"World" Cup thoughts...

So I watched a little bit of this soccer game between US and Belgium. There is no reason under heaven that the Flemish should stay within 10 or 20 points of ANY professional sports team in ANY sport of ours. What I saw was that they were bigger, faster, and stronger than our boys. The announcer on ESPN, some European guy, kept saying how big and strong and fast that black guy from Belgium was, the striker, and that our "lads" just had no chance to defend him. It was obvious: their best athletes play this game and ours don't. Imagine if our defender was LeBron James, or some other top level American athlete. Then the Belgian kid would be like Rudy. The truth is if American children were indoctrinated with soccer like the rest of the world's children this "World Cup" would be a compulsory tournament at best. Much like the original Dream Team in the '92 Olympics, our "lads" would totally own the rest of these 5'6"-5'10", 160-180 lb. soccer boys. Here is my take on a top-rate soccer team of current American athletes, and I know there could be 10 others that would be just as good, tell me what you think and who your 11 would be!

USA National Team
Goalie: Calvin Johnson
Center Back: Richard Sherman
Center Back: Eric Berry
Right Back: Russell Westbrook
Left Back: LeBron James
Left Defensive Midfielder: Chris Paul
Right Defensive Midfielder: John Wall
Left Attacking Midfielder: LeSean McCoy
Center Attacking Midfielder: Johnny Manziel
Right Attacking Midfielder: Kobe Bryant
Striker: Adrian Peterson

EDLD 5335 - Curriculum Management - Week 5 Discussion Post

What is your philosophy of curriculum? How did you develop this philosophy? 

My philosophy of curriculum is that students should be inspired to wonder. Why? How? Where? When? For what reason? These are questions that students should ask everyday as an on-going part of their lives. My belief is that students should be educated in the art of learning, and taught how to think for themselves. When these things are done a student will possess the tools to overcome any problem, be it academic, emotional, or physical. I believe that we should educate our children with 20, 30, and 40 years down the road on our mind. Rote memorization of a set of fact, or study of a set canon of "classics" do nothing more than offer a misguided effort to preserve a cultural timeframe and stop any amount of cultural change. Reading and writing are the cornerstone of education. The earlier students learn to read the better, the same with writing. 

In the Week 1 discussion, you defined curriculum. Is your definition the same, or has it changed since completing this course?

No, I still believe that curriculum serves as a map to get from one place to another. In bullet number one we were asked what our philosophy of curriculum is, which is slightly different from a definition of curriculum. 

What should be the relationship between written, taught, and tested curricula? Why is this relationship critical to campus improvement? 

Why would we as educators teach a concept to our students that is only a segmented part of the educational spectrum? Testing won't make a student smarter or more successful. What is taught is part of curricula. Campus improvement is related to student success in every way. If students are not successful it really doesn't matter what other things your campus does well. Learning: this should be our ultimate goal. If and when we, as educators, take our eyes off of this goal we have missed the point of education.

EDLD 5388 Week 5 Discussion Post

In the words of that great American prophet James Morrison, "This is the end..." Well, EDLD 5388 is almost over and I can't say that I'm sad.

Observation
“Honesty is the best policy”, have you ever heard this adage? I’ve read it in books, seen it said in movies, heard my friends, family, and even parents say it. It sound great! Saying only that which is true and honest. I’ve heard people say things like, “When you only tell the truth you don’t have to remember what you say.” All of these little wisdom nuggets are great, accepting one little wrinkle-dinkle: People do NOT respect honesty. Sure, honesty is great so long as the person that you are delivering the honesty subscribes to the same opinions as you. However, when you share your honesty with someone that might just disagree with you and your honest opinion then all bets are off.

Reflection
I’ve seen this for a number of years. When people share their true opinions they can get vilified, terrified, and crucified (sorry, just had to use three ied’s). Even when a person asks you a question and you look them in the eye and tell them the honest truth it can blow up in your face. I know that this moral dilemma brings up a tad bit of discussion but it has just stuck in my craw (sorry for using another colloquialism here) for a while now. Honesty should be good always. I can’t really understand when being un-honest is good. I hear folks say, “Well, I was trying to protect their feelings…” which is pedantic and placating, and it NEVER serves to protect feelings. When the truth comes out, and it ALWAYS comes out, the feelings of the person that you were trying to “protect” will be severely damaged.

Translation
Just tell the truth. We are all working at public schools, funded by public dollars, and serving the children of the public. Therefore, don’t make everything under the sun a closed-door affair. Don’t keep people in the dark. What separates our military from those of the other countries of the world is that we let everybody, general down to private, in on the plan of attack. Maybe everyone is not in on every decision but there keeping vitals hidden is ridiculous. When one teacher has a problem with another the principal needs to ask the accuser to talk to the target face-to-face. If the accuser is not willing to do so, the principal needs to inform them that he or she will talk with the target about the incident. If the accuser balks then the two parties need to be brought in together to settle differences. If the accuser still balks then the principal should say, “I’m sorry, then at this point what you are saying is gossip and I cannot be a part of it.” This will take a bit of maturity and strength of will on the part of the principal but in the end everyone says that they want a strong leader full of moral resolve, right?

Application
Yeah, I’ve already answered the application part of this.

EDLD 5388 Equity Audit

Here is what I have on the equity audit so far:

No. 1

No. 2

DROPOUTS

No. 3

Let me know what you think. I have to finish the last question (collaborative action plan).

EDLD 5388 - Diverse Learners, critique of POVERTY IS NOT A LEARNING DISABILITY

The chapters focuses on the following key points: Diversity Poverty School Readiness Lack of Parent Involvement Deficit Perceptions Special Education and NCLB  I will discuss each segment as I read it. Sadly, the book was a bit of a downer for me as it only underscored much of what is prevalent in academic circles as it pertains to education. A former student of mine carries a doctorate in History from Texas Tech University in Lubbock and teaches at the collegiate level in addition to research in his field. He and I had talked on numerous occasions about education and higher learning and once he told me, “Daniel, this is why the rest of the academic world thumbs their nose at the College of Education. When you read their research it is full of assumptions, opinions, and puffery. Often the work isn’t cited thoroughly. And, they infer so much of what they count as fact. There is little in the way of scientific application going on.” (C. DeMars, personal communication, October 2011). This type of truth was what I found in this chapter of this book. Diversity Focus is on demographics and other statistics in schools from 2000-2009. However, there was exactly one citation available to offer veracity to any of the “findings”. The authors wrote that “Blacks, Hispanics, and children from, a wide array of Asian and Middle Eastern cultures now make up nearly half of students nationwide and are the dominant majorities in many of the schools in low-income (low SES) neighborhoods.” (Howard, Dresser, & Dunklee, 2009, pp. 5-6). The citation is mine from the book, not the author’s. Maybe it’s just me, but I have been pounded for the past eight EDLD classes (24 credit hours) to cite responsibly and now I’m being asked to critique a book that doesn’t do so. So, that is one of my critiques. As for the content of the chapter, there is ample information pointing to an ever increasing number of low SES and English as a Second Language (ESL) students in America. Poverty The author informs the reader that, “Recent statistics reveal that an additional 1.3 million children fell into poverty between 2000 and 2005, the most recent dates for which data is available.” (Howard, Dresser, & Dunklee, 2009, p. 6.). That is awesome, except for the facts that we don’t know such as what is the original number that this additional 1.3 million exceeds, and where did this most recent data come from? I digress. I will attempt to find the positives in the selection, but the assignment does ask for a critique. In this light I venture onward! Briefly, there are a lot of poor students. School Readiness Briefly, poverty affects children’s readiness to begin school in a negative way. I’m sorry, but I have to discuss one sentence from this section in a touch more detail. “The school readiness of children living in poverty may be seriously affected by their economic circumstances.” (Howard, Dresser, & Dunklee, 2009, p. 8). WOW…that is AMAZING! How did the authors ever come up with such an in-depth insight? You mean to tell me that poverty is affected by economic circumstances? Simply amazing analysis! Lack of Parent Involvement The authors cite numerous studies in this section that all point towards low SES parents having a lack of ability to adequately prepare their children for school. The main concern was the amount of time that a parent(s) could spend with the child(ren) while working. Sometimes the work was at multiple jobs. Deficit Perceptions This section focused on a lack of understanding on the part of teachers. The authors postulate that man teachers do not understand that children in low SES homes come to school unprepared to learn. Special Education and NCLB The authors explain that there is a growing number of children with learning disabilities. After quoting a bit of data, some of which was cited, the author throws out yet another assumption to the reader, “Is it possible that teachers are reaching out to learning disability specialists to intervene with those children whose only disability is low school readiness?” (Howard, Dresser, & Dunklee, 2009, p. 11). Sure it may be possible, but: The author didn’t back any of that thought up with research This attempts to skew data into a preferential light to fit the author’s premise Why even add something that is a “maybe” that can’t be proven? The authors are not huge fans of NCLB, and that makes me smile! ------------- Howard, T., Dresser, S. G., & Dunklee, D. R. (2009). Poverty is not a learning disability: Equalizing opportunities for low SES students. Thousand Oaks, CA, USA: Corwin.

1. Identify the principal competencies and supporting standards involved or implicated in the reading, (e.g., Competency 3, Learner-Centered Values and Ethics of Leadership), including the following standards:

• Model and promote the highest standard of conduct, ethical principles, and integrity in decision making, actions, and behaviors;
• Apply legal guidelines to protect the rights of students and staff and to improve learning opportunities for all.)
• Serve as an advocate for all children.

Model and promote the highest standard of conduct, ethical principles, and integrity in decision making, actions, and behaviors; Authors either didn’t cite material used or made HUGE assumptions. This doesn’t seem ethical or full of integrity. Apply legal guidelines to protect the rights of students and staff and to improve learning opportunities for all.) See above, I hope this isn’t plagiarism. Serve as an advocate for all children. This is great, all children need our care and protection. If an educator doesn’t wish to be an advocate for every child in their care why are they involved in this profession? Competency 001 The principal knows how to shape campus culture by facilitating the development, articulation, implementation, and stewardship of a vision of learning that is shared and supported by the school community. create a campus culture that sets high expectations, promotes learning, and provides intellectual stimulation for self, students, and staff respond appropriately to diverse needs in shaping the campus culture use various types of information (e.g., demographic data, campus climate inventory results, student achievement data, emerging issues affecting education) to develop a campus vision and create a plan for implementing the vision. Competency 002 The principal knows how to communicate and collaborate with all members of the school community, respond to diverse interests and needs, and mobilize resources to promote student success. communicate effectively with families and other community members in varied educational contexts develop and implement strategies for effective internal and external communications provide varied and meaningful opportunities for parents/caregivers to be engaged in the education of their children communicate and work effectively with diverse groups in the school community to ensure that all students have an equal opportunity for educational success

2.     How might you apply what you learned from these chapters in your role as an administrator or educational leader?

 

I most likely would not utilize this book. There are too many assumptions and leaps taken for my taste. What I would use from this book is a few key points to do further study on that might offer more concrete evidence to lean on, such as school preparedness of incoming kindergarten students.

EDLD 5388 (Cultural Diversity Selected Topics and Other Miscellaneous Garbage) Week 2 Case Study on Chp 4 "Cultures in Conflict"

UPDATE!! Dr. Jenkins replied to my assignment with a video. Here it is:

Dr. Jenkins's video reply to my post!

So, here is my Week 2, Assignment #2 (Chapter 4 of Jenkins's book). Focus on the first letter of each line for questions #1 and #2. I got bored and answered #3-#5 narrative-style and HONESTLY. ENJOY!!! Children of the 80's should remember this song...

EDLD 5388 - Week Two Discussion Post

Observation 
       While teaching an adult bible study this morning at church I had a nice a-ha moment. We have been working through the fifth chapter of the book of Matthew, which focuses on the “Sermon on the Mount”. This is some of the first teaching by Jesus after the calling of the first disciples. It is most likely that Jesus didn’t just drive out these teachings all at one time, as there is so much truth in this one larger thought that Matthew had to have put together a number of teaching times into one cohesive read from chapter five to chapter seven.

Today we focused on verses 21-24:

21 “You have heard that it was said to the people long ago, ‘You shall not murder, and anyone who murders will be subject to judgment.’ 22 But I tell you that anyone who is angry with a brother or sister will be subject to judgment. Again, anyone who says to a brother or sister, ‘Raca,’ is answerable to the court. And anyone who says, ‘You fool!’ will be in danger of the fire of hell.

23 “Therefore, if you are offering your gift at the altar and there remember that your brother or sister has something against you, 24 leave your gift there in front of the altar. First go and be reconciled to them; then come and offer your gift. (Matthew 5:21-24, New International Version).

       These are the beginnings of what theologians call anti-thesis by Jesus on earlier teachings of the bible; sort of teachings from the “other” side. Jesus, always able to know his audience, starts with something close to the heart of any good Jewish man: Cain killing Abel. However, he goes deeper and explains that having the anger in your heart to cause hate is what leads to murder. It is important to notice that the Aramaic word for brother is gender neutral (v. 22b), meaning Jesus wasn’t just talking about men, but also women here. Jesus references the sixth commandment here, “You shall not murder”, but he takes it one step further and deeper, into a spiritual meaning they had never seen.  The word Raca is the same as you calling someone “empty headed”, or “worthless” today. The word is derived from the root meaning “to spit”. This word is used only here in the bible, which is important.

       The hatred that causes a person to hurl an insult is the same hatred that causes another to commit murder. The attitude of the heart is the same, and it is that attitude that is what makes a person morally guilty before God. As we discussed this issue a member of my class, Corbin, said: “When I was growing up my dad used to always tell me that when I let another person make me mad it’s like picking up a stone and carrying it around. The more people that you allow to keep you mad the more stones you have. Pretty soon all you are doing is carrying around a load of angry rocks that weigh you down and keep you from ever having joy.” (C. Reithmeyer, personal communication, April 13, 2014). It was a great a-ha moment! I’d heard this type of thing before but had, of course, started carrying around rocks of anger and forgotten the truth in its teaching.

       Each day we work in classrooms and hallways with varying numbers of people, children and adults alike, and any of them can cause adverse reactions inside of us. The truth is that our reactions are a by-product of what is inside of us. We might not be able to drop every issue inside of our heart in an instant. However as we realize that the joy that is in us is something that can’t be taken away, but only given away, then we can start dropping rocks that weigh us down. When someone who is a jerk acts like a jerk and I get mad about it, it is my fault. The jerk is only doing the job of a jerk. By carrying around my angry rock about it makes me the Raca and keeps me from helping those that I encounter in my day.

Reflection 
       It pains me when I realize that I have moved away from where I need to be. From a farmer, better yet a student of mine, I was reminded that carrying around anger is like putting a millstone around my neck. Why, because I will assuredly lose sight of where I need to be and what I need to be about and then I will lead in a path that is contrary to the truth. I am not at all a perfect man and I make mistakes every day of my life. What I need to remember is that when I find myself out of proximity to God and His anchoring of my life that it is ME that has moved not HIM!

Translation 
       I’ve really answered the “translation to work and school” already. If I carry around angry stones I am not focusing on my students or other staff members that need my attention. I am being selfish. I am not teaching.

Application
       By constantly reminding myself of the core truths and vision of what I am doing I can keep myself grounded and not pick up angry stones. We all fall short of glory, but joy comes in the morning!

EDLD 5388 (Diverse Learners) Week 1 Discussion

Here is my week 1 discussion post for my next Educational Leadership class (5388-Diverse Learners). Let me know what you think!

Observation 
I am a teacher. It was evident to me at the age of 18, as a youth pastor for a small United Methodist Church in Stratford, TX, in 1988, while talking to a 13 year old boy. During a visit to the boy's home he and I were talking while he played video games. While he played I noticed a Playboy magazine in his room. I said, "Why do you have this?" The boy replied, "It's cool, I like looking at the pictures." I replied, "Dude, you don't need that, it's not going to help you out in life." That was it. Three weeks later I was back to check on him and asked where his magazines were, as I didn't see them in sight. He replied, "I threw them away." I asked, "Why would you do that?" He looked me in the eye and said, "Because you told me to." It was at this point in my life that I got a little scared as I realized that what I said mattered. As a leader my words have a heaviness and weight to them. This little moment was not lost on me and I've thought of it often to remind myself of how to act with students.

Last year at the Texas High School Powerlifting Association state championships in Abilene, my super-heavyweight class lifter, Edgar, had broken the state record in squat by successfully lifting 805 lbs. at the state meet. However, he didn't listen to my advice in the deadlift and attempted too much, and subsequently missed all three attempts. In powerlifting when you miss all three attempts of a particular discipline you "bomb out", and do not earn a valid mark, and all records are null and void. After three attempts to reason with him prior to his 2nd attempt, with him talking back and feeling he knew more than me, I said, "You know what, go ahead and do whatever you want to do." Some may have questioned my resolve, but my one rule is "Do the Right Thing!", and I was determined to teach this young man a life lesson. And, he was a sophomore and had more time. Edgar was in first place going into the deadlift and ended up getting nothing, which was his choice. 

Two weeks ago we were back at the state meet, and Edgar was ranked #1 in state coming into the competition. In the squat he completed his second lift at 740 lbs., with no problem. On his third lift he attempted 805 lbs. While coming up, in a rapid hurry for what would have been a new state record, the bar slipped on his shoulder and he missed the lift. During the bench press another lifter broke the state record and lifted 525 lbs., which put him ahead of Edgar by 75 lbs., as Edgar only pressed 410 lbs.; missing 440 lbs. due to a slight pause in the middle of his lift. In the deadlift the opponent lifted 640 lbs. To win the state title Edgar needed to lift 715 lbs, a new state record by 15 lbs., and a new personal record by 40 lbs. I told Edgar that he would need to "squeeze" quickly (tighten his glute muscles to facilitate tension in his abdominal wall and back muscles, thus helping to lift the weight faster) and to be patient as he lifted. Edgar replied, "Why be patient, Coach?" I responded with, "This is a bunch of weight, gravity won't be happy about what you're doing and will fight you. Just squeeze quick and be patient as you trust your power to lift that bar. This is for a record and title that nobody can ever take away from you. Don't be 50 years old and regret a one bad decision." Edgar lifted the bar, was awarded three green lights (signifying a good lift) from the judges, set the state record, and won the state championship. When Edgar turned from the platform to me he shouted, "I DID IT!" I gave him a hug and told him how proud I was of him and to be his coach. He told me that he was glad I didn't give up on him. 

Reflection 
What I learned from the situation is that one should never assume that something small, (e.g.: "squeeze quick" or "be patient") could be the most important information that another person needs to hear. It would have more "cool" if I'd have given a "win one for the Gipper" speech, but I didn't. However, it wasn't about me. What was said is what was needed. Knowing your audience is important. 

Translation 
We work with many different children from many different places as educators. Every child has a distinct and specific history and background. The culture inside each home is different. Our job, as educators, is to know our students. While one needs an encouraging word, another needs a terse rebuke; while yet another might need a gentle touch on the shoulder. Human beings are not a one-stop-shop where an educator can memorize two or three short quips and hope to glide through life on them. Being open to change, willing to adapt, and strong enough to be silent are all powerful tools in the educator's tool belt. 

Application
This moral doesn't only apply to teachers/educators. We are all humans engaged in the game of life. Every single day we will meet countless people, all with varied feelings, ideas, and needs. Seeking to find the way to encourage and uplift is a choice, not a requirement. Hopefully we all take up the mantle of peace and grace (giving people something that they did not earn) in hopes of making the world, and that person's life, just a little bit better.

Have a great week everybody!