Posters I want for my office

Epic failure:

When everyday, run-of-the-mill failure just isn't good
enough.

Teamwork:

Share victory. Share defeat.

Simplicity:

The simplest solutions are often the cleverest.They are also usually wrong.

Yeah, they pretty much sum things up, don't they?

Have a nice day!

Professionalism. Graded.

My school instituted a new grading policy this past Tuesday. It is... well... lovely.

I think.

We are now to grade our students on their professional behavior on a daily basis.

It's good, because it's a way to reward those who are getting it "right" in terms of professionalism. It is encouraging them to continue doing the right thing, as well. As 10% of their final grade, it's also a carrot-on-the-stick. You cannot earn an A if you are unprofessional.

It's not so good because it's a reward for behaving the way one should behave in the first place.

The majority of the students, however, are as delighted as most of us. Regardless of whether or not it's "good" or "bad," it's finally a way to stealth-grade on attendance.

You see, it goes against school policy to give points based on simply showing up for school and taking up space. BUT, when "showing up" is called "being professional," we can start giving or whacking points accordingly. It is a passive-aggressive way to prevent the rare attenders from showing up at the end, making up all of their work, and walking away with an A.

(Frankly, I'm all about passive-aggressive in this case.)

A new crop of students came in this past Thursday. As usual, we spent Thursday's classes going over the syllabi, reviewing expectations, etc. etc. In addition to all of that, I have a contract that I make them sign.

Businesses have contracts, I tell them, and so do we.

With that, I hand them this:
_________________________________________


I received the syllabus outlining the course requirements.

I have read and understand the syllabus for this course and the syllabus was thoroughly described to me. I hereby acknowledge this syllabus as the “rules of conduct” for this class. Additionally, I understand that:

_____ professional behavior is expected from me at all times.

_____ I am responsible for the grade earned in this class.

_____ my absences will affect my understanding of the material and thus my final grade.

_____ I am not permitted to bring breakfast, lunch, or dinner, with me into class.

_____ my cell phone is to be “off” or on vibrate; it is unprofessional and rude to answer a call in class.

_____ late work will be assessed a 50% penalty.

_____ leaving class early or arriving late may result in my being marked absent for class that day as per [school] policy.

I also:

_____ understand the test make-up and homework policies.


Student Name: (Please Print) ______________________________________

Student Phone Numbers:

Home: _____ - _____ - _______

Cell: _____ - _____ - ______

Other: _____ - _____ - _______


Student Address: ______________________________________


Student Signature: ______________________________________


_________________________________________

The point behind the phone numbers and address is simple. When I have to reach my students, I need a number that is up-to-date and quick to find. This form saves me the time of either logging into the computer and looking up their names or trudging to the financial aid office to go through student files.

It's a paper that has served me well over the years, as it is concise and to-the-point. It has also afforded me the chance to be insanely immature in the realm of cell phones.

If you are rude enough to answer your phone in class and have a conversation as if this were your own private room, then I get to be rude as well. I get to yell. I get to holler. I get to disrupt your disruptive behavior. Got it?

They get it by the way. No one ever seems sure enough to call my bluff.

Probably due to the fact that I got to holler just a mere ten months ago.

The grapevine has a long memory...

Ego trip.

There is nothing cooler then being noted in someone else's blog and having your site visits go through the roof.

So to return the favor: Kids Prefer Cheese.

Someone might think the wrong thing.

Okay, so that last post...

I took a stand. That's all. This is me and this is what I believe. It just so happens that, at this point in my career, I am willing to articulate it.

About two years ago, I friend of mine handed me this poem:

Our Greatest Fear

Our greatest fear is not that we are inadequate,

but that we are powerful beyond measure.

It is our light, not our darkness,

that frightens us.

We ask ourselves, Who am I to be brilliant,

gorgeous, handsome, talented and fabulous?

Actually, who are you not to be?

You are a child of God.

Your playing small does not serve the world.

There is nothing enlightened about shrinking

so that other people won't feel insecure around you.

We were born to make manifest the glory of God within us.

It is not just in some; it is in everyone.

And, as we let our own light shine, we consciously give

other people permission to do the same.

As we are liberated from our fear,

our presence automatically liberates others.

Marianne Williamson from her book "A Return to Love"

An e-mail arrived this morning, remarking on the previous post and asking me if I thought it wise to share such thoughts on retention. I think you ought to reconsider, wrote the well-meaning friend. Write something else to explain yourself. Someone might think the wrong thing.

What is the "wrong thing"?

I gave it some thought this morning, between receiving the note and this post, and came to the conclusion that I'd already crossed the Rubicon when I sent the original e-mail on September 21. So that post really wasn't much of a real leap in the grand scheme of things.

Our Greatest Fear fits because, as I write for an audience, it is something I work hard to remember -- and work harder still to instill in my students.

Last night, in individual conferences with my Seton Hill students, I learned that some are silent because they feel they have nothing worth saying. Last night, too, I was reminded of an acidic essay I wrote as a senior: There's Mice on the Hill. It was a rant on how so many women seemed to be so willing to scurry from place to place and never open their mouths.

I think of Baubo, the Belly Goddess, and how she represents the belief that women have a fire (passion) within them. In their bellies, mind you, and far from their heads. For the fire to come out, it has to move upwards and out of our mouths... and the distance from belly to mouth is great, giving time for the words to cool and be tempered out with "logic."

Logic. Good girls don't make waves. Play nice. Don't fight. Make other people comfortable. In essence, be a flight attendant. May I help you?

I tried, readers. I really did try.

I have the diplomacy part down. I know how to use the "right" words and phrases. Those are never the problem. It's swallowing my opinion that keeps burning me.

The E-mail

To: All faculty
Sent: Thursday, September 20, 2007 7:34 AM
Subject: Retention

Please take a little time to seriously consider the one thing that you think we could do to improve retention at [our school]? Please send your emailed answer to J---- by close of business tomorrow. Thank you

From: M. Louch
Sent: Friday, September 21, 2007 3:01 PM
Subject: RE: Retention

A open discussion, preferably face-to-face, with the teachers is an excellent place to begin. I assume that this request is to begin such a dialogue?

First:
The students need to see not only their teachers but also the higher-ups – and they need to see them not in the capacity of someone who supervises, but also gets involved with them.

Come into the classes to give presentations, talk about management skills and what employers are looking for. Speak about finances and human relations. The workplace is changing: the unapproachable manager is no longer acceptable as Generations X and Y take a stronger foothold in the business world -- talk about how you deal with those changes in your own management style.

Offer an opportunity for a student to swap places or shadow any one of us in the company, from the highest to the lowest levels of the hierarchy.

Second:
We need to continue to tighten our standards and give our students not only an education but also career preparation that goes beyond theory. We owe them chances to both succeed and fail. We need to replicate the professional world in the classroom and treat them less as students and more as employees.

The majority of them come to us with the inability to problem-solve in a professional, mature, and creative manner. Many believe that those fluent in profanity or quick with their fists win fights because that is the world that they live in or grew up in.

Our students often come from worlds where they hear that an education is useless. They are told that they need to be working or home with their children. They are pounded with negativity from both outside and in. They no doubt lack role models, and their detractors may outnumber their supporters.

What they need from us are opportunities to try, to fail and to learn from the experience. They have to know that failing is okay so long as they learn and adjust as needed. We can’t just provide chances to success; that would be unhealthy in the long run.

When I talk about failure, I’m not talking about an “F” for the final grade. I’m talking about taking exams and leaving questions blank, about not doing homework out of a fear of being marked wrong. (You know the irony, of course: blank answers are always wrong.) We need to create a professional atmosphere where the students know that we know that they are learning, and where they can take a risk and fill in the blanks even when the answer is uncertain.

When the students are floundering, they need to have teachers who have the time to work with them as well as a tutoring center to go to.

Third:
For us to achieve the above, however, we need the same safety net. An educational institution is an excellent opportunity for students to see how trickle-down management works. When we teachers are given the same liberties – the chance to take chances and even the chance to make a few mistakes ourselves – we are able to teach through example, which is infinitely more powerful then even the most entertaining lecture. We are human, thus we sometimes stick with the tried-and-true not always because we like it but because we know that we won’t end up having to explain ourselves when a student complains.

Along the line of complaints by students, send them back to us. When someone runs upstairs, ask if he or she has addressed the issue with the teacher. No? Then send that person back to us. In truth, some complaints should be welcome; e.g., those that accuse of us sticking to deadlines, of being challenging, and of making them work.

Fourth:
True learning doesn’t take place when the students are complacent. They need to be knocked just a tiny bit off balance. We need to make them think about why they believe in what they believe. While I do not expect them to walk out of here as Rhodes Scholars, they should leave with the knowledge that they not only know the factual aspect of their career but also the self-knowledge that they can achieve, fail, succeed, and keep going.

Fifth:
We have three different generations in most classrooms. We are facing Boomers, Gen Xs, and Gen Ys, all at the same time. Each generation brings different expectations to the classroom as well as a different philosophy on learning. The Boomers want their education and their career; they expect work and they do it. The Gen Ys come from the “feel good” classrooms in the 80s and 90s; they’re used to smiley faces for breathing. The Gen Xs are in the middle, it depends on their age and if their school subscribed to self-esteem over education or the reverse. How do we as educators address that? We need to find ways to meet the classroom’s collective needs while addressing the students’ professional needs.

Sixth:
Hold the students responsible for their actions, which takes us back to the beginning: problem-solving skills. If they know how to make good choices and discipline themselves, and if they see the positive results, they will be more inclined to value their education.

Lastly:
So, how do we do all of this? Every teacher here will address it differently; thus, we have a sincere need for a dialogue to begin – and continue, on a regular basis. We also need the chance to attend outside training sessions that allow us to mix with professionals from other schools. [Our school] needs to finance and encourage educational opportunities that will allow us to meet other professionals in our field and get a fresh perspective, get new ideas, and come up with different approaches.

My offering is this: they need problem-solving skills, they need to learn about professionalism, and they need to learn about expectations.

____________________________________________

The results?
Nothing direct... however, a few remarks to the positive were made at a meeting yesterday.

Being Unreasonable

More of us should be like this guy... Paul the Cell Phone Salesman. If you click on the link, you'll see his two-minute video from Britain's Got Talent. If you click here, you can watch an interview with him and see another performance.

Paul Potts is an amazing example of "being unreasonable" about talent and ambition.
______________

I'm about three-quarters of the way through Be Unreasonable, and just hit a section on accountability. After the numerous conversations had today and this past Friday about late work and make-up exams, I'm spending extra time reading and pondering that part.

Not so much because I need to make my students accountable (they need to make themselves accountable), but so much more because I need a more accurate picture of who I am in terms of accountability. Perhaps looking at my own approach will show me new ways to help them refine theirs.

At the same time, interestingly, I'm bucking the accountability concept. A conversation last week revealed that corporate wants each of us teachers to evaluate ourselves and then, in a chat with our individual supervisors, talk about what we can "do better" to improve retention in our classroom.

A fellow teacher, knowing my increasing tendency to speak up, asked what I was "going to do" about this.

What will I do? The unreasonable, of course.

I plan to talk about how I'm constantly trying to teach problem-solving and critical-thinking skills. (Which often explains my love-hate reputation.) This is how I look at it: if my students have those skills, their attendance might just improve because, when problems arise, they will be better able to find the necessary solutions and make the necessary decisions to make it through the term academically intact.

This is as opposed to the tendency of some students to solve academic problems by just not coming to class. Some students get so overwhelmed that they "shut down" and take the easy way out, which is not showing up and flunking. Their fear of being wrong runs deeper then many of us educators can fathom; it's so much a part of their nature, believe it or not, that an "F" due to non-attendance is actually acceptable to a "D" earned via the game of academic catch-up.

This approach of mine, I need to add, contradicts the "duct tape solutions" such as edu-taining presentations, homework passes, and bonus point-related rewards for showing up to attend a class that you paid to attend in the first place. Yes, they work in the short-run. I know that. But the short-run short-changes in the long run.

I'll keep you posted.

_______________________

P.S.
Thanks to Free Frank Warner, a recently discovered blog which gave me the background and had the Paul Potts pic, as well as thanks to Chuck for sending the YouTube video that sparked my interest and inspired this blog.

Musings on Survival and Justice

An incredible chance just last week: a trip to Louisville, KY, to attend a conference jointly hosted by the Foundation for Teaching Economics and the Liberty Fund.

It was amazing.

From Thursday afternoon to Saturday noon, we sat in session and discussed economic incentives, property rights, and justice. Dry? Probably to most, but I'm pretty convinced that economics teachers are an odd breed in general. If you want to start a night-long debate, just ask us if altruism exists. (If you're feeling really mischievous, tell a tree-hugging economics teacher that recycling is not always a viable option for a healthy economy.)

Conferences can be either invigorating or coma-inducing. This one was the first one where I actually found myself wishing for one more day and a few more readings. As you can see by my links list in the margin of this page, the Liberty Fund's Library of Economics is a new recommended site.

So what did I learn?
______________________________________


At the top of my notebook, on day one, I scribbled the words "opening a whole new world." They were meant to remind me of how I felt sitting in my group of fifteen at the conference, surrounded by people I didn't know, and waiting to see just how our session leader would lead.

When I teach Western Cultural Traditions, I teach from the point of view that humans were -- and are -- ultimately motivated by survival. We amass goods and property so that we might live one more day. We once sought to tear life from the earth, planting and sowing so that we might reap enough to make it through the winter. We learned how to gut an animal just so and wear its skin for warmth.

Battles were for power and land -- necessities, I argue, for survival when crop rotation is unheard-of and land is used until it yields nothing but rocks and weeds. Politics arose as tribes turned into villages and specialization began to make more sense. (Comparative advantage and such, you know.)

Man defined convention and created religion to keep society in check.

(That last sounds rather Karl Marx-ish, no?)

In my notes, I wrote:
Our society evolved to survive.
Property rights encourage work.
Work enables survival.

Mankind knew that ownership was key long before John Locke. The Code of Hammurabi states that anyone who takes on the task of tilling abandoned land for three years is considered its owner, regardless of who appears to claim it after those three seasons are past.

We as humans have been reconciling private needs ands wants with society from the time we began.

That, I think, is where my head begins to hurt. You see, all I keep thinking about is education and business. Every student walks into my classroom with private wants and needs, and I find that they need help reconciling them with those of society (the rest of the class).

I think, too, of ethics and moral imperatives. Do the greatest good for the greatest amount of people.

Or, is it do the least amount of harm to the least amount of people?

All I know is that I keep looking around my office and wondering.

What did I learn in Louisville? Everything I was supposed to, I suppose.

New ways to ponder ownership.
New ways to consider justice.
New ways to think about incentives.

New ways to look at life.

You know, I didn't see that last one coming...

Umm....

We now pause in our story to take one giant leap backwards.

Duquense University had made a few changes to its Ed.D. program and put ILEAD on the shelf, choosing to offer only a doctoral degree in instructional technology for the moment. Applications are being accepted for the 2008 cohort.

Five years ago, prior to having my son, I was looking at ILEAD as the way to go. It appealed to me in its flexibility; Duquense appealed in its reputation as well as its size. A perfect fit. However, just as I made my decision to apply, life had a surprise in store for me: I found myself pregnant. After too many years of trying, I very happily re-arranged my life to take care of my little miracle.

Now, with Gavie ready to start kindergarten full time, I'm ready to return to school.

And so here I am, for all intents and purposes back at square one. It's time to revisit what I want to be when I grow up and how that fits with the various doctoral programs offered in the area by universities I would consider attending. (At least, I can say with a lopsided little grin, I have my GRE scores. By the way, my two essays netted an admirable 5.5 out of 6.)

In the meanwhile, though, something unexpected...the opportunity to write a book on women and diversity in the workplace.

Perhaps things are happening for a reason. I don't know. We'll find out, won't we?