Certifiable?

My name is Emmet and I’m blogging for National Board Certification. I can see that you’re new here, so let me show you around. Back here is my first post.

Oh, you like my mountain metaphor? Thanks, I appreciate that. I’ve introduced a few other motifs along the way: the book of standards as a bible and the act of deciphering it as cabbalah (medieval Jewish mysticism); the idea that the hugeness of this process is like eating an elephant; the notion that we candidates are dedicated athletes striving for gold... umm, there may be a few more. I try not to mix ‘em up too much, but they’re sort of like colors of play-doh. It all turns into a purplish lump eventually.

Yeah, so, over here are a few themes I’ve introduced. I went off on an Alfie Kohn thing for a while, you know, tests suck (the life out of true education, that is). And there’s occasional ranting about hoop-jumping and bureaucratic obfuscation-- more of this to come, I promise. And lately I’ve gotten into a bit of a lather wondering: Why is it that all these people who never teach are such experts on education?

Also, I’ve been trying to get myself mentioned in educational blogs, in part to drive up traffic as per my editor’s advice. You know how it is out here in the blogosphere. Tough. Then there’s these top 10 lists I’m doing to describe the three standards associated with entry four, which is one of four required entries in the portfolio (which, along with a big one day test at a computer center, is how you get credit). Oh, and I got a grant to make a really big canoe next year with kids. I haven’t written too much about that, but I will. Cool, huh? Stone tools and all. That should cover a lot of standards.

There is one thing I want to make clear, as my editor thinks I might be coming across as a board apologist lately. Dude, that is so wrong. I’m all about the benjamins, baby. I mean, yeah, I’m into it. But not that into it. Except, sometimes, sorta. I mean, ya gotta believe, know what I mean. But I’m maintaining a healthy skepticism at the same time. I’m like, ironic, you know. (But not that ironic.) And ambivalent, too. I guess you could say I’m… irivalent. Yeah, that’s right: irivalent. But please don’t mispronounce that, okay?

Anyway, I’m at the beach right now. That’s one of my big things: try to have a life outside of teaching. Keep the old batteries charged. Except I don’t, sort of, because when I’m not teaching I’m usually writing about teaching. Or else I’m teaching (I teach at night at community college on top of the day job). Look, I’ve got two kids and well, you know what we teachers make. Which is, like I said, why I started doing this in the first place. That plus to enhance my professionalism, and all that.

So, that’s pretty much it. My blog. Waddyathink? I hope you like it. You should make a comment. Heck, you should read the comments. Those are sometimes the best part. Anyway, come back some time. Soon, okay? That would be cool. I’m here every week. Bye!

Posted by Emmet Rosenfeld at 5:35 PM | Permalink | Comments (4)

(Or, why this is a top 5 list instead of a top 10 list)

Yesterday afternoon: after the soccer game, while the kids are playing on the woodpile in the backyard, I sit on the deck and finish reading chapters from Kiterunner assigned for AP Lang on Monday, then glance at an article from the Virginia Community Colleges faculty journal about moving from lecture to “learner-centered learning.”

Last night, around 10:30 p.m.: kids in bed, I change the rabbit’s cage and then mop the “man zone,” my unfinished basement office. Then sit and read “Graduation” (an excerpt from Maya Angelou’s I Know Why the Caged Bird Sings), the assignment for the freshman composition class I’m teaching next Tuesday night at Northern Virginia Community College. Head up to bed with lesson ideas swirling in my head.

Last night, 12:34 a.m.: wake up because the dog is whining at the door. Go downstairs to let him out in the yard and, still half asleep, jot down lecture notes for Tuesday’s class on a napkin. Elements of personal narrative... point of view, plot vs structure, “flow” and direction, details that show instead of tell... remembering the NOVA article, I consider various ways to present the material... web and outline, assign topics to groups... go back to bed.

This morning, Sunday, 8:30 a.m.: head down to what should be a sparkling man zone to pen today’s screed, and discover that the dog was whining last night not just out of desperation, but also guilt. Clean up what didn’t make it to the yard and crack open the bible to read Standard XV. Such is the life of an aspiring artist of the profession.

Standard XV: Professional Community
Accomplished Early Adolescence/English Language Arts teachers contribute to the improvement of instructional programs, advancement of knowledge, and practice of their colleagues. (EA/ELA pg 65)

5. Through collaboration, we contribute to and gain from the practice of our colleagues, both at school and beyond.
4. We are team players who strengthen the school by developing strong lessons in our discipline and across the curriculum, and partnering with administrators or specialists to provide, for example, “custom-tailored instruction” to “properly identified students.”
3. We create a safe place for honest, open and appropriate communication, comforting students during difficult times (like the transition from middle to high school) and using our keen knowledge of human nature to differentiate between “typical angst of the adolescent” and true red flags.
2. We educate and learn from colleagues by training and mentoring new teachers, setting up staff development opportunities, presenting at workshops, serving on task forces, joining professional organizations, and, of course, publishing.

And the number one thing teachers do as members of their professional community?

1. We improve instruction, climate and the practice of ourselves and others through collaboration.

Wait, did I say that already?
Am I awake or asleep?
Was it John Dewey or Melvil Dewey who figured out how to categorize books?
Should my opinion and those of my colleagues who actually do this job matter at all in the world of education policy (note: scroll down to Monday, May 15 and look for the bulldog), or should we just accept the fact that those who write about, speechify over, and make laws that profoundly impact education are in a world that is separate from the one in which we teachers eat, sleep and breathe (you know-- the one with the actual classrooms and kids in it)?

Stay tuned, loyal readers. The answers to these nagging questions may come to me in the middle of the night or when I’m walking my dog. I’ll be sure to jot them down on something handy and share them with you here.

Posted by Emmet Rosenfeld at 8:57 AM | Permalink | Comments (2)

We interrupt our scheduled presentation of standards to bring you this breaking news: It’s all bunk! At least, according to a recent study commissioned by NBPTS from educational number-cruncher William L. Sanders which shows, as reported in Education Week, that board certified teachers’ students do not score better on standardized tests than other kids.

NBPTS is not thrilled with this news and offers reasons why this study might be invalid, while one blogger, Andrew Rotherham of Eduwonk, suggests they seem to be sitting on the results, more or less in the hopes that: a) they will just go away or b) the board can figure out how to spin it.

My take on all this? Glad you asked, loyal readers. There’s one teeny wheensy little thing that politicians, wonks, pundits and all the others who make their living off education but rarely set foot in the classroom just don’t get: KIDS AREN’T NUMBERS.

Call me naive. Rejecting test scores as the primary indicators of student achievement places me in the dubious company of Alfie Kohn and other pie-in-the-sky dreamers (thanks for the decimal system, Mr. Dewey, now go back and roll over in your grave). And I know that even NBPTS itself doesn’t try to pretend that numbers don’t matter. They run on a rich diet of educational research, most of which supports their success roundly.

After all, what do I know? I’m only the TEACHER. For fifteen years of my life, in classrooms and out, I’ve been working directly with kids ranging in age from K to college and in “ability” from special needs to gifted. Plus a bunch who are “at risk,” just to keep it interesting.

In my bones I know, as much of a pain in the pants as all the documenting and the hoop-jumping is, that the stuff NBPTS asks me about teaching is real. It’s what good teachers do, or try to, and on our best days we magically float through the classroom meeting all 16 standards without breaking a sweat.

So, in conclusion, I have this to say to Mr. Sanders (who somehow measures whether the board’s seal of approval “adds value” to people like me), and while I’m at it, to the politicians who pontificate about closing “under-performing” schools, and the test-makers who have made a fortune on the rising tide of accountability over the past decade, and, and... the whole lot of you:

Happy Mother’s Day.

Mine taught me what to do if I didn’t have anything nice to say at a particular moment, and I’m doing it. I bet yours taught you some important things, too. Like be good in school and always, always listen to the teacher.

Posted by Emmet Rosenfeld at 1:43 PM | Permalink | Comments (16)

Standard XIV. Self-Reflection

“Accomplished Early Adolescence/English Language Arts teachers constantly analyze and strengthen the effectiveness and quality of their teaching.” (EA/ELA pg 61)

With apologies to Letterman, this and possibly the next two entries will take the form of top ten lists, as I cull key phrases and ideas from the standard under study (unless this format becomes excruciatingly boring or I change my mind). I do this also on the advice of a reader who posted a comment some time ago that she found it invaluable to sprinkle her portfolio with bold-faced buzz words in order to show that she was meeting standards unequivocally. Without further ado, including any reference whatsoever to pachiderms... the (1st) list.

10. Teaching is an evolving field, and every day we face fluid situations. Practitioners must always be adapting. We are lifelong learners.
9. We use many resources in this process, especially feedback from students, parents and other educators. One way we teach kids is by modeling how to learn.
8. We are familiar with state and local standards governing what we ought to teach, and stay abreast of current publications and issues in the field.
7. We participate in an ongoing basis in “professional development” of various kinds, be it workshops, research, or study groups.
6. We cultivate a habit of introspection that makes us continually improve. When faced with problems, we draw on our experience, our knowledge of educational theory and the most current research available.
5. We know our own strengths and weaknesses, and are open to change.
4. We are aware of our filters-- biases, predilections, and experiences that make us see the world the way we do. We know when these filters help us and when they might prevent us from seeing clearly.
3. We get the vision thing. It allows us to know where we want to see our students, ourselves and our profession, and provides a basis for us to look at and critique issues that are important in education.
2. We can talk about why we do what we do in the classroom with reference to both theory and experience.

And the number one thing that characterizes teachers’ practice of self-reflection?

1. We know we’re on a journey, not just to knowledge but to a zen-like state of readiness and training where we can think on our feet and seize teachable moments to make them our own. At our best, we are (and I quote directly from the standard here with my best goofy grin) “artists of [our] profession.”

Beat, hurl card off camera to the sound effect of breaking glass. Paul and the band play me out with a peppy version of "Fly Me to the Moon"....

Posted by Emmet Rosenfeld at 4:11 PM | Permalink | Comments (5)