Work Hard vs. Work Smart, part 3

Hello everyone,

A teacher wrote to me about yesterday's email, and I'm including some thoughts in CAPS throughout.

In a message dated 5/15/2007 2:27:50 P.M. Pacific Daylight Time, jeffery.combe@lausd.net writes:

Personally, it seems to me that students who strongly connect with their teachers will do their best of their teachers ask them to. (Conversely, students who don't connect with their teachers probably won't.) Mr. Del Cueto proposes using the next two weeks to review for the test. A mid-semester review can cover many things that would end up on our finals. Helping students with reading and math skills (if they are not normally in our subject area) are easily incorporated into reviews of regular things that would be on the CSTs. Work smart.

Yes. I have noticed that students who like their teachers seem to try harder, and the students who do not connect with (hate) their teachers often seem disinterested in the same class... but not necessarily the subject. Lets face it; we can try to reach all of our students all of the time, but not everyone is always going to love you. Why can't we let the students choose their own teachers from the available teacher pool-- like they do in college?

MANY HIGH SCHOOLS STILL DO THIS. THERE IS A PARTIAL SELECTION WHEN STUDENTS CHOOSE AN SLC, BUT GARFIELD HAS NOT HAD A SCHOOL-WIDE REGISTRATION DAY SINCE YEARS BEFORE I GOT HERE IN 1991.

It would be interesting.

How far below the State's average are the math scores at Garfield anyway?

GARFIELD'S SCORES SINCE 2001 ARE AVAILABLE AT THIS LINK: http://www.lausd.k12.ca.us/lausd/offices/bulletins/8679_cst.pdf

IN SUMMARY, 81% OF OUR STUDENTS ARE NOT PROFICIENT (SCORING "BASIC" OR BELOW) IN EITHER MATH OR ENGLISH. THAT REPRESENTS A SIGNIFICANT DROP IN MATH SCORES FROM THE PREVIOUS YEAR. ENGLISH SCORES HAVE BEEN STEADILY BAD FOR THE PAST SIX YEARS.

Are our scores disproportionately lower than the other lower scoring schools across the State?

OUR API IS NUMERICALLY REPRESENTED AS 1.3. THAT MEANS THAT, IN COMPARISON WITH ALL THE SCHOOLS IN THE STATE, WE'RE IN THE BOTTOM 10% (THAT'S THE 1). COMPARED TO SCHOOLS SIMILAR TO US, WE'RE IN THE BOTTOM 30% (THAT'S THE .3). YOU CAN SEE THIS AT http://api.cde.ca.gov/AcntRpt2007/2006BaseSch.aspx?allcds=19647331933381.

And what do the students at the higher scoring schools have that our students do not which enables them to excel in math while our students suffer?

THAT'S A LONG, COMPLEX ANSWER THAT IS SURE TO CAUSE LOTS OF FIGHTS. IF YOU THINK OF THE PROBLEMS THAT OUR STUDENTS FACE, ANSWER "ALL OF THE ABOVE."

Can we please learn what it is then, fill the void somehow?

FRANKLY SPEAKING, WE DON'T HAVE THE POWER TO FILL THE VOID. WHAT WE CAN DO IS FIND WAYS WITHIN OUR POWER TO HELP FILL THE VOID. WHAT STRATEGIES ARE WITHIN OUR POWER TO DO? THE CURRENT, SHORT-TERM PROPOSAL IS TO HELP STUDENTS IN A FEW AREAS THAT WOULD ALLOW THEIR SCORES TO RISE HIGH ENOUGH FOR US TO GET A GRANT THAT MIGHT HELP US TO DO SOME MORE DETAILED INTERVENTIONS IN THE NEXT SEVEN YEARS. (THAT'S A SCHOOL-WIDE TACTIC.) IN THE INDIVIDUAL CLASSROOM IT'S MORE COMPLICATED.

I CAN'T MAKE A STATEMENT THAT THERE IS A BLANKET APPROACH TO TEACHING. ENGLISH PEDAGOGY IS DIFFERENT FROM MATH. THE TWO AFFECT DIFFERENT PARTS OF THE BRAIN AND REQUIRE DIFFERENT KINDS OF INTELLIGENCE. THERE ARE SOME GENERAL PHILOSOPHICAL IDEAS THAT I THINK ARE HELPFUL.

1. TEACH UP RATHER THAN DOWN. I MEAN THAT WE KEEP DUMBING DOWN OUR CURRICULUM AND CLASSROOM REQUIREMENTS BECAUSE WE THINK THAT OUR STUDENTS' LOW SCORES SOMEHOW MEANS LOW ABILITY. THAT IS SIMPLY NOT TRUE. LOW SKILLS ARE SYMPTOMS OF A WIDE VARIETY OF PROBLEMS, INCLUDING LOW INTELLIGENCE, BUT WE SHOULD RATHER ASSUME THAT OUR STUDENTS ARE AS CAPABLE AS THOSE IN SAN MARINO (A FIRST DECILE SCHOOL). IF SHURR HIGH SCHOOL TEACHES THE CANTERBURY TALES IN THE TENTH GRADE, AND WE ARE TEACHING THE PEARL (WHICH IS COMMONLY TAUGHT IN MIDDLE SCHOOLS IN OTHER DISTRICTS), THEN THERE IS SOMETHING WRONG WITH OUR EXPECTATIONS THAT SHURR IS NOT SUFFERING FROM.

2. DISCIPLINE PRECEDES LEARNING. WE'VE TALKED ABOUT THIS AT LENGTH.

3. TIME CAN BE MORE EFFICIENTLY USED. WE'VE TALKED ABOUT THIS ALSO.

In what ways are the Bulldogs underdogs when it comes to excelling in math? How does the (obviously lower) socio-economic status of the average Garfield student negatively impact their ability to excel in math? I have many nieces and nephews who attend various high schools around the country who seem to be interested in the same things that interest our students. Those kids and the friends also seem to hate math, but their schools seem to do well. Can't we find the difference to this problem? ,

ALL OF THESE QUESTIONS CAN BE ANSWERED, THOUGH MANY OF THE ANSWERS ARE OUTSIDE OUR ABILITY TO FIX. FOR INSTANCE, NONE OF US HAS THE POWER TO FIX INDIVIDUAL FAMILY PROBLEMS LIKE POVERTY, IMMIGRATION CONCERNS, OR SUBSTANCE ABUSE. WE CAN HELP INDIVIDUAL STUDENTS NEGOTIATE THEIR EDUCATION IN LIGHT OF THEIR PROBLEMS, AND WE CAN GIVE THEM THE HIGHEST QUALITY EDUCATION POSSIBLE SO THAT THEY HAVE THE POWER TO AVOID THE PROBLEMS THEMSELVES LATER ON. MANY OF THE ANSWERS TO THE PROBLEMS ARE CONTAINED IN THE IDEAS OF A RIGOROUS, WELL-ROUNDED EDUCATION. (THESE ARE IDEAS THAT NEED TO BE EXPANDED, BUT THIS IS ALREADY TOO LONG.)

BELOW ARE ADDITIONAL IDEAS FROM ANOTHER EMAIL:

Dear Dr. Combe:

Enclosed, please find part of a dialogue that I held with my niece half an hour after responding to your daily email. Kelsey was just accepted to the University of Pennsylvania on a math scholarship... she's going to be a Quaker! Most of the students at her school do very well in math. I asked her why she thinks this is so... here is her response...

[8:39 P.M.]: I guess it depends on what kids.. I think you'd be surprised how many people do well/actually like math, probably more than you would think. There are, of course, kids who hate math... but that's how it goes. by senior year those who really hate it usually drop it though, so the people who take math now pretty much like it.

Why do they like it? Please give me the reason...

[8:41 P.M.]: There is always a right answer to every question, not really anything to memorize... it makes way more sense to people (at least, to me) than something like interpreting poetry or the revolutionary war.

Her answer was... "It makes sense."

PS. I got her permission to use this part of our conversation after she gave me her answer.