What is wrong with CSU's trustees?

I came across an article in the Orange County Register written by an old professor of mine and I could not be in more agreement. What is wrong the California State University's (CSU) trustees? Currently, California is dealing with major budget issues. Teachers from all realms, elementary, secondary, and higher education, have been laid off; classroom sizes have been increased; and tuition has increased. During all of this turmoil, CSU's trustees have decided to pay their new CSU San Diego president a salary of $400,000. This is substantially more than other presidents within CSU. Moreover, this proposed salary is higher than what even the governor of the state makes ($173,987). I find it despicable that such a high salary would even be an option. Everyone in the state has to make cuts – on a personal level and on a state level. CSU’s trustees should keep this in mind before offering someone an astronomically high salary. I am tired of hearing about people being overpaid from our tax money. It was reported a couple of days ago that a prison surgeon, who has not seen a patient in over six years, is being paid over $700,000 dollars this year from tax payer money.  I should research what administrators in local school districts are making. I would not be surprised to find to find out that administrators in Capistrano Unified or Laguna Beach unified are making over $250,000 per year. You never hear about administrators losing their jobs. It always the teachers who seem to make it to the chopping block.

The article from the OC Register:
http://www.ocregister.com/opinion/state-308186-salary-president.html

Only 10%?!?!?!?!

Recently, the Los Angeles Unified School District passed a policy that no more than 10% of a student's grade can come from homework. The school distrcit has sited that not all children have a equal homework environment. Since not all students have an equal homework environment, applying more than 10% of a weight is not fair or equitable. Many teachers are not in agreement with this approach, including myself. If you restrict all teachers to a 10% benchmark, many problems can arise. For example, many times homework is given to practice skills taught in class. For some subjects, like mathematics, practice is essential. With homework accounting for only 10% of a student's grade, what incentive do students have to actually complete the homework? Moreover, education is not so cut and dry - not all class are created equal. In a high school English class, for example, students are expected to write essays on different literature. Normally, writing an essay is something that is done outside of class. Class time is generally reserved for discussing the literature, revising, and how to write a paper. Furthermore, students are in school for a limited amount of time which means teachers have a limited time for instruction. When are students supposed to get these assignments done? Not to mention, what are we teaching our students. One day, our students will be in the work force or in college where you have to do outside work. It is better to learn good study habits now. We should be teaching our students to succeed in life. I do not think you can look at education in a homogeneously manner.

Check out this article in the LA Times regarding the new policy:
 http://articles.latimes.com/2011/jun/27/local/la-me-homework-20110627

Year Round School

I have heard arguments for and against year round school. Personally, I am a huge advocate for year round school. After the summer vacation, a problem most teachers face is having to reteach information from the previous year. Most students do not complete any school work of the summer. The lack of academic stimulation can cause for a lot of students to forget important material.

What we consider a “traditional family” today is much different to the “traditional family” of fifty or sixty years ago. Today, a “traditional family” spans across numerous spectrums. A “traditional family” today may be a two parent household with both parents working, a single parent household, or a dual parent household with a stay-at-home parent. Before, when the majority of households had a parent at home, the idea of “what do we do with our kids over summer” was never an issue. Today, trying to figure out what do with your child while you are working over the summer can be very stressful and expensive. Students being off for almost three months over the summer can put undue stress on a family. Year round school is more conducive for working parents’ schedules. It is much easier for parents to find something to do with a child for three weeks versus three months.

Students, just like adults, get burnt out over the year. Year round school gives students the opportunity to have multiple significant breaks throughout the year instead of just one really long break. I also think that teachers get burnt out throughout the year. Having year round school also gives teachers the opportunity to “re-charge” their batteries and come back to school more focused and engaged.

Why aren't the school days longer?

I am a firm believer that our school days should be increased in length. I personally think children should be in school from 8 am to 4 or 5 pm. I do not think there are enough hours in day to truly teach our students all necessary information. Whenever I have discussed this proposition with other teachers, I have received nothing but backlash. Many teachers stay afterschool until 5 pm and beyond on a regular basis. These teachers feel that they would “never” get out of school this way. I, on the other hand, feel that if a longer school day is approached in the correct manner, teachers would have no need to stay at school late.

I did a lot of my schooling overseas at private schools. I had to go to school from 8 am to 4 or 5 pm (depending on the school). I think that students should have art, music, theater, a language, and physical education on a regular basis. In saying a regular basis, I mean that students should have each of the above referenced classes at least two or three times a week depending on the class. A class like physical education and language instruction, I think should be given four to five days a week. I also think that these subjects should be taught by a specialist in that field. If you have students attending specific classes for each of these classes, teachers will have the time to lesson plan throughout the day. The teachers will not have to stay after school to complete the work.

In the end, I believe that everyone benefits from a longer school day. The students end up with a much richer and deeper education. Teachers have the opportunity complete all work during the school day while being able to cover more material with their students. Teachers can also focus on the broad spectrum of what materials need to be covered versus trying to cram the bare minimum of information down the students’ throats. Finally, parents also benefit from a longer school day.  Today, the “normal” family is not the stay at home mother with an at work father. The “normal” family” consists of single parents, both parents working, or a stay at home parent. Keeping this in mind, it can be very difficult for working parents to juggle and figure out childcare for their children for afterschool. If children were in school longer, parents would one less worry.

My Experience with Technology in the Classroom Growing Up

During the 80s, I can remember using programs that involved graphing. The teacher would assign a design, such as a star, and you would have to command the computer to create the design in steps. For example, you type "R4" into the program which instructed the program to create a line four steps long to the right. Unfortunately, I have no idea what this program was called but I remember the class as clear as day. I believe I was in either 3rd or 4th grade at the time.

In the 90s, I lived overseas and attended private schools. These schools were well equipped with computers. The instruction in my computer classes focused on keyboarding, research, presentations, and the internet. In the 90s, many of the safeguards that we have today were not in place. I can recall many students using the internet to plagiarize research assignments. Unfortunately, programs, like turnitin.com, did not exist. These students were able to plagiarize without getting caught. In addition, I can also remember students pulling up highly inappropriate materials on the internet. Safety measures that prevent students accessing X-rated websites did not exist. Many students not only downloaded inappropriate materials, but also shared the X-rated materials with most of the student body.

AOL instant messenger became a staple in regards to technology while I was in high school. Students, myself included, would chat with other students during school and outside of school. Sometimes, I believe AOL instant messenger truly taught me how to type quickly, not keyboarding class.