Saturday, August 25, 2018

My Daughter's Principal

Caution: Very personal post.

My daughter's junior high principal rarely spoke to her over the course of those two years.  That is kind of a natural thing.  Kids like her don't really get a lot of personal attention.  She was that girl that worked hard in her classes, put herself around good friends, played multiple sports and joined extra-curricular clubs.  She was the kind of kid that would just die if she had ever gotten a detention.  I can sympathize, most principals are busy putting out fires and dealing with the kids most needing adult intervention and she was not really one of them.  The problem is that I was her junior high principal and it is no longer okay for me to accept that our relationship was on hold for two very important years.

I had always been looking forward to having my daughter in my school building.  When she was in first grade, I was hired to my current position.  Before that, she was a great sidekick for me at my previous high school.  She went to my dances and games with me.  She always seemed interested in what I did.  When she was older, she would play school with one of her friends (whose mom was a teacher there) in my building until it was time to go home.  As the years ticked by, the time had come to register her at my building.


I wasn't long before my excitement about her being there would be challenged.  In the first week of school a student in one of her classes told her that the only reason she was getting to play on the softball team was because her dad buys all the equipment.  She told us this story and we laughed it off with her.  Inside, this was a huge shock to my system.  Somehow I had lost sight of the fact that kids at this age would not see her how I see her while she goes to my school.  She is always going to have the appearance of special treatment no matter how hard she worked or excelled.  She would going to exist under my shadow and this was not acceptable to me.

I started to pull away and give her the distance she needed to be insulated from me.  Junior high is tough and I never wanted to make it tougher for her.  We did not take advantage of what we knew about what was going on at school.  This was good for both of us, but it was difficult to convince others that she was never an informant for me.  Sure we exchanged small encounters but we probably never appeared to be close at school.  Thankfully, my teachers took care of the fun stuff and jokes during my fatherhood sabbatical.  She had great relationships with the staff and I am indebted to them for that.  She ended junior high with great experiences in and out of the classroom despite me having very little to do with that.

8th Grade Night

She is a freshman now and we can breathe again.  She talks non-stop about school and even though I tease her about, I kinda like it.  She is getting ready for homecoming and shopping for dresses.  It honestly doesn't bother me at all.  It takes me back to the days that she was my homecoming date at Elverado High School.  A lot has changed since then and she is a great kid.  She didn't get the credit she deserved during those two years, but now she is free from the shadow to make her own path forward.  I am truly excited for her.

So to my daughter's principal, you are getting a good one.  I promise to be a supportive parent now that I can feel like one again.  She really likes kidding around with the teachers if you could make time to do that with her.  Her mother and I will do our best to guide her from here, but we need a great principal to guide her in there.

Monday, August 20, 2018

Social Studies Teachers Rejoice

I remember when I was a social studies teacher at Mt. Vernon Township High School.  That's way back when we were on the Prairie State Exam.  Yes, social studies was on the state exam.  These days we test math, English/language arts and science but somewhere we were left out.  Was it because the social sciences such as history, civics, and economics were not important?  Of course not.  Our subject matter was just not a legislative priority and we didn't make the cut for state tests.  Don't feel left out fellow social studies teachers, it is time to rejoice.

Most of the legally required subjects to be taught in school are social studies topics.  It's true.  I remember being told this long ago when Dennis Overturf was mentoring myself and other student teachers at SIU Carbondale.  I just thought it was because he was proud to be a social studies teacher.  Years later when I began to study the School Code, I learned he was right.  I wondered back then if all these statutorily required units were the result of our legislature being frustrated with what students didn't know.  It is comforting that the law making process was executed to make sure kids learned about the Holocaust, the US Constitution and African-American history.  It seems that our lawmakers over time wanted our kids to have well-rounded social studies education experiences and I'm happy for it.

The fact that social studies has been de-emphasized on our standardized tests does not mean teaching social studies is not important.  Anyone could argue that it is more important now than ever.  As I watched the news a few night ago I wondered, what if Frank Hartman got to evaluate me teaching a lesson on fake news?  What if I had to evaluate a teacher trying to wade through the student debate and discussion over border control?  We live an a point in history that is unprecedented and will certainly re-write all of the textbooks we teach from (if we can afford them).  Social Studies teachers are incredibly important right now.  Not to tell kids how to vote or what party to belong to, but to move past asking them to memorize the preamble and start inspiring them to exercise it.

12th-grade students reported participation in civics-oriented activities

Look at the graphic above and you will see why great social studies teachers are pivotal right now.  In the general sense, we are talking about the issues but where is the action?  We need strong civics education now more than ever.  Some say the 2016 election is the result of not engaging students in civics and the democratic process.  While that is a matter of opinion, the fact that voter turnout remains low cannot be ignored.  There's no better way to prepare students for the real world like practice.  Providing students with opportunities for participation and simulations in democracy is a great way to engage our students in the process.  This is one of the essential missions of schools.  We have to make more citizens and preferably some that are informed and ready to participate.  So yes social studies teachers, you matter.  You will be the ones that inspire students through knowledge and practice to be our next voters and difference makers.  Social studies teachers, rejoice and embrace this role.

The Catch 22 Known as Social Media

 I, like many, enjoy social media.  In fact, I've always had a bit of a system.  My Facebook account is used for family and friends, Twi...