SPEAK TO ME

I don’t think he’s a bad guy –– Dr. Wesley Scroggins –– when he advocates for the banning of books in Republic High School’s library and language arts curriculum, and his objections to teaching children about their bodies.

He’s simply another member of a small but vocal Christian conservative movement who is given too large a podium and too much credence for the insignificant minority his represents. Fundamentalism makes for headlines and controversies and dollars but it does not represent the average viewpoint.

I think Dr. Scroggins’ biggest problem is his perspective. The blinders of some factions of Christian conservatism and the ivory tower of academia can hide the real world from those with good but misguided intentions. He does not mean harm. In fact, I suspect Dr. Scroggins means to do good by trying to ban what he considers obscene from all persons, despite what might be in their very best interests.

For context, read Dr. Scroggins’ opinion in the Springfield News-Leader (which is only available for seven days because the News-Leader fails miserably as a news organization.

As an educator, I see everyday the words, deeds and thoughts of youth. My perspective is based on my real life experiences with young children, tweens and teens.

Fourth Grade Sex Education

Dr. Scroggins was aghast to discover that students in fourth grade are taught about reproduction. Students (pre-puberty and older) are not only aware of sexual intercourse and other sex acts, but some are actively engaging in the practice. This includes fourth graders. The reasons are varied but here are a few reasons that kids engage in various sex acts:

• Sexual abuse
• Peer pressure from older siblings or friends
• Need to feel like and act like an adult brought on by a need for control
• Early puberty
• Curiosity

It is the intention of educators, many of whom in this area are Christian, is to educate children so they make good decisions. What we want from our fourth graders is for them not to have sex or engage in sex acts. Teachers, understanding students behaviors first hand, know this cannot be the only approach because children do, much to our chagrin, have sex or sex-like activities. Our goal is to educate students so if they choose to engage in sexual activity, they can at least do so to avoid pregnancy and diseases.

A decade ago, I read an article in a magazine for Christian youth minsters about the increase of oral and anal sex among middle school Christians. The kids, you see, felt that because they had not had traditional sexual intercourse, they were not having “sex”. They were just goofing around. No one could get pregnant, therefore the parents would not find out. They were free to do what they wished. Since that time, the idea of indiscriminate oral or anal sex has only increased among our youth.

One is unaware of such trends, even among Christian youth, unless they work directly with real-world children in real-world settings. Kids do not talk about such things are church. These are very real issues facing kids. For those with harsh criticisms of kids and their feelings will not be privy to real conversations even if they associate with teens. Kids are smart and can detect judgmental adults. They will avoid real talk with those adults at all costs.

Middle School Sex Education

Dr. Scroggins is quite upset over the fact that high school sexuality discussions include: homosexuality, sexual intercourse, sex acts and prevention. I am not privy to Republic’s sex education curricula so I cannot adequately discuss the accuracy of his statements as to what is and is not taught. However, the editors noted that the school district’s primary focus is on abstinence. I can speak about schools in a general sense.

As state above, educators understand the real world of teens and act accordingly. It should not come as a surprise to Dr. Scroggins or anyone else that middle school and high school students are trying to come to grips with their own sexuality (straight, gay, transgendered). Teens are well aware of homosexuality and the discussion is nothing new to them. If this is a surprise to adults, then those adults are grossly out of touch with kids and teens.

When my wife worked at a mental health facility, she encountered a young, sexually active teen. The girl did not have the information she needed to make good choices. While we would hope she would choose to be abstinent, she disagreed. However, she tried to take steps to protect herself. Unfortunately, the teen was not adequately educated due in large part to people like Dr. Scroggins. The teen mistaken used grape jelly in the place of contraceptive jelly and her body had serious medical complications. If children and teens are taught appropriately, then they can make safer decisions even if they are not the decisions we would wish for them to take. Dr. Scroggins must be aware that even devout Christian teens sometimes have sex; use drugs, alcohol and tobacco; and use profanity.

Book Banning

Dr. Scroggins is on a crusade to ban books he deems inappropriate for high schoolers based on the language use or subject material. Slaughterhouse Five, Twenty Boy Summer and Speak are three he wants banned.

Christian, atheist, Muslim, Buddhist or undefined persons have all heard the f-bomb. It is not a new word and it is not outside the common lexicon of teens of any faith. The fact is, its exposure is not uncommon among tweens and children let alone it’s use. I have heard the female c-bomb screamed loudly in elementary. Tenured elementary teachers and principals are not at all shocked to hear a 7-year-old use such words, although we deal with it appropriately. It is sad, I agree, but not unusual or shocking.

As for his objections of the mention of the rape of a character as pornography, I can only shudder at his thoughts that rape be seen as sexually gratifying to anyone.

The fact is, too many students are disconnected from literature and reading because much of the canon does not engage them, connect with them, or resonate with them. Books that deal with human atrocities, while scary, powerful and emotional, are a part of our daily news cycle and life in general. We cannot, despite our good intentions, shelter teenagers from the world if we want to prepare them to work and live independently in the world.

Rape of teens and rape by teens occurs more often than I think Dr. Scroggins is aware. Real world teachers, juvenile officers, social workers, therapists and physicians are aware of the great harm that teens undergo at the hands of adults and other teens. Teens are also aware. It is of utmost importance to teach our young adults how to appropriately deal with and address the world around us. Literature is a safe way to engage students, teach students and cultivate empathy and ethics.

To that point, I offer this video by Laurie Halse Anderson, author of Speak. In it she reads a poem that uses the real words of teens who have been uplifted and helped by her book.

This poem by Laurie Halse Anderson was created using actual letters sent to her by readers. The impact of the story on students is obviously positive and powerful. The literary and emotional significance far outweigh any negatives.

I understand Dr. Scroggin’s attempt to make this a better world by sheltering our children from things. However, this approach does not work with real children. It simply makes students incapable of handling the events of the world when they encounter them. Banning books and refraining from teaching students authentically only serves to harm the greater society. I know it is hard for him because he is trying to purify our culture. It is a fruitless endeavor in so far as you cannot mandate purity or innocence. Life is what it is. Educators act and react to society and prepare children and teens to live in that society as healthy adults.

That is my perspective.

OPPOSING NO CHILD LEFT BEHIND: A THOUGHTFUL ARGUMENT

Yong Zhao, Professor at Michigan State's College of Education, offers a thoughtful, respectful, well-crafted defense to the opposition toward No Child Left Behind. Anyone interested in America's educational system will find this engaging. Whether America agrees or not is left to be seen.

No Child Left Behind and Global Competitiveness from New Learning Institute on Vimeo.

SCHOOL, RELIGION AND GANGS

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Rights and freedoms are skanky political fodder these days. So many are fighting for their rights over the rights of others, and there are no easy answers when rights conflict. One school district suspended a student for wearing rosary beads. Mother meets with school adminstrators.

My thoughts are as follows:

1. Students should have the right to dye their hair, pierce their eye brows and wear a religious symbol.
2. Schools have a duty to protect students from gangs, drugs bullying.
3. Students should not be able to use religion to disguise gang-related behavior.

So the question really becomes "are rosary beads being used by gang members in schools to circumvent the schools's anti-gang measures?" I am a teacher, but not in a high school. This is not an issue in my school, but I have no information on the use of rosary beads by gang members.

I do not believe we have enough information to make an informed decision. I did notice -- and this is significant -- that the student was allowed to wear the beads so long as he wore them under his shirt. Such a compromise would allow for a student to honor his family and still be in compliance with an anti-bully policy. He would not accept that compromise. I wonder why? The story never said.


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SCHOOL CANCELS PROM RATHER THAN ALLOW LESBIANS TO ATTEND

In yet another school-sponsored bully session against homosexuals, a Mississippi high school cancels prom after a student (and the ACLU) filed suit when the district forbade a lesbian student from wearing a tux and attending with her girlfriend. 

You can read the nonsense here.

Once again, Christians are at the forefront of the movement to discriminate. A local Baptist pastor, Bobby Crenshaw, defended the move as biblical. The mayor is supportive of the school district's decision, too. There was a time when we didn't allow Blacks in schools or at white water fountains. These homosexual haters claiming God are going to find themselves very embarassed at the way they have portrayed God one of these days.

MO SCHOOLS TO SEE CUTS SOONER AND LATER

Speaking of educational issues, KY3 reports budget problems for Missouri's K-12 institutions to the tune of $43 million (2 percent shortfall). Rep. Maynard Wallace (R-Thornfield) wants to change the law to allow school districts to reduce teacher pay (the story does not say how much of a reduction) and eliminate professional development in order to keep their jobs. 

Personally, I'd rather get paid less and still have the opportunity to do the job I love so much, rather than become unemployed. That's just me. I'd rather not see cuts to my salary at all.

TEACHERS, ADMINISTRATORS FIRED

CNN carries the second installment to a story I mentioned earlier today. All the teachers and administrators at Rhode Island's lowest performing high school were fired by the school board. (How exactly do you put that on your resume? As if there were any teaching jobs out there.)

FIRE ALL THE TEACHERS!

CNN has the story of a Rhode Island school district superintendent whose desire it is to fire all the 74 teachers in the lowest performing school in the state. The problem with stories like this is that it is  presented very few specific facts (except overall scores of the students). The story does not help the population govern itself as we cannot make educated decisions because we are not really educated. 

• What is the culture of the school? Is it a positive and encouraging atmosphere or a toxic one?
• What is the culture of the families in the school community? Do they support making their children better or disdain all things educational?
• What is the overall attitude of the teachers?
• What is the overall attitude of the administrators?
• What kind of district support (money) does the school receive compared to other schools?
• What kind of district support (not money) does the school receive compared to other schools?
• How is the district responding to the specialized needs of persons in poverty?
• What pedagogy are the teachers using to educate the students?
• How do the teachers design learning environments specific to persons in poverty?
• What amounts of tutoring are already going on in the school?
• What are teachers doing to reach students and establish strong relationships?
• Why is there such a turnover rate with principals in this school?

In order to determine the causes of the problem and make strides to repair the damage and educate students, harder questions must be asked beyond graduation rates and math proficiencies (both important questions in identifying there is a problem, but superficial questions in regards to addressing the problem.) 

To even take a side with this lack of real questioning is to succumb to certain political and world views rather than addressing the individual school's issues. I have my own world views and could make sweeping statements based on those world views, but it would be just as uneducated as both of the persons interviewed. In order to properly govern ourselves, we need deep questions and further exploration.

I DON'T NEED NO EDUCATION

Why don't you limit enrollment?

That's what Missouri House Appropriations members asked of university presidents this week in response to the crisis facing higher education budgets in 2012. The AP quoted Rep. Rick Stream, R-Kirwood, (through the Springfield News-Leader), "As bad as 2011 looks for us, in 2012 we're going over a cliff." Elementary and secondary schools are also facing serious cuts in the coming years.

It seems to me that limiting enrollment is counter productive to boosting an economy. If people are out of work, then new skills and education are the keys to getting into a more robust field. If we limit access to higher education, then even when jobs open up, there won't be enough qualified people to fill them. I don't understand the logic when it comes to contempt for education.

EDUCATIONAL TIDBITS I THOUGHT I'D SEND YOUR WAY

JUDGE: OK FOR SCHOOL TO BAN CONFEDERATE GARB
South Carolina school banned Confederate clothing. A student sued and had her case dismissed because her attorneys did not provide sufficient evidence for her claim. The district deemed the clothing as disruptive.

CURSIVE WRITING MAY BE FADING SKILL, BUT SO WHAT?
In classrooms across the country, cursive writing is taking a back seat to reading, writing, math and other curricular needs. Texting, email and other 21st century skills have taken over the need for cursive writing. Students just don't use it any longer and many cannot read it. Studies show that most adults use a print-cursive hybrid. I either print exclusively or use a print-cursive hybrid. I never use cursive only except in my signature and it is stylized and doesn't follow cursive convention anyway.

Who hand writes letters, college entrance essays, research papers and the like anymore? I still write thank you notes, but I print them.

PATRIOTIC CROW: JROTC STUDENT BULLIES MUSLIM KID THEN LIES

SPRING HILL, FL – Last week 16-year-old Heather Lawrence, a JROTC student, walked down the school corridor and discovered a Muslim girl with a head wrap who did not stand for the Pledge of Allegiance. A few hours later, Lawrence verbally confronted the Muslim student in essence telling her to take off her religious head wrap and to stand for the Pledge.

Lawrence was suspended for bullying and the blogosphere went nuts with patriotic support for the soon-to-be Army recruit. The discipline referral, signed by assistant principal Stephen Crognale, stated:

"She began to rant that she was enlisting and was going to Iraq and that basically because the girl looks Middle Eastern, that makes her an enemy because all Iraqis are Middle Eastern."

She maintains her comments were not intended to be racial in nature. She just wanted the Muslim girl to stand for the Pledge.

Apparently, it's not bullying or harassment to hate someone's skin color if you love your country. Ethics be damned. Hate be praised. Perhaps I am being a bit too hard on the child and should give her the benefit of the doubt that she was not being hateful toward a Muslim?


HERE IS THE KICKER
SPRING HILL, FL. – The part about the Muslim girl not standing for the Pledge of Allegiance? Yeah, the JROTC member and future solider made that part up, according to school officials. Springstead principal Susan Duval said:

"This girl lied. "I have confirmed with the homeroom teacher the young (Muslim) lady stood for the pledge. She's compounded the story as an explanation as to why she felt it was okay to make a very disparaging comment to this young lady."

The strong undercurrent of Muslim hatred is deep. It was seen during the presidential election and it is alive and well today. It does not have to be that way. Minors often see the world in black and whites. It's part of the natural human development.

More than punishing the JROTC student (whose suspension has been reduced) I think it is important to find out where these irrational fears come from and work to educate people. Just because there are some bad Muslim terrorists (just like there are some bad Christian abortion bombers) we should not hate an entire group. It's not rational and I hope the community can help this girl and her family understand their wrong doing and make a change.

Despite the fervent bloggers' beliefs, the JROTC student was not patriotic in her opinion or her actions. Just because someone is a member of the armed forces does not mean they have the right to bully, or on a larger scale, torture.

ARE STANDARDIZED TESTS REALLY ALL THAT BAD?

I'll leave you with this note before I head out on vacation.

One of my favorite educational sites asks the really hard (and interesting) questions. This month's pondering centers around standardized testing. You know, the bane of the educational system. Is it really as bad as all that?

I've wondered the same, but have kept it to myself thus far. Mostly because I just wasn't sure of the answer. The MAP (Missouri's standardized test) questions I've seen have been deeper, thicker questions.

The article cited above makes the case that our skill and drill tests, those of the memorize and regurgitate facts fare, occur more on the local classroom level than on state tests.

MUSIC IN THE CLASSROOM: A BLOGGERS REQUEST

Good teachers know the power of music in the classroom. Yes, the benefits of a strong musical curriculum are numerous, but the influence of music on the achievement of students is not relegated to the music classroom.

Studies have shown that when classroom teachers use music in the classroom, students are able to focus deeply and for longer periods of time. (Click here to read more about the Alpha State Learning, and all kinds of interesting information on the connection between music and achievement.)

Mozart, Bach, Handel, et al. are perfect examples of music that is well studied on the student brain. It’s good stuff, no doubt about it. As far as focus in concerned, 50- to 80-beats per minute are ideal as is music sans lyrics. However, when we are taking a brain break we seek out music with a higher tempo to help release energy.

I can download enough classical music to fill a 60-gig iPod; it’s not a problem. I am also interested in increasing student appreciation and exposure to music by incorporating some high quality and easily recognizable jazz and blues.

This is where I need the help of my blogging community. Think of my request as a need for the Top 10 of jazz, blues, pop and hip-hop. I am also interested in Celtic instrumental and other genres. The mind is open. Understand that I am looking to help students learn, focus and concentrate. If they are exposed to the same genre all the time … well, that becomes boring.


HOW BLOGGERS CAN CONTRIBUTE
I need recommendations of jazz and blues songs or artists. Keep in mind, I cannot have songs about sex, drugs, alcohol or suicide. Please don’t recommend those. My music repertoire is too limited to be able to find the right selections.

Okay audiophiles send those comments my way. I would prefer them in the comments section as your recommendation may spark an idea of someone else. You can consider this part of your community service by helping an elementary teacher.

If anyone has any CDs they are willing to part with for the good of education, please send them my way. I have accepted a position at an elementary school and I am already preparing my classroom. Your support is sincerely appreciated.

I'd prefer comments, but you can also email me at:  fatjacksrants@mac.com

A RACE TO THE BOTTOM: THE NEW AMERICAN DREAM

Perhaps our dilemma with the influx of immigrants resides in a new, and frightfully disturbing, study on education.

You should sit down for this one, kids.

Natalia Palacios has conducted a study on immigrants and education and her findings apparently are consistent with other studies: welcome to what is now called the “Immigrant Paradox”.

The Bare Bones
The Immigrant Paradox describes what happens to educational attitudes with first generation immigrants compared to subsequent generations. The findings suggest that while first-gen immigrants are high achievers, the proceeding generations are not so lucky.

Academic success, health, substance abuse and violent behavior increase substantially between first-generation and third-generation immigrants.

I Have a Bad Feeling About This
I’ve said it before and I will say it again. There is a growing sub-group of our population that completely devalues education, to the point of ridiculing academic success and encouraging their own children to continue in the glorious family tradition of remaining uneducated and unskilled. While I sometimes feel like Quixote ranting at the windmills, the research is bearing witness to the problem. The pervasive nature of a subversive educational counter culture permeates some religious and political groups.

Celebrating ignorance is not the way, the truth or the life. To think otherwise is delusional and poisonous to our culture and our country. Seems that coming to American is good for the first group but increasingly bad for the others. Ignorance is not, and should not be, the American Dream.

Hat tip to Open Education for this riveting yet discombobulating article.

STANDARDIZED TESTS IN INDIANA MAKE ELEMENTARY KIDS CRY

Tis the season for standardized tests and I get it. I mean, I know that is how schools receive funding and it is the only way that the state assesses student performance and learning. For decades now we have coddled a system (thanks to liberal and conservative presidents) that has culminated with the Every Child Left Behind act.

Do elementary children actually cry? Yep. They freak out and sometimes have to be removed from the room. This happens to the entire pectrum of achievers. Lots of stress is placed on the Missouri's standardized test (MAP). Teachers and kids alike are on battleship alert. Nationwide, the tests get harder and harder. More rigor – everyone wants more rigor.

Click here to read this story about the kids crying at home over Indiana's standardized test. Yikes. What do we do? That depends on who you talk to. Teachers do their jobs as best they can. Students study the skills to be assessed on the test. Administrators try to encourage the best results they can. Parents try to keep their kids from freaking out.

Who is working toward changing the system? Who should be working to change the way we do things? How do we enact a full frontal educational lobotomy? Most teacher's unions are fighting to change standardized testing. We've heard rumors that politicians are unhappy with Every Child Left Behind, but can we really count on them?

THE SLOW DEATH OF CURSIVE PENMANSHIP

A growing number of educators and parents are concerned with the issue of handwriting. When I was in school it was a foregone conclusion that all students beginning in third grade would learn cursive and subsequent teachers would require it. That is, until high school where I was allowed to keyboard my papers.

Historically, our letters were a part of our culture and beautiful handwriting was as important as the content of the document. Everyone handwrote their notes, documents and letters. Nowadays we have a new culture of email, texting, twittering and blogging. It is a time when very few bother to write letters by hand. Even those that use the United States Post Office for correspondence do so, most likely, by typing on a computer and printing it out on a desktop printer. We just don’t have the need for cursive today, anymore than my grandmother needed the horsedrawn buggy to get to town, thanks to Mr. Ford.

Speaking for myself, I have adopted a hybrid handwriting technique whereby I mix print and cursive, although most of my penmanship involves printing. I often use all upper case letters like an architect. I find it more pleasing to the eye and distinctive.

The essential question facing educators lies in teaching cursive in any form. Should we or shouldn’t we? For the most part, schools continue to teach cursive; however, my sixth-grade teaching friend says that most of his students cannot read cursive writing on the white board. This despite the fact that we continue to work on cursive in schools. Another friend who is a long-time master teacher states that her adult children never write in cursive.

Does the 21st century student need cursive writing? If so, can he or she simply be taught how to read it and not how to write it? They say that takes about 15 minutes depending on one’s age. Seeing how our world is increasingly technology-based, I personally see no reason to teaching cursive except that we always have and that’s really no reason at all.

Students can go to college, take notes using print, write legibly, send letters, hand write thank you notes, and live a perfectly healthy and successful life without ever writing a single piece of cursive. As far as I can tell (with the short amount of Internet research I did) there is no legal requirement to sign your name in cursive. So what’s the point? After all, isn’t the issue really about communication, rather than the format? Proper communication only requires legibility.

Why spend 30-minutes or more everyday practicing cursive, when I could be teaching children to think deeply about core subjects. Imagine the real learning that can be accomplished when we focus on the content and learning rather than on the proper slant to my writing. We could spend that time reading a book and connecting it to our lives. We could work on skills the students will actually use in life. We could complete one more science or mathematics lesson.

IF IT'S GOOD ENOUGH FOR ME …

Busplunge quoted a contemporary and applicable diatribe about ignorance, written by Mark Slouka for Harpers, which is directly related to the classroom, and I feel compelled to continue the discussion.

As enticed as you might feel to read the piece as a rant on the red masses of America, on the conservatives, please refrain. The piece, whether intended to or not, is directly applicable to red and blue, conservative and liberal, religious and atheist, and a whole host of skin colors and ethnic backgrounds. My experience in education has demonstrated this point at least in my own mind.

There is a growing subculture of apathetic learners in the United States. It is a community of persons who view education as elitist, unattainable and unconnected to their daily lives. It is the idea of "if it was good enough for me then it's good enough for you" ideology. I see it often and it still shocks and shakes me.

At one time there were generations of parents who wanted more for their children. Who desired a better life for the progeny. Who wanted their little ones to be more, have more, attain more than themselves. Amazingly, those who can identifyy with such sentiments are finding their culture shrinking, giving way to those who wish to hold their children back.

More and more people no longer value education as an important aspect in their life. The evidence of the widespread nature of this movement can be seen on college campuses where first generation college student services are available. These services are designed for that student who comes from a family that has never had a anyone go to college. We find that these students are unduly stressed by familial expectations, anger and a lack of understanding of the requirements of school. Quite often the families push the student to quit, to stay behind, to follow paths of the rest of the family, to be like them, live like them and – I think most importantly – to not leave them behind.

What's more, and this is not based on observation as much as a hunch, is that those of us who do value an education are reproducing at smaller rates than those who reject education.

It is the job of educators to help connect children to education and demonstrate the value of life-long learning and thinking for one's self. It is a daunting task when compared to the oppostive value system being taught in some homes. We can place career seeds in our students and give them hope and purpose, a drive toward a goal even if it is a non-traditional goal such as comic creator, stand-up comedian, or dancer. Hope is a powerful thing.

I teach my kids to think ... for ... themselves. This is an issue that can be controversial. Why? Teaching children to explore, research and think beyond what they are simply told requires something that many parents can object to: exposure to different thoughts, beliefs and ideas. In fact, many parents find themselves in the precarious situation of wanting their child to think for herself so long as that thinking is in direct line with the parents' ideas. That's not thinking for self. It's a hard line for educators and we try hard to balance that line and push our students to think while not teaching the kids to think too much.

What do you think about that?

I JUST NEEDED SOME METAL

I'm sure you'll find this a bit weird, but I felt a bit restless tonight so I shuffled back to the computer to blog and surf and whatnot. I pilfered about the iTunes library trying to find the right thing when Metallica jumped out at me. Amazingly, metal is what I needed to … calm down?

I know, it doesn't make sense.

But it worked. I felt much better. It's been a while since I've had a hit of Metallica and I grooved while I played. Go figure.

Music is a technique I discovered years ago. I tend to get distracted, but when I close the door and crank the music and I can focus and work for hours – sometimes to the point that I completely ignore things going on around me.

Research studies support the use of music to help youngsters work and focus. I suppose that is a by-product of our current society. I listen to music when I drive, work, think and write. The only exception is math and reading. That's why I will use music in my classroom. No Metallica for the kiddies.

HELPING STUDENTS PARTICIPATE IN DEMOCRACY

If you are a teacher and you wish to help your students participate in tomorrow's historical inauguration, then click yourself right over to Librarianism Chronicles where you will find links to all day news coverage, facts, inauguration firsts, traditions, lesson plans and crafts.

POETRY IN THE ELEMENTARY CLASSROOM

One of the goals for teachers is to make learning authentic and relevant to our students. The purpose of such is so they will engage in the process of learning because they understand why they should learn and value that education.

We will soon begin a unit on poetry and I can just see the boys roll their eyes as they envision classic rhymed poetry about blue pools of water, love, flowers and rainbows. The very thought makes me want to puke, too. Sure, we have plenty of great poetry by Shel Silverstein and Jack Prelutsky, both of which I own and use. It's great, but there is much more to poetry than that.

With coupons in hand, Skinny Kitty, daughter and I headed to Borders to see what we could see. They didn't have too much in the way of poetry, but I did find a great gem: Hip Hop Speaks to Children. This is a poetry anthology edited by Nikki Giovanni and features both the poetry and voices of many of today's great poets and rappers.

Talk about making poetry relevant to children, this book hits home how poetry can be valued and appreciated by the 21st Century student. I am excited to use it. There is some powerful stuff inside – deep emotions, complex thoughts. It's wonderful. The book also comes with a CD of many contemporary poets and hip hop artists reading their own works and the poems of others.

For your reading pleasure, I offer you one of the pieces from the book, which comes from rapper Tupac Shakur and is read by Nikki Giovanni on the accompanying CD.

THE ROSE THAT GREW FROM CONCRETE

Did u hear about the rose that grew from a crack
in the concrete
Proving nature's laws wrong it learned 2 walk
without having feet
Funny it seems but by keeping its dreams
it learned 2 breathe fresh air
Long live the rose that grew from concrete
when no one else even cared!

Oh yeah, poetry is relevant to the contemporary student. For your information, it has long been accepted that "the normal rules of grammar do not apply in poetry".

TEACHING IS CRAZY HARD ON THE FEET

Teaching is rough work on the feet. The days of sitting behind a desk or podium and lecturing students are gone, long gone. These days the classroom is full of active learning on the part of the students and constant interaction and evaluation on the part of the teacher. While students are hard at work, we teacher-types roam the room ensuring that (1) learning is taking place, (2) that the students are grasping the concepts, (3) that the students are being properly challenged, and (4) the curriculum design is meeting the needs of the students while achieving the goals in the Grade Level Expectations (GLE) set forth by the State of Missouri.

Therefore, we do not sit unless it is lunch time. To be very honest, the amount of time I sit throughout the day (not counting lunch) is no more than 15 minutes, usually completed in 1- to 2-minute sessions. No kidding. That means the old feet are getting quite the workout throughout the day. Some of us need that much exercise (and more) so that is a very positive thing.

As sneakers are not allowed in my school, I am left wearing dress shoes and those are not conducive to standing on concrete all day. After one week of coming home with my dogs a yelling and whining, I decided something must be done. I sought out a pair of high quality shoes that teachers, nurses and doctors might wear.

I found a pair that are especially good for feet, knees and backs. If they work – and I've heard they work well from the one person that I know who owns them – then I will report back to you.

FYI: Things are going great. I am very happy and I am learning a lot from a great group of master teachers.