ms. teacher

ms. teacher left some interesting but disheartening comments the other day (re: parents chewing her out because they want more coloring, not less) -- which led me to her blog.

Turns out she's a middle school teacher!

I've just skimmed the front page; it's terrific.

First of all, a 4-star teacher joke.

Second, this passage tells you a lot about what my own district does wrong:

I had to call home on a student about a week ago due to behaviors that she has been exhibiting in my classroom. I used to teach her older brother, so I know the family. I also knew that the sassiness and disrespect that she was displaying was not something that her mom tolerates. When I called home, mom was very supportive and upset with her daughter. I felt bad about calling home on this student, but no matter what I said to her or what consequence I gave, it wasn't having an impact. Sometimes just knowing who the family is can go a long way towards having the support you need in the classroom. Since that phone call, this student's behavior has drastically improved.

This is exactly the way a school in a small town should work. (Don't know about larger schools.... )

Because the teacher has a relationship with the family, this problem gets resolved instantly.

Our middle school is, for many parents, the polar opposite of ms_teacher's school. A friend told me that when the assistant principal called to tell her about a pretty nasty prank her son had been involved in, she instantly defended her son and argued with the principal.

Then she felt bad about it.

I know what she's talking about. (And in fact, I was happy to hear she'd "stood up for" her child.) There is so little trust between parents and the middle school administration that my protective instincts are always in play, and I know this is true of others, too. I can see it.

Last fall the new middle school principal told Ed and me he was going to bring parents into the school. When parents are kept at arm's length, he said, trust erodes and suspicion grows.

He was right, but he followed up by doing exactly nothing. Parents aren't allowed into the school, collective punishments are imposed on the kids as a matter of course, very young unsupervised teachers yell at the kids during every lunch hour and have continued to do so in the wake of repeated parent complaints ---- the list goes on.

Ms_teacher's post is a terrific, real-life example of social capital, it seems to me:

The central premise of social capital is that social networks have value. Social capital refers to the collective value of all "social networks" [who people know] and the inclinations that arise from these networks to do things for each other ["norms of reciprocity"].

The term social capital emphasizes not just warm and cuddly feelings, but a wide variety of quite specific benefits that flow from the trust, reciprocity, information, and cooperation associated with social networks. Social capital creates value for the people who are connected and - at least sometimes - for bystanders as well.

Catholic schools have social capital in spades. As I understand it, this is one of the reasons they're so effective.

[pause]

Good grief.

I've just noticed I wrote an Amazon review of a book I haven't read, and in fact hadn't even ordered when I posted the review.

So.... why don't I just quote myself?

I'm ordering this book on the strength of comments made by Dr. Sally Kilgore, President and CEO of Modern Red SchoolHouse:

Q. What have you read lately that has influenced you?

The book in education that I have been mulling over is called Trust in Schools. It is authored by Barbara Schneider and Tony Bryk at the University of Chicago, who have been engaged in helping Chicago schools for over a decade. Their research led them to ask, "What conditions were most predictive of substantial change in student achievement?" And, as it turned out, trust relationships that exist between educators and the parents of the children served, among teachers, and then between the principal and his or her staff. What they found was that the ability to improve practices that require trust among all the relevant actors-parents, administrators, and teachers.

Many schools have very troubling relations between parents and educators. Educators still, and probably understandably, say, "We're great teachers, but the students just aren't motivated." We have to confront the question: How can one be a great teacher when they fail to have impact on those with whom they are working? That is the kind of challenge that I think Trust in Schools, to some extent, addresses.

I'm going to read all of ms._teacher's blog.