Weekly sweatdrops

the other web logs

I started some other web logs with typepad.

One of them is background material culled from emails and christmas letters that I had on my hard drive. It centers around the lymphoma ordeal that transpired in 1996 - 97. Click here and pray that it never happens to you.

The other one is more on-going and will probably have posts added to it from time to time. It's theological and ecclesiastical and philosophical. Click here and dodge the lightning strikes from heaven.

SCHOOL WARS, casualties of battle in 2003-2004

Ever wondered what it’s like to teach in the second largest school district in the U. S.?  Well, it isn’t a pretty sight. Here are a few emails and other bits of correspondence that chronicle the front lines of the high school skirmishes:

Names have been disguised or abbreviated to protect ME:

Email from 8/2003:
Hi:
        Well, I guess your break is just about up. It’ll be fun to see you on campus again – misery loves company etc. I thought I might let you know about a few things that are going on.
       First of all, EVERYONE seems to be mad at [this particular administrator shall henceforth be referred to as "N.R." which shall stand for Nurse Ratchet from the novel or movie, One Flew Over the Cuckoo's Nest]. The situation seems to be worse than H’s situation. One B-track teacher (nameless) is already talking about getting legal help. This person claims that N.R. made the initial threat of legal action – “defamation of character” – over something that was “misheard” during a meeting.  N.R. apparently is utterly inconsistent and flighty. She makes promises and then neglects to keep them. She also wants reverence and worship as so many of our LAUSD administrators want. Another administrator has already had run-ins with particular teachers over the “respect” or perceived lack of respect issue.
      Our last scheduled department meeting was a no-show for the majority of teachers – it was listed on the calendar, but no announcement or bulletin notice was in place about it. I showed up with six C track people, and couple of B-trackers. We waited for N.R. After 20 minutes and passing around the mandatory attendance sign-in sheet, we left rejoicing.
        You know, I think part of the problem with administrators is that they are former teachers themselves and are therefore used to being regarded as on a higher plane than their students – we all have this attitude, after all, we are adults and they are juveniles. The problem is that this is no longer the case when supervising teachers – it’s tough to make that psychological switch in thinking from bearer of intellectual mystique and superiority to fellow laborer and social and intellectual peer. Liz Giffen-Glad and Marv Gunderson were better at that sort of thing.
      Anyhow, the N.R. problem is growing and is likely to explode in the future. She loves to hide behind her claim that she has “Attention Deficit Disorder” and must therefore be given preferential treatment. That settles over the English Department like a ton of bricks.
       More bad news – both Diaz and Olson will indeed be retiring in January. Replacements? –  Word is that our administration was looking for a female who would be “compassionate” – Oh shit, say hello to the future student-run and operated school where anything goes. It’s no secret that N. R. didn’t like Olson at all. I wonder who was behind the “compassionate” search?  My only hope is in the fact that Olson has good things to say about the other administrators. She believes that they understand the need for a firm Dean’s office. She claims that both of the men in question have consistently backed up her decisions since they’ve arrived.
        We’ve lost J.T. for good – too bad. I thought he was a good English teacher.
        My work load this quarter has been HORENDOUS – I can’t say that enough. I have close to twice as many students this semester and it’s been composition classes – three senior level expo composition classes with an average of 40 students in each of them – oh, Lord have mercy, the paper work. I have no week ends to speak of. Quarter grades are due this coming Tuesday. I still have major paper correcting to do. I don’t know how Lee Peoples does it – Advanced Comp.  with an honors level freshman class? This would be a wonderful job if they would reduce our classes to four per day – two conference periods and give us each an adult aid who could help with the correcting. Under those circumstances I could be a damn fantastic teacher – I’d drop my Friday independent reading program and my Monday Vocabulary worksheet sessions and actually do heavy duty teaching on those days. As it is, I have to do it that way in order to buy some grading and recording time.
            I’ll talk with you soon, I hope.   

Email from 3/2004:
          Oh my, where should I begin?  I’ve had it, seriously had it, with my class of 40 “seniors” that occupy the room during 5th period. I’ve never seen such a bunch of fricking babies like these in my life.  Many of them are actually 18 years old! It’s beyond words to describe.
We made it by hook or by crook with me reading the novel, All Quiet on the Western Front to them for just a half an hour each period – not counting Fridays (independent reading or quiet goofing off as the case may be) or Mondays (vocabulary days). Even so, I occasionally had to stop my reading to kick a kid out here and there. “Oh, Meeeester, it’s so boring.” I had a nice multiple choice mid-term – failed a bunch of them, of course.
            The next section of Modern Lit. I’ve reserved for short stories. The other classes seem to be able to handle classroom protocol without too much difficulty (they have a few problems). 5th period is Romper Room. I told them I would set up a group project with an author biography and a short story for them to work on each week. They thought that would be a great idea. “Oh yeah, Meeester, that would be better. It’s so boring when you read.” Well, guess what? They can’t handle it.  It’s a mess. Of course, they think they should take the packets home so they can copy off of each other. I said no. I’m so unfair. It’s exactly as I figured it would be when you allow group work. They do EVERYTHING WRONG. They subvert and undermine any part of group activities that might lead to learning. One kid does the work. The others mindlessly copy it. Well, when the blind lead the blind, they all fail miserably.  Another trick they try is to divide the assignment –you answer these questions, I’ll answer those and then she’ll answer the others and then we’ll be done.  “Meeester, we did our work. See??”   Jill, it is everything that I can do to restrain myself and keep from saying things that would surely get me into trouble. Yes, I will call a halt to the group work experiment next week. AND kick some little characters out of there.
     This leads me to another item of grief. I MISS JAN OLSON. I could always count on her. I could talk to her about particular kids, create a paper trail on them, and then things would happen!! I could get kids kicked out and the kids knew it too. Our Deans’ office has been weakened substantially. One Dean is ineffectual, absent-minded, and just plain slow – both physically and in other ways. Another dean is a coach first and a part time Dean. We have a third dean who has potential, but he still seems to be learning the ropes. He complemented me on my referral slips – thought they were very amusing –Even so, I’ve attempted a paper trail and nothing seems to result from it.
       A few other incidental felicities – I am being moved from my present location when A track returns. I’m being told to put my 5th period prodigies into one of the little rooms on the other side of the 200 building (223, I believe) ALL 40 OF THEM!!   The copy machines are in perpetual break down mode. I have to do more Xeroxing because Bky is unable to process my request for books (she won’t be able to handle it until after A track gets settled)  – I think the problem is really that I turned in some books late once.

I had my first seriously irate parent during parent/teacher conferences this past month. “Why are you failing all of your students?”  -- excuse me, 19 fails out of 32 is not failing all of them. I’m failing them because that is precisely what they have earned.
       Apparently, he went to (the Principal) and raised holy hell. This father has some kind of empowerment or consciousness thing going on. – Never mind that his daughter scored a 30 percent on the four week quiz. It has to be the teacher’s fault. He also wants to get me fired because I use sarcasm in the classroom. Sarcasm makes the little sweet hearts feel bad about themselves, you know.
       Anyhow, I had all my records in order when I went to talk to N.R. about the situation.
(“you-know-who” was supposed to be there as well, but perhaps he had a very important coffee break to attend?) –  N.R. was good, great even. I have nothing but good things to say about her.  She was supportive and took excellent notes on my class procedures which she later typed up and submitted to me and to the counselor (who would act as translator) for a follow up meeting with the Irate father.  The meeting was horrible. He listened to the counselor translate the notes from N.R. and then asked his daughter if it was all true. She said yes. He responded by saying that it sounded good, but that he didn’t believe it. Once again, I held my tongue. Our counselor seemed to take his side at times. This was annoying.
We have a PDS Tuesday just about every week this month. – Oh my, to what do we owe this joy?  The woman leading these meetings is so pompous, out-of-touch, and “high-and-mighty”  that there are moments in which I just want to slap the shit out of her. We get to work in groups to prepare a lesson plan to fit the pacing plan which we are allegedly helping to create –why don’t they just tell us what they want from a pacing plan? Rather than go through this insulting charade about our “valuable input” in the process. As if Any petty self-important pin-striped educational executive who walks like he has a corn-cob stuck up his ass actually gives a damn about what we lowly teachers might have to say.
         Oh, my creative writing class is wonderful. –
Great kids. – Some excellent writers in that class.  This is my salvation.  I also have a nice group during first period. They’re sweeties – not very academic, but sweeties.

Email from 4/2004:
I had an interesting Good Friday. I spent the afternoon at TAMS chatting with some seniors. Two of them are in my classes. One of them is a friend of the others. One of the reasons I occasionally hang out at TAMS is that I pick up a truck load of information from the kids. They are so naïve and forthcoming with their experiences. These are kids that I have known for two years. I’m friends with them. They are not simply telling me stories. They have no reason to be making up stuff on the spot.  Would you like to hear the crap?  Yes, that’s what I figured.
         Someone who works down at the Skills Center is selling grades to the seniors who are desperate to pass without doing any necessary academic work. I think they said it was about 80 dollars per unit –most of the HP students are aware of this and know exactly who to go to for this special favor. That was how the guys from my fourth period class last year were able to walk the line in June. 
The Deans are distributing surveys to students who get sent to the Time-out room – example questions – “How would you say that you are treated by this teacher?” “Did you feel you deserved to be sent to the time-out room?” – i.e. when you send a kid out for being a disruption, you get put on trial.  One kid who was kicked out by C. P. was told by the Deans to tell his parents to complain to the principal and then C.P. wouldn’t kick him out anymore. “That will put a stop to this.” – quote from the Dean himself according to the kid.
[Nameless Teacher] was more a sleaze-bag than any of us were aware. The kids told me that he had a regular money making operation going on in intersession – he used to split the fee for a passing grade with the adult TA who helped him out.  The kids assured me that the other students know about this.  He also used to brag to the kids about how he was a former porn movie actor – That one might be true – Yuck!!
Another teacher – I shall keep him nameless – had a thing going on with two of the best looking senior girls from last year’s class (ESL, I had them in fourth period) – Both of them functionally illiterate.  Both of them walked the line to my amazement.  One kid from last year’s class told me this a few months ago when he came to visit me after school last semester. I sort of smiled at the time, until the guys yesterday mentioned it again. The girls were 18 at the time –they knew exactly what they were doing and would probably deny it if anyone tried to expose it.
             I’m tempted to say that I’m glad to be leaving HPHS, but I know that this crap goes on everywhere. I just need to have SOMEBODY in a high place at the school where I work who is genuinely on my side, understands what I want to do as a teacher, and will support me. I felt like I had this with Jan Olson and to a lesser extent Ernie Diaz. I feel now like there is nobody at HPHS in any position of tangible power who has a sensible vision of what a High school should be like or the integrity to try to bring such a vision to reality.  – Idiots, fools, and opportunists, these are the people who are running things.
Well, Happy Easter to you.   
• Phil :)

Mr. S. (Union Representative):

       I was told that I needed to see you. Apparently I have a problem. There is one father of a student of mine – the student failed Expository Composition last semester, now the father will not rest until he has made as many problems for me as possible. At the time of parent/teacher conferences in February his daughter was failing Modern Literature. He raised a fuss with the principal claiming that I’m failing all of my students (19 out of 32 is not everyone).

     I was asked to see N.R. about the situation. I brought a copy of my electronic roll book to show that the majority of those students who were failing at the time of four week grades were missing at least four out of eight assignments. N.R. listened well to me (or so I thought) and took extensive notes on my grading policies and methods of support. She apparently arranged for me to meet with this parent in the office of the counselor.

       The parent was hostile once again at this meeting. He claimed that he didn’t believe what I or the counselor, or even his own daughter was saying when we went over the notes prepared by N.R.. This time he had a new item of ammunition to throw. For the past several weeks I have been reading All Quiet on the Western Front to my seniors. A favorite game of my students is to ask, “what page are we on?” It temporarily distracts and they find it amusing. I sort of play along with this game by writing the page number in large penmanship on the board so that I can simply point to it. I have often written a sarcastic comment under the place where I have written, “we are on page number __.” These comments have varied from, “anyone who actually has to ask what page are we on should have a private conference with Ms. Olson.” to the one copied down by the girl in question which read something like, “anyone who actually has to ask what page are we on deserves an instant fail and to be thrown into the street to suffer a life of poverty and misery.”  These comments spark chuckles on the part of my seniors. They are not understood to be serious remarks in any way. The hostile parent got a hold of this last written comment and through his daughter made a copy of it.

     The counselor in question was sympathetic toward the parent at this point in time. I assume that this was what inspired the parent to visit the principal a second time. I am also assuming that my meeting with the principal tomorrow is all about this comment that was written on the board and how “insulting” and damaging it was to the self esteem of my seniors. I don’t know. Perhaps there is some other piece of ammunition that I am unaware of. I don’t believe this particular parent is going to rest. Creating a problem for a teacher seems to be an egotistical issue with him.

   I don’t believe that I have done anything wrong. I may have breached the barriers of good judgment. However, I do not use cuss words in class. I do not single out any one individual student for sarcastic commentary. I am extremely tolerant of student antics. I have remarkably good rapport with my students. My failure rates are high (40% for senior level English classes, and about 55% for other grade levels), but these rates are not unusual for HPHS.
       Anyhow, I was told that I needed to have representation at this meeting during fourth period on Wednesday (tomorrow).

 Philip R. Keller

To Mr. Keller
From the desk of the Principal -
CONCERNING THE CONFERENCE OF MARCH 10,2004
The purpose of this memo is summarize the meeting that occurred in my office on Thursday, March 11,2004. Also present at the meeting were H. S., UTLA Chapter Chair, and the Assistant Principal.
During the meeting I raised the following concerns:
A.
That the father of period 3 student, V. R. 12C was upset and concerned regarding the performance of V. in your class. He had made the request to view your fail list over the past year. I indicated that the father could not have access to those records based on confidentiality regulations. The father also threatened to go to the media with his concerns. I indicated to you that the school would not allow the media onto the campus.
B.
I advised you that the posting of fails in your room, especially with excessively high failure rates, may breach confidentially, as well as appear embarrassing to students. I asked you to find more positive ways to inform students of their progress. I indicated that Ms. N.R. would be willing to provide assistance in this area.
C.
I advised you that the father and his daughter stated that you talked about V. to other students in your classes. I stated that if you did talk about V., to not do it again. I said that it would be better judgment to speak positively about students than negatively.

D.
I showed you a memo to your class that was taken off the board by V. The memo was given to you. The memo had a distinctively sarcastic tone to it. I asked you to look for more positive ways to motivate you students.
E.
I stated to you that the father of N. L. 12C (period 5), expressed a concern that you had referred to her on an assignment as a "lazy butt". I indicated to you that is inappropriate to refer to any student as a "lazy butt".
F.
I shared with you a copy of a restroom pass that was recovered on March 8, 2004. I indicated that the printed graphics on the pass were inappropriate, rude, sarcastic, and in very poor taste. I directed you to utilize a more standard hall pass, or to use the hall pass found at back of the student agenda planners. I indicated that Ms. N.R. is prepared to provide assistance in this matter.
II.
During the conference you said the following:
That V. R. had bragged about how she would cause you to get into trouble. You said that the memo on the board and the "lazy butt" stamp were jokes that you share with your class. You also said that you would find other ways to motivate your students. You agreed to utilize a more generic restroom/hall pass form in the future.
III.
As assistance and guidance I indicated that Ms. N.R. is making herself available to assist you at any, and all times.
If this is not an accurate account of our meeting please respond within five working days of the date of this letter.

To:  [the principal]
From:  Philip R. Keller
Subject: Response to memo dated, March 15

The summary of what occurred at the conference was mostly accurate. I agreed to discontinue using my Stamp(s) – actually, I have more than one of them – and to stop making my own hall passes with places on them for names and times. I agreed to no longer post grades. I will be more careful about comments that I put on the board, knowing that such comments can easily be distorted and taken out of context when they are copied and repeated by students seeking a way out of required work in class.

All of these changes in procedure I accept as directives from the principal of the school in which I am employed. I have no problem with following orders.

The way in which you have worded some of the items in your memo come close to implying that I acknowledge that I have acted in “inappropriate” or “distasteful” ways by using such things as these particular stamps or hall passes.  I have not acknowledged this.

I do believe that I have a sense of humor and communication style that works well with high school age students as any little bit of research or interviewing with other students would certainly confirm. Adolescents in their late teens have a more sophisticated outlook than many adults wish to admit. They quickly dismiss fake upbeat talk. They block out messages that do not fit the reality that they themselves observe. Nevertheless, I intend to be more careful about anything that gets put into writing.

I think the only objection I have in your summary is that you did not mention V.’s performance. During the conference you said that you did not doubt the records I submitted. The fact of the matter is that V. did not turn in any of the major writing projects in her composition class last semester. She did small class work items (many were copied) and then proceeded to score between 40 and 50 percent on her midterm and final exam. She scored a 30 percent on the four week quiz this semester. Despite the efforts of her father to steer the discussion to areas which are irrelevant or outside of his abilities to judge, the real question should have been, “Why didn’t V. do the things that were expected of her?”  Nobody seemed to be interested in pursuing that question.

I was perfectly justified in giving V. a failing grade last semester. It was her failing grade that sparked the interest of her father in my teaching practices, not the use of sarcasm in the classroom. Everything else was an afterthought. The Potty Pass was supplied by Ms. N.R. (Andy Verdugo told me exactly what happened).

I had a good number of students in that sheltered senior class (4 or 5) who were classified as LEP that put effort into the class and received an “A” or a “B.” Check the records. Motivation or the desire to put effort into the learning process made all of the difference for these students. When we continually make special exceptions, socially promote, and bail out students who do very little in class, we give these students the impression that nothing matters. Life is a party with no negative consequences. They discover that this isn’t true much too late (usually at some point in the second semester of their senior year).

I get frustrated when I hear about former HP students flunking out of Cerritos College or ELAC, or dropping out because it was “too much work.” Rather than harangue or tongue-lash (some English teachers do this), I try to cast things into a humorous light that has a touch of reality behind it. I believe I have been successful. Many students have returned after they have graduated to give me reassurances about the messages they have received in my class.   

I can assure you that there will be no more “parent concerns” expressed by any parents of students in my classes. Multiple choice tests (since they measure knowledge rather than the volume of pencil markings performed in class) tend to drop cumulative averages. I create these tests myself. They are extra work for me. I will administer no more of them to the seniors. Any students that might question a failing grade (I know who they are.) will pass with a “D.” That should end the year quietly.

Sincerely,

                                             Philip R. Keller

P.S. I will need your signature on the enclosed form by April 1.

The upshot of the whole thing?  I filled out the teacher requested transfer form. The principal signed it. I thought I was on my way out of Huntington Park High School – Ha!

I interviewed once while I was off Track in May – No dice, they wanted someone whom they could feed to their low performing freshmen in a double period block. I nearly ran out of the door. Then it was back to Huntington Park High School for more fun and games in the 2004 – 2005 academic year.

forging a philosophy of teaching through hard knocks

My political opinions have changed in recent years. Some friends have suggested that this may be a by-product of the aging process – perhaps. I won’t deny the inevitable drift toward crotchety geezer-hood, I’m stiff and achy when I wake up in the mornings. Even so, I think continued experience in the public school system and the memory of experiences with bumbling public agencies while being treated for lymphoma have led me to embrace the value of the Puritan work ethic in ways that I would have not done 10 years ago.
I’m certainly not going to baptize the profit motive. Exploitation is a reality. It does exist. What might be good for business is not necessarily good for everyone. Bill Gates is evil, yet I must confess that I see the majority of western middle class people arriving at and maintaining positions in society through the exercise of common simple human qualities such as: foresight, honesty, consistency, patience, fair-play, perseverance, and mental effort.
These qualities seem so commonplace until I see them glaringly absent from many of my own students or from employees of public agencies whose communication styles lead me to suspect that they were hired for reasons other than their competency in prerequisite skills. The phone conversation I have with one of them usually confirms this suspicion.
70s era pedagogical theory dominates teacher preparation programs as well as union rhetoric in the Los Angeles Unified School District. Underlying the theory is an oppression/victim paradigm and assumptions about human nature that closely approximate 19th century “noble savage” ideals. Children have an innate perfection that will stay with them if it is allowed to develop naturally – so the assumption goes. Adult society in and of itself becomes the problem when it impinges itself on the natural development of children.
The little darlings, you see, know what’s best for themselves and will pursue it when lifted from the burden of adult oppression and offered the right tools. Consequently, I defy anyone to find synonyms for “laziness, cheating, or lying” in the literature on teaching methods. You won’t find any mention of them in spite of the fact that these behaviors loom as the largest obstacles to academic success in Huntington Park High School as well as other inner city schools.
The students who succeed academically (and many do) are those who, at least, have parents who exhibit foresight, honesty, and perseverance etc. and have no reservations about imposing their will on their kids.
Students who succeed academically will probably not be begging for dollars at the bus stop. They will not be driving past guard bars at railroad crossings to find themselves smacked by the Blue Line train and thereby disrupting the lives of hundreds of more sensible people. They will not be making careless habitual clerical errors in future employment since they will be hired on the basis of qualifications not background or sympathy. They will not find themselves trapped in the slum areas of LA County.
Contemporary pedagogical theory expresses great concern for building juvenile self-esteem and empowerment. Quite frankly, I spend a good percentage of my time in class DIS-empowering inappropriately empowered students who flaunt an exalted self-esteem that is not accompanied by self-discipline or consideration for others. Creating “student centered” curriculum will not do much to improve a student’s economic future. Instilling rudimentary job skills like sitting down, shutting up, listening to instructions, and following instructions is almost certain to open a door or two for a job interview later on. Nothing raises self-esteem or empowers more than a decent paycheck for a job well done. Self esteem needs to be based on accomplishments and skills, not belligerent ideology.
Academically successful students will not be attempting to confirm baseless self-esteem by jaywalking through traffic and then whining about racism when they get a ticket. They probably won’t deliberately violate the terms of a rental agreement just to show that “no one can tell me what to do.”
My high school students are not stupid. They have, however, grown accustomed to school policies of accommodation, simplification, and very few substantial expectations. The recurring complaint that “this is boring,” is one that many students offer as though it were fully respectable and legitimate. They truly believe that the school is not doing its job unless material is presented to them like a Nintendo video game. They must be entertained. This is a mandate.
As long as teacher preparation programs continue to implicitly cater to these attitudes by fine- tuning what they consider to be magical methods of presenting materials to the special “schemas” of “helpless victims,” they will continue in their present function. They will continue to reinforce and populate the slum areas of Los Angeles County with people who cannot read or write or do basic math. The district appears to have tremendous empathy for juveniles whom they wish to treat as free independent adult consumers of education who happen to be oppressed by authority, but the end result is hordes young people who have a form of high self esteem, and have mastered the ability to put their desks together in a circle in order to cooperatively socialize in class. This doesn’t amount to much in the long run.
Some students will escape this vicious circle. It won’t happen through anything miraculous. It won’t happen through expensive special programs or through magical methods of instruction. Rather, it will happen through the exercise of simple human qualities such as foresight, honesty, consistency, patience, fair-play, perseverance, and mental effort – either by the students themselves or by their parents.
In a very real sense then, academically successful students will have earned a place in society that others in their peer group will not have earned.
I believe that the keys to breaking the circle of academic failure and poverty are genuine as well as intelligent parental involvement in the education of children. In the absence of these keys, I’d say that a stereotypical nun with a brass ruler will accomplish more than hundreds of thousands of dollars spent on pampering, compromising, indulgent school programs.

apprehension

Good time to start a blog. It's almost July. On the year-round school schedule the first day of C-track is Thursday, July first. I wanted out Huntington Park High School at the close of last semester. I had put up with enough. This was not to be. I had one interview at Van Nuys High School. They wanted someone to come and handle their two period block classes of freshmen English. I let it be known that I wasn't interested in that line of masochistic torture. I suppose the familiar is preferrable to any horendous surprises at a school I'm not so familiar with. Still, my emotional state is about as hazy and overcast as a June day in Los Angeles.