Dear State of Ohio

Dee wrote:

Dear State of Ohio

Re: Education and the burning of money

I have been an educator for 20 years. I continue to watch as the Ohio Department of Education and the State of Ohio throw money into a bottomless pit called Ohio Schools Facilities Commission (OSFC). My understanding of this commission is to assist districts in financing renovations and/or building new buildings. There is an algorithm that districts must go through to secure this funding. Once buildings have been inspected and the district has gone to the community to ask for a "bond" levy to secure approximately half of the funding by raising home owners property tax, the building process/renovations begins. While it is great Public Relations to tell the public that the state government is going to pay for half of the building projects around the state, it is just that PR. Isn't the money that is being funneled through the OSFC taxpayers money? If so, then they are footing the entire bill, not just half as the PR suggests.

Having been involved, at least on the fringes of the buildings projects there are some questions that beg to be asked. If your algorithm works, why in the midst of building projects or following their conclusion are districts closing buildings? The community has ponied up money to building the buildings, but there is no requirement for demonstrating the ability to open or use the building once it is finished. How is that a good use of taxpayers' money?

While, there are buildings that are in disrepair and there are children attending class in buildings that should be closed; the current system, much like the funding of schools needs a complete overhaul. Buildings are renovated and built with top of the line infrastructure for heating, electrical, plumbing and internet networks, yet teachers and students do not see the result of the upgraded infrastructure because they are still using machines that are 10 to 12 years old, machines that are running Windows 98--this is 2010! I have personally seen a 30 year roof that had been on a building for less than 15 years replaced with another 30 year roof. I have seen working sidewalk lighting replaced with the exact product that had been removed. I have seen renovations so completely out of whack that electrical and internet receptacles were placed on the outside of workspaces making the space unusable by staff. Unfortunately there has been little or no input from the technology people, teachers, students or building support people as to current and future needs of the building. As result, in these newly renovated/newly built buildings students, teachers and staff have to make do with what they are given and smile brightly when the public shows up to see the beautiful newly renovation or the see the extraordinary building that their money has funded. Staff feel obligated the put a on good face on the white elephant so parents will continue to support their educational efforts. Staff know that it is not the building that makes education, it is what happens inside.

The most powerful force in the classroom is the classroom teacher, it boils down to that simple statement and research supports it. Students who receive instruction from poor teachers for two consecutive years, will never catch up to their peers. How can the State of Ohio, the Ohio Department of Education and the Ohio Schools Facility Commission justify the expenditure of this level of monies when buildings are being closed, programs (art, music, PE, and Advanced Placement) are being cut left and right? Professional development for teachers is at an all time low. Support for technology use and the obligation we have in getting our children ready to compete in a global economy is non-existent. At one time in the state of Ohio there was an organization called Ohio SchoolNet, which then morphed into e-Tech. Funding for e-Tech, for the Educational Service Centers, and the Ed-Tech organizations around the state of Ohio have all taken a serious financial reduction in turn reducing the opportunities for teachers to get the much needed technology training that they need. Instead of building buildings, we should be looking to more innovative ways to deliver education, cutting these organization is the exact opposite direction we need to be moving for our children.

21st Century Skills

From TechLearning

What's New Here?
Many of the themes explored in Learning for the 21st Century will be familiar to educators who have read the 1991 SCANS Report (Secretary's Commission on Achieving Necessary Skills) or subsequent reports issued by the CEO Forum. Both groups outlined a variety of skills-including higher-order thinking, personal abilities, and technology literacy-essential for preparing students for a knowledge-based economy.
So what is new about the recommendations being made by the Partnership for 21st Century Skills? "To some degree, the recommendations are not all that new," says Chris Dede, professor of learning technologies at the Harvard Graduate School of Education and an education advisor to the partnership, "and that, in itself, is newsworthy. The fact that educators and business leaders keep returning to many of the same findings means we have a lot of confidence in them-that they're not part of a temporary fad."
Another partnership advisor, Paul Resta, director of the Learning Technology Center at the University of Texas at Austin, agrees that the consensus arrived at by the partnership is noteworthy-especially because of the large number of stakeholders from business, K-12 schools, higher education, and government who participated in its creation. In addition, he points out that it delves deeper into the how of delivering 21st century skills than its predecessors.
John Wilson, vice chair for the 21st Century Skills partnership and executive director of the National Education Association adds that, "While previous works have focused on technology, this goes beyond that to what we need to do to prepare students for a world that is vastly transformed by technology, making it necessary to constantly learn and adapt."

As stated there is NOTHING new here, this has been the goal for a very long time...unfortunately, it has only been given lip service. The question that begs answering is that while there are lots of grants and a money train now following the 21st Century Movement, will it still be just lip service for the money or will teaching practice really change. It is on the shoulders of administration, what gets counted, gets changed. If teaching practice is going to change that it has to be evaluated with the embedded practice as part of the evaluation.

Reflection

Last night my husband and I decided to brave the elements to go to our favorite restaurant in Waverly, Ohio--Fred's. We had a nice meal and chatted. On our way home the snow was falling which is especially beautiful here in the forest and it gives one time to be alone with ones thoughts.

I thought about the fact that I would begin teaching my first college class to pre-service teachers in a couple of days and what I would say to them and ask them. The first question that came to mind was to ask, "why did you choose education?" The answer that drives me crazy is "because I love children." I love dogs but I am not going to become a vet! There has to be more of a reason than that....so I thought, well why did you become a teacher and the answer was easy.

Growing up we moved around a lot, my siblings and I went to many schools. In fact, I went to 9 schools....four different high schools. I remember that we moved mid way into my freshman year of high school. I excelled at the new school. I had a teacher by the name of Mr. Cowan, he was my biology teacher. He made biology fun, but more than that, he knew I was there. My gym teacher told me that he told her I would make a great scientist. I was thrilled. At the end of the year, we moved back to my previous school--which had consolidated with a neighboring district. None of that really matter because I had attended both school districts so for me, I got to see old friends. The tough part was when I found out that my picture was not in either yearbook of the schools I had attended....I did not exist. I was invisible. Have you ever been so emotionally hurt that you had physical pain, that is how bad it hurt.

So why did I become a teacher? Not because Mr. Cowan was extraordinary at the art of teaching...but because I mattered. I became a teacher to make sure that the children entrusted to me knew every day that they mattered. I cared about how they were doing that day, the quietest of the quiet and the rowdiest all were welcome in my room. It was a safe place where everyone was valued and learning was at the top of our list.

So why did you become a teacher?

Teachers TV

In order for change to occur in a consistent manner, it has to be clearly defined. If a school district is going to examine how to improve literacy, then proven techniques need to be defined and modeled so teachers have a clear understanding of what it looks like so they can create it for themselves.

As I have been working on the http://www.k12instructionaltechnology.com/ website I came across Teachers TV...what a wonderful resource. According to what I am reading, this project will be funded until 2013! Check out this link as a sample http://www.teachers.tv/video/37339.
Don't have money for professional development.....here is an excellent solution!