Here is another blog that spent a couple of years stored on Google without being published. This one I did not edit. I decided just publish it as is.
Everybody has some kind of a relationship with money. Some people try to save, some people try to spend, some people lend and the others borrow. We also have some kind of emotions towards the issue. The longer I live the more important the issue becomes.
I came from a country where we "didn't have money". Strangely, everybody worked, everybody had some salary, but the money was not an issue in the Soviet Union. There were hungry people, I think, but they were hidden somewhere so the general population could not see them. If we could not get something it was because "that" was not in the stores, not because we didn't have money for "that". Somebody might have a different image, but this is how I remember my youth.
When we came to America, money was not a big issue for us anyway. We had what we had and my husband soon developed a theory that, here you always have enough money for what you want: if you want to work on something you can get the tools to do the job, if you want to do sports you can get all equipment in the world, if you want to go camping, stop by the nearest department store and get yourself a tent and the matches. So we always did what we wanted for the lowest price we could afford.
This is why I was completely in shock when I read my daughter's essay about money. She wrote it in 4th grade in her English class. Imagine a little girl, 8 or 9 years old, writing about how bad money is, how money turns people into greedy creatures, how people should stop using money and life would become beautiful. Both, my husband and I, started to explain to the little thing that we tried that, we lived in a country without money and it was not beautiful. We talked and we talked, and we came back to the subject again and again. She didn't argue. She could not argue. We were so persuasive, knowledgeable, experienced. So we thought she understood.
Time passed by, my husband died, my children grew into adults, recently we came back to this conversation. Turned out She remembers it differently than I do. She says we were screaming like crazy, she couldn't say a word, so she decided not to talk to us about the issue, but she still believes the money makes people greedy and envious. This time, I could not completely disagree with her. The issue seems much more complicated now than it seemed 20 years ago.
Monday, December 24, 2012
Sunday, December 23, 2012
Should Schools be Profitable?
The "School reform" which politicians promise everywhere is in full swing in NYC. Schools are being closed other schools are being open. Some teachers are laid off, then hired again. More principals got more jobs: that's for sure, to rule higher number of smaller schools. Some say it works, others say it fails. How do you know? Who can understand what's going on? Why one school is chosen over another?
You can't find the answers in the Medea. I tried. The information is twisted, one-sided, and always blames the teaches for all the problems in education. Teachers are bad. Fire them all. Teachers are too lazy. Teachers have it easy. Teachers have a shorter day. Teachers have longer vacations. Remove tenure from teachers. Retest the teachers. Take their licenses away. They are doing nothing when nobody's watching.
The last one is my favorite :):):):) We have 34 times 5 pairs of eyes watching us everyday for 6 hours and 40 minutes. When they are not around we have meetings, workshops, or professional assignments. We can't use the bathroom when we need it. We can't drink coffee, or have our phone on. Every minute of our school day is measured, scheduled, and accounted for. This is why we have to grade the students' papers at home, plan out lessons at home, go to the bathroom at home.
I am not winning, it's my life, it's normal, just do not tell me that I have it easy. I am an experienced teacher who loves the job. I do need my 2 months in the summer to rejuvenate and bring my energy back. We start in September, in October I have my first nervous break down, feeling that they learn too slowly. By December I am back because they did learn something and show some progress. In January we have State Tests which usually change some students' standing on their way to the high school diploma. By February I develop a second breath and start new term very enthusiastically. March and April are always filled with a lot of learning and growing, but by May I can't remember what I am saying and have to start every sentence at least twice. Thank god we have State Tests in June or I would go crazy. In July I can only lay in my bed without any thoughts or plans because in September I have to start all over.
Now back to the reform: as I usually suggest, let's start with definitions. What is a good school? According to our current politicians in the city and in the country: a good school is a school that has the highest number of students who passed the State Tests and received the high school diploma. That's it. Simple and easy to check. Good teachers are those whose students pass the state exams, and bad teachers are those whose students do not. Again easy to define and easy to check. Maybe they are right, those current politicians?
I am working at a very prestigious school at this time after working for 20 years with the poorest population. This is a very pity place for kids: Teachers talk in quiet classrooms, write notes on the boards. Students memorize everything and pass all the exams with flying colors. They are all obedient kids, most of them are introverts, they got to this school by passing 3 hour written test and an interview. Are they real? Can we make all of them like that?
I wrote the above 3 years ago, but it was stored on Google as a draft. My life changed, I am not working at this school any longer, but I still feel the same about that place. So I'll finish this blog and publish it now.
The reform I was talking about converts public schools that use the taxes into charter schools that also use taxes. The difference is that public schools use all the money they received, but charter schools work for profit so they must have some of our taxes left for their own profits. And the other difference is that we take care of all and any children that come to us, but charter schools can refuse some "difficult" children their services.
I started this blog by describing my working conditions as one year cycle. The same happens in the charter schools. The teachers are as busy and as exhausted as we are. I know teachers from charter schools, they are great people and I know teachers from public schools they are absolutely great and I am proud to be one of them. Should the business model be applied to schools or not is for your, the public, to decide. Do you think that it is a good idea to make profits out of our tax money spent on our kids? I know I put this question in an unfair way, my opinion is too obvious :)
You can't find the answers in the Medea. I tried. The information is twisted, one-sided, and always blames the teaches for all the problems in education. Teachers are bad. Fire them all. Teachers are too lazy. Teachers have it easy. Teachers have a shorter day. Teachers have longer vacations. Remove tenure from teachers. Retest the teachers. Take their licenses away. They are doing nothing when nobody's watching.
The last one is my favorite :):):):) We have 34 times 5 pairs of eyes watching us everyday for 6 hours and 40 minutes. When they are not around we have meetings, workshops, or professional assignments. We can't use the bathroom when we need it. We can't drink coffee, or have our phone on. Every minute of our school day is measured, scheduled, and accounted for. This is why we have to grade the students' papers at home, plan out lessons at home, go to the bathroom at home.
I am not winning, it's my life, it's normal, just do not tell me that I have it easy. I am an experienced teacher who loves the job. I do need my 2 months in the summer to rejuvenate and bring my energy back. We start in September, in October I have my first nervous break down, feeling that they learn too slowly. By December I am back because they did learn something and show some progress. In January we have State Tests which usually change some students' standing on their way to the high school diploma. By February I develop a second breath and start new term very enthusiastically. March and April are always filled with a lot of learning and growing, but by May I can't remember what I am saying and have to start every sentence at least twice. Thank god we have State Tests in June or I would go crazy. In July I can only lay in my bed without any thoughts or plans because in September I have to start all over.
Now back to the reform: as I usually suggest, let's start with definitions. What is a good school? According to our current politicians in the city and in the country: a good school is a school that has the highest number of students who passed the State Tests and received the high school diploma. That's it. Simple and easy to check. Good teachers are those whose students pass the state exams, and bad teachers are those whose students do not. Again easy to define and easy to check. Maybe they are right, those current politicians?
I am working at a very prestigious school at this time after working for 20 years with the poorest population. This is a very pity place for kids: Teachers talk in quiet classrooms, write notes on the boards. Students memorize everything and pass all the exams with flying colors. They are all obedient kids, most of them are introverts, they got to this school by passing 3 hour written test and an interview. Are they real? Can we make all of them like that?
I wrote the above 3 years ago, but it was stored on Google as a draft. My life changed, I am not working at this school any longer, but I still feel the same about that place. So I'll finish this blog and publish it now.
The reform I was talking about converts public schools that use the taxes into charter schools that also use taxes. The difference is that public schools use all the money they received, but charter schools work for profit so they must have some of our taxes left for their own profits. And the other difference is that we take care of all and any children that come to us, but charter schools can refuse some "difficult" children their services.
I started this blog by describing my working conditions as one year cycle. The same happens in the charter schools. The teachers are as busy and as exhausted as we are. I know teachers from charter schools, they are great people and I know teachers from public schools they are absolutely great and I am proud to be one of them. Should the business model be applied to schools or not is for your, the public, to decide. Do you think that it is a good idea to make profits out of our tax money spent on our kids? I know I put this question in an unfair way, my opinion is too obvious :)
Memories and Associations
I started this blog because I wanted to pass on to my kids the thoughts and ideas about upbringing of children. I wanted to share my experiences and what I learned by doing, the mistakes I made, and the lessons I learned. I also wanted to tell them stories from my teaching years and the educational philosophies I share with some other people from my generation. I did not think I would have followers or that I would make a profound effect on future generations. Really, I always considered myself a representative of current trends, the majority. Whatever I think is the stuff that everybody thinks now. You can find books and articles with the same ideas and similar thoughts from many who lives at this time. Today's blog is not about bringing up the next generation, it is about saving ourselves. It's more egocentric and self-preserving. Let's save us from our own ignorance.
I am turning 60 this year. These are important years in anybody's life. These are years when Saturn comes out of its natal place in your astrological chart and your life starts a new cycle again. First time Saturn was in this place I'd been just born. Second time it was passing through this place we moved to America. This time I plan to retire as soon as I can afford it. Yes, I am moving into my golden years and dreaming about all the things I will be doing when I retire. However, the fact that I do have a pension and I will live pretty comfortably is not my own achievement. I have it thanks to the Teachers Union.
28 years ago when I just came to this country I didn't know that I had to take care of my old years. I came from the Soviet Union where it was the responsibility of the government and people could not change a thing about it. That part of our lives was a complete mystery for me. I remember going to all those pension meetings and hearing bla-bla-bla-bla. Could not understand a thing, I still can't sometimes. I only learned that the Union would take some money from my salary and save it, the City would double the amount, and that how I grow my pension.
Recently, I've learned a little more about my pension: the money is not just saved, the money goes to work. It is paid to the current pensioners and when I retire my pension will come from people who still work.
There are other choices in my pension plan, but they are optional so I never applied, they are called TDA and TD... something else. People who have those plans can save more from their salary by making investments. I could not even think about saving any more, I was bringing up 2 children alone, every penny was needed.
I have to tell you, you never stop learning. Things you ignored before as complicated become clear and simple. Things you could not hear or see because you were not ready to comprehend suddenly attack you from all directions and you begin to understand what they mean. Some time ago I completely understood things related to investments. The last drop came last weekend when I turned on channel 13 which I rarely watch (but donate a little and love Bill Moher). They were talking about sustainable or ethical financing, laws which came in the 90's and financial institutions that follow the laws.
I have been thinking for quite some time that we must change the way how the market works. It should not ignore the way companies produce or grow things. Investors must refuse to give money to fracking companies, and GMO-chemical-making companies, and especially geo-engineers because they will kill us and our children very soon. It's stupid to pay money to be killed. Don't we want to protect ourselves and our children, don't we want to survive and prosper????
How stupid should you be? They spray you with aluminum and other heavy metals while experimenting with weather. They send Sandy on New York to bankrupt insurance companies, their competitors. They poison your water and food to extract gas out of rocks. They grow corn and soy which make living things sterile, unable to reproduce. They convert natural food into man-made addictive chemicals. All of that in the name of profit. And you pay, and pay, and pay for all of that. Do not complain about them. You gave them the money to do all of that, twice. First time when you invested your hard earned pension savings and the second time when you bought their products and participated in their experiments. I should exchange the “you” by “we” here, please, do not get distracted by this little typo. I am one of you.
I wonder how many of you know that your pension is growing because you invested in Coca-Cola? I am glad I did not have TDA, I did not participate in Coca Cola's privatizing of India's water. How many invested in oil companies? Can you move your money from oil into solar? I am not sure. Those of you who know, have to wait to this one month a year when you can rearrange your TDA choices. Even after that you will not really know who will grow your money and how, or will you?
The whole system of investment in pensions is so inert that I am not sure it can adjust to the new needs of the society and now our investments kill our children and grandchildren. There are people who live for the future, they already moved their money into sustainable and ethical businesses. Their money is really fluid, but there are too few of them. Majority of investors do not consider how the business affects their own lives while making the decision to invest or not, the only consideration is how high the dividends will be. So here is the contradiction – you invest your money in the businesses which eventually will kill you and your children and the planet Earth.
I watched channel 13 and learned that there are laws right now placed in the 90s about sustainable and ethical investments. Professional financiers who work with your money must know about and should not invest your money into businesses which damage the earth. If it worked the fracking companies would not have any investor by now, but they do. So the laws are too weak and not enough. We have to wake up and save ourselves. Let's suffocate fracking and geo engineering, and gmo makers and many more killers by not giving them our money. Let's teach our children not to go work for them no matter how much they pay.
I am turning 60 this year. These are important years in anybody's life. These are years when Saturn comes out of its natal place in your astrological chart and your life starts a new cycle again. First time Saturn was in this place I'd been just born. Second time it was passing through this place we moved to America. This time I plan to retire as soon as I can afford it. Yes, I am moving into my golden years and dreaming about all the things I will be doing when I retire. However, the fact that I do have a pension and I will live pretty comfortably is not my own achievement. I have it thanks to the Teachers Union.
28 years ago when I just came to this country I didn't know that I had to take care of my old years. I came from the Soviet Union where it was the responsibility of the government and people could not change a thing about it. That part of our lives was a complete mystery for me. I remember going to all those pension meetings and hearing bla-bla-bla-bla. Could not understand a thing, I still can't sometimes. I only learned that the Union would take some money from my salary and save it, the City would double the amount, and that how I grow my pension.
Recently, I've learned a little more about my pension: the money is not just saved, the money goes to work. It is paid to the current pensioners and when I retire my pension will come from people who still work.
There are other choices in my pension plan, but they are optional so I never applied, they are called TDA and TD... something else. People who have those plans can save more from their salary by making investments. I could not even think about saving any more, I was bringing up 2 children alone, every penny was needed.
I have to tell you, you never stop learning. Things you ignored before as complicated become clear and simple. Things you could not hear or see because you were not ready to comprehend suddenly attack you from all directions and you begin to understand what they mean. Some time ago I completely understood things related to investments. The last drop came last weekend when I turned on channel 13 which I rarely watch (but donate a little and love Bill Moher). They were talking about sustainable or ethical financing, laws which came in the 90's and financial institutions that follow the laws.
I have been thinking for quite some time that we must change the way how the market works. It should not ignore the way companies produce or grow things. Investors must refuse to give money to fracking companies, and GMO-chemical-making companies, and especially geo-engineers because they will kill us and our children very soon. It's stupid to pay money to be killed. Don't we want to protect ourselves and our children, don't we want to survive and prosper????
How stupid should you be? They spray you with aluminum and other heavy metals while experimenting with weather. They send Sandy on New York to bankrupt insurance companies, their competitors. They poison your water and food to extract gas out of rocks. They grow corn and soy which make living things sterile, unable to reproduce. They convert natural food into man-made addictive chemicals. All of that in the name of profit. And you pay, and pay, and pay for all of that. Do not complain about them. You gave them the money to do all of that, twice. First time when you invested your hard earned pension savings and the second time when you bought their products and participated in their experiments. I should exchange the “you” by “we” here, please, do not get distracted by this little typo. I am one of you.
I wonder how many of you know that your pension is growing because you invested in Coca-Cola? I am glad I did not have TDA, I did not participate in Coca Cola's privatizing of India's water. How many invested in oil companies? Can you move your money from oil into solar? I am not sure. Those of you who know, have to wait to this one month a year when you can rearrange your TDA choices. Even after that you will not really know who will grow your money and how, or will you?
The whole system of investment in pensions is so inert that I am not sure it can adjust to the new needs of the society and now our investments kill our children and grandchildren. There are people who live for the future, they already moved their money into sustainable and ethical businesses. Their money is really fluid, but there are too few of them. Majority of investors do not consider how the business affects their own lives while making the decision to invest or not, the only consideration is how high the dividends will be. So here is the contradiction – you invest your money in the businesses which eventually will kill you and your children and the planet Earth.
I watched channel 13 and learned that there are laws right now placed in the 90s about sustainable and ethical investments. Professional financiers who work with your money must know about and should not invest your money into businesses which damage the earth. If it worked the fracking companies would not have any investor by now, but they do. So the laws are too weak and not enough. We have to wake up and save ourselves. Let's suffocate fracking and geo engineering, and gmo makers and many more killers by not giving them our money. Let's teach our children not to go work for them no matter how much they pay.
Wednesday, May 4, 2011
It's time to talk a little about Astrology
I wrote this months ago, during record cold and snowy winter, but couldn't post. Sorry, some of this will be hard to read without imaginning a blizard-like conditions outside your window.
I am a snake according to Chinese astrology - we are wise and lazy. Usually it means that we do our chores fast and efficient so we could get home and relax. Driving to work through the ice and snow is not an efficient use of my time, it always makes me think of how wrong it is. In the snow people should stay home and allow those few who really have to be there to do their work without us being in their way. All these plow machines, fire and police emergency vehicles need all this space we take on the road standing or sliding slowly. Why are we forced to go to work on days like today? Is it because some rich people don't want to lose a little of their profits? They are losing anyway. Is it because our mayor does not want to pay us when we don't work? He wastes the money anyway.
These days are not productive!!!! We could stay at home and remove the snow off the driveways - that would be productive. People who are cold, tired after 3 hours ride, and thinking how it will take them another 3 hours to get back home can't be productive. I am sitting at work, listening to the sirens of emergency vehicles, and thinking how we all pretend to be working.
On the other hand all those impatient tigers, rats, monkeys and pigs, they would get on the road anyway, even if they do not have to go to work, because they just can't sit at home and wait for a better weather. They would prevent the emergency vehicles to do their work anyway. It would not be enough for them to just dig the snow off their driveway and go back inside to watch TV.
When I think of all of that I realize, my dream of having all snow days work free will stay just a dream for a long time.
I am a snake according to Chinese astrology - we are wise and lazy. Usually it means that we do our chores fast and efficient so we could get home and relax. Driving to work through the ice and snow is not an efficient use of my time, it always makes me think of how wrong it is. In the snow people should stay home and allow those few who really have to be there to do their work without us being in their way. All these plow machines, fire and police emergency vehicles need all this space we take on the road standing or sliding slowly. Why are we forced to go to work on days like today? Is it because some rich people don't want to lose a little of their profits? They are losing anyway. Is it because our mayor does not want to pay us when we don't work? He wastes the money anyway.
These days are not productive!!!! We could stay at home and remove the snow off the driveways - that would be productive. People who are cold, tired after 3 hours ride, and thinking how it will take them another 3 hours to get back home can't be productive. I am sitting at work, listening to the sirens of emergency vehicles, and thinking how we all pretend to be working.
On the other hand all those impatient tigers, rats, monkeys and pigs, they would get on the road anyway, even if they do not have to go to work, because they just can't sit at home and wait for a better weather. They would prevent the emergency vehicles to do their work anyway. It would not be enough for them to just dig the snow off their driveway and go back inside to watch TV.
When I think of all of that I realize, my dream of having all snow days work free will stay just a dream for a long time.
Thursday, November 11, 2010
A letter to my metamorphosis class
I know you will be wonderful adults. I know many of you will become professionals in the fields of your choices. I know many of you will be still dancing and screaming and clapping even later in life. I also know that all you successes will come to you harder than to some other people; you will have to do more in order to get the same. Why? Because it seems that those people who can show self-discipline and self-control get it with minimal effort and when they work hard they become unstoppable.
Nature or gods give you your talent, but then you have to apply self-discipline and self-control to develop your talent and achieve your real heights. You already heard a lot about how hard you have to sit at the table and study and read, and solve problems. Today I want to talk about what if you have a talent that requires strong muscles and cool head?
This video is about modern dancers. How much do you think they had to practice and how much sweat was poured before they became this good?
What about this guy? How much self-sacrifice and self-discipline did he have to apply? Now guy like him teach you a step-by-step process, was there somebody for him? I really think he developed all these tricks by falling getting up and moving on.
This one is called mountain biker: Did he ever fall?
How much self-discipline and self-control these guys had to apply to achieve these heights? Was it easy?
Maybe yes maybe no. They found their passion and their purpose. And then through pain and sweat they defined gravity. There are physics teachers who use these examples to study Newton’s Laws. There are scientists who work with this people to study human physiology. Can you imagine how strong their muscles must be?
Nature or gods give you your talent, but then you have to apply self-discipline and self-control to develop your talent and achieve your real heights. You already heard a lot about how hard you have to sit at the table and study and read, and solve problems. Today I want to talk about what if you have a talent that requires strong muscles and cool head?
This video is about modern dancers. How much do you think they had to practice and how much sweat was poured before they became this good?
What about this guy? How much self-sacrifice and self-discipline did he have to apply? Now guy like him teach you a step-by-step process, was there somebody for him? I really think he developed all these tricks by falling getting up and moving on.
This one is called mountain biker: Did he ever fall?
How much self-discipline and self-control these guys had to apply to achieve these heights? Was it easy?
Maybe yes maybe no. They found their passion and their purpose. And then through pain and sweat they defined gravity. There are physics teachers who use these examples to study Newton’s Laws. There are scientists who work with this people to study human physiology. Can you imagine how strong their muscles must be?
To achieve a success it’s absolutely necessary to stop singing and dancing and start working from time to time. I love the fact that you are so happy and jolly, now I want to see you concentrated on your goals and achieve them. By the way, setting your goals is a hard work too, especially at your age. What do you want? What do you want for yourself? I am not talking about what your parents want or what your teachers want for you. What do you want? Let’s go and get that.
Do you see how much they enjoy the strength of their bodies. They also enjoy unbelievable view from up there.
Am I becoming an inspirational speaker? Ha
Tuesday, September 28, 2010
Who are the Judges? And Where are the Rubrics?
For those who do not know what Rubrics are - it's a new term in teaching, parameters for grading your creative work. It is a list or a chart that shows the students what they will be graded on as they hand in their work.
Recently I read an article about teachers. In that article american teachers were compared to the teachers from other countries and were given a very disappointing low grade. The teachers from other countries were so much better, they even had better grades when they themseves were students. I was reading and thinking: who are those superbeings? How do they know who is a good teacher and who is not a good teacher? Where did they place the Rubricks to compare us with each other?
Later another thought came to me. Again I was reading an article, but this time somebody tried to tell me which chocolate chip cookie was the best. And again I marveled about this superbeing who knows what I like in my cookies. But then I thought that my Rubrics for my favorite cookie is very different from somebody else Rubrics for the same cookie. I love them chowy and soft, others love them cranchy and hard. How can we put those things in the same Rubrics. No we need different cookies. I love the fact that I can be in a different mood and get a different cookie. Nobody can tell which cookie is the best.
This is why competitions do not work any longer. They do not work at a work place, they do not work at schools. Competitions still work in sports and only for entertaining the fans. They still help the organizers to collect a lot of money. But then those fans go home and go to work and they do not compete there they cooperate. They help each other. They brainstorm together to achieve even higher heights, some that were not achievable by one competing individual alone.
Back to poor bad teachers of America. I know these people, I work with them for many years, I know how many really bad teachers I met in my 23 years of teaching. The numer is 3. Out of these 3, 2 left the job, and the third one already retired.
If we are so bad, why is that every country is sending us their teachers and researchers to learn our methods? If we are so bad, why do they want to learn how we do it? If we are so bad, why do we have Classroom 2.0 and Future of Education, and Ning, and Wiki, and Google - all are here, the headquaters are located in the United States.
But the main thought I want to deliver here is that nobody is good for everybody. I might be a great teacher, but there are always some students with who my methods do not work. I am bad with those who need my instructions at all times and has no initiative. I try to teach my students how to be independent learners and once in a while I meet a kid who watches me and wants me to tell him or her what to do all the time. I give them less and less instructions as they grow into their independent routine. So here I am a bad teacher, because I didn't tell the kid what to do and was surprised when he asked. I am hard and cranchy with a kid like that, but chwoy and soft with those who jumped in and started to create.
So again, who is the judge? and who writes the Rubrics?
Recently I read an article about teachers. In that article american teachers were compared to the teachers from other countries and were given a very disappointing low grade. The teachers from other countries were so much better, they even had better grades when they themseves were students. I was reading and thinking: who are those superbeings? How do they know who is a good teacher and who is not a good teacher? Where did they place the Rubricks to compare us with each other?
Later another thought came to me. Again I was reading an article, but this time somebody tried to tell me which chocolate chip cookie was the best. And again I marveled about this superbeing who knows what I like in my cookies. But then I thought that my Rubrics for my favorite cookie is very different from somebody else Rubrics for the same cookie. I love them chowy and soft, others love them cranchy and hard. How can we put those things in the same Rubrics. No we need different cookies. I love the fact that I can be in a different mood and get a different cookie. Nobody can tell which cookie is the best.
This is why competitions do not work any longer. They do not work at a work place, they do not work at schools. Competitions still work in sports and only for entertaining the fans. They still help the organizers to collect a lot of money. But then those fans go home and go to work and they do not compete there they cooperate. They help each other. They brainstorm together to achieve even higher heights, some that were not achievable by one competing individual alone.
Back to poor bad teachers of America. I know these people, I work with them for many years, I know how many really bad teachers I met in my 23 years of teaching. The numer is 3. Out of these 3, 2 left the job, and the third one already retired.
If we are so bad, why is that every country is sending us their teachers and researchers to learn our methods? If we are so bad, why do they want to learn how we do it? If we are so bad, why do we have Classroom 2.0 and Future of Education, and Ning, and Wiki, and Google - all are here, the headquaters are located in the United States.
But the main thought I want to deliver here is that nobody is good for everybody. I might be a great teacher, but there are always some students with who my methods do not work. I am bad with those who need my instructions at all times and has no initiative. I try to teach my students how to be independent learners and once in a while I meet a kid who watches me and wants me to tell him or her what to do all the time. I give them less and less instructions as they grow into their independent routine. So here I am a bad teacher, because I didn't tell the kid what to do and was surprised when he asked. I am hard and cranchy with a kid like that, but chwoy and soft with those who jumped in and started to create.
So again, who is the judge? and who writes the Rubrics?
Saturday, August 7, 2010
What is your goal as a parent?
I’ve been thinking about writing this blog for a while. I consider myself an experienced parent. I even think sometimes that I am a successful one. Of course, I had felt differently about my skills as a parent before, but the longer I was a mother the better I did the job. Today I am just enjoying and ripping the fruits of my success. Why do I think that I am a successful parent? My children are very young, they are not completely settled in their lives, they will have to go through many difficult changes, and they will have to acquire many life skills. They do not always agree with me. They do things their own way. They make their own decisions and live the consequences. What is my role?
When we are young parents we imagine our perfect kids. What is a perfect kid? Is it the kid who is always obeying what you tell them? Is it a kid who does all the chores? Makes the bed? Completes the homework? Is polite with adults? What happens with those obedient kids when they become adults?
One of the stories my husband used to tell me about his teenage years stuck in my head. I always tell this story to illustrate how little some parents know about their children if they are trying to bring up their perfect kids. He was in ninth grade. He had been smoking for a couple years by then and, when going out with his classmates, he used to drink some cheap wine. Here, I have to add that my husband died before he reached his 42nd year from alcoholic hepatitis and bleeding pancreas. He did quit smoking though a few years before that. So the story went that his mother regularly and publicly was saying to everybody she knew that Her Son would never smoke and Her Son would never drink. She did have a pretty good idea of how her perfect kid would be. He used to sit next to her, listening to her image of him and nod.
Now my children tell me that same thing is happening in almost every family they know: the kids live their lives without telling their parents anything.
First, I have to tell you I am not judging anybody, we all work, we all have to feed the kids, we have to cook, clean, wash, pick up and drop dead every day and day after day. Even on vacation we are not really resting we have to ran around watch them and check if they are safe all the time.
You may not agree with me, but I consider my first success as a parent happened when my daughters discussed with me if they should start smoking at 11. The peer pressure was unbelievable, all the kids in these suburbs, where we had just moved, had been smoking since second grade. I used my persuasion talent and we managed to resist the peer pressure and postpone that by almost a year. I knew when they finally did start to smoke. They asked me questions after they saw their first porn film. They told me when they had sex for the first time. They had very few secrets from me and whatever they didn’t tell me they always told to each other. I think I am very lucky parent. I could share my values with my kids because we discussed everything that happened to them and had no secrets.
It was not easy. My heart was dropping somewhere into my knees after every new secret they told me. I had to watch not to start screaming and breaking furniture. But I promised them to be their safe heaven and I made sure that I helped them with every problem they brought to me. I still really value their trust.
One important rule I followed always: it was not me who went on to solve the problem, we discussed different possibilities, I would tell them what I would do in their place, and then they were on their own to face their conflict and their life lessons. That was the time when I realized for the first time that the goal of a parent is to help the kids grow up into happy independent adults. To become happy, a person has to learn how to be true to him or herself. To be independent, a person has to acquire many life skills that help him or her to solve conflict situations. If it was me running around and solving their problems they would learn only one thing – to sit at home and wait for the mommy to take care of their business.
Imagine a situation: my daughter didn’t do her homework, but she does not want to get a bad mark. That happened many times when she was in the elementary school. She is asking me what to do. I tell her that she has to come to the teacher before the lesson starts and tell him that the homework was not done because of this and this reason and she promises to complete the work. To do that was not easy for a 6-7-year-old, but she did that, and did that again, and again. It became so easy to her, that later in college it was her second nature to negotiate her work with her professors almost in all classes. Now she is saying she does not remember the first time, it just seems natural to keep them informed about her situation.
This is just one example, but that’s what I call an independent person and that is why I am a proud parent.
When we are young parents we imagine our perfect kids. What is a perfect kid? Is it the kid who is always obeying what you tell them? Is it a kid who does all the chores? Makes the bed? Completes the homework? Is polite with adults? What happens with those obedient kids when they become adults?
One of the stories my husband used to tell me about his teenage years stuck in my head. I always tell this story to illustrate how little some parents know about their children if they are trying to bring up their perfect kids. He was in ninth grade. He had been smoking for a couple years by then and, when going out with his classmates, he used to drink some cheap wine. Here, I have to add that my husband died before he reached his 42nd year from alcoholic hepatitis and bleeding pancreas. He did quit smoking though a few years before that. So the story went that his mother regularly and publicly was saying to everybody she knew that Her Son would never smoke and Her Son would never drink. She did have a pretty good idea of how her perfect kid would be. He used to sit next to her, listening to her image of him and nod.
Now my children tell me that same thing is happening in almost every family they know: the kids live their lives without telling their parents anything.
First, I have to tell you I am not judging anybody, we all work, we all have to feed the kids, we have to cook, clean, wash, pick up and drop dead every day and day after day. Even on vacation we are not really resting we have to ran around watch them and check if they are safe all the time.
You may not agree with me, but I consider my first success as a parent happened when my daughters discussed with me if they should start smoking at 11. The peer pressure was unbelievable, all the kids in these suburbs, where we had just moved, had been smoking since second grade. I used my persuasion talent and we managed to resist the peer pressure and postpone that by almost a year. I knew when they finally did start to smoke. They asked me questions after they saw their first porn film. They told me when they had sex for the first time. They had very few secrets from me and whatever they didn’t tell me they always told to each other. I think I am very lucky parent. I could share my values with my kids because we discussed everything that happened to them and had no secrets.
It was not easy. My heart was dropping somewhere into my knees after every new secret they told me. I had to watch not to start screaming and breaking furniture. But I promised them to be their safe heaven and I made sure that I helped them with every problem they brought to me. I still really value their trust.
One important rule I followed always: it was not me who went on to solve the problem, we discussed different possibilities, I would tell them what I would do in their place, and then they were on their own to face their conflict and their life lessons. That was the time when I realized for the first time that the goal of a parent is to help the kids grow up into happy independent adults. To become happy, a person has to learn how to be true to him or herself. To be independent, a person has to acquire many life skills that help him or her to solve conflict situations. If it was me running around and solving their problems they would learn only one thing – to sit at home and wait for the mommy to take care of their business.
Imagine a situation: my daughter didn’t do her homework, but she does not want to get a bad mark. That happened many times when she was in the elementary school. She is asking me what to do. I tell her that she has to come to the teacher before the lesson starts and tell him that the homework was not done because of this and this reason and she promises to complete the work. To do that was not easy for a 6-7-year-old, but she did that, and did that again, and again. It became so easy to her, that later in college it was her second nature to negotiate her work with her professors almost in all classes. Now she is saying she does not remember the first time, it just seems natural to keep them informed about her situation.
This is just one example, but that’s what I call an independent person and that is why I am a proud parent.
Sunday, July 4, 2010
Find your passion
Here is another TED idea worth spreading:
Sir Ken is right, of course, but how? How can we help the children to find their passions?
When I think of my own life, what was the hardest thing to do? Finding my passion and recognizing it was the hardest and took the longest. And I am one of the lucky ones who did find it. So, now as a teacher, I believe that the earlier we start bringing the topic of the passion the better chances the kids have.
On the other hand, we do bring the topic early, we always ask the kids what they want to be when they grow up. Some lucky kids just know, like this firefighter, but absolute majority has no idea of what can be their passion. That is why we still have to show them what's there to choose from. This is why the school has to have some basic curricula to help kids in finding their passions. We just have to allow them to choose and quit subjects that obviously are not their passion.
And, again, to some people some struggle is a necessity in becoming.
This is the beauty of the problem. There are as many solutions as there are people.
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