benign mischief...

An excellent commentary regarding Central Falls, RI, the town in which the school’s leadership fired all it’s teachers because the students weren’t learning.

No one’s been able to answer my question, “Why wasn’t the leadership of the school system fired?” but that’s another issue.

Anyway, I see uninvested and uninterested kids every day who refuse to say the Pledge of Allegiance (or even be quiet during it) who do zero homework and sit there, nearly catatonic if I’m lucky. They become disruptive behavioural problems if I’m not - or they just cut class. They bring no materials, no notes, no books, no calculators, no pencils, no pencils and, in some cases, no language - and they get downright indignant with me if I do not provide all of these things each and every day like the law says I must.

Seriously - there are no pencils in my school shorter than 5 inches in length. For many of my clients, pencils are one-use materials that get lost or forgotten before the next class. (That is, the class they have next hour, not my class tomorrow.)

Every student of mine who has less than 10 absences each term, who has made some attempt to do their homework or at least try it, who follows along in class, who turns in their assignments and who takes advantage of extra help and tutoring once or twice a term — EVERY SINGLE ONE of those students is passing my class.

2 “A”s, 2 “B”s and one “C”.

The other 92% of the students on my rolls are failing.

According to Robert Marzano’s meta-study, 7% of a students success can be attributed to the school facility and a generous 13% can be credited to the teacher. That means that an “A” student who moves from a good school with good teachers can see their grade go down as much as 20%, 2 letters, if they move into a poor school environment with less qualified teachers. Likewise, a “C” student can go up as high as an “A” if they make the reverse move.

You already know what the other 80% is.

If a teacher isn’t teaching, there are mechanisms in place to train, educate, improve, or even discipline and fire that teacher. I am a teacher and I am fully responsible and accountable for teaching

But who’s responsible for the learning…