ (fill in the blank) going to help this person achieve the goals for our school?" 

Have a great week and only 10 school days until Spring Break :)

Week of March 31-April 4, 2014
Observations Continue
Monday

• Honchell Visit
• 4th Grade PLC (Honchell Visit and Feedback Session)
• 3rd Grade PLC
• SIT Meeting After school
• Working Condition Survey After School (Really need 100% participation)

Tuesday

• Honchell Visit Continues (AM Only)
• 5th Grade PLC
• Easter Pictures 11-1 in Auditorium
• RtA Assessment
• TDap Shots from 9:30-10:15

Wednesday

• RtA Assessment
• Hill has County EC Advisory Meeting from 3:30-4:30 at LEC

Thursday

• RtA Assessment Continue
• Problem Solving Meeting at 3:30-4:30

Friday

• Makeup RtA Assessments
• Leadership Team Mtg. All day in Data Room
• Enhancement PLC 

Why do YOU do what you do for our students?

After I left our meeting on Monday, I was so excited about where the discussion could take us. The idea of each of you sharing why you do what you do is so exciting to me.  I think that this will help us identify the role we play in helping students achieve greatness each day and ways I might be able to help you reach your career goals.  Remember, I will need you to send me a short statement on why you decided to impact students through the current role you play in our school by Spring Break (mandatory for all certified staff but welcomed from all staff).

This week's blog is focused on having a vision.  Each of us need a vision to drive us to our personal goals.  How sad would our lives be if we just existed and never thought about improving ourselves or the world around us.  If you only focus on what you see in front of you, you are sure to become near sighted.  You only can see what is happening right in front of you and the further the event/chance is from you the focus is blurry.  When one's goals are blurry that often miss the mark and never truly reach their goal.  Then the person usually gets upset and says things like "I am not ________ because ________ held me back or distracted me."  You can fill in an adjective/ noun for the first blank and a noun for the second blank.  How often do we hear statements like that from our students?

So let us be good examples of developing and focusing on a clear vision to reach the goals we set for ourselves.  I believe that we are supposed to improve the lives of others as we travel through this life.  Helping students achieve an education and appreciate learning is a goal of mine.  I feel that when adults have an education and a love of learning they are able to obtain a career they enjoy and will be able to provide for their most basic needs which enables them to give to their community (money, time, ability, etc.).  I want to help create a movement where everyone is able to give because they have enough to give.

I have read three statements from staff members of why they do what they do...and am looking forward to reading the other 36. To finalize our meeting we had last Monday, here is a list of the I Do's.  Please vote for five of the best I Do's by Wednesday, March 26th (survey link below).  I will post them and share so we can model what we expect from each other.  Mr. Backus and I will vote our top five and post and share as well.  Let's hold each other accountable to this behaviors.  PLEASE WATCH THE VIDEO BELOW TO SEE A GLIMPSE OF THE GREATNESS WE CAN ACCOMPLISH IF WE MODEL OUR EXPECTATIONS.  Remember, we are all leaders...the only question is are we a mediocre leader or a good leader? Thank you for what you do and I am looking forward to celebrating Literature Week with you this coming week.

Angela
P.S. Baby Backus was born Friday afternoon. 9 lbs and 20 inches!!

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=1eF9sb4ovF8

Survey: 
https://docs.google.com/forms/d/1Ag17YzAPo_GabFpJNMXD-N-3M_XVsWpwFJMJLf0QxOk/viewform

Week of March 24-28, 2014

Monday

• EES Day
• BOB Competition @ THS
• RtA Scoring
• Mr. Backus Out
• Vertical Team Meeting (everyone meet in Media Center first)
• 4th Grade PLC
• 3rd Grade PLC

Tuesday

• Favorite Character Day
• RtA Assessment
• Literature Circles Begin
• PTO Goody Day
• Think Smart Tutoring 
• Science Olympiad Practice
• 5th Grade PLC

Wednesday

• Hill Out (CU from Harnett Leadership)
• I "Mustache" You A Question Day
• Literature Circles Continue
• RtA Assessments 
• Think Smart Tutoring
• Science Olympiad Practice

Thursday

• Hill Out (NCSIP Mtg- Greensboro)
• RtA Assessments
• Literature Circles Continue
• Book Setting/ Decade Dress
• All projects due to Media Center by NOON (please contact Dunkins/ Gaines to see how they want iMovies submitted)
• Media Center closed from 3:00-3:30 to have projects judged
• Benchmark Bubbling Party 3:30-4:30 with Backus
• Family Literature Night 4- 6 pm

Friday

• Jeans for a Cause
• RtA Make up Day
• Literature Circles Continue
• Class Competition Day
• Enhancement PLC
• 3rd Grade Feedback Review

I believe you have what it takes to increase achievement at EES...but do you believe?

As we begin our approach to the end of the school year, the stress begins to mount.  Have I taught the students everything they need to know to be successful on the EOG?  More importantly...have the students retained everything I have taught them so far?  Or how about the BIG question...will they be able to apply what they have learned to questions (situations) that are similar but not the exact questions that they saw during guided and independent learning opportunities in the classroom?

Although you feel stressed and you wonder what the final results will be, please try to stay calm.  If you've done your best on a daily basis, success will come. If when you found a better way to implement something you tried that something new (even if you are unsure how things would end up), success will follow. If you moved your instruction and activities from good to great, then success will follow.  It's just the way things are.

One piece of research I ran across last week helped me see why I feel at peace with the coming testing season.  The article dealt with research around the idea of teacher grit.  I know you've heard about teaching students grit but this article states that teachers who had a "higher levels of  "perseverance and passion for long-term goals"  (aka "grit")  were associated with higher rates of effectiveness and retention".  This research was done by Duckworth and Robertson-Kraft. Maybe because I focus on the long term goal of creating a community of life long learners and not on the results of testing done one time of year, I don't stress over the EOGs.  My job performance is evaluated by the same data yours is so please do not think that I am any different than you when it comes to the effects of testing on my evaluation.

What does grit look like in a teacher?  Well, I believe it looks the same as it does when we see grit in out students.  When we encounter frustration and situations that make us upset and want to quit, we don't "BM" about it and we don't talk about why it is impossible.  What we do is roll up our sleeves, plug away at it, and make the best out of the situation.  If we challenge our students to do so, shouldn't we challenge ourselves and our colleagues?

Below is a link to the article about teacher grit and I am also attaching a video about GRIT. I hope you enjoy and looking forward to another amazing week at Erwin Elementary with all of you!

Angela

http://blogs.edweek.org/edweek/inside-school-research/2014/03/gritty_teachers.html

Week of March 17-21, 2014
Monday

• Backus at Testing (AM)
• 4th Grade PLC (AM)/ Planning (PM)
• 3rd Grade Planning (AM)/ PLC (PM)
• Faculty Summit at 3:30 Media Center
• Problem Solving Team will split from Group at 4:15 for their meeting
• Scoring of RtA Passages from last week

Tuesday

• 5th Grade PLC (AM)/ Planning (PM)
• 5th Grade EOG Night 6-7 PM
• RtA Passage 
• Think Smart Tutoring

Wednesday

• Career Day
• RtA Passage
• Think Smart Tutoring
• Leadership Committee Response Due to Hill

Thursday

• ECU Job Fair (Hill out all day)
• Problem Solving Meeting at 4:00 PM
• Baby Backus Arrival ?!?
• RtA Passage

Friday

• RtA Passage Makeup
• Enhancement PLC (feedback review)
• 5th Grade Weather Benchmark

Coming up next week...

* Literature Week- 3/24-28

* Battle of Books at THS on 3/24

* PTO Goody Day on 3/25

* Vertical Planning at 3:30 on 3/24

*SIT/ Working Conditions Survey at 3:30 on 3/31

* ELA Review/ Audit by Dr. Honchell on 3/31 (all day) and 4/1 (AM)

READING: If it is as simple as ABC, then why aren't all kids reading at grade level?

Ok, I know you are probably tired of hearing about the conference I attended last month in South Carolina and everything I learned there but I had to share one more thing I learned there.  At the conference, I heard a presentation by Dr. Richard Allington.  I had never heard of him before (I will admit it) and I was afraid that he would talk over my head using educational jargon that would bore me.  Happily this was not the case! He sounded "down to Earth" and his facts regarding the number of books in a home and a student's future made me sit up and take notice.

I actually have been praying about what my next educational move needs to be because I feel I am not doing enough.  Lately, I keep coming back to the information he shared and the importance of students reading at grade level by 3rd grade.  If students are not reading at grade level by 3rd grade they are more likely to drop out of high school.  As many of you know, decisions on how many beds to build a prison to hold is based on the number of non-proficient students in 3rd grade in the surrounding areas.  If this important decision is made using that data AND we do not want our students to end up in prison, we need to change the educational portion of the equation.

I don't believe that this is a K-12 educational issue.  Students must be reading or have all the tools needed to begin reading before they enter kindergarten.  The first teachers (parents, grandparents,...the "village") must do their part.  I feel that most adults would step up and do their part if they knew how to do so.  I believe that we have an opportunity to help educate the community about the importance of reading and that when we begin to impact students earlier our work will be easier later.

As educators, we are asked to do so much with so little.  Less time and more expectations cloud our educational system...but the consequences of not doing more is so HUGE!  I would not be able to look any under performing student in the eye at Erwin, in the coming years, if I don't try and do more.  I hope you will join me in this effort.  I will be sharing more information regarding this charge in coming weeks but I want you to start reflecting on what you'd be willing to do to improve our community.  Are you willing to sacrifice something so precious as time for to save something so precious like the children of Erwin?

Please make sure you have signed your class up for the Literature Fair.  You will need to pick 5 books and I'd love to see all of you participate as a staff.  The link to the sign up page is below.

https://docs.google.com/spreadsheet/ccc?key=0AodILhuVn5fidHNHN3oyRy0xVHFESkJMZVdhOEtOLVE&usp=sharing


Again, Thanks for ALL you do!
Angela

Here is a humorous look at why reading is important.

Week of March 10-14, 2014
Monday, March 10

• 4th Grade PLC
• 3rd Grade PLC/ RtA Scoring
• Backus Baby Shower in Media Center at 3:30
• Hill Out (PM)/ DLP
• SIGN UP FOR BOOKS BY 5:00 PM TODAY!!!

Tuesday, March 11

• 5th Grade PLC
• RtA Assessment
• Writing PD at CES 3:30-5:30 (all students will need to be taken to auditorium at 3:00 and all other staff will help with dismissal; classroom teachers please leave information regarding how students go home on your desk)
• No After School Tutoring
• Hill Out (DLP)

Wednesday, March 12

• Spring Pictures in Auditorium
• RtA Assessment
• HOB Practice for Honor Chorus at THS at 1PM
• Hill Out (READY/ NCDPI Mtg.)

Thursday, March 13

• RtA Assessment
• Harnett Off Broadway at THS at 7 PM (staff not expected to attend)

Friday, March 14

• RtA Assessment Make-ups
• Enhancement PLC
• Eye Screenings
• Sham "Rock" Dance After-School 

Conflict

Yesterday I ran across a quote that I had to underline and tweet out on Twitter.  The quote was "Conflict, too, is inevitable in any relationship, especially when values and results are involved".  This quote was found in the book Coaching Matters by Killion, Harrison, Bryan, and Clifton.  I am reading the book as part of a coaching initiative our EC teachers are taking part in so they were referring to the relationships between coaches, teachers, and administrators.  But I thought this quote was so valuable because it is true about any relationship we have, at work or in our personal lives, if the conflict involves values and/or results.

In today's world, public education is FULL of conflicting values and is focused on results.  Now, don't get me wrong.  Positive results are needed to ensure that students are proficient and that we have the best of the best working with our students on a daily basis.  It's just that we are only looking at certain results (summative test results or worst yet, summative reading scores at only one grade).  And when it comes to values, don't get me started.  Lately I have been hit in the face with the fact that public education can be all about the money.  If you look at how much it cost to buy materials to remediate students, you'd be shocked.  At the conference I went to in SC earlier this month, Dr. Richard Allington stated that he believed that the reason why some students were not learning to read was because tons of money is being made by people who profit when students don't learn to read.  And although everyone says it's about the children, listen carefully and sooner or later you will hear their true focus.

So what should tired and frustrated educators do?  I've played around with the idea of starting my own school and taking true educators with me but sadly my "boat had not come in yet".  I believe we need to bring every issue (lack of pay raises for ALL teachers, the 25% bonus (that I believe will end collegiality among staff members), lack of equity between schools, etc.) back to the students and our job as educators to provide a quality education so that all students can succeed.

Malcom X stated "Education is the passport to the future, for tomorrow belongs to those who prepare for it today."  We must keep this in mind as we fight for change in education.  As we all know, money comes and goes but if you have knowledge no one can take that from you!  We must engage our students so they see the importance of what they are learning.  My hope is that the students of today will become the state and nation leaders that make the needed changes to ensure that the students are at the core of all decisions made.

I hope everyone is ready for an amazing week and thank you for all you do for me and the students of Erwin!



This Week (March 3-7, 2014)
Monday

• Send off for our Battle of the Books time (at conclusion of announcements)
• Backus, Gay, Bagby Mtg. with Hill
• 3rd and 4th Grade PLCs
• Faculty Summit (PD Focus) afterschool in Computer Lab and Media Center

Tuesday

• 5th Grade PLC
• IXL/AR Event in Auditorium at 11:00
• Think Smart Afterschool Tutoring begins (if you have questions on who should attend, please see Mrs. Manship); please bring students to auditorium at 2nd bell
• 3rd Grade EOG Night

Wednesday

• Hill at Principal's Meeting until 1:00
• Think Smart Afterschool Tutoring (if you have questions on who should attend, please see Mrs. Manship); please bring students to auditorium at 2nd bell
• Progress Reports Go Home (please see adjusted Harnett County Schools calendar for new report card and progress report dates)

Thursday

• State Tornado Drill at 9:00 AM
• Erwin Afterhours Response Winners Lunch in Conference Room (I will send home permission slips on Tuesday)
• 4th Grade EOG Night

Friday

• Enhancement PLC
• 5th Grade Science Benchmarks (Ecosystems)

Saturday

•  Data Room Makeover Day (please let Bagby know if you can help out) at 1:00 PM

I will email out all after hour events that staff will need to attend on Tuesday.  Please disregard Very Important Dates given in August since there have been numerous changes.  I would like for all certified staff that are not classroom teachers to attend at least one EOG Parent Night.  Please see grade level chair for assignment on that night.