Last weekend 2 teenagers from different continents hacked into a proprietary system and potentially jeopardized the security and well-being of innocent people and their businesses. You can read about that here: How we got owned by a few teenagers (and why it will never happen again). The incident has been the subject of world-wide debate, and you can read a pretty broad sample of what people are saying about it here: Hacker News Comments
I began this piece as a response to some of the comments posted about this case on Hacker News (@HackerNews). The comments ran the gamut from “They are just kids/Give ’em a break” t0 “They are criminals-lock ’em up”.
“Elliot’s statement and a lot of his Facepunch comments have been taken down. As an educator, I found a lot of the comments there pretty alarming… and want to ask everyone here to consider a few things when posting about anything related to kids.
Kids (and like it or not, that IS what they are) are notoriously dramatic and these boys are definitely experiencing this as a crisis, no matter how they present in their comments. They are also now being border-line (and in some cases overtly) cyber bullied by some of their peers online which may be devastating if they don’t have great face-to-face support. As adults, we have a responsibility not to add fuel to that fire and remember that if teenagers were predictable and transparent, there wouldn’t be so many tragic cases in the news where they hurt themselves and each other.
Part of the problem is that teenagers and young adults aren’t great at predicting consequences. This isn’t opinion – it’s science. Especially in males, the part of the brain that is responsible for predicting consequences is not fully developed until the early to middle twenties. This is a double whammy because it leads to their bad decision making, but also to their belief that when something bad happens as a result, that it’s literally the end of the world… that there is no way out.”
I’ll admit that as an educator, my default will always be biased in favor of what is in the best interest of kids, even and sometimes especially when they mess up. This case is no different, except in that it provides an opportunity to explore and begin to unravel a much bigger issue. My comment continued,
“There is no disputing that what these boys did was a big deal and that there should be consequences. But it’s also just a symptom of a bigger problem: as a society, we have failed to keep pace with the challenges that are the result of the first generation of digital natives (kids) being raised and educated by a generation of adults who are (at best) digital immigrants.
Most of the kids who hack are self-taught and completely unregulated by adult influences because there are no adults in their lives who understand enough about what they are doing to regulate it. We can use analogies like breaking a lock on a door and insist that they know right from wrong, but these kids literally see hacking as a game… an adventure… a challenge. And in this day and age, where so many young developers are doing amazing things with code, and becoming “rich and famous” in the process, to some of these kids, hacking looks really, really cool.
Combine those factors with practically unlimited access to an international peer group that is often both as supportive and as competitive as any other. Mix in social dynamics like peer pressure, pecking order and bullying, subtract all responsible adult influence and you’ve got the perfect storm – a digital “Lord of the Flies”.
I’m positive that this is not a problem any amount of litigation or adjudication is going to solve. So, PLN (and other readers!) what’s the answer?
I have visions of @FourSquare Founder Dennis Crowley (@dens) (because he is young and funny and cool) doing public service announcements. And other young founders mentoring, running Hack-a-thons, maybe even developing a Hackers Code of Ethics for kids, and clueing their parents in on how to help.
When kids break the Code – because they will- maybe there is something meaningful, challenging and very, very time-consuming we could make them do as opposed to throwing the book at them- like coding for non-profits… or maybe even for whomever they violated? I realize that may be WAY too much to ask of the offended company… but on this issue, couldn’t/shouldn’t up and coming tech leaders lead the way?
Can’t wait to hear your thoughts – feel free to link if you’ve blogged about this! Thanks for reading.
1. clearness or lucidity as to perception or understanding; freedom from indistinctness or ambiguity.
2. the state or quality of being clear or transparent to the eye.
The need for clarity is at the core (pun intended) of the Education Reform debates. The plural is intentional because more than one debate is at issue. The lack of clarity in the way that we define “Ed Reform” has created a situation where educators are constantly arguing apples to oranges and non-educators are frequently confused and disconnected.
In terms of national, policy related dialogue, when people are talking about “Education Reform”, they are talking almost exclusively about the achievement gap and all issues that directly impact, contribute or relate to the achievement gap.
In the United States, the Achievement Gap is usually understood to be the difference in the way low-income and minority students perform on standardized tests as compared to their peers in other groups. Let’s call Ed Reform Dialogue (and its participants) focussed exclusively on the Achievement Gap “Apples”.
The “Apples” discussions relate to hiring policies that result in the least experienced teachers universally being placed at the highest-need schools, year after year. They include policies that provide those teachers with next to no support or development, and make it impossible to remove teachers who don’t come to work, or do their work and who add to the burden of their teammates.
“Apples” discussions address policies that allow principals to “evaluate” less than 1% of teachers as “Below Expectations”, even in schools where there is a deplorable, unconscionable history of student failure. These are just a few hot topics for those that define and understand “Education Reform” in relation to the Achievement Gap.
Reformers who are exclusively (or at least predominantly) focused on closing the achievement gap, have some image problems, especially with “good” teachers who hear their messages out of context. Talk of getting rid of teachers, even “bad” teachers, seriously ruffles the feathers of many dedicated and effective educators who are only hearing part of the message.
This is in spite of the fact that so many studies and surveys have proven that the vast majority of teachers acknowledge and agree that there are some “bad” teachers in their schools, and further, believe that they should be removed. Forget about test scores for a minute (although I do believe they matter). Some teachers don’t come to work. Some don’t even bother to maintain a safe, clean classroom environment. Some can’t (or won’t) get along with other people and some just don’t like kids.
NOW consider test scores. Whether or not we agree that testing is the most effective (or even a valid method to) evaluate student learning, in what case scenario would it be “Ok” for entire demographic or racial groups to universally do poorly on a specific type of assessment as compared to their peers from other racial groups or demographics? I can’t think of any.
That said, it’s important to note that virtually all proposed models for teacher evaluations consider additional factors besides student testing to determine the value teachers are adding in the classroom. In districts like Washington DC where the IMPACT model was rapidly implemented and widely feared, many, many teachers (including some who didn’t score well) acknowledged the benefits of the system after the first year, and appreciated the additional attention and feedback that it provided.
It’s also important to note, that while former DC Schools Chancellor Michelle Rhee was initially demonized as an enemy of teachers, many teachers have become supporters and are sad to see her go. As it turns out, many, many teachers viewed her leadership as having significantly improved their ability to be effective in their classrooms by increasing accountability in their schools.
But many educators whom I admire and respect are angry right now about what they believe is an unfair attack on teachers. They resent the tone of some “reform” messaging, resent feeling “blamed” and judged, and feel that much of the way the National Education Reform dialogue has been constructed has left them out and further damaged the credibility of their profession.
I see their point and feel their pain, I really do. But I also believe that some of that is the result of destructive, under-informed media spin and some of that is the result of deliberate political agenda.
I know that saying this out loud is NOT going to be popular with some of the educators that I admire the most. That doesn’t make it any less true.
New York’s “Rubber Rooms” may be a thing of the past, but there are still many other egregiously destructive policies that protect adults at the expense of kids. There ARE some horrible teachers in our schools and everyone, EVERYONE knows it. Members of my PLN regularly tweet warnings to new teachers to stay away from the toxic teachers’ lounge.
There ARE some HORRIBLE schools in our country, and we all know that too. Kids should NOT be subjected to those teachers and those schools. Not for one day of one year. Not anywhere in the country, not anywhere in the world. Saying that out loud HAS to be OK. It has to be, because it’s the truth.
I challenge anyone who would dispute those statements to explain the following video clip. I challenge ANYONE to explain how any school could ever fall into this state of disrepair and neglect if it were consistently staffed entirely with great leaders and great teachers. (Please bear with the short ad – the video was removed from Youtube and is no longer available without the ads but still worth watching).
The New Teacher Project says it out loud, with more clarity than any other source I’ve found. They also advocate strongly FOR teachers, insisting that they deserve to be treated as and valued as professionals. Most importantly, TNTP addresses the disparity that is created when excellent teachers and poor teachers are viewed and treated as if they are interchangeable.
This is an incredibly important point, because it addresses a major sticking point between those who support and oppose “Merit Pay”. Many people oppose Merit Pay and insist that it won’t serve to improve performance.
I agree that Merit Pay is unlikely to significantly change the behavior or performance of individual teachers. Daniel Pink gives an amazing TED talk on the Surprising Science of Motivation. Anyone and everyone who has an interest in the dialogue surrounding Merit Pay should see this video, and consider reading the book Drive. I’ve embedded the TED Talk and a trailer about Drive below.
Now, PLEASE read TNTP’s reports. PLEASE. There can be no informed dialogue on issues like tenure, hiring practices, Merit Pay and teacher evaluation without at least considering their studies.
Which brings me to the reasons why I ALSO understand and ultimately, support the idea of Merit Pay as one tool in efforts to close the achievement gap. Here’s why:
TNTP, and other supporters of Merit Pay are not (usually) saying that merit pay is going to significantly impact the performance of existing teachers. They are saying that teachers who are “highly effective” deserve to be paid significantly more than they are right now, and that effective teachers should have the opportunity to make more than ineffective teachers. I agree.
Supporters of Merit Pay frequently assert that teaching is undervalued as a profession, and that treating all teachers the same exacerbates the gap between the importance of the work they do and the social status they receive. They believe that Merit Pay is one way to recognize and show appreciation for excellent teachers, and that this may make teaching a more attractive option for high achievers, and support retention of top performers. I agree.
There are many talented, driven, charismatic and caring college students who don’t even consider teaching, not because they don’t care about kids, or have the drive or skills, but because they aspire to a better quality of life than they believe they can achieve as teachers. I agree.
TNTP asserts that Merit Pay will draw people to teaching who otherwise would not consider it as a viable professional option. Many advocates for Merit Pay believe that this group, and their Career-changing counter parts would be more likely to consider teaching if they knew that they had the potential to improve their earnings based on their own Merit. Further, they believe that Merit pay may encourage top performers to consider teaching at high needs schools. I agree.
“Apples” call foul on the idea that we have to continue to tolerate “bad” in schools. Actually, they go further and get in all of our faces and challenge all of us to call foul and do our part to make it right, right now. RIGHT NOW. To the greatest degree possible, right this minute, every minute, of every day.
Ideology, philosophy, and “feelings” aside, and like it or not, the achievement gap is all of our problem. Apples put it in our face as much as possible and force us to see what we otherwise wouldn’t if we are fortunate enough to work in a “better” school, or in a “better” district.
It’s not that they love testing (many don’t), that they don’t want kids to be happy, or want them to hate school. It’s not that they don’t want their students to become great thinkers, leaders, PEOPLE, or that they hate arts, sports and music.
It’s that kids, lots and LOTS of kids can’t READ. They can’t write, or do basic math… in HIGH SCHOOL. It’s that every second of every day that we aren’t addressing that, and making that the MOST important thing, puts us further away from ever closing the achievement gap.
It’s that the clock never stops ticking its way towards “too late” for our schools to help and truly serve another generation of kids… kids like the ones I’ve spent most of my professional life serving. I work with bright, good kids, who way too often, can’t read, write or do basic math; 16-24 year olds who are trying to recover from their histories of abysmal school failure in time to build viable futures as adults.
For the record, there are a whole lot of “Apples” who work in schools with longer days, and Saturday and summer school programs, so that their students can spend time on task in school and still play sports, make music, and learn to lead. There are also a whole lot of Apples who advocate passionately for valuing teaching as a profession, and supporting teachers as professionals who do critically important work.
Now let’s talk “Oranges”.
For the sake of this analogy, “Oranges” are discussions about all of the other issues often referenced in terms of “Education Reform”. Digital Literacy, 21st Century Skills, Student Centered Learning, Differentiation, Project and Portfolio based assessment, Experiential, Collaborative Learning, Strength Based Approaches, Classroom Communities, Learning Teams, Language Studies, Music and Arts… all of the things about school that, frankly, have always made my heart beat a little faster and put a bounce in my step, both as a student and as a teacher.
High stakes testing flies in the face of the “Orange” perspective on Ed Reform. It creates enormous pressure to “teach to the test” in schools and districts where leaders have failed to make the connection between outstanding teaching and student achievement. Situations like those referenced in this NY Times Op Ed piece highlight the validity of those fears.
If Apples are Waiting for Superman, Oranges are Race to Nowhere. People who are interested in authentic dialogue should see and consider both.
Orange discussions are farsighted and forward thinking. Orange advocates are deeply invested in ensuring education keeps pace with the times. They are concerned about a deficit in 21st century skills like critical thinking and digital literacy becoming the next manifestation of the achievement gap.
Proponents of Orange have a lot to offer to the Apples discussion. They are creative, often brilliant problem solvers and inspired teachers. They are collaborators and risk takers. They understand teaching and learning and kids. They are coaches and cheer leaders, award winners and life-long learners.
That’s why it’s so tragic that they often feel like the kid on the playground who never gets picked in the national dialogue on education reform. NBC’s recently broadcast and widely publicized Education Nation is an example of how (perhaps) well intended media efforts to support education reform have further polarized stake holders.
Throw in the world’s most famous talk-show host, a young billionaire, a-not-so-young billionaire, a gifted young mayor, and the Chancellor of DC PS and subtract all input from active teachers, and you have the perfect storm. This Huffington Post article by @Garystager is a taste of what you get when you (consciously or inadvertently) scorn brilliant educators.
So what’s next? Hopefully, movement toward more inclusive, open-minded dialogue. Currently, the climate is QUITE “Apples versus Oranges”… and vice versa. Oranges are frequently as caustic in their condemnation of all things “Apple” as Apples are exclusive in presenting their strategies for improving failing schools.
@TomWhitby has written several thoughtful and thought provoking posts since the airing of Education Nation, and urged an end to the “teacher bashing” that has become so central to the discussion. One of his posts was a call to action, encouraging educators to blog their thoughts on education reform and post them on the Rebel Education Reform Blogs Wallwisher.
More than 100 educators answered his call yesterday. The posts represent an enormous range of experience, insight and investment from educators all over the country, and a few from all over the world. Some, I agree with, others I don’t. But I am going to read them all.
Each and every post represents an educator who cared enough to take the time to weigh in, and each represents another piece of the puzzle that we need to truly understand what is needed for us to move forward, together. For that reason, I’ll read them all.
I’ll also commit to ensuring that OTHER people have an opportunity to see them… People who may benefit from an “Orange-er” or “Apple-er” perspective, or who may appreciate the invitation to explore the insights of so many “real”, dedicated, talented educators, even if they don’t agree with their positions. People who aren’t “sure” and want to understand. People who have some sway, and some say and would want to know that this is going on.
What’s next?
We share… the wallwisher, individual bloggers’ posts, Tom’s call to action – all of it. We let the world know that we are here…that Educators, from around the world work together every day to grow together and find a better way, and that we have invested in this effort to deepen understanding of the teacher’s perspective on Education Reform. Shelly Terrell (@ShellTerrell ) delivers great ideas for reaching out and spreading the word in her compelling article, How a Whisper Becomes a Roar.
Those who don’t do Social Networking spread the word by word of mouth. Email, snail-mail, IM, text and shout it from roof-tops. Copy and paste and quote and post on bulletin boards and Message Boards. Weigh in, speak up and share your own experiences in any way that you can.
No matter how you choose to share, please let me know if you get any traction! Good luck, Rebel Reformers! Social networkers, there’s more…
If we are Linkedin, we link in. We Facebook, Digg, Delicious, Stumble and Tumble… and those of us who tweet, tweet often. Maybe we can tweet with the Hashtag #redref for “Rebel Ed Reform”. Maybe we should use the regular #edreform hashtag. What do you think?
Below are a “few” Twitter contacts we might start with but add your own as well, and please remember to share your experiences and responses! Be bold, be brave, be heard and be part of the solution! Isn’t that what this is all about?
When I was a new teacher I read a TON and watched every movie I could find about education and teaching. Lean on Me, Sister Act Two, Dangerous Minds, Stand and Deliver, To Sir With Love… if I could find it on VHS (And yes, I know how that dates me), I watched it. I even watched the silly one where Mark Harmon teaches summer school.
It may sound corny but these movies helped me realize that some very successful teachers, first had to get through their early years. I also really paid attention to how the “movie” teachers spoke to and treated the kids. Even the completely fictional movies helped… there is something to be said for observing charismatic personalities in action. Charisma is a fantastic management tool and Hollywood teachers are usually charismatic!
I also read… a LOT. Here are a few of the books I remember most vividly from my “early” years:
ALL of the William Glasser Books – The Quality School, The Quality School Teacher, Choice Theory in the Classroom etc. They are easy to read, and gave me great, practical direction for creating the climate, relationships and accountability that I wanted to establish with my students. I found Glasser’s model to be a great fit for my beliefs and style and they truly shaped my early practice. More importantly, they worked!
Several books by Torey Hayden about her experiences as a special ed teacher… the one that I remember the most clearly was called One Child. Torey worked in heartbreaking circumstances, and didn’t do everything “right”, but she also didn’t QUIT, and no matter how tough things got, she persisted. That made all the difference with her kids and left a lasting impression on me.
My Posse Don’t Do Homework by Luanne Johnson. The movie “Dangerous Minds” is based on this book, but the book is somuch better, and I read it years before the movie. I didn’t realize how much of an impact this one had on me until years later when the movie actually came out. My students saw it before I did and I didn’t know anything about it. After seeing it they all kept saying “Dangerous Minds” to me and smiling, shaking their heads and saying, you’ve got to see it, Miss.”
This made me pretty uncomfortable. I didn’t know anything about the movie or why my students were associating it with me. Let me assure you, I look NOTHING like Michelle Pfeifer.
When I finally went to see the movie, I was touched and pleased to see that they had picked up on and recognized that, like me, the main character was a strong proponent of the idea that “You always have a choice”. I didn’t realize until the final credits that the movie is based on the book I had read during my 1st year as a teacher.
There are also many, many excellent resources I’ve discovered more recently. They include:
Books
Wake Up Calls by Doctor Eric Allenbaugh – Great for framing an accountable relationship with students/classes. I’ve had great success using this to create mini-lessons about what I expect from students, what they should expect from me and why. I’ve also passed it on countless times and always gotten terrific feedback from others who have tried it. Check out chapter 5 – “The Dirty Dozen” (12 Ways People Attempt to Escape Accountability) to help minimize excuse making in your classroom.
The Speed of Trust by Steven M. Covey – Trust matters. Building it is the most efficient way to maximize the efficiency and efficacy of a group. I found the concepts in this book really relevant to the struggles teachers experience related to classroom management; ie- “How can I teach/how can they learn when I spend the whole class “managing” behavior?” Relationship, mutual accountability and trust are powerful stuff, in businesses and in the classroom.
A New Project to Help Teachers Integrate Tech – Ed Tech Specialist Andy Cinek is providing terrific resources and support for teachers who want to learn to use technology to improve their practice. You can also follow him @andycinek
Start a Twitter account to use for professional development – I don’t recommend using your personal account. You’ll find loads and loads of resources and people to help you on Twitter. People have written a bunch of blog posts about how to use Twitter as a Professional Development resource and I will compile a few in another post shortly. In the mean time, you can follow me @thenewtag and check out my lists and people I follow.
I also recommend that you get started by following @Shellterrell , (Coordinates #edchat , a phenomenal resource and gateway to support; she’s also an amazing Blogger, Organizer, and Leader) @ktenkely (Terrific Blogger, Leader, Organizer), and @teachingwithsoul (She is incredibly helpful and supportive, blogs @ Teaching With Soul and created and moderates #ntchat , an online chat for new teachers every week!) These three tweet terrific resources and, will quickly lead you to other terrific resources and people to follow. Their tweets are a great place to start building your PLN.
You should, you MUST also follow @cybraryman1 on Twitter. Not only has he compiled an amazing “Education Catalogue” packed with resources for just about EVERYTHING, but he’s put together a New Teacher Page just for you!
Lastly, and most importantly, take advantage of every professional development experience and look for opportunities for peer-to-peer observation and collaboration. Coaching and mentoring are critical to improving professional practice and if we aren’t getting this from our supervisors, we can create it among our peers.
These activities will deliver enormous return on investment and result in stronger, more confident and effective staff teams. They should be guided and include some form of accountability to secure the greatest outcome. If anyone is interested, I can recommend some resources to get you started.
Please comment to share your favorite resources, ask questions, ASK FOR HELP, offer help, leave feedback or just say “Hi”.
In short, I’m resurrecting this blog and my twitter account @melissactran to support my staff at the Woodstock Job Corps Center in developing their professional practice and our competence as a team “from a distance”.
For starters, I’m reposting articles I wrote a decade ago to provide resources for new teachers in my peer learning network. Like so many educators around the world, most of my staff are currently working from home and developing new ways to connect with our students until they can return to us.
Dive in, join us on this journey and please, please share. If you tweet, share resources with us via #1wjcc and #1jcp.
Here goes.
In this post I’ll share a few of the strategies and resources that have had a huge impact on my professional practice and resulted in student management, engagement and development becoming my area of expertise.
For the past 16 years, I’ve worked for a company that operates alternative schools all over the country (impacting literally thousands of students and staff) and a big part of my role is to teach this stuff… I credit my success in this area largely to the reading and studying I have always done and continue to do and the mentoring I received early in my career.
When I was a new teacher I read a TON and watched every movie I could find about education and teaching. Lean on Me, Sister Act Two, Dangerous Minds, Stand and Deliver, To SIr With Love… if I could find it on VHS (And yes, I know how that dates me), I watched it. I even watched the silly one where Mark Harmon teaches summer school.
I know this sounds corny but these movies helped me realize that some very successful teachers had gotten through their early years. I also really paid attention to how they spoke to and treated the kids. Even the completely fictional movies helped… there is something to be said for observing charismatic personalities in action. Charisma is a fantastic management tool and hollywood teachers are usually charismatic!
I also read… a LOT Here are the ones I remember from the early years:
ALL of the William Glasser Books – The Quality School, The Quality School Teacher, Choice Theory in the Classroom etc.
Several books by Torey Hayden about her experiences as a special ed teacher… the one that I remember the most clearly was called One Child. I really got a lot out of all of them though.
My Posse Don’t Do Homework by Luanne Johnson. This is the book that the movie “Dangerous Minds” is based on but it is so much better, and I read it years before the movie.
I didn’t realize how much of an impact this one had on me until years later when the movie actually came out. My students saw it before I did and I didn’t know anything about it. After seeing it they all kept saying “Dangerous Minds” to me and smiling, shaking their heads and saying, you’ve got to see it, Miss”.
This was the first movie I ever went to see by myself because I didn’t know what to expect or how I would feel about my students associating the movie with me. Let me assure you, I look NOTHING like Michelle Pfeifer.
I realized pretty quickly that they had picked up on and recognized the theme of “You always have a choice”. I didn’t realize until the end of the movie, as the credits rolled, that it had been based on the book, and was amazed at how MUCH the book had shaped my professional practice so many years later.
There are also many, many excellent resources I’ve discovered more recently. They include:
span style=”text-decoration:underline;”>Wake Up Calls by Doctor Eric Allenbaugh
span style=”text-decoration:underline;”>The Speed of Trust by Steven M. Covey
Lastly, and most importantly, providing/participating in opportunities for peer-to-peer observation, coaching and mentoring is critical. These activities will deliver enormous return on investment and result in stronger, more confident and effective staff teams. Such experiences should be guided and include some form of accountability to secure the greatest outcomes. Hope this helps!
The New Tag 