Kryptonite Revealed: How One City Intends to Defeat "Superman"

This past Friday, the movie Waiting for Superman debuted in selected cities. The documentary follows five students that had negative experiences in public schools and thus turned their attention toward the world of charter schools. The movie is already being met by both praise and criticism, hardly a shock to anyone who has seen how divided our country has become in the past few years. Proponents of the film view it as a realistic showcase of public schooling and its failures. Opponents see the film as unfairly representing public schools and being overly generous toward charter schools. Regardless, there is no denying that there is a great battle taking place between public and private schools today. I know. I'm part of that battle.

I currently am employed at a first-year charter high school in the Kearny Mesa neighborhood of San Diego. We are the product of Dr. Coleman Furr, the founder of the local Coleman University. Dr. Furr wished to start a charter high school in San Diego that would echo what Coleman University stands for: that is, small class sizes, group interactions, and using the latest technology to prepare students for the outside world. The school's charter was approved in early June leaving the leadership team a mere three months to not only recruit students, but also to make sure we had a workable building that was up to code and ready to house up to 120 freshmen and sophomores. By mid-August the staff had been finalized and the team of ten administrators and teachers were brought together and began embarking on the establishment of a brand new charter high school. Despite well-designed marketing and local television appearances, the student enrollment was to only be roughly 35 students. However, these small class sizes combined with a laptop upon entry would give students a unique learning opportunity not available anywhere else in the county.

Then, the shit hit the fan.

The day before Labor Day we were called in for a late afternoon staff meeting. It was revealed that despite doing everything asked of us and going through the proper channels, the city planning office had suddenly deemed our building unfit to house students. This was despite the fact that we teachers had been in the building for over three weeks and had never once questioned the building's safety. Our administrators met with our board members and held an emergency parent meeting. It was decided to start school a week and a half later in hopes that we could get our building up to "code." This "code" required the installation of an interconnected fire alarm system as well as the removal of all classroom doors and hinges. Apparently doors that open inward are not a fire hazard in the business world but are a hazard in the education world. Who knew?

As all this was going on we made contingency plans. Our first day of school involved us being off-campus at a charter school roughly 45 minutes away because you have to open school in a building approved for education and education only. The next day we went on a field trip. On Friday, our computing teacher brought his wireless router on the bus and students collectively wrote a letter to San Diego mayor Jerry Sanders, making him aware of our situation. We then showed up unannounced to the mayor's office and presented the letter. One of the mayor's assistants met with our assistant principal and we were given assurances that the mayor's office had our support. Would Mayor Sanders stay true to his word? Only time would tell.

This past week, we still did not have the needed permit to enter our building and so our "mobile classroom" continued. Each day we scheduled an appointment with city planners but on more than one occasion they refused to see us. Yes, you read that correctly. City planners refused to see a school that needed its approval to let students into the doors. Apparently free, public education is not a priority of the San Diego city planners. We again adapted by going on field trips and providing students with meaningful work on the bus and at home. Friday was a teacher work day to see where we stood in terms of our building permit. As we came in, our assistant principal looked glum. We found out why. The city had thrown a new set of rules and regulations at us before we could open our building. This latest set of guidelines relates to a law that will be enacted in December of 2010. However, they feel that with lag time needed to process all the paperwork, our school should be up to these guidelines. I guess city planners think that they're Superman and can magically rotate the Earth forward to make it three months from now. Mayor Sanders is nowhere to be found.

Our last resort is to now have an independent study for our students for the next three weeks. We will use building space at Coleman University and will work with our students twice a week for individual instruction. We have already lost a few students. We have a building with four ActivBoards, a digital media lounge with a flat screen television, and multiple classrooms ready for use. We have seven teachers who have been working furiously for six weeks to prepare our ever-evolving curricula. We have an administrative team who has gone to bat for us multiple times including our Director of Student Services driving to and from Sacramento in a 24 hour span to demand that the Department of Justice allow her teachers to be fingerprinted so that we would be allowed to teach our students. We have nearly 30 students who have become disillusioned by traditional education and want a place to call their home. They have a home waiting for them on Aero Drive. One that the city of San Diego will not let them enter.

So why the resistance? Who has a vendetta against our school? Why are we being held to a standard that nobody associated with the school has seen in nearly forty years of public education? The answer relates back to the inherent battle of charter versus public school. Our school is a threat to traditional public schools and thus a battle of epic proportions is being waged against us. The fact is, if we are allowed to survive we open up the floodgates to other charter schools who want to convert office buildings to school buildings. San Diego public schools are hurting big time right now. The entire district is in year two improvement. If scores don't dramatically improve (and odds are they won't) then the possibility exists that as many as one-third of the failing schools will have to be converted to charter schools. The district would lose a third of its schools and thus a third of its income. Our little school has become a microcosm for the problems that are plaguing the country's eighth largest school district.

So this is how the Lex Luthor's of public education defeat the Superman charter schools: With kryptonite. The kryptonite in this case is the one unforeseen weakness that we never saw coming: fine print. Legality. Or in our case, non-existent legality. Made up rules. The city planners of San Diego are playing hardball with us. However, they are just pawns in this game. The forces that be are behind them and are those with powerful connections that would lose a lot if we are allowed to succeed. They are proponents of public schools who see the charter movement as a fringe movement. They are firmly entrenched into the ideals and values of their teacher's union. They represent the status quo, something that the very nature of the charter school movement threatens. These are the same people who will inevitably stand outside the theater when Waiting for Superman comes to San Diego. I, for one, will be in line with these people. I will talk to them. I will ask them one question: Is it worth ruining the education of 40 dedicated students and staff members to prove a point?

I can't wait to see how they respond.

Par for the Course: Designing and Implementing a New Curriculum

"Just choose what you think is important and go from there..."

The magic words. The words every teacher longs to hear. The words that give the teacher, the instructor, the trained professional the autonomy and control to teach what he or she wants the way he or she wants to teach it. However, this amazing gift in this day and age has become like winning the lottery. Everybody wants it, yet a select few ever have their wish come true. And yet, here I was one week ago, being given that elusive gift via my school administration. I'm normally not an emotional person. The last time I got visibly choked up was when the Patriots lost the 2007 Super Bowl. And yet there I was, slightly teary-eyed after having been giving the green light to teach with ultimate freedom and autonomy. In other words, I am one of the few teachers in America who can teach the way teaching was meant to be.

Herein lies the advantage of teaching a non-tested subject. The state of California has no say in how I teach Spanish as long as I teach it. I currently have the ability to teach Spanish any way I damn well please, pardon my French. And it is invigorating! I can look at tons of websites and identify what first year language learners need to know and be able to do. I can look back on my own experiences and those of my classmates and co-workers and ask them what worked and what didn't work when they were learning a foreign language. I can ask other Spanish teachers for their resources and can pick and choose what topics to present and when. If my students just can't get a topic for whatever reason, then I can try to reintroduce it later in the course or even in a follow-up course if need be. The sky is the limit. For the first time in my professional career, I am my own boss. I am the only language teacher currently at my school so the buck stops at me: literally. If the curriculum isn't working, I have nobody to blame but myself. I will drop back and punt and make it work. Because the success of the entire school's language learners depends on one person: me.

So as much as I would like to continue to brag about my new-found curricular freedom, this ultimately begs the question: Should all teachers, regardless of subject, have this much autonomy? Are our state standards enough? Or should we have national standards that all teachers must adhere to? Ah, herein lies the debate. Spanish is one thing, as it is not a tested area. It doesn't matter what exactly I teach my students because they will never have to deal with a national norm-referenced test. But what about our tested areas like math and reading? What about science and social studies where there are common bodies of knowledge? Should there ultimately be lists of what every student should know or be able to do by the time they graduate from college? There are many questions raised and many viewpoints supporting all sides of these arguments.

Let's first look at the idea of a common body of knowledge. E.D. Hirsch in the late 1980s brought forth the idea of each student knowing or being aware of a list of common facts and people. However, he was immediately attacked for being too conservative and not including valuable people and events that are traditionally neglected by our history books. He was accused of promoting the idea of "drill and kill" and not having our students think critically enough. As much as I agree that this list would ultimately neglect valuable parts of our history and culture, it made me wonder. Do we need some sort of national standards for our core curricula? If Johnny transfers from Oklahoma to Nebraska during his sophomore year, shouldn't he theoretically be able to pick up where he left off in his world history class? What happens if all of a sudden he leaves Mr. Brown's class discussing the Roman Empire and enters Miss Jones' class where they are in the middle of discussing the Qing Dynasty. This means that Johnny is now behind and doesn't have the core knowledge that his classmates have. And guess what? Johnny will be expected to take the same end of course test that all his classmates are despite missing out on the first portion of the year.

Think this is an exaggeration? Curricula can vary not only across states but even across schools. Yours truly opted to take a freshman year seminar in high school that combined language arts and social studies. My peers opted to take the traditional world history and freshman English classes. Yup, you guessed right. Yours truly, paid professional teacher of social studies, never formally learned about the Greek or Roman empires because they weren't taught in my seminar class. Well, technically we briefly discussed the Greek empire. But all I remember from that portion of the class is Doric, Corinthian, and Ionic columns because we had to do a video project on them. When people mention Caesar to me I first and foremost think of the delicious salad. So, what do you think? Is it really fair that people go their entire schooling in American public education and don't know basic facts about the Roman Empire?

And yet, I have to go back to the fact that if we taught the same things to everyone, we would not only lose out on student critical thought, but we would lose out on teacher creativity as well. There would be no way to pursue outside interests or areas of expertise. Maybe a certain teacher discusses Bartolome de Las Casas in his world history class. A student learns about Las Casas, someone his teacher studied and shared with the class. The student asks the teacher about him and the teacher tells him how he was one of the very first people to protest the European treatment of the natives in the Americas. The student wants to further study Las Casas and the teacher gives him some resources to look into. The student takes the initiative and learns all he can about not only Las Casas but other early protesters on the European invasion. Eventually, this student goes on to study other oppressed peoples and eventually decides he wants to be a public defender to fight for those current-day people who have been oppressed and haven't been given equal opportunities in their lives. All of this, thanks to a teacher who taught slightly outside of his given curriculum.

There is no easy answer to the curriculum dilemma. If I had to approximate one, I would say that teachers should use their state curricula as guides but have freedom to teach about what they are passionate about. If a U.S. history teacher wants to spend two weeks on the Era of Good Feelings, then let him or her spend time on that era. If another history teacher in Texas acknowledges that Charles Darwin wrote an important book about something called "evolution", then he or she should be allowed to do so without facing consequences. If an English teacher in Virginia wants to study Vladimir Nabokov's Lolita, then with parental approval and administrative support, she should be able to. Not all teachers can have full autonomy but they should have the ability to teach beyond the simple drill and kill that have bogged down the tested areas. We all got into teaching because we are passionate about what we teach. It's time for school districts and national education policies to realize this and let us share our passion with our students.

From the Heart: A Genuine Graduation Speech

Erica Goldson, the valedictorian of Coxsackie-Athens High School, completely nails why public education today is failing our children. Kudos to her for using her moment in the sun to bring attention to the issue.

On The Hunt: Reflections on Job Searching in 21st Century America

For those of you that are reading this blog after getting home from a long day at your workplace, I salute you. No, really, I do. The fact is that you all are coming home to your friends and loved ones after a hard, productive day. You have helped make your company/business/workplace better because of the time and effort you put in today. You might be tired and dragging, but that shouldn't diminish what you did today. You gave it your all. You got up in the morning, despite the fact that rolling over and sleeping for an extra view hours was mighty tempting. You survived the morning commute once again. You enjoyed your lunch on site. You made it home through rush hour traffic. You might not realize it, but there are people who are jealous of what you have accomplished today. I know I am.

As I sit at home composing this newest entry, I felt compelled to discuss what it is like for an unemployed teacher in 21st century America. For the third time in four years, I have entered the month of July not knowing what I would be doing come September. Already I am describing myself as a career educational journeyman and yet I am only 25 years old. The fact of the matter is that in today's educational setting, jobs are hard to come by and even harder to maintain. I have left one job already because I was unhappy there. I have left another job that I was happy at, but my position there got cut. I now stand before you on the other side of your computer screen looking, hoping, wishing that somebody would once again give me a chance to teach at their school.

The truth of the matter is that my situation is not that unique. Once upon a time this country had a shortage of teachers. Nowadays, there is a surplus of teachers and you combine that with budget cuts left and right and well, you have the makings of a very difficult job hunt. If you teach the tested areas of math and science, then you at least have a shot. For us social studies and foreign language teachers, it is much more difficult. The truth is that foreign language programs frequently get the axe and are seen as unnecessary. Even here in Southern California, I have seen very few postings for language teachers and that is with a heavy Latino population. For social studies teachers, it seems now that being a coach is valued more than the teaching of social studies. Schools are much more likely to hire a coach and stick him in the classroom rather than the other way around. It is sad to think of social studies as a throwaway class, but due to the testing premium in today's society that is exactly what it is becoming.

The problem also lies in the huge bureaucratic machines that are the public city school districts. Long gone are the days when you turned in your resume to the school secretary and then sat down one-on-one with the principal of the school for an interview. In today's world, everything is done online and through human resources. People who know little about educational pedagogy are making decisions about who gets interviewed based on what you have submitted in your online portfolio. My patented youthful exuberance pales in comparison to someone who has taught for 20+ years. Even if you somehow manage to make it to an interview, that interview is with people not even associated with the school you might end up at. Already I have received auto reply messages from principals who are on vacation until the middle of August. They, like many others, are placing all their trust in the hands of the district's human resources staff. They are assuming that the most qualified candidate has gotten the job.

So, what's a young teacher to do? How do I "play the game" in this kind of dog-eat-dog environment? Well, seeing as I'm currently unemployed, I'm not sure. However, I do have some theories. First and foremost is to forgo the bureaucratic juggernaut of online job postings through the school district website. I'm not saying you ignore it completely, but you need to know that any job that you are qualified for that pops up you most likely won't get. This means that you turn your attention to the charter schools in your area. The majority of charters have their own interview process, independent of the main school district. These are the schools that are more likely to actually read your resume and grant you the traditional sit-down interview in person with the school's principal. Charter schools get a bad rap from time to time, but the truth is one thing they definitely get right is the hiring process. They have a certain vision for their school and their candidates must fit that vision for the school to succeed.

Lastly, you need to get your name out there. Contact people that you know and can speak highly of you and let them know you are looking for work. This can be previous employers, professors, former colleagues, etc. Contact schools directly. For me, I've found that emails are extremely effective. Even if a school doesn't have an immediate opening, things might pop up later on and they will remember your email. This also gives you an advantage as the school will already be familiar with your name. Call me old-fashioned, but I firmly believe in taking initiative and if something as simple as an email can help make an impression to a potential employer then by all means I will do it. You never know when an employer might email you back thanking you for your email and suggesting another school that might have an opening to your liking. In today's job searching world, any tiny advantage will go a long way in helping your procure that elusive job.

Those are my current thoughts on the matter. Whether or not I'm successful remains to be seen. I like to think of myself as a qualified candidate and already I have gotten several complements on my resume and what I'm done thus far in my first three years in public education. What doesn't kill us makes us stronger and I have already survived two job searches, so why not one more? At the very least, it has helped me get back into the swing of updating my blog, which I have been away from for this past month. Speaking of my blog, if any of you reading this happen to know of any schools that need a history or Spanish teacher in the greater San Diego area, please let me know. I know it's a long shot, but I figured it wouldn't hurt to ask.

Tell Me What I Can't Do: My True Motivation to be a Teacher

As the school year draws to a close, I tend to become overcome with various emotions, as all teachers do. For me, this year is particularly meaningful because for the first time I will see students graduate that I have taught. It will be a proud moment for our school as I know that many of them have been given a chance to succeed where in 99% of the cases they would become just another sad statistic. I don't consider myself overly emotional, but I might shed a tear knowing the obstacles some of students have had to overcome to graduate with a high school diploma. I also will be anxious for both the students and myself. Has my social studies instruction helped prepare them for life beyond high school? I hope it has and that in some way, they will be able to use what they have learned in my classes to further their success.

I also think about why I teach in the area that I do. This idea has recently resurfaced in one of my graduate courses. One of my assignments was to describe a moment that was particularly meaningful in my life. Right away, one specific moment came to mind. It occurred during my second and final year of teaching middle school in North Carolina. I had just been observed by my mentoring teacher and she offered me some harsh criticism about my lesson. As disappointing as this was, it was what happened next that most got to me. She asked about my student teaching experience where I had taught at an affluent high school. I told her, that yes that was my experience. She then looked me square in the eye and said, "You should not be teaching here." By here, she meant an urban, inner-city school with a large percentage of minority students as well as those from the lower socioeconomic classes.

In response, I walked away, went to my room, ripped my evaluation to shreds and then took a long walk to think. The audacity on her part to criticize my chosen location angered me greatly. Criticize my lessons, that was one thing (although I disagreed with that too). But to flat out say that I shouldn't be where I was was to me utterly unacceptable. After going through the rest of the day and then returning to my house at the end of the day, I was still heated. I had to get something off my chest and so I wrote an email to my mentor. This was the last contact I ever had with her. If I had the chance to talk to her again, I would thank her. I would thank her for motivating me, for telling me I am not good and that I shouldn't be doing what I was/still am doing. I would tell her that I am the kind of person who takes things personally and that I make it my mission to prove people wrong who doubt me. So, Miss Motsinger, if you are out there reading this, thank you for doubting me. I am still teaching "those" kind of students that you didn't think I should and I am now better at it than ever.

This is the email I sent her:

Miss Motsinger,

I just wanted to write an email to you addressing my evaluation. Although I disagree with your evaluation I feel that something was brought up aside from the evaluation that needs to be addressed. The most troubling thing out our meeting today for me was your assumption that I am not fit to teach these children at Philo. I want you to know that after we talked I later broke up a gang initiation at 1:15 in the girls restroom and then coached the boys soccer team after school with several members being local gang members here in Winston.

I bring this up not to be praised, but to show you my dedication to these children. After student teaching at West Forsyth I knew I never wanted to teach at another school like that. Why? Because I did not want to teach myself. I don't want to teach kids whose biggest dilemma in their lives is whether they go to State or UNC. Despite my apparent shortcomings as a teacher, I actually had multiple job offers and chose to teach at Philo to work with the kids I am working with. After having taught them for two years I cannot imagine myself working with any other group of students. I wanted to remain at Philo but it was the new administration's policies that were harming the STUDENTS that ultimately led to my decision to leave.

I view teaching as a calling. It is something I will continue to do despite the negative feedback I continue to get. I am trying to teach children how to read, not just for the EOG, but for whatever they end up doing in their lives. Eighteen percent of our students are proficient readers and they only way they can improve that is constant practice, no matter how repetitive it might be. This next year I am heading back to grad school to get my master's in literacy, culture, and teaching English as a second language. My experience at Philo has only furthered my desire to work with this population and I want to help these ESL learners who have had these unrealstic expectations placed upon them. I will eventually return to the classroom as I know it is where I belong.

You are more than welcome to evaluate me in terms of how I conduct a lesson. Even though we might not see eye to eye on that, I will respect your opinion and will be willing to discuss our differences. Please do not question my commitment or dedication to these children. If I didn't care I would throw in the towel at this point. Yet, even though I know I will not be returning next year I am still busting my hump for these kids. They are and continue to be my reason for getting up at 6 AM. No matter how they may act in my room I know that deep down inside I am making a difference in these children's lives. That is something that neither you nor anybody else can take away from me.

We've All Got Papers: The Role of Undocumented Students in the Classroom

You! You sitting with your computer reading my blog. Come closer. Closer. Closer still. I've got a secret for you. Are you ready? Here goes. I have taught undocumented students.

The response I get when I tell the aforementioned "secret" to people their reaction often varies with a wide range of emotion from disdain to praise. I assume that in this day and age, it's not necessarily a popular statement to make. However, it is the truth and I am never one to hide the truth from people, regardless of how uncomfortable it might make them. Working in inner city schools, you see and teach a variety of children throughout your time. Being three years into a hopefully long-lasting teaching career I already know that I have taught some undocumented students. And I know I will continue to teach them in the future. There are some students who confide in me with their deepest secret. There are others who I know I will end up teaching for an entire year and have no idea that they were even undocumented. Such is the nature of the beast.

One common argument on the immigration debate today is the fact that these undocumented students place an unfair burden on our education system. To this I have one simple response: Hogwash. The fact is that these students pose no more burden on our education system than affluent White kids from the suburbs. This "burden" that critics often speak of is set in place due to overcrowding in our inner city schools and the inadequate resources available to them. I have yet to hear a teacher say, "I was doing fine in my class with the first forty-one kids. However once I got that forty-second kid, that undocumented kid, that's when my classroom really went to hell." The fact is these students are part of the general school population and it is our job at teachers to teach all of our students no matter what kind of classroom conditions might be placed upon us.

I also hear the argument that these undocumented students are the troublemakers, the ones who are in gangs and wreak havoc upon their school communities. Again, this is a gross exaggeration of the truth. The fact is that yes, some undocumented students to end up choosing the gang route. However, this can be said for any immigration population that constantly faces the home-grown xenophobia that is so prevalent today. We as a society don't label all Asians as gang members just because a few Hmong students have chosen that route. Why should we do the same with Latinos? Of the (known) undocumented students I have taught, some of them were in gangs. Some of them were my hardest workers and best students. Undocumented students, like all students, run the gauntlet in terms of behavior. I feel no more "burdened" for teaching them as I do any of my other students.

There is also the criticism that these undocumented students do not even try to learn English. Again, another erroneous statement. Studies have shown that this current generation of immigrants are learning English faster than any generation that has proceeded them. I have yet to have a student flat out refuse to speak English. However, there are definitely some students that have been bullied by previous teachers and who definitely lack self-confidence in the language. Imagine if you went to a foreign country and were forced to speak a language you were still learning. Imagine that each time you misspoke, you were reprimanded. It would hurt your confidence, right? Make you hesitant to want to speak, to play with the language? This is the same experience that many of our undocumented students have had. Somewhere during their schooling, some teacher told them they were bad at speaking English. Odds are, it happened at an early age. This kind of experience can cause a child to shut down for a long period of time.

As teachers, we need to respect our students' home culture and language. Just because our students aren't producing constant English doesn't mean they aren't being exposed to it on a daily basis. Many of these students can code-switch back and forth between English and Spanish, which is an incredibly valuable asset. Having any student become fully bilingual will continue to help them throughout their lives in both school and their chosen professions. I personally have seen some of my undocumented students translate during parent conferences. They understand the need to maintain their cultural identity at home but also to do their best to learn the dominant language as well. For critics to say that these students don't learn English is a gross exaggeration and one that will not be verified in any public school today.

I guess my biggest qualm with all the criticism of undocumented students is how they are viewed as criminals. Many of these students were brought here at too young an age to have any choice in the matter. Some of them do not realize until their late high school years that they are even undocumented. Regardless of how you feel about the immigration debate, you must first realize that these students are HUMAN BEINGS. They know what is expected of them and they do their best to live up to teachers expectations. They laugh, cry, smile, and frown like all their peers. They play sports, have friends, go to dances, and date just like anybody else their age. The difference is that each and every day they come to school, there is the chance that their lives can be swept out from underneath them. They come, they take this chance each and every day, for a better life for both themselves and their family.

I leave you with this image: A student of mine in tears, being consoled by her boyfriend. This student not knowing whether or not this day would be her last in her school, her city, her country that she had known as far back as she could remember. This student who writes all her papers in Spanish and then meticulously translates them to English in my class of eighteen. This student who has been late to my class because she had to go with her younger brother on the city bus to go and try to track down his school ID. This student who missed classes one afternoon to be excused to attend a multi-cultural fair and dance with her partner. This student who writes about the greatness and fairness of the American laws but has to add that sometimes Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) can be a little unfair. This right here is your undocumented student. The one who is a burden on me and my classes. The one who is a bad influence on her peers. The one who isn't trying to learn English. Contrary to popular belief, this student has papers. She has papers due in all of her academic classes. And knowing her, she will pass them all with flying colors.

What Teachers Make

Slam poet Taylor Mali says it better than I ever could.