I want to invite and incite teachers to participate in this forum. It is the
holiday season and it is apropos to list the gifts that you would like for yourself. This might sound a bit "corny"
as my students would say but I have 12 wishes set aside from my regular gift list. The 12 wishes may be just that, wishful
thinking but I will keep wishing and hoping until my last breath. For each school month which should include summer months
as well, teachers, parents, and administrators should work together to improve the areas that will impact on student achievement.
By golly, I think that would be my first wish. Too often we all have the greatest of intentions to improve our school classrooms,
instructional strategies, facilities, parent teacher conferences, professional development workshops, technology systems,
and many other areas but do we really get together to get the job done.
Yes, we meet with teachers separately, We have
administrators meet separately. They turn key information to teachers during a short after school staff meeting, when quite
frankly not very many are even paying attention because it has been a long day. School boards meet separately and many times
behind close doors. Community activists meet separately. State departments of education meet separately. Parents meet separately
and even student organizations meet separately. Each group has a specific agenda and charge but shouldn't the goal be to get
together and work on some common goals. Some districts are working towards a more inclusive decision making system but are
they getting results they all want collectively.
President Obama has the right idea with his town meeting approach,
trying to get feedback from the citizenry. School districts should try this strategy. I know that school districts are obligated
to have public school board meetings that allow for input and feedback from the community. But too often they become gripe
sessions and very intense and people end up getting frustrated on all sides of the issues discussed. There must be a way of
getting all parties represented and ready to discuss solutions. We all know the problems.
We all know, as President Obama says, the solutions will perhaps involve making some hard and not too popular decisions. I
believe that if we make the effort to genuinely work on one goal at a time per month and just do it, we will win at the end. Let us think of ourselves as a football or baseball series game.
The players have to get enough games won and accomplish their gaol within a specific time. They have to win four times in
a row. They create strategies, plan, format, and get the job done. None of us in education get paid the mega-bucks contracts
but the prize should be to provide every child the best training possible to tackle life. Learning is lifelong.
We
are bent set on getting all done in one sitting. Baseball, basketball, and football players know that they have to play as
a team. They also know that some players will stand out as the star players, so be it. What should matter is that the job
is done.
Educational leaders should start the ball rolling. They must decide on the game play and understand that their
choices will influence how the game is effected and played. But each of us has to be willing to sit out on the bench and practice
hard, so that we are called up we can make the score. It is called readiness. It is called effort and love of the game. I
love education. I love the American education system. I believe in it. It helped me become who I am today. We have to start
selling that concept to students just like we sell them sports and everything else they believe that will make them shine
bright. Studenat have to believe that they can accomplish anything they work hard to get. Parents have to help them believe
that their children can do the job. We have known for a long time that "it takes a village".
I just
described a few of my wishes for education. What are your wishes? Speak up and make sure you make a list. Check it twice.
Organize an educational town meeting at home strating with your own family. That is where it begins, does it not? Let us know
what you think. Write us at PO Box 43691, Upper Montclair, NJ 07043. I will
post the wishes on a special page.
Viewpoint on Testing
-
Should we sacrifice creatviity and the use of ingenuity
in the classroom for teaching to the test?
The new debate about federal funding for school districts is becoming a hot topic among all groups.
Teacher's unions and local school asssociations have concerns about merit pay and teacher evaluations. Just yesterday on Meet
the Press we heard the Secreatary of Education, Arne Duncan, Reveerend Al Sharpton, and Newt Gingrich discussing theRttT initiative. They all ask for accountability measures to be implementated starting at the State Department of Education, local
school districts, and they all call for parents and the community to be proactive in creating a more effective delivery of
educational services. Platos Garden is interested in your opinions and welcomes comments.
Celebrate and Join the Charter for Compassion
Is you state ready for the "Race to the Top" competition?
We invite comments
and feedback. We are committed to providing the most recent developments on this topic.
Plato’s Garden has joined the debate on the “new vision” and “Race to the Top” guidelines outlined by the Department of Education. State education officials and school districts will begin to scaffold action plans
to compete for the 4 billion dollars. These funds will be granted as all interested parties including new charter schools that develop the necessary stamina to win the big race. The race metaphor is appropriate only if the competition have equal access to the start line. Many states and school districts will have developed
the political muscles to ensure a win at the finish line.
The question is
whether or not the stimulus package will produce better educational outcomes. Will teachers have no other choice but to teach
to the test, thus sacrificing teaching to stimulate higher level thinking and creativeness? Will administrators become even more obsessed with test scores and AYP rates? Will teacher pay be linked to their teacher preparation program and how well they meet teacher education standards? What will happen to the more seasoned and experienced teachers? Will
these more experienced, (having seen all types of reforms that never accomplish very much according to them) be given the
opportunity to engage in the “Race to the Top” or will they be encouraged to retire earlier? Are we looking to blend the old with the new and be willing to borrow
some ideas that may help improve our American education system? We compare our progress in education to other countries and what we always seem to notice is how much better other countries are performing. Can we truly embrace change and finally
look at global education and focus on the bigger picture?
There will be much
debate about the “Race to the Top” contest. We want to watch and offer information so that teachers, parents, prospective teachers, and the general public
learn about what this race will achieve in terms of quality education for all.
The month of November is full of educational activities. The week of November 9-13 is National Young Readers week. It is so important to motivate young children to read. Contact your local school district to find about the activities for
the week. Parents and community members volunteer to read and discuss books at their local schools. In New Jersey, NJEA teachers congregate in Atlantic City on November 5 and 6 for their annual two day teacher's convention. November 15-21
is the time to celebrate National American Education Week.
It seems that the economy's woes have left the education reform questions on the back burner
for now. Election Day may usher in some new governors, congressmen, and senators. The question is will they move the education agenda up a notch
or two. School districts are struggling to fund programs, home owners are drowning in property tax increases and everyone
agrees that we need an alternative to fund our schools. The jury is still out on how to continue to fund NCLB. Parents want pre-schools funded, higher test scores, safer buildings, and more charters.
In
the meanwhile, November is the month to rethink strategies, promote positive ideas, and to celebrate the notion that education
is what we need to equalize and improve no matter what. We owe our children the opportunity to dream that they can make it
to college and afford it without going into deep debt until age fifty. Teachers need to know that their work is appreciated.
Parents need to feel confident that their children are learning and that their schools are safe. Our country needs to trust
and believe in our education system. Students from all over the world want to come here because they believe that American
education offers its students golden opportunities. We all need to believe in our own potential to develop a strong educational
system. Let's join together this month to celebrate our strengths and rise to excellence once again.
As we enter into the second month of the school year we are starting to see that some school districts are struggling
to make ends meet with the reductions in the school budgets and the lack of funding fom other sources to cover the cost of
courses throughout the curriculum. We hear through the grapevine that the funding that would have been provided by private foundations is also diminishing.
As more people loose jobs and are forced to rethink expenses it will be harder for schools to collect money from donations
made by parents and community organizations. There is without a doubt a ripple effect to deal with in this economy and there are multiple lessons for all of us to learn. Educators call them teachable moments. We can only hope that those
lessons add up to a stronger economy and that we start looking at the extras that we can do without across the board. It is
difficult to accept that students will not get the thorough and efficient education they deserve because of the mistakes of
others. Teachers can be very inventive and resourceful. Many understand that an extraordinary amount of material can be developed
to teach children to think if they simply look carefully within the environment.
In the meantime, we must try
to stay positive and build on what we have. We need to focus on developing thinking skills and science concepts at all levels.
We must refuel our creativity and not just look at thinking outside the box but going back inside the box and bring back some
of the things that worked in the past. We invite you to comment on how we can do this and start making strides back to the
top of the educational ladder. Education has and will always be the only way to make great things happen.
We
teach the meaning of peace via many venues. I have always tried to teach the principles of this so complex concept. Years ago I used information from A New Language of Peace to kick off a week devoted to teaching peace and tolerance. We posted signs with the word peace in as many languages as we
could find. We recited poems about peace and love. We sang songs that we’d sing back in the 60’s. Everyone was excited with the different activities including designing your own peace sign. Every hall way, stairwell, bulletin
board and classroom wall was covered with the message of peace. It was a beautiful thing.
The problem
is that this week had been designated for celebration. We celebrated with good intentions. But what happens the week after
when all we hear on the media reflects not such a peaceful world. We hear about bombings, domestic and school violence, child
abuse, and all things not peaceful in abundance. We seldom hear about acts promoting peace.
So,
how do we teach peace so that it is real and palpable? How do we teach peace so that it is achievable? Should we even worry about the possibility of world peace when we cannot achieve peace in our communities?
How do we speak to our children about peace when they walk in fear?
Our country has to take a serious
look at what are the real messages that we are sending our children. We must rethink the dialogue of peace starting at home
and working together so that it extends into the community and schools. We have to teach peace as a concept as concretely
as we would teach a math problem. There has to be an equation somewhere for us to work out a solution. There needs to be a
collaborative that ensures that we all walk the walk and talk the talk. We need to get involved in our churches, synagogues,
mosques, temples, schools, and civic organizations. Teaching peace cannot be a day’s or week’s designated event. It has to be a way of life. It has to be a bloom for every season.
In the meantime, teachers and parents can start a long term action plan. Our children will hold
us accountable.
Eight years
ago on this day at this very hour 8:46 AM, our lives were changed forever. Some of our freedoms have been compromised in the
name of freedom. No one will ever forget the tragedy of that morning. We cannot forget the loss, the sacrifice of the rescue
workers, the everyday people who pitched in to help, the individual stories of the 2,976 Americans who died in the September 11 attack. We must continue to educate our young people about the value
of freedom. We are the home of the brave after-all. They must also learn to appreciate the service men and women who have
served in Iraq and Afghanistan and the 4.000 plus of them whom have died far away from ground zero.
President Obama has designated for September 11th to be a National Day of Service and Remembrance. This is a very fitting tribute to all. But a greater tribute will be for all of us to continue to promote peace and tolerance. It is important that the new
generations learn the many lessons that connect to this day. As an educator I know that the curriculum can be the basis for
new perspectives filled with positive and productive ideas. The site was coined Ground Zero. We learned in kindergarten about
the number zero. The set was an empty set. There was nothing there. However, a zero is round and what this can signify is
that we are all a part of it. We are not outside of it. The circle of life is eternal. Therefore, all of us can pay tribute
and be a part of this day by serving each other in so many ways. We can work collectively to keep our neighborhoods
safe havens for our children. We can help by building funds for those workers who are still suffering from the side effects
of inhaling dust and fumes at the site. We can help by reaching out to the agencies devoted to helping family members of the
victims from the other tragic sites of 911.
In
conclusion I would like to share a few poems that I believe say it all. God bless all of the September 11th rescue workers,
grieving family and friends, our troops, survivors, and the souls of all who died.
"God
bless our humble heroes, Who risk their lives for me and you. We will remember forever their courage And
hearts so bold and true.
God bless the innocent victims, Who unknowingly stood by; Clueless to the
fact, that very day they would die.
And God will bless America, Land that we all love. For
He will send us hope, faith, and strength from above."
Susan Halmi 9-13-01
ONE Written by Cheryl Sawyer
As the soot and dirt and ash rained down, We became one color. As we carried each
other down the stairs of the burning building, We became one class. As we lit candles of waiting and hope
We became one generation. As the firefighters and police officers fought their way into the inferno We became
one gender. As we fell to our knees in prayer for strength, We became one faith. As we whispered or shouted
words of encouragement, We spoke one language. As we gave our blood in lines a mile long, We became one
body. As we mourned together the great loss We became one family. As we cried tears of grief and loss We became one soul. As we retell with pride of the sacrifice of heros We become one people.
We
are One color One class One generation One gender One faith One language One body One family One soul One people
We are The Power of One. We are United. We are America.
Days to Share and Celebrate in September
President Obama delivered a message to the school children of our nation. At first the idea of having the president address students caused some controversy. However, after all was
said and done it was a message to inspire children to do the right thing for themselves and ultimately for the country. This
was a reminder that we all have a job to do and an active role to play in educating our youth. "It takes a village."We have an obligation to reach out to young people who may be struggling with issues that interfere with learning. The momentum is here to motivate others to
learn to cope with the obstacles that may be in the way of a student's success. It is also about setting high expectations
for all of our children.
Just yesterday, we celebrated International Literacy Day sponsored by UNESCO. Literacy and the opportunity to learn to read is a fundamental human right. There is so much all of us can do to help promote
literacy. Many years ago I started a volunteer program called L.O.V.E. (Literacy Outreach Volunteer Effort) and the slogan
was: "LOVE is teaching someone to read better." Volunteering to teach someone read is one way to support the president's
effort.
Another day of great significance is celebrated on September 21, International Day of Peace. I remember that one of my students designed the peace symbol using different colors and patterns. he infused images into
the symbol that had an additional message. The whole class prepared a slide show to celebrate and promote peace within the
school. He played the guitar and added music to the slide show. Everyonme was so impressed by his creativity and works of
art. I was impressed by his sincere hope that world peace could be achieved someday. I will never forget this borrowed line:
"Peace is not a season; it is a way of life." This is what it should be.
"A house without books is like
a room without windows."
September 8th is designated International Literacy Day. This ia a day to reflect on the idea that knowing how to read is a right and a fundamental need of all human beings. The
statistics are still overwhelming. Millions of Americans are not able to read above a sixth grade level. "780 million of the world’s adults (nearly two-thirds of whom are women) do not know
how to read or write, and between 94 and 115 million children lack access to education." Many American schools
do have space to house a library where students can sit after school and read or do homework. Many public libraries are grossly
underfunded and have actually have slashed hours of service and cut after school reading programs. Our schools will receive
results of standardized reading assessments and find that some populations are still struggling to meet the minimum proficiency levels in reading. Many kindergarten
teachers will be shocked to discover that some of their students have never been read to at home. However, many of these same
children will have been exposed to some kind of electronic gadget that they know how to manipulate to some degree. Many students
will come to school with cell phones that have keyboards for texting, iPods and other apparatus that requires some level of
tech savvy. I suppose that we must learn to capitalize on these modern high tech skills and help them build on basic reading
ability and proficiency. But when but when it comes to the millions of people in the world you would like to learn to read
and cannot, because of poverty, the ravages of war, and lack of civil and human rights, many of us can help. Volunteer to help someone to learn how to read. Many libraries and other government agencies have established volunteer literacy and
adult basic education programs. Volunteer at a local school and start a book club or some way of stimulating the love of reading.
Donate your time and money to organizations like UNICEF to help eradicate illiteracy. Celebrate the gift of knowing how to read this day with someone you love. Have a family read-in
where everyone is reading a favorite passage or quote from a book. Visit a local library or bookstore and get some books for
the entire family. Send a copy of a poem to a friend and make sure September 8th gets stamped on the envelope to make it memorable.
Give books as gifts. Reading is fundamental and a lifelong skill. I cannot imagine my life without it.
Coping With The Start of College
Although the beginning of the new
school year is a little over a month away, college students especially are getting ready for a very important time of their
lives. Millions of students will soon be attending orientation meetings and preparing to move in to college dorms. The experience
is probably one of the most exciting but could also be one of the most stressful.
By the time a college student walks into his or her first course, he or
she has already taken out a student loan, or has signed up for work study type grants. Some students will need to juggle part-time
jobs and study part-time if they have not been able to get full financial aid.
During these hard economic times more students and their parents have chosen
local state colleges and or community colleges to begin a college experience at a relatively less expensive cost. Some parents
are able to keep college age dependents on their work health insurance plans. But for those who do not have that luxury many
colleges offer limited health coverage as part of the tuition fees. Another high cost will be books. Usually professors select
books for their courses ahead of time or stay using the same text for a few semesters. It is always a good idea to check out
the college bookstore and get the titles of the texts that have been assigned for specific courses. The bookstore may have
some used books in stock to resell at a slightly lower price. Students may also check out flyers that other students post
around campus to sell their books. Amazon and other on-line booksellers may have the editions at a cheaper price.
Another expensive investment will be a laptop
or desktop computer. During August many retail electronic stores offer great deals. The first thing to do is to check out
what kind of resources the college includes in terms of technology. Many colleges have fancy high tech labs for students to
use and students get free email accounts. These costs may be included in the tuition fees already. Some schools may even include
a laptop as part of their package.
Commuting
to school may be a viable option. Most major cities have special bus and train fare rates for students. Discounted monthly
or yearly rates may turn out to be a better deal. It is important to get your valid student ID card so that you qualify for
all kinds of discounts from bookstores to the local theaters. You may want to get courtesy cards from pharmacies, supermarkets
and other department stores and restaurants that offer special discounts for college students. Every bill adds up and every
discount is a extra penny in your pocket.
Check out what your school dorm allows in terms of extra smaller appliances. You may save money by having a small
refrigerator or coffee maker combo toaster. It is amazing the amount of cash you will have left in your pocket by making your
own coffee and stocking up on snacks.
Whether
your college experience is living on or near campus, commuting to school or taking some On-Line courses, the best idea is
always to plan ahead and research all the options that apply to your personal situation. Find a mentor to help you through
the rough times in dealing with homesickness, and time management issues. Many colleges and universities have all kinds of
drop in centers to help students cope with the rigors of college life.
We have attached a few links that may help in future planning if you are just thinking about
starting your search for college as well. High school seniors should plan way ahead to make sure they match up with the right
school.
Whether you are a high
school senior or an incoming college freshman the best attitude is to keep an open mind and to be creative using the resources
at your fingertips.
July spells that school is out. Children are allowed
to watch television a bit longer in the evenings. Outings for youngsters include going to local parks, beaches, museums, matinees,
day camps, sleep away camps, and hanging out at the neighborhood ice cream shops. Many plan long car trip vacations. We all
dread the question, "Äre we there yet?"
For many
parents the summer months are more costly because they have to pay for babysitting or for special events to keep them busy
and out of trouble or danger. At Positive Prose we encourage parents to also look for activities that include reading. Many
libraries have summer reading programs or book clubs. Bookstores schedule authors to read and interact with younger children.
Many schools have a summer book challenge to get students to read more over the summer months.
Summer reading activities can be a family affair. A good way to keep the children engaged is to start
with the holidays that take place during vacation. We have included some suggestions on our Parents Booktalks web page.
The important thing is to give children a reading continuum and to
make it a fun. Studies show that children who read during the summer months do better getting back into the school routine
in September.
A fun family activity would be to make a video of
a story that the family read together. You can post your video on YouTube, MySpace, or Facebook to share with other family
members. Make an album of the activities and let the children create a scrap book.
Collect words from vacation brochures or other sources to help increase vocabulary skills. Demonstrate
to the children that even adults learn new words everyday. Do a spelling bee in the car and treat everyone who spells a pre-set
number of words.
Summer should be a fun time. Reading and other
language building activities can be infused in a fun way to make youngsters September ready. Happy Reading! Have a wonderful
summer. Visit our site for other activities and events.
Are we truly starting a new slate for our educational system? We know that there has to be more accountability, more transparency,
and we now have a new reform model called the American Recovery and Reinvestment Act. President Obama wants for the United States to have "the highest proportion of college graduates of any other country
by 2020." Without the use of a calulator you figured out that the traget date is just 10 years away. So, how do we reach that goal? Higher education costs are skyrocketing as we speak. How do balance the cost of K-12 education and higher education tuition? What do we standardize nationally? What courses do we eliminate from the high school curriculum?
Everyone wants an effective and efficient education system. We want state of the art facilities, focused students,
engaged parents, talented teachers, effective educational leadership,and accurate assessments. Can we have it all by 2020? All of these areas must be built up before we can see any progress.
We also need to make strides in how we deliver education to our special needs children. We need to discover the cause of autism.
We need to deal with the violence that has waled into our schools. We need to ensure that youngsters are healthy, eating healthy,
exercising and developing their creativeness.
America can achieve President Obama's goal if we all make it our
goal as well. We have a deadline to meet that starts today January 1, 2010. We can do it. Learn more about how you can make
a difference and lets reinvest at some level within your community. Recovery and reinvestment starts at home. Happy New Year
and Happy New Decade!
June is National Hunger Awareness Month. The fact that America should have to declare a month, week or
even a day of awareness about hunger is astounding and appalling. The state of our national economy will definitely affect
the number of families that will need to stretch the dollar and do without the extra goodies and frills they used to pick
up at the supermarket.In many instances many families may have to eliminate necessary nutrients from their
diets in order to make ends meet. We are all bringing home a lesser number of grocery bags, many half-full, and spending a
lot more for the essentials. The elderly and young children are more at risk of not getting three meals a day. The other day
I almost burst into tears. I overheard a woman about seventy years old, trying to decide if she could afford to buy a pint
of ice cream. At first I thought she was on her cell phone, and then I realized she was conferring with herself. I wanted
desperately to walk up to her and offer to pay for the ice cream and anything else she may need but could not afford. But
I was not sure if this was a good idea. Approaching her may have caused her humiliation, or perhaps made her angry.
I left some money with the store manager and told him to use it with anyone who fell short of paying their grocery bill.
52,394 hours are donated by volunteers at food banks throughout the country. Food banks, soup kitchens
and other organizations are seeing a rise in the numbers of individuals and families seeking help. I want people to become
aware and to take action. Feeding America is a good place to start if you want to donate your time or money. http://feedingamerica.org/take-action.aspx
“Recent research shows that many children who do not
have enough to eat wind up with diminished capacity to understand and learn. Children don’t have to be starving for
this to happen. Even mild under nutrition can do it.”- Carl Sagan, Cornell University
My dream is that people do not have to suffer hunger. As a
mother, grandmother and educator I am most concerned with the children who suffer from hunger every day of their lives. We
have them right here living among us in this great country of ours. We cannot allow this to continue.
“The day that hunger is eradicated from the earth, there will be the greatest spiritual explosion
the world has ever none. Humanity cannot imagine the joy that will burst into the world the day of that great revolution.”- Federico Garcia Lorca, Spanish Poet and Dramatist
Garcia Lorca died in 1936. He probably spoke of the hunger
that came as a result of the depression. We are still dealing with devastating hunger around the world seventy three years
later. What can we do about it? We can volunteer at a soup kitchen. Do not reserve this privilege of helping your fellow human
being during Thanksgiving Day only. When you attend a great party and know that some food is left over bring it to your local
food kitchen. Let your fingers do the walking and make phone calls to the agencies that serve the homeless and hungry. Hold
a small fundraiser at home. Every little bit helps.
My dad was my role model in
many ways but I will never forget how he made it a ritual to visit the Bowery every week and bring fresh bread and other foods
to the soup kitchens in that area. I am saddened that forty five years later, we have to still make people aware that some
of us struggle to get one decent meal in the day.
As
I start to write this piece I want to be as objective as possible and not show any type of favoritism. The new nominee for
the position of the Supreme Court Justice is a Latina or Hispanic woman. If confirmed she would be the first Latina or Hispanic
to become a justice for the highest court of the land. The minute that President Obama announced his decision, bloggers, news
anchors, and journalists from every newspaper in the country and the world has had something to say about the landmark nomination.
I figured I would join the crowd.
The thing that I want readers to understand is that this process is very
complicated, political and more importantly should be taken very seriously. I have been around long enough to remember the
nominations of justices that brought with them a bit of controversy so this is nothing new. What upsets me is that we want
to jump to conclusions and make judgments without looking at the entire picture. In the past we were given the opportunity
to observe the process and see the scrutiny that the nominees have to endure. The Senate Judiciary Committee will use rigorous
questioning strategies to find out as much as possible about the nominee. What they want to know is how the nominee will deal
with the pressures and how they will deal with the issues that might be very passionate and controversial for many.
I
want to teach my students to distinguish between fact and opinion and learn to make inferences. I want them to use logic and
analysis. All of these are higher level critical thinking skills. A justice must be objective and make decisions that affect
many people. They have to abide by the laws of the land and cannot allow their personal feeling to influence their decisions.
This is a hard task to ask of anyone. Yet we see on television how Judge Judy will occasionally slip or seem to let her emotions
run away with her.
We have a generation of children and young adults that have grown up watching
judges on television and learning some legal terminology. I hope that none of them think that Judge Sotomayor’s work
is what is represented on the shows we see on television. I know these programs have individual merit and to a certain extent
educate as well as entertain. However, we must be careful to make the distinction.
As a women and a Latina I must
say that I am proud that Federal Judge Sotomayor has been nominated. This does not mean that I will not disagree with her
decisions on certain issues. I will look for how fair and just she was in her decisions and if she followed the constitution.
I have expressed many times that our constitution is a marvelous document and it has to be interpreted intelligently and fairly.
I believe that Judge Sotomayor has met the intellectual and judicial criteria based on the facts in her record.
Many of us at one time or another has had to sit through a speech pronounced by the valedictory. We
may have even been lucky enough to listen to three speeches during a graduation ceremony. I did not attend any of my post
secondary school graduations. I hated the idea of wearing a cap and gown and having to sit in warm weather for an hour or
two to listen to long pep talks about the future. The guest speakers invited to our graduations were mainly local public figures,
representatives from the larger businesses in the district or an alumnus from the school. It is always thoughtful and an honor
to have a former student come back to talk about their successes and of course how they owed the school a debt of gratitude.
Nowadays the keynotes at a commencement exercise are famous celebrities, politicians,
and even the sitting president or first lady. This year some schools have been privileged to have as keynote speaker Mr. Barack
Obama. Pronouncing the commencement address is never an easy task and it does not matter who is selected to speak there will
always be a few or more than a few upset with the decision. The fact is that college students deserve a speech that they will
never forget and that will stay with them when they cannot find a job because the economy is collapsing. I listened to a few
news announcers admit that they could not remember who had spoken at their graduations. I guess one inference that could be
made is that the speaker simply did not speak to them.
So, as I waited to hear Mr. Obama’s
speech on CNN, I could only think about the beauty of our constitutional rights. We have the right to speak our minds and
the right to protest when we disagree with an issue such as abortion. We also have the right to speak as
a minority and/or as a majority. I am sure that the students and faculty of Notre Dame would not have it any other way. They
would never think of allowing anyone to be deprived of those rights.
One reason this commencement
address has caused some controversy is because the President will have to select a new Supreme Court Justice to replace
Justice David Souter. The new candidate will have to make vital decisions and may have to
decide on issues like abortion or stem cell research.
I was happy to hear that Mr. Obama did not
stay away from the controversial issues. He has spunk and is sincere. He was eloquent as usual, and very clear in his message
to the graduates. He stressed that “hopefully one of the benefits of the wonderful education the students at Notre
Dame have received is that they have had time to consider the wrongs in the world, and grown determined, each in his
own way, to right them.” He also asked the graduates “How does each of us remain firm in our principles, and fight
for what we consider right, without demonizing those with just as strongly held convictions on the other side?” This
is food for thought without debate and also food for the soul.
The graduates of Notre Dame should
not have any problem recalling thirty years from now who their keynote speaker was and will even be able to proudly comment
on the impact the message had on them. Will Mr. Obama’s questions resound thirty years from now? We can only hope.
The bottom line is that commencement is filled with the expectancy that each graduate is bound to be
successful in life. The graduates at Notre Dame after all are the graduates of Notre Dame. All graduates of 2009 will face
the same challenges and will have to effect the changes that need to be made if we are to continue to reap prosperity and
find ways to make sure as Mr. Obama said that they have “Open hearts. Open minds and Fair-minded words.”
I recently had the privilege of attending a three hour poetry discussion group sponsored by the Geraldine R. Dodge Foundation. I have participated for the third year in a row and each experience is better. We gather to read and listen actively to poems
by different poets. What is amazing is that somehow the poems we select connect to each other in ways that could not have
been planned.
This year I read my own poems to my college students. I had the nerve to ask them to critique and
give me feedback about my poems. I told them they did not have to identify themselves on the feedback forms. I did not want
them to feel they had to say good things. I received very interesting and meaningful comments. One of my classes sat through
a poetry reading by several of my colleagues who are accomplished and published poets. The students sat in awe and later commented
how they did not know that poems could be like telling a story. They all seemed to think that poems have to be written in
a certain way and they had to have a certain rhyme scheme.
We do not teach enough poetry and when we do we are
subscribed to classical or poetry that does rhyme and that many students do not comprehend. We somehow lead them to think
that poetry has to be complex and mysterious and that only a selected few will ever get it.
I love the idea of designating
a month to celebrate poetry but imagine if we were to designate just one month for the celebration of the novel or any other
genre. I think poetry can be introduced at almost any age at school but more importantly we need to use poems to teach students
to analyze and think about things.
I came across an excellent book that promotes poetry for the whole family.
Poets' Corner compiled by John Lithgow is intended for reading poetry aloud. He also provides some interesting biographical notes on each of the poets. He believes
that "poetry is in our bloodstream." I think poetry is life.
April is National Poetry Month. Celebrate by
reading a poem aloud to your students or children at home. If you dare write a poem for someone you love. Write a silly poem
about something someone does to annoy you. There are so many to write a poem from a one sentence poem to a Fibonacci or a
Ghaza poem. Every culture has poetry. I am always amazed by the idea that all human beings embrace the power of a poem. Poetry
can not be subscribed to just one month. Poetry is life.
I invite you to e-mail me a poem to post on our website.
For the last few months all we hear or see about in the media is the E-word. I cannot
bring myself to actually write out the entire word because it sickens me to think about the doom and gloom surrounding it.
I hope that all of us are learning from the whole situation. I have learned that we were very probably not reading the fine
print or perhaps not reading carefully at all. My parents who actually lived through the depression taught me very early in
my life that "asking questions in time earns you a dime". Many of us have not been asking the right questions
either. Maybe some of the E-crisis could have been avoided if contracts, policies, budgets, plans, objectives, proposals,
reports and whatever else there is to be scrutinized would have been by simply using our critical reading skills and asking
questions. Therefore, in honor of parents who managed to live the American dream and to keep themselves out of debt and within
their means, I have conjured up a list of questions that they probably would have asked. I warn you their list would have
been very lengthy.
Why are interest rates so low for saving accounts? Are we not suppose to be rewarded
for saving for the proverbial rainy day? Why didn't we do anything about it?
Why do we tolerate paying
such high fees for ATM cards? I understand the convenience an ATM may serve but the fees go up every few months. Why are we
not doing something about it? Many places charge up to $3.50 fee.
Why do we have to clip coupons for discounts instead
of just getting discounts directly? Would not that save money on those coupon inserts? Would saving all that paper not help
to save the trees? Now they are asking us to print coupons as we receive them via Internet. Is that helping us to be more
green.
If so many people are doing on-line banking then how come there are three or four bank clerks
sitting in empty banks waiting for customers to walk in.
Why are we still getting 3 to 4 invitations to open
up credit card accounts that many of us still cannot afford to maintain? I am sorry, was that a trick question?
How
much does it cost to make an aspirin? The true question is why are we paying so much for pills in general? Have you read your
itemized bill from a hospital visit?
Why aren't we asking the right questions when it comes to "pork
spending"? It seems we complain about the funding or learn about it only after the "pork"projects have been
funded and completed.
Why do we pay such outrageous property taxes when townships are cutting back on services?
Why have we not come up with a decent formula to fund schools that does kill the homeowners?
Questions, questions and more questions show be asked. I do not want to risk boring people with my questions. But I guess
you got my point. We teach our children about reading before we sign anything and to ask questions. We tell them that no question
is stupid. "Even Einstein asked questions" is the message on a poster I have up on my classroom wall. Americans
have to start to ask the questions that count and the questions that helped to form our democracy. I invite you to interview
an elder who lived through the depression and all other kinds of economic (there I said the E-word) upheavals. Let them guide
you and help you come up with the right questions. There is no question about it, it is critical to ask questions. We have
the right and the responsibility to ask. We also deserve to expect answers that demonstrate accountability.
In 1987, I became very much aware of the dropout rate because
I was teaching high school and could not help to notice the graduates dwindling every year. We would start out with a freshmen
class of six hundred and graduate just under half the number four years later. In 1990, I wrote an article to create awareness
about the dropout rate and to enumerate some possible causes. I received a call from Channel 9 (WOR-TV) to invite me to express my opinion on Viewpoint as a public service announcement.
As a result, I not only had my 22 seconds of fame but I also made many of my own students aware of the problem. They became
determined not to become one of the statistics I had cited.
President Obama cited the same grim percentages during his recent address to a joint session of Congress. He also added that
only half of the students who enter or begin college never complete their goal of graduation. What echoed in my head long
after he pronounced his speech was this: "Countries that out-teach us today will out-compete us tomorrow." I thought
about the students in my developmental reading courses and once again came to the realization that only half of those students
would get to hold a diploma at the end of their four year tenure. I like to think that I can "out-teach" and still
make a difference. But, the truth is that it takes more than just me to do the job.
We have a digital divide. many of my urban minority students do not have a computer
or laptop at home. Many do not qualify for financial aid and cannot afford the high cost of the textbooks and other resources.
A huge number would be the first to attend college. They do not have health care except for the coverage they pay via their
tuition. So I think what we need to do is "out-do" ourselves in making sure that we create a comprehensive
educational package that addresses the students' needs holistically. It is a very expensive endeavor but a necessary investment
for our future as a nation.
The 3R's
no longer suffice. Our youngsters think, process information, and communicate differently. They own skills that their respective
teachers may lack. That is the reality. We need to revamp the teacher education programs and to strengthen and revitalize
our professional development programs.
The stimulus package may remedy some of the ills such as school reform and renovation but certainly more has to be done. I
will cite myself from the article I wrote almost two decades ago, "Literacy begins at home". Parents, grandparents,
neighbors and all of us must make a commitment to helping children develop a love for learning. All of us suffer when our
schools are not equipped with the educational tools to build solid foundations for teaching and learning.
For the last eight years, we have seen some accountability measures
enforced but moreover there has been a shift to focus on high stakes testing instead of "out-teaching" our counterparts
in Japan, Germany and other countries. I am optimistic. I hope that we will begin to see a change in how the business
of education should out-do all other kind of business. We cannot continue to do business in the same way if we expect to "out-compete"
other countries. It is our business to make education top priority.
I watched this video clip this morning and cannot help but to try to help to get the word out about this ongoing situation.
Millions of children around the world suffer the ravages of war and the injuries of sheer hatred and intolerance. Many children
in our country suffer at the hands of their ow parents, neighbors and of course total strangers that do not or cannot (are
incapable of) understanding the meaning of love.Both scenarios sicken me. I cannot accept it nor will I ever comprehend how
anyone for whatever the reason ca impose such grief and suffering on a child. All of us who do care and understand that children
have the innate right to be loved and cared for unconditionally have to take the time to say enough is enough. Please spread
the word about the suffering of the children of Darfur and do not allow injustice and cruelty against any child under any
circumstance.
Bill Moyers interviewed Nikki Giovanni on his weekly show Bill Moyer's Journal on PBS last night. He illuminated Giovanni's contagious smile, distinctive oral tradition, and her spirit. She talked about
her new book of poetry Bicycles: Love Poems. We have come to know her poems within a span of thirty plus years and she is still drawing from her experiences
as Virginia Tech professor and as an African American woman.
Moyers asked her about her revolutionary poetry.
She did awake in many of us whether we be Black, Hispanic or White an enormous sense of urgency to pay attention. She
demanded in a big way a respect for culture, art and the beauty of a single voice. Someone coined her the "poet of the
people". I have always admired her poems and often use her poems to bring a classroom back to life and to the present.
She inspired me to reexamine my roots, oral traditions, and the memories of what really matters.
As we celebrate Black
History Month, we want to read the poetry of Nikki Giovanni for many reasons. Her poems are a tribute to the Black experience
and testament to our humanity.
If you love books and sharing them with
others you probably joined or started a book club to spread the joy of reading. Oprahstarted some of the movement to encourage book lovers to share ideas by forming clubs and reading groups. I created
Plato’s Garden motivated by Eckhart Tolle’s book A New Earth. I felt that this type of positive prose had the potential to move people to think more about the things that really matter
in life. Plato’s Garden continues to meet every month and we will celebrate our first anniversary next month. We share
our opinions, feelings, favorite quotes, and the “aha” moments as Oprah’s followers would say.
I teach reading and one definite
goal of mine beyond the coursework requirements is to try to infuse the love of books. A fifteen week course may not be enough
time to accomplish this objective especially when students are generally reluctant and many are turned-off by reading in the
first place. However, motivating my students to acquire a special taste for reading becomes quite obvious because the love
and respect I hold for books is evident throughout the course. Every chance I get I insert a quote or thought from the books
that I am reading at the time and make a point of telling my students how a particular book may have influenced my thinking
about a given topic.
I provide them with book lists, websites that review books
and offer free excerpts, and occasionally I’d bring in books to give away. I use post-its and write a short blurb, a
hook to inspire students to take a book. My students usually accept my critique and take a book home to read. Admittedly,
many books are returned to me at the end of the semester not read at all, but I keep hoping that a few of my students will
eventually develop a need, a want and a love for books.
I do know one is true; literacy begins
at home. We need to monitor what happens between the time we stop reading to our children and when they are in the fourth
or fifth grade. Check out if they no longer like to be read to or are reluctant to pick up a book from the library. Notice
if it begins to be a struggle to your child to get through a reading assignment. Does your child’s school offer incentives
for reading a certain number of books a year? Do you continue to ask your child to tell you about the book their reading for
a book report?
The other bare truth is that teachers need to continue to motivate their students
to read. Students of all ages enjoy hearing stories read aloud to them. The Internet offers innumerable resources to enhance
a reading activity. We are dealing with students who for several generations now are provided with mega loads of information
from all kinds of media and technology. We as educators must learn to incorporate some of these resources at least initially
to hook students into reading.
After all is said and done, whether at home or in school, if you
grew up loving books then you must do your part in helping to spread that love to others. Books are our cultural inheritance;
they are the records and scripts of human endeavor. We learn through books; they bring messages of hope and the inspiration
to be ourselves. Books serve us well. I propose that this Valentine’s Day or Friendship Day we give someone we love the love of reading. Make your heartfelt gift a book that will be loved
forever.
Do not train a child to learn by force or harshness; but direct them to it by what amuses their minds, so that you may
be better able to discover with accuracy the peculiar bent of the genius of each. -Plato
