Another Perspective on the Teacher Shortage

Although this is not a new issue, I began giving this real thought in the last couple of weeks.  Thanks to some Tweeting by Scott England and a good conversation with Senator Dale Fowler, I began to actually consider not just the complexity of the problem but a side that maybe we don't talk about enough.

I first encountered the beginnings of the shortage several years ago when I struggled to find Family Consumer Science candidates for my high school.  Traditional posting was not getting any applicants and conversations with SIUC were revealing the fact that they just weren't turning out any teachers.    On top of that, there were not many avenues for non-traditional certification for this obvious area of shortage.  We eventually clawed our way to a provisional certificate for a teacher that only stayed two years.  

The Illinois State Board published it's response to the issue this year with a seven point plan for tackling the problem.  It promotes practices that educators have known could be effective, but we had to get to an alarming juncture to push action.  Senator Fowler says this is legislative priority for him and it should be.  Our region is not only having trouble finding teachers, it is having trouble making teachers.

I love telling the story of my first paycheck, that is to say that I forgot I was getting paid to teach.  I was so in love with my work that when my first check arrived, it was a happy surprise.  The difference between now and then is that I'm not a Millennial.   I come from the time of thinking that a college degree equals not only success, but happiness.  Millennials just don't feel this way.  In fact, there are a good number of them that support charters and vouchers if it means a better education for a student that might not otherwise get one.  Other polling and research suggests that Millennials see teaching for average people and that the profession is undervalued.  If they don't see college as valuable to being successful and that teachers are just average people, what chance do we have to convince them to go into teaching.  After all, college is a financial commitment these days.

A contributing factor to the teacher shortage is the student debt situation in this country.  I willingly took on my debt as a social mobility tool.  That was my way out of poverty, but for some student loans keep people indebted for life.  Forbes offers staggering statistics about the $1.5 Trillion that we owe nationally in student loan debt.  Let's put two and two together.  Young people that already struggle to see the value of college to be successful will be hard to convince that they should take on a large amount of debt to make a difference.  This is not something you will find in ISBE's seven point plan but it is a reality we need to address.  Check the graphic below.  It is a problem in Illinois.

It is not wrong to say that we need to change the rules and laws around teacher recruitment, preparation and retention.  It is definitely needed.  As all challenges worth taking up, there are several points of entry and the desire to actually go to college to be a teacher is one of them.  I can preach all day about how awesome it is to be a teacher and how it has changed my life, but it feels like the commitment to get there may be too much for so many.  Sure there are programs for student loan debt relief for teachers, but you have to teach for five years to qualify for them.  That doesn't attract people to the profession.  Maybe this needs to be an area of policy consideration too.  It may just help address our teacher shortage.

The Best Version of Yourself

It seems like this year I have encountered lots of disappointment in the various arenas of my world.  That is not to say that normally I do not have to manage differing degrees of disappointment but recently it sure seems like it is dominating most discussions.  It is taking many forms too.  Job dissatisfaction, mad at teachers or coaches, politics, and just plain being down on life are daily conversations and it can really wear on a guy.  I try hard to listen and be accommodating, but I really try hard not to let it bring me down too.

The best response I can give these poor souls is to just be the best version of yourself that you can be.  I think that is all you can do to make it in a complex world with so many twists and turns.  When you are being the best version of yourself that you can be, the noise just starts to go away and you are confident in your decision making.  So how can one do this? 

Live off of your uniqueness, not your troubles.  Everyone has a talent, skill, quality or characteristic that makes them unique in some way.  I attended a training last week in which a speaker told the crowd that they were not special.  He further explained that each of us were miracles instead.  He pointed out the the odds and probability of just being in that room at that time.  What are the chances that your parents would meet and their parents and so on.  The math is difficult to grasp, but he had a point.  There is really no one just like you and you should see your station in life as an opportunity.

Let your faith guide you.  I don't care what faith you belong to, but all of them ask this of us.  This is no accident.  As Christians we are asked to chase Christ's example and love others as God has loved us.  To forgive others as God forgave us seems to be the speed bump that we all hit.  People do wrong us at times and it makes us question and compromise the best version of ourselves.  Stay the course my friends.  If we all forgave each other collectively without any expectation of reciprocity, it would make a huge impact on how we live and treat each other.

People will gravitate towards your best version.  This is the best part of being the best version of yourself.  All of your relationships will be more genuine and rewarding.  When people value you for your uniqueness and kindness, they will want nothing exchange from you other than to be part of your world.  Can you identify those who are always demanding more of you?  More than simply being part of your experience on this Earth?  We all know who the toxic people are because they are easy to spot, but don't alienate yourself from the people that really get you.  They deserve your time.

I know all this sounds elementary and not really a ground breaking set of ideas.  Think about it.  We let conflicts convince ourselves that we are not good at being us.  We often ignore the messages of our faith instead of setting guideposts based on it.  We build relationships around give and take  instead of how people can compliment us, and then complain about all the drama.  Just be the best version of yourself that you can be.  It's difficult but I'm working on it.  Life's too short to be unhappy.

What about Free Lunch Kids and Sports?

In January I get the opportunity to provide a full day training on the perceptions of poverty and best practices for the school environment.  I am a little geeked up about this.  I finished the slides over a month ago but I still keep my radar on for anything I may have missed as it relates to students of poverty and how to reach them.  As I was leaving one day, the custodian pointed out that the boys basketball list had been posted outside the gym and some that came to see it were a little disappointed.  He said some of them remarked that only the "rich" kids made the team like they always do.

My knee jerk reaction was to disagree with the comment.  I new first hand how many pairs of shoes I had bought for kids that could not afford them.  I also took issue with the idea that we have "rich" kids in our school because we certainly don't.  After I spent some time trying to discredit the statement, I could not.  There is some truth behind what was said.  The gaps between free lunch kids and middle class kids are evident in all areas of schooling, including athletics.

Think about how the lack of resources effects the free lunch kid.  I had a colleague that told me a while back that he had to pick up some of his kids on the way to practice.  I was in my administrative internship so I cringed at the notion that he was putting kids in his car.  While he made me nervous about it, I realized that he was placing the relationship with his players above liability.  I've also seen coaches kick kids off of their teams because they missed practices due to a lack of a ride.  These are two extremes but there has to be a middle ground.  I would say there is a way to have high expectations and still establish the needed relationship that the free lunch kid needs.

Often, teams require the purchasing of extras for the players.  This might mean team shoes, bags, shooting shirts and what have you.  This is daunting to a family that does not have the funds to buy these things.  It may turn away those kids that desperately need the relationship that a coach and a team can provide.  This is where the illusion of players being the "rich kids" comes in.  If you have fancy things, you have money.  The lack of resources should not interrupt the the possibilities that await a good athlete that happens to be a free lunch kid.

While these seem to be two obvious examples, they can be overcome by being creative and showing your free lunch kid athletes that you care about the player/coach relationship.  If the culture/climate of your team works to overcome barriers such as these,  you might just end up with a group of good athletes, willing to be coached.  I know we often say that you don't just pick a player, you also pick their parents.  Coaches sometimes avoid kids because of their poverty baggage and its just easier to pick someone else.  If anything, we need to recognize their talent first and that baggage later.  Our faith in them speaks volumes to a free lunch kid, just like it did for me.

If you are interested in my workshop, follow this link to register.  I feel that topics we will address are real to our area and the kids we serve.  I also feel the responsibility to speak for these kids because I used to be one.  If you have any questions about the workshop feel free to contact me at ccass810@gmail.com. 

You Should Never Miss an IPA Fall Conference

I remember my first IPA fall conference.  It was my first year as a principal and by October you start getting that feeling that you are now an island to yourself.  In small districts like ours, you are usually the only administrator in the building and you don't get many chances to bounce ideas off of people like you.  I was having a good year but as a rookie, you have a lot of uncertainty that you need professional networking to fix.  I remember walking into the Peoria Civic Center that first morning to the general session.  I looked around and not only spotted familiar faces but soon realized that these were my people.  A building filled with people that do what you do for a living.  They understand the ups and downs of the field and they have shared experiences with you.  Throughout my masters program, Dr. Colwell continuously preached that we should join the IPA and upon my arrival at my first fall conference I finally understood why.

As I moved from session to session and the general sessions, I could see the special-ness of the IPA playing out before me.  I was beyond impressed with the organization and the presentation of the event as well as how the IPA honors it's members.  I watched the Principal of the Year honorees accept their awards and thinking how cool it would be if that was me.  Eventually, I got my chance to walk across the stage.  I have had the opportunity to present a small group session and do an ignite session last year.  I was very motivated to get involved after that first fall conference.  I have served on state committees, the conference planning committee and I recently took on the honor of being region director for the Egyptian Region.  My experiences over the years with the IPA have been very rewarding and I credit the organization for so much of my development as a school administrator.

This conference is one you can't miss from year to year.  Yes you get to see old friends and talk shop, but the learning opportunities are top notch.  Look through the small group sessions and tell me you can't find something that is beneficial to your building.  Personally, there are many sessions I could go to that could potentially impact my building.  We are re-branding this year.  There is a session for that.  We are constantly talking about the value of homework.  There is a session for that too.  Really, there is no excuse not to make the trip to Springfield to take advantage of these and many other professional development possibilities.

If you have been on the fence for some reason and have yet to register, what are you waiting on?  Go online and register so you can see what adventures await.

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.

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.



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.

Raising the White Flag on Cellphones

We are approaching a new school year and people like me start to get excited.  The promise of a new year and new opportunities is always something to look forward to.  You spend a summer fixing old challenges and creating new programs or policies.  As we approach August I have been seeing a lot more reports of schools banning cell phones from the classroom and I am now running across research support on the topic as well.  It seems that schools are beginning to raise the white flag on phones despite some earlier excitement about BYOD.

It is surely no secret that I am a BYOD supporter and that I lead a BYOD school.  I recognize that all schools are different and have unique needs.  It is completely within their scope to design their own policies when it comes to what takes place in their buildings and how they use the technology resources they have.  I would like to offer a couple counter points for those schools that simply see them as a distraction to classroom instruction.

My fist question would be, What is your policy climate like?  If your policy is as simple as they are allowed or not allowed, maybe the big picture is being missed.  BYOD is not as simple as the existence of personal devices in a school building.  It is an ed tech instructional initiative.  Your policy should include how students will use their devices as learning tools and the teaching staff has to actually model and support that activity.  Instructional initiatives take planning and follow up after implementation.  Sustaining BYOD is hard work and requires commitment.  Just like any other curriculum or instructional endeavor it takes dedicated people to make it work. 

My next question would be, Are your classrooms engaging?  When I was a kid, there were plenty of distracted students and we didn't have cell phones.  Kids were passing notes, doodling in their notebooks, carving in desks or just plain sleeping.  Those kids, and sometimes me, were simply not being engaged in learning.  I taught once upon a time and I know you can't reach them all, but I never stopped trying.  An engaging classroom environment will prevent distractions.  Lets not forget that a good set of classroom procedures for devices will help too.  Teachers, with proper administrative support, are the key to every success in a school building. 

Cellphones are not going away. They represent a skill set to be managed. They are not a fad that will go away so we should be addressing them and finding a way to leverage their power in the school setting.  I've said before that you have to find a way to win with what you have.  If the kids are on devices, then we should be beating them to the punch make them relevant tools in school.  We also complain that they behave horribly on their phones and they have poor habits.  That's very true, but shouldn’t we be the change we want to see in them?  If we are modeling that devices as tools and not toys, the students will respond.  We need to be catalysts of change and progress and not throwing up a white flag.