Tools of the Trade: Lack of Progress Letter

We are already into week number three of the school year in my neck of the woods. The school year is divided into four nine-week semesters. Week number four, which is looming in front of me, is the magical time when midterm grades are entered and each student’s progress is analyzed.

While many students start the year off with a bang and do very well, many struggle with suddenly having three or four different teachers and having to learn to deal with taking notes, and actually using a textbook. Please remember though, I don’t teach based on the textbook. My students use it as just one of many tools to access content, and since they are nine and ten years old part of my efforts involve teaching them HOW to use a textbook, and to extend their skills with informational reading.

By this time students have completed our first unit of study….Native Americans….and have submitted their notebook for a grade. I usually take a few classwork grades, a project grade, a quiz or two, as well as homework checks. It’s a very busy four week period. If a student ends the first four weeks of a semester with a grade of 79 or below the follow slip is sent home for parental review. This notice reaches parents BEFORE the actual midterm is handed out.

Student Name:______
Date:______________
Native Americans Test Grade _______
Notebook Grade ______

Midterm Average _____

Dear ____________,

I’m sending you this note because I am concerned regarding your child’s performance on our unit test given this past Friday. The test had been announced for several days and had been listed on my board for students to record a reminder to study in their agendas. Students also had a review sheet with every question and answer for the test in their possession to study. Each unit begins with a study guide that has all the important information you might need as parent to help oversee your child’s study.

Students cannot simply listen to me in class and “get it”. They must work with the material on their own by completing the classwork and homework assignments, and by creating and turning in their Native American project. They must review their notes and reread sections of the text on their own to grasp the concepts. Many times during the week I have students write in their agendas “Review or study notes.” Please help me by checking the agenda daily and by asking your child to see their notebook. It would also be to your child’s benefit if they brought home their Social Studies text in order to reread material we have already read in class. This study time should take no longer than 15-20 minutes. It would help students a great deal in focusing more on the concepts we are studying. I appreciate your assistance.

Elementaryhistoryteacher

I print these out on half-sheets of paper and staple them into the child’s agenda and follow up with phone calls when necessary. For parents who have children with grades below 70 this midterm note from me is not the first time they have ever heard from me. I would have already contacted them during the second or third week of school to voice my concern.

It is ludicrous to believe that you can garner a parent’s support and partnership by remaining silent for four weeks, and then allow a midterm report to express that a student is having problems.

Another classroom management topic that is appropriate for this time of the year involves classroom procedures. You can read my past posting regarding my classroom syllabus here and here.

A Carnival Announcement

Where else can you find postings regarding a concert review, John Edwards’ recent confession, a prayer attributed to Francis Drake, paintings, sewing, and the back-to-school blues all linked together in one place?

The Georgia Carnival, of course! You can find it over at my Georgia site…..Georgia on My Mind.

Yes! There's More About Fort TIconderoga...13 Things

1. Built in the narrows of Lake Champlain Fort Ticonderoga could view trade routes from the Hudson River Valley controlled by the English and the Saint Lawrence River Valley controlled by the French. My post yesterday provides more details regarding the strategic location of the fort.

2. Through its long history the fort has seen four important battles. The French constructed the fort also known as Fort Carillon in 1755 The fort’s main objective was to control Lake Champlain and keep the British from advancing into the area.

3. I always like to show students a picture of the fort and ask them….if the objective was to hold the lake why was the fort built on a bluff high above…….answer is it was important to maintain the integrity of the fort. It was harder for enemies to attack because they had to climb the walls

4. This fact didn’t keep the British from attacking during the final French and Indian War aka the Seven Years War on July 8, 1758….parts of the fort were still under construction….unfortunately the British were repulsed. This was the greatest victory for the French during the Seven Years War; however, in 1759 the Battle of Ticonderoga was fought with a British victory.

5. Surprisngly the British allowed the fort to fall into disrepair, and maintained it with a small garrison. Students are always amazed that the garrison was less than a hundred….less than 50…less than 30….more like 20. When Benedict Arnold, Ethan Allen and the Green Mountain Boys the Americans entered through a breach in the wall and it was taken without a single shot being fire. The picture below shows the side the structure where Allen entered and demanded the Fort’s surrender.

6. Cannons and gunpowder were seized and were then hauled by Henry Knox in 1775-76 to assist with the siege of Boston

7. In my post Saving History I recount how today the fort is privately owned and is considering selling off some of the artifacts in order to cure huge financial missteps and dwindling numbers of tourists. While this saddens me we probably wouldn’t have Fort Ticonderoga to visit at all if it wasn’t for the fact that the property has been privately maintained since William Ferris Pell (pictured below) purchased the property in 1820. Ironically he was the member of an exiled Loyalist family during the American Revolution.

8. Pell was a businessman, horticulturalist, and preservationist. At the time he became the owner of the property many of the locals had been pilfering the huge stones and other building materials for use on their own properties. Pell was able to secure the fort though he conducted no reconstruction.

9. Pell built a magnificent home on the grounds called The Pavilion which he later turned into a hotel. Today, along with the Fort, The Pavilion is listed on the National Register of Historic Places.

10. Pell’s great-grandson, Stephen Pell, seen below, took over the restoration of the Fort in 1908. While the Fort becomes a tourist destination, The Pavilion becomes a private family residence. Stephen Pell is credited with building the museum that the Fort is today due to the fact that he was an avid collector of Revolutionary War relics.

11. Stephen Pell was a decorated war veteran, having served in both the Spanish-American War and the First World War. You can find out more about him here

12. The official website for Fort Ticonderoga can be found here.

13. Members of the Pell family are still involved with the Fort and sit on the Fort Ticonderoga Association and Board of Trustees. A family cousin, Deborah Pell Dunning is working on a book which will detail the Pell family’s involvement with the Fort, but does not have a publisher as of this date.

There is a great online article here concerning the history and restoration of the Fort.

Other bloggers have published lists of 13 things as well today….you can find them here.

Wordless: A Stategic Location

Today’s images are the famed Fort Ticonderoga I mentioned yesterday in my post regarding selling history. The Mohawk Indians named the area Ticonderoga long before the French decided to build a fort at the location. The very word Ticonderoga means “land between the waters” meaning the peninsula where the fort was built (between 1755 and 1759) is between Lake Champlain and the drainage of Lake George (La Chute River). In fact, the fort could reach the Vermont shore with cannon fire, and anyone who had control of the Fort had control of a very important north-south water route.

The image below is another view of the Fort…You can see Fort Ticonderoga and Rattlesnake Hill (Mount Independence) from Sugarloaf Hill (Mount Defiance). Fort Ticonderoga sits on the end of the peninsula to the left. Rattlesnake Hill is the peninsula to the right. You can clearly see how the fort is strategically located where the lake narrows.

More on Fort Ticonderoga tomorrow!

Other bloggers are also posting wordless images today. You can locate them here.

It's Carnival TIme!

The Education Carnival can be seen in all its glory over at Joanne Jacobs. I can’t wait to grab my cotton candy and delve into all things education over there.

Won’t you join me?

Selling History

I had lunch on Sunday with some friends of ours and the subject of my writing came up. I mentioned that perhaps it was the heat of July and August or perhaps it was because I had been busy with numerous projects over the summer, but I just haven’t been very enthusiastic regarding my writing topics until……until I saw this article regarding Fort Ticonderoga.

I mentioned to my lunch companions that apparently the fort is a bit cash strapped because they are looking into selling some of the property’s artwork and artifacts. Instantly one of my companions remarked, “Wait, how can they do that? The government owns the fort, don’t they?”

Read the article and you will discover as I did that Fort Ticonderoga is privately owned and is only on the National Historical Register. It is not part of the National Parks Service as many historical locations are. Therefore, they can sell what they wish, and it appears they are wishing hard. One item in particular is a painting by Thomas Cole titled Gelyna: View Outside of Ticonderoga (1829). See it to your left. You can click on it to see a larger view. It’s rather interesting, don’t you think?

Apparently the money mess began when the fort’s main benefactors, Deborah and Forest E. Mars, Jr. (of candy bar fame), pulled out cold turkey because they had a problem with some of the museum folk. If you read the article I linked to above as well as this Topix thread the whole thing sounds like a financial soap opera.

Sheesh people…this is history….this is Fort Ticonderoga. Quit trifling with it over power issues.

Reforming Education

The following video is from the British television show Prime Minister. Depending on the side you’re on regarding education reform the video speaks volumes regarding the beauracracy of education and how insane it is.

How do I know the video speaks volumes? Well, I’ve sat in on meetings where I’ve heard some of the same comments. Say what you want to regarding the high level of poor parenting today, but parents are still the parents and should be able to make decisions regarding the education of their children.

Yes, the clip is a bit long, but it’s worth a laugh…..or cry.

Clicky Things

The latest edition of the Carnival of Education can be found over at Pass the Torch. Head on over and check out the latest and greatest in the edublogosphere.

….and while you’re in a clicky mood head over to IdeaBlob where Carol has a great idea regarding an afterschool program. Follow this link to read all about it. Apparently if Carol gets enough votes she will win a rather substantial sum of money to get the program rolling. Bronze: Where the least find the will to succeed…..I like that!

What's Your Message?

My dear husband forwarded this video to me earlier today, and I instantly felt it was so very important to share with those of you who visit here.



We all have a message……through our daily interactions with co-workers, parents and students, through our interaction with strangers each day, as we visit with friends, and as we parent and conduct our family life.

How our message is s delivered makes or break how it is perceived by others. If we all thought a little more about our message and could discover the best mode of delivery it would probably be a much different world.

What do you think?

I'm Fessin' Up to Infidelity....

No, no, no……it’s not what you think. Heaven forbid!

In fact Dear Hubby and I are celebrating 24 years of marriage this very day. It was an overcast, muggy day in 1984 when my beau met me at the altar of the First Baptist Church of College Park and agreed to be Mr. Elementaryhistoryteacher forever more.

What a very smart man he was and still is. I’m so glad he decided he couldn’t live without me because I was getting awfully tired of running after him. :)

We had met when he began working for my father right after graduation. He asked me out, but I couldn't go since I wasn't 16 yet. My dad had rules....and he stuck to them. Once I turned 16 I reminded my beau that I had reached the magic age, and he advised he still wanted to take me out, but I would have to wait...as he had joined the U.S. Navy and basic training was coming between us. For the next six years the Navy kept us apart except for an occaisional 30 day leave here and there. He traveled the world and I graduated high school, attended college, and became a paralegal.

After 24 years I can honestly say it was worth the wait and worth it to allow the U.S. Navy to borrow my chosen man for a bit.

Our ceremony was scheduled for 4 p.m, and as my dad and I took our place in the foyer of the church we could hear the peal of the church bells as they rang the hour and a special cadence signaling a bride was about to walk the aisle.

The pastor, Dr. Hugh McDonald, provided a very lengthy and very solid Christian wedding ceremony with vows right out of the King James Bible including not one, not two, but three heartfelt prayers said over us in his native Scottish brogue. Just in case you are wondering THIS bride proudly announced to the world she WOULD OBEY, and I’ve never regretted it.

So, I’m sure you’re wondering about my reference to infidelity. It’s rather simple. Regular readers around here know that posting has been a bit irregular over the summer, and I’ve been downright quiet of late.

I have to admit to you I’ve been a bit busy with another blog. No, not Georgia on My Mind. I fessed up to that a long time ago. No, not my Bible history site……, no not American Presidents…..Sadly I’ve been so busy I haven’t posted there in weeks :(

The other blog I’m referring to is a project for the Historical Committee at my church, and I’d like to share it with you. My church has been around since 1946 and has quite a history of growth and mission work. Over the years a few very dedicated ladies have painstakenly collected and saved all sorts of items for our historical archives including meeting minutes, pictures, church bulletins, deeds, written histories and other memorabilia. My thought, which I shared with the other members of the historical committee, was why should our treasure trove of items be sitting alone in a closet where the oldest pictures had begun to fade, and paper items were becoming more and more brittle?

Digitizing the collection would protect valuable data, plus it would also enable us to share the collection with our fellow church members and the world at large. Luckily the committee agreed with me, and I have been very busy this summer creating the new blog, First Baptist Church, Lithia Springs...a History.

Head on over and take a look around, but pardon me if I’m not there to welcome you.

I have an anniversary to celebrate!

Monday Mirth: Oh, If We Only Could...

A friend of mine forwarded the following to me via email. This has apparently been around the email block a few times and there is a story behind it…..Educators can certainly understand why this would be a “dream message” to place on the school answering machine, but it didn’t really happen. You can read the whole story over at Snopes.com.

Here is the message that the Pacific Palisades High School California staff voted unanimously to record on their school telephone answering machine.

This is the actual answering machine message for the school. This came about because they implemented a policy requiring students and parents to be responsible for their children's absences and missing homework.

The school and teachers are being sued by parents who want their children's failing grades changed to passing grades - even though those children were absent 15-30 times during the semester and did not complete enough school work to pass their classes.

The outgoing message:

Hello! You have reached the automated answering service of your school. In order to assist you in connecting to the right staff member, please listen to all the options before making a selection:

To lie about why your child is absent - Press 1

To make excuses for why your child did not do his work -Press 2

To complain about what we do - Press 3

To swear at staff members - Press 4

To ask why you didn't get information that was already enclosed in your newsletter and several flyers mailed to you - Press 5

If you want us to raise your child - Press 6

If you want to reach out and touch, slap or hit someone - Press 7

To request another teacher, for the third time this year - Press 8

To complain about bus transportation - Press 9

To complain about school lunches - Press 0

If you realize this is the real world and your child must be accountable and responsible for his/her own behavior, class work, homework and that it's not the teachers' fault for your child's lack of effort: Hang up and have a nice day!

13 Things: King George's War

1.King George’s War, as it was known in the colonies, was fought from 1744 to 1748. Its European counterpart was known as the War of Austrian Succession. and it actually has a starting date of 1740. It was touched off with the death of Charles VI, the Holy Roman Emperor where a succession crisis resulted in France, Prussia, and Spain taking up arms against the British. While the European details of this nice little war are very interesting I usually stick to the events in the colonies for my fourth graders.

2.You might have heard of the French and Indian War. It is often taught in conjunction with events leading up to the American Revolution, however, there were actually four such French and Indian Wars dating back to 1689, and King George’s War is the third one.

3. Events in North America actually kicked of in 1739 with a series of skirmishes known as the War of Jenkin’s Ear which was between the Spanish and the British. The events were mainly confined to the Caribbean Sea and in the Georgia colony. When France became an ally of Spain in 1744 the matter escalated into King George’s War.

4. Warfare developed in the American colonies in 1744 when the French attacked a British position at Canso, Nova Scotia. Canso was an important New England fishery. During the 1720s and 1730s it employed over 3,000 fishermen. Since it was only sixty miles by sea from Louisbourg, a major French stronghold, the French felt threatened by the British presence and attacked Canso.

5. With only eighty-seven soldiers defending rudimentary fortifications, the British surrendered after a short bombardment and minimal resistance. The French destroyed both the fortifications and the settlement and took the garrison, their families, and a few fishermen back to Louisbourg as prisoners.

6. The French also attempted to recapture Port Royal (Annapolis Royal), but failed.
7. One major accomplishment of the British during the war was to seize Fort Louisbourg in 1745. It was a French fortress located on Cape Breton Island, located at the mouth of the St. Lawrence River. The image with this post is the shoreline at Cape Breton.

8. In order to take the fort a force of more than 4,000 men was raised under William Pepperrell, a wealthy merchant from Maine. Assigned the daunting task of taking Louisbourg, they would shortly assault what was regarded as the most secure position in North America.

9. Sir Peter Warren and his naval contingent provided valuable assistance by preventing reinforcements from reaching the French fort. A two-month siege ended in June when British soldiers staged a heroic (and almost comic) raid on the fortress, forcing its capitulation. George II later rewarded Pepperrell with a baronetcy, the first American colonist so honored.

10. Fort Louisbourg was a very important location for the French to hold and prime real estate for the British to capture. Why? The St. Lawrence River gave the French an important route to move goods and people inland. From Fort Louisbourg French settlers could set out for Quebec and Montreal….two towns that depended on access to the Atlantic Ocean.

11. Once Fort Louisbourg was captured by the British the fur trade that the French and their Indian alllies depended upon was disrupted. The movement of manufactured European goods into the hands of French merchants was also disrupted. Now they had nothing to trade with Native American to maintain their allies. Native Americans in the Ohio River Valley quickly became the trading partners of British merchants who gladly stepped in to fill the void.

12. The treaty I highlighted yesterday (printed by none other than Benjamin Franklin) in my wordless image seen here resulted in the Iroquois and an intercolonial force forming in northern New York for an attack against Canada. Though the forces camped at Albany for the entire winter, the regulars never arrived resulting in a thwarted attack against Canada.

13. Peace was achieved with the Treaty of Aix-la-Chapelle in 1748. In return for receiving Madras in India, the British returned Louisbourg to the French, thus nullifying the greatest victory American forces had ever won. Anger in the colonies was so great that London responded by reimbursing the colonial governments for funds spent earlier on the Pepperrell campaign.

It would be another 15 years before the disputes between the French and the British were finally settled. Fighting resumed in 1754 between the two adversaries in North America with the outbreak of the French and Indian War (yes, the one most of us know about). The war speread to Europe two years later and is remembered as the Seven Years War.

You can find other bloggers participating in Thursday Thirteen here.

Wordless: Ben Franklin's Treaty

If you are a regular around here you know this is about as wordless as I can possibly get. :)

This treaty was printed by Ben Franklin in 1746. It is between the provinces of New York, Massachusetts, Connecticut, and Pennsylvania and the Indians of the Six Nations.

The Six Nations were also referred to as the Iroqois Confederation and included the Mohawk, Oneida, Onondaga, the Cayuga, the Seneca, and the Tuscarora tribes. This treaty arose during a time period referred to as King George’s War. In Europe, this same time period (1740-1748) is known as the War of Austrian Succession. Prior to 1763 there were four such wars involving the British, the French, and Indians…..the one mentioned in the treaty pictured here is the third war. The treaty explains that members of the Six Nations will fight on the side of the British against the French in the colonies.

The image seen here was obtained here….a great source for Political Science images through American History.

Find other bloggers participating in Wordless Wednesday here.

Mirth For Monday

I may be his momma, but I’m not eactly exaggerating when I say my son has a little talent. His talents include a fantastic singing voice, self-taught guitar skills, and an ability to immerse himself in various musical roles he undertook in high school.

It was no surprise when Dear Son called me over the weekend and directed me to the YouTube video I’m featuring below asking, “Hey Mama, ya wanna see me in a starring role?”

Well, of course I did, and I hurried right over to the link he provided. So, I present here my son in the starring role of Jeff Goes to College, a short promotional video for this year’s orientation at Truett McConnell College. Yes, that place....the place that gladly takes thousands of dollars each year from us. :)



Yep, that’s my boy……the one in the bear suit. When he’s not a YouTube star my son is busy pursuing a history degree….at least that’s his story for this week.

Enjoy your Monday!

An Empty Retention Policy

An article from the Atlanta Journal last week states, Georgia's high-stakes testing program isn't so high-stakes after all. A state law aimed at stopping so-called "social promotion" says students in grades 3, 5 and 8 should repeat the year when they fail certain standardized tests.

But school districts are promoting the vast majority of those students anyway, even if they fail a second-chance retest, or blow it off altogether, an analysis of 2006 and 2007 state data by The Atlanta Journal-Constitution reveals.

Gee, media folks….what took you so long? It’s been that way from my vantage point for the last six years, at least. I guess it just took 46,000 8th graders failing the math portion statewide this year for others to begin to see a pattern.

Of course, here in the Peach state it isn’t just one portion of the test that MIGHT keep a student in the 3rd, 5th, or 8th grade from advancing. The student has to fail the math and the language arts portions to be considered a candidate for retention in the 5th and 8th grades while reading MIGHT hold you back in the 3rd.

I use the word MIGHT because it is rare to have a meeting with parents and administrators regarding a student who failed the test and the student actually be retained. The procedures state that all stakeholders….administrator, teachers, and parents must be in agreement regarding the outcome of an evaluation meeting following failing test scores. Sometimes the parent objects so strongly the administrator relents. Other times….and this is what I normally see…..the administrator comes to the team of teachers prior to the parent meeting and advises that unless the student has excessive absences he or she will be passed along no matter what. In other words we are to play the game, talk the child up, and pass him or her along. While the procedures indicate that school officials take into account all data regarding whether the child is retained or not the data is often ignored or glossed over with platitudes such as, “Well, little Jimmy didn’t have a good a year because of this, that or the other, but with a little focus he’s going to have a great year in the next grade.”

This makes me physically ill.

I’m tired of retention language worded in such a way that everyone has an out….”might”, “could be”, “can be”. What about “will be”?

Unfortunately classroom teachers aren’t given much of a choice in the matter. I’m gong to endure the ire of an administrator by speaking my mind when I have been told privately we won’t be retaining a certain group of students no matter what? I’m going to run the risk of suddenly not having a contract or suddenly finding myself in a different school due to a county mandated transfer? When teachers do question this practice administrators generally state they are following directives from the county. Hmmmm….and I wonder who the county receives their directives from?

Over the last few years I’ve watched children progress to the next grade who rarely turned in assignments, children who rarely opened a book, children with a majority of Fs on their report card, children whose parents have been literally begged to come in and work with us on creating a plan for their student’s success (always a no show), or children who only succeeded during the school day by disrupting every lesson in some form or fashion.

These are the same children who finished each 60 question test within 15 minutes of the start time though they had 45 to 60 minutes to carefully think about their answers, and they refused to check their work when asked. The two week testing window was merely an elongated nap period where during the more lucid moments the child could create pretty designs by coloring in patterns with the answer sheet bubbles.

Yes, he should have scored at least a 300 on this test, unfortunately he only scored a 98. He did bubble in his name correctly, however. Enjoy the next grade level!

I understand the research that shows retention very rarely ever cures the problem, and personally within the small group of students I’ve ever been allowed to retain only one made any real turn-around or progress during the year they repeated with me.

However, are we really solving our problems by allowing students to progress to the next grade when they are clearly not ready?

Most of the children I have seen in this predicament didnt' suddenly have a bad year in 3rd, 5th, or 8th grade. They have had a myriad of problems from day one....from first grade or even before.

[In the article, State Superintendent Kathy Cox defends] schools' use of the appeal process, which allows promotion if the principal, parent and teacher agree. When she worked on the bill as a state representative, she said, she believed it would be used mainly to identify and help struggling students — not to retain large numbers of them. She said retention "should be a last resort."

Legislators and government types are confused, however, and who can blame them? Their intent with the retention portion of the law was to stop the process of advancing children and pushing them along before they were ready for the next grade.

The Atlanta Journal was also able to uncover that since the law went into effect, the state education department has not looked yearly at how many students were retained because of the tests.

Excuse me? I’m required to keep all sorts of classroom data from textbook information, my own test scores over a period of time, personal data on every student including all of their test scores since day one of their school career so I can analyze it myself to produce a program of action to help the student achieve, analyze noticeable trends and problem areas in my teaching and yet the Georgia Department of Education isn’t tracking how many students are retained each year who don’t pass muster on “the test”?

In their own examination The Atlanta Journal was able to uncover that during the years 2006 and 2007 10 to 20 percent of students failed on their first try with “the test.” Of that 10 to 20 percent only 2.5 percent of eighth-grade testers, 1.7 percent of fifth-grade testers, and 2.9 percent third-grade testers were ultimately retained.

It has been widely reported that over 46,000 eighth graders failed the math portion of the CRCT this past spring. This is a dismal, dismal statistic that clearly indicates problems with the standards, problems with “the test”, problems with the teaching, and problems with the students.

However, even in 2007 the total number of eighth graders who failed the math porton was 9,500…..While better than 46,000 it still is not anything to write home about. Unfortunately The Atlanta Journal discovered that of those 9,500 students a whopping 92 percent were able to progress on to high school even though they did not pass “the test.”

Is it any wonder our high schools have to add so many remedial math courses? After high school the cycle continues with colleges having to add more and more remedial math classes.

When are we going to admit that our “one-size-fits-all” test isn’t working as a true measure of student success….or even more importantly when are we going to admit that the damned test, as I lovingly refer to it, isn’t working as a true measure of student failure either?

Happy Fourth!

From my front porch….

To my back porch….

I hope you have a very happy Fourth of July.

You can find links to some of my postings regarding the Fourth of July here.

Over at Georgia on My Mind you can enjoy the 39th Georgia Blog Carnival.

Lazy Days of Summer?

Well, it’s Wednesday and I have done absolutely nothing here since Friday.

Sorry.

I’ve had way too many projects placed in my “in” box lately. I need the word “no” stamped on my forehead. I’m overwhelmed and under pressure.

Now the Fourth of July is looming and it doesn’t look like anything worth saying will be emitted from my keyboard until the weekend.

While I am slogging away through a "to do" list that is longer than Santa's naughty list, you can keep busy with the latest edition of the Carnival of Education found at An (aspiring) Educator's Blog.

Carnegie Libraries: 13 Things

1. Andrew Carnegie was a originally from Scotland, but made millions in America from the steel industry during the late 1800s.

2. He used his millions for philanthropy and education funding institutions such as Carnegie Mellon University in Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania and many other worthwhile endeavors.

3. Last year Forbes estimated his fortune at $298.3 BILLION dollars based on 2007 dollars. Carnegie's best known quote regarding his wealth was something along the lines that he spent the first half of his life making his fortune, and the second half giving it all away.

4. Like any historical figure there are some aspects of his life that bear scrutiny. Carnegie has been classified as a robber baron and rightly so, but his philanthropic efforts should be recognized as well.

5. More than 2,500 libraries were built with Carnegie’s money from locations in the United States, Europe, and even Fiji.

6. U.S. towns that were lucky enough to snag the funds for a Carnegie library were given the gift of great architecture and access to great books. Generally, each library was unique to its local with regard to design. Many styles include the Beaux-Arts, Italian Renaissance, Baroque, Classical Revivial, and Spanish Colonial.

7. Each community was able to choose their own style and had contol over the building, however, there are many features to each and every library that became commonplace. Most of the Carnegie libraries were entered via a main entrance with a staircase symbolizing the person’s choice to elevate by learning. A lampost could also be found outside most libraries symbolizing enlightenment.

8. Why libraries? Carnegie could have given his money for many worthwhile causes, and he did, but libraries and the love of reading remained at the top of the philanthropist’s list. This is mainly due to his own experiences as an immigrant. He credited books and his self-education as one of the ingredients to his success in business.

9. Carnegie’s name rarely appeared on the libraries, but there were usually other mottos and sayings carved into the buildings. Most of the doorways were topped with the saying, “Let there be light.”

10. “The Carnegie Forumla” was the foundation most of the libraries were built upon. The formula applied for each library grant stated each community had to demonstrate their need for a public library, they had to provide the building site, and the town had to anually provide ten percent of the cost of the library’s construction to support its operation (at the time this was generally $2.00 per person residing in the community).

11. There were some U.S. communities that actually refused to ask Carnegie for a library grant even though they were rarely refused. This was due to the many questionable business practices and his status as a Robber Baron.

12. Don’t you just love wandering around a library? It didn’t used to be that way. The stacks were closed and you had to have a topic in mind in order to get your hands on a book since the librarian was the one who removed books from the shelves. Carnegie libraries stopped this practice. The stacks were open and patrons were free to explore.

13. Today many Carnegie libraries are gone forever to the wrecking ball, but many other locations are still operating libraries or have been converted to museums, community centers, office buildings, and some are even residences.

Over at Georgia on My Mind I’ve posted references to two of Atlanta’s Carnegie libraries. One is gone forever, yet a part of it will remain part of the landscape for some time to come. Another location is no longer a library…..Today, its unique use fits into the Atlanta neighborhood that passionately claims it.

The above pictures are all various Carnegie libraries.

Great resources to learn more about Carnegie libraries can be found here, here, and here.

You can find more bloggers participating in Thursday Thirteen here

A Place That Makes You Think

This is my husband. He has just walked down the steps of the Jefferson Memorial and is looking out across to the Washington Memorial. How can you visit Washington D.C. and not be reduced many times to moments of reflection? This place makes you think about the ones that came before us and how important it is to preserve their dream.

You can find other blogs participating in Wordless Wednesday here.

Also the Education Carnival (including a post of mine) is up over at Where's the Sun?

It's the Teachers, Stupid!

As many of you know I began another blog sometime ago that is focused solely on my homestate of Georgia and blogs authored by folks from the Peach State. Recently the 38th Carnival for Georgia Bloggers posted at Georgia on My Mind, and one post in particular stood out for me on a personal level.

Ethan over at Never Clever Whatsoever has just completed the 8th grade and has just survived Georgia’s mandated CRCT testing. While many education-types have opined their opinion regarding why approximately 70% of Georgia’s sixth and seventh graders failed the social studies section Ethan has articulated in his words another rant about Georgia's CRCT Scores that is in strong contrast to the same educrat excuse of, “Well, we rolled out these new standards…..”

I left two rather long comments for Ethan, and he decided others should see our conversation, so he posted replies to my first and second comments where he recreates my comments and his responses.

I strongly encourage educators to take a moment and head over there and let Ethan know what you think.

While I have never been one to outwardly criticize a colleague regarding his or her teaching style I cannot fathom an 8th grade student taking the CRCT and not knowing why the names Hartsfield and Maynard Jackson are attached to one of the busiest airports in the world!

Yes, as I mentioned in my comments there are many, many reasons why students would do poorly on an assessment, but Ethan doesn’t appear to be the kind of student we would dread to have in our classrooms.

The 8th grade Georgia standards that were in effect during Ethan’s school year can be found here. Standard number SS8H10 states the student will evaluate key post-WWII development of Georgia from 1945 through 1970 with element b. going a bit futher to state explain how the development of Atlanta, including the roles of mayors William B. Hartsfield and Ivan Allen, Jr., and major league sports, contributed to the growth of Georgia. State standard SS8H11 states the student will evaluate the role of Georgia in the modern civil rights era with element b mentioning the election of Maynard Jackson as mayor of Atlanta. Gee, isn’t that clear as a bell? Wouldn’t these men and their actions be at the forefront of your lessons regarding this time period?

There it is…..current standards every 8th teacher should have in their possession and mentioned by name are two individuals students should know. If that’s not enough to convince a teacher to mention these two men state standard SS8G2 mentions the role of the Hartsfield-Jackson International Airport and its impact on the state’s economy. Wouldn't this standard be a great opportunity to reinforce who Hartsfield and Jackson were?

Since the 1960s and 70s are usually taught later in the year it would be easy to say that Ethan’s teacher just simply ran out of time. We all do that, and we all say that’s the reason students did poorly on a state test, but Ethan also brought up the name Mary Musgrove in Georgia history, and she would have been taught early in the year and yes…..the standard involved (SS8H2a) mentions her by name and asks the student to explain her importance.

Ethan’s experience bothers me greatly. While we as educators can sit around the table and plan units and lessons, while we state we have an understanding of the standards and have included all of them in our plans, and while we have the standards clearly referenced in our plan books for any observer to check off when they stop by the classroom clearly some of us are walking the walk, but not talking the talk. Now I can understand a colleague blowing off things like various required teaching strategies from time to time, but blowing off the standards where it is very clear what students need to know for that grade level I can't even fathom. Aren't the standards the foundation of every lesson? Don't we start with the standards?

Clearly…when the door is closed something else is going on, and it’s not teaching the standards. What’s it going to take? Weekly visits to the classroom to listen to lessons, to interview the students, to actually hand some teachers a scripted lesson plan to make sure the standards are taught?

My title is a bit harsh. I know there are a myriad number of reasons why the damn tests don't work, but here we have a student who knows he wasn't taught specific key material to the subject matter, and there simply is no excuse.