No Experience Necessary

Several weeks ago, on my way to run errands, I was listening to a local sports-talk radio station. The topic for the morning was the alleged grade scandal surrounding Chicago Bulls star Derrick Rose. According to sources, Rose’s school records were falsified by someone working for the Chicago Public Schools. Both local newspapers broke stories that someone had changed a D to a C, apparently so his transcript would qualify under NCAA rules for a Division I school. The article also alleges that three classmates of Rose and seven soccer players from another CPS were helped, some when F’s they had received were changed to A’s. It is also reported that someone took the SAT test for Rose so he could qualify.
A misguided caller to the sports-talk show commented that the individuals involved should be given “Teacher of the Year” awards for looking out for his “best interests” just as he (the caller) would hope someone would do for his kids. I hope, if the caller ever has a major health problem that his physician wasn’t admitted to medical school because someone—looking out for his best interests—“doctored” his school records. Some people are just dumb as hair. It is general stupidity like this that has allowed the Chicago Public School system to evolve into nothing more than a pathetic joke being played on the citizens of that city. Take these other examples into consideration.
A friend of mine, who is a teacher in the CPS system, lost his position a year ago teaching high school Chemistry. According to his contract, he is allowed to “substitute” for a full year at full pay. The central office sends him out to a different school every week to “help out”, which usually means sitting around in the teacher’s lounge and reading all day. He is bored by this, so he volunteers to do different things. One school requested that he be sent back for an additional week in order to finish helping the library do inventory. During this past “unemployed” year he attended all the available “job fairs” held by the central office, looking for a full time position. According to him, hundreds of people show up to these fairs, many displaced teachers just like himself. Recruiters from attending schools all claim to have positions available and take his resume. They all promise to call him within a week to set up an interview but he never gets a call back. If he does get an interview it usually goes well. He is an experienced teacher with an “excellent” rating from his former supervisors. The person giving the interview promises to get back to him next week about the position but never calls (or returns his calls).
The last job fair he attended allowed the displaced teachers (like himself) to enter an hour before new teachers so they could have first crack at the open positions. He claims that all of the early birds appeared to be over 40. When the doors opened for the new people, there were so many that it took 15 minutes for all of them to enter the facility. He said they all were young kids who looked like they were just out of school. It has been more than a week now and none of the promised calls to set up an interview have come.
He lost his last teaching position when the school was “reorganized.” He was replaced by a first year teacher who lasted 3 months before quitting. It was reported in the news last week that the many Chicago Public Schools "lose" 25% of their teachers every year; all of whom have to be replaced. With more than 15 years experience he is just too expensive, at least when there are so many “cheap” new people available to hire. It must not be in the “best interest” of the students to have experienced teachers when their transcripts can be altered to make it look like they passed.

Summer Begins!

I am now into my third week of summer vacation and, except for the rainy weather, all is well. I have been unable to keep my promise of riding my bike for exercise every day because the weather has either been too wet, too cold, or both. The only summer project I have been able to tackle is dividing and replanting hostas around the house. I was also able to put together a book shelve for my wife and plant flowers in pots in front. Today is very nice and warm outside, but I have been waiting for the guys to come and clean my gutters. As I write this they are here and making quite a racket.
Even though I have been unable to spend much time outside, I have been busy with work. The first week we were off I spent three days at school taking care of chemistry books. Five hundred old text books needed to be inventoried, boxed, and moved to storage. The state purchased new books for us to use next year but requires us to keep the old books for five years; just in case any other school wants 10 year old books to use. The new books arrived and I had to unpack them, number and stamp each one, then move them to summer storage in my classroom. When I arrived last Friday to move them I found that maintenance had started cleaning our wing of the building and my room was off limits due to floor waxing.
Next, I began editing the lab book for next year. We switched over our computers to Office 2007 recently and all my old Office 2003 files have to be converted. I have been working 6-8 hours a day for the last three days doing this. Office 2007 offers some new tools that I am using to bring the text up-to-date. As of this morning, I have all the exercises and Labs finished and am working on the tables and charts that are included. Since I have made significant changes to some of the exercises I will need to do significant editing to the answers. This step may take more time than the editing did originally.
I have also had to deal with several department problems that arose after school ended. Books foe the summer school class in Chemistry had to be set aside, summer school starting yesterday. I do not teach summer school, but need to get things organized for the teacher who is. Summer school in Chemistry is restricted to those who failed in the regular school year; this year there are 13 such students. Another young man wanted to take Chemistry, for the first time, at his local public high school during their summer session instead of next year with us. School policy does not allow this without special permission. I have been emailing the boy’s mother and principal almost daily, trying to negotiate the situation. What we finally agreed to do is allow him to take the summer school course at the public high school; but he needs to turn in to me all his written lab reports for my approval and take our final exam in Chemistry and earn a passing grade on it. I emailed him a copy of the study guide and arranged for him to take the final after he finishes summer school. Another request for an incoming freshman to take Chemistry was dealt with. Normally, students take Chemistry sophomore year; requirements being completion of Biology and Algebra I. The student in question took Biology in 8th grade in our zero-hour program. She had requested to take Chemistry without completing Algebra I first, but being concurrently enrolled in it. After talking with my principal, we decided to allow it and see how it works out. If it does, we will probably allow others to do it in the future.
I was hoping to get out for a bike ride today, but that depends on how long it takes them to finish cleaning the gutters. I am stuck here until they get paid and leave. My wife is working overtime at the hospital tonight and I promised to cook dinner for her to take. She is a nurse and works the 7pm to 7am shift. Maybe I can get a short ride in while the chicken cooks in the oven.

The Greatest Management Principle in the World

The things that get rewarded get done. -- Michael LeBoeuf

At the beginning of the 4th quarter over 200 students were held from classes because they were behind in their tuition payments. As I wrote then, the administration had taken a hard line against the deadbeat parents who refused to pay the school until we forced them to. Everyone was worried that the same thing would happen at final exam time, creating chaos and a wealth of bad publicity for the school. The list of students who were behind in tuition and would be held from exams totaled 36 when emailed to the staff over the weekend. That list had shrunk to 8 by the end of the first day of exams, and 2 by the morning of the second exam day. Apparently, bad economy notwithstanding, parents got the message. The small list of students left represents those who really are in need, and the school can handle them as compassionately as possible. Of my 142 students only one is on the list.

A few weeks ago students received their tentative class schedules for next year. Most teachers viewed this as an indication of enrollment expectations for 2009-2010. Of my 24 homeroom students only one did not receive a schedule, meaning that 96% had registered and paid their fees. It still appears that we may lose 100 or more students over the summer, but not the 400-500 predicted by the most pessimistic a few months ago.

After reading my last post (Every blade of grass…) my friend in the Theology Department emailed me with a much more negative assessment of her students. Her assessment of the situation is that our student population is becoming more and more lazy and uninterested in working. In other words, we are no longer attracting the best and brightest. While I see her point I would tend to disagree.
Compared to the students I taught 30 years ago my present group is far more intelligent and much better prepared than ever before. The difference is not in their ability, but rather their work ethic. I am not trying to suggest that they are lazy, only motivated differently. If it is really true that what gets rewarded gets done, then what the modern student views as “reward” has changed.
Twenty years ago it would not be unusual for me to fail 7 or 8 students each semester, as well as give another 10-12 D’s. This semester I will fail only one student (unless she studies and passes the final) and have only three students who are in danger of getting D’s. On the other hand, A’s are much more difficult to earn. Twenty years ago, if you received a B in honors chemistry you probably were a slacker; not so now.
Others grumble about the shrinking number of honors and AP students. In reality the numbers are not shrinking in every department. Just look at the significant number of students advanced in math compared to 10 years ago. The first year I taught AP Chemistry I had 15 students; next year’s group numbers 40. When I first began teaching Chemistry 25 years ago there were fewer than 50 honors students; next year there are close to 80, and that is with much more stringent requirements than before. The work the honors chemistry students do now is much more intense and in depth than it was 20 years ago. Some of the students that my colleagues wish we still had could never hope to handle the material today’s student masters with ease.
In the past, hard work was rewarded with good grades. Good grades could be achieved by memorization and practice. Presently, much more that just hard work is necessary to get the grades that motivated so effectively before. Is it any surprise that evidence of hard work is so difficult to find in the modern student?

I’m Back!

It has been over a month since I last posted anything to this page. After a spring break I hoped to return to school with all of my work completed and lots of time on my hands. Unfortunately this was not the case. This is the first day in the last 4 weeks that there is not a pile of papers to grade or assignments to generate. My AP chemistry students are taking their “big” exam this morning, and my Honors Chemistry students are taking their chapter 16 test. My homework folder is empty, at least until it gets filled with Chapter 16 exams, and I have decided to write again while I watch them work.

It has been a very trying last few weeks for the AP teachers in my building. The school has allowed so many interruptions in the normal schedule that reviewing for the exams has been a trial for everyone. Since Monday May 4th I have seen my AP Chemistry class exactly three times. Days were wiped out for; the Graduation mass, Career day, English Calculus and US History AP exams, and Junior/Senior skip day. To make up for some of these interruptions I held Sunday morning review sessions from 10-noon the last three weekends. Some of my colleagues lament that their students are so far behind that they can’t possibly do well on the exam. I would concur; the constant interruptions have been a disaster. I have had to speed through much of the last three chapters in Honors Chemistry just to cover the minimum required work for the final exam.

The photo with this post is of the family of ducks that have taken up residence in the courtyard by the greenhouse. The courtyard is completely enclosed so the two foxes that reside on the property can’t enjoy them for dinner. The mother hatched 11 baby ducklings. If she is lucky one or two will survive the occasional attacks by crows and hawks that frequent the property. As I told the students, the world is a restaurant and everything is on the menu.

Last week the administration offered contracts for next year. Since I wrote that everyone was coming back we lost one of our Physics teachers who was offered a full time position at UIC. He will be missed. The principal and I are in the process of interviewing his replacement. We have two prospects for the position, one has already talked to us and the other will be scheduled next week. The teacher Biology teacher we hired last year has proven to be an excellent addition to the department.

This weekend my wife and I travel to St. Louis to see our daughter graduate from college. We are both excited and very proud of her.