Posted on

Without a paddle.

paddle

Let me be very clear: I am not planning to, do not want to, will never, and don’t agree with corporal punishment in schools. Aside from the fact I would lose my job, I don’t think it’s remotely okay for personnel at schools to be associated with paddling students.

Glad we got that out of the way.

What I’m talking about, though, is desperation.

Like many controversial topics, two heated sides flare up over extremes of right and wrong. The Temple, Texas school district is considering bringing back the ‘paddle.’ And I would like to ask, if it worked so well before, why did ‘we’ get rid of its use? Because it didn’t work, that’s why. One thing really jumped out at me in the article, and that was the disproportionate use of paddling for children who have psychological behavioral issues and, or are male. Boys.

Boys get paddled more.

Which tells me when a teacher has lost control, (which I understand, and do not throw rocks at glass whiteboards), and it’s the desperation and exasperation that dictates there is no other option. When corporal punishment is metered out at that juncture, it’s already too late.

I’m also not suggesting that parents start spanking children. Child-rearing experts agree this isn’t okay for a multitude of reasons. It takes so much patience, consistency, and sheer will to raise a child. And when said child is a toddler, it’s like trying to reason with a drunken goat. I made mistakes as a parent, all parents do. But here’s what I’m suggesting: read. Yes. Read. (There is hardly a problem I can’t solve with books.)

There are so many great parenting magazines and books out there. Many of them will make a new parent dizzy from all of the advice. But why aren’t parents reading baby and child rearing books anymore? Or, is it just an elite few of suburban moms who go on-line and blog about their babies? Who make each other feel guilty over trifling child-rearing issues? But some of those parents create a spoiled, entitled brat too. So, perhaps there are many factors why parents aren’t seeking parenting guidance: Maybe they can’t read as well as they’d like, or don’t have time or access to public libraries, language barriers, or they leave their consistent parenting skills when they go to work in the less-than-capable hands of a boyfriend who watches the baby (and there are some tragic stories about this scenario, more than I care to name).

Many of my students have to parent themselves. And since I don’t see any real change coming in the socio-economic statuses of the good people of our nation, rich or poor, this may be a call for substantial early childhood education. Since parents don’t seem up to the task of raising their babies and toddlers with consistent love and firm guidance, perhaps the state can?

Nothing replaces a mommy’s or daddy’s lap during story time. Nothing replaces a mother’s look of happiness or disapproval when her child is checking for reactions to behavior.

How about we decide, as a nation, as a society, to help young parents more, give them the time they need to learn how to parent, how to protect, how to guide, and how to nuture their children, and add more early-childhood education? If going back to the paddle is one of the options that’s still on the table, then we are failing.

Teachers and parents: If you know a young parent who may be struggling, offer help. My dad always said parenting is the toughest job in the world given to amateurs.

http://www.drspock.com/

http://www.amazon.com/What-Expect-First-Arlene-Eisenberg/dp/0894805770

PS Thanks, Betty’s Blog, too: http://bettyb.teacherlingo.com/archive/2010/04/18/bringing-paddling-back.aspx

Posted on

Am I stifling your creativity?

young-artist

 There is a teacher’s blog I read that I really like. His philosophies are extreme, and I kind of like the unbalanced, spinning-my-head feeling after reading his writing. I certainly don’t agree with everything he believes, and I would guess he wouldn’t agree with anything I write. But I’m just trying to figure this out, and am a work in progress myself as a teacher, so maybe he’d be kind.

One recent post caught my eye, and it’s about how we teachers stifle creativity by expecting correct spelling. Well, there are two schools of thought on this one: The first is that when teachers expect correct spelling, or we stop your meanderings, scribblings, writings, and attempts at communication with correcting your spelling, punctuation, and grammar, we are making you feel bad and stifling your creativity. You proudly show us your efforts, and we then put on our stomping cleats and punch holes in your beautiful work. I’m sorry. My cleats were at the cleaner’s, so there hasn’t been an opportunity to step on your work. The second camp says that all work is good work, correct or not, and any attempt you make is worthy, valuable, and should be encouraged no matter what.

There is really a third option, which is where I think most teachers and parents are: your work is wonderful. Your drafts, sketches, pre-writes, discussions–all of that, is worthwhile and valuable. I sincerely believe that. I respect your thoughts. Every day I teach, I find new insights, and learn from you. Really – you rock on ice. But understand that the world is full of conditional love. And to find strength in your voices, you will need to learn how to communicate in standard English (at least in North American countries). I don’t give two potatoes if you spell “humor” like “humour.” But please try to know the difference between “their, they’re, and there.” Please?

 He makes an excellent point – he sometimes has a few mistakes, typos, and misspellings in his blog, but says he always has readers (over 8,000!). I make mistakes, too. Quite often I’ll re-read a post and edit it when I see something is amiss. No biggie. And yes, people do continue to visit his blog repeatedly, including me. But I wonder if I would be so inclined if the entire thing was consistently full of errors? Would I have the level of respect for him that I do? Probably not, and that’s just how it is.

And students of the new techno age: there are plenty of humorous ways to learn how to spell correctly. The blog, Hyperbole and a Half really sums up the use of “a lot” among other typing issues:

ALOT

http://hyperboleandahalf.blogspot.com/2010/04/alot-is-better-than-you-at-everything.html

Posted on

Act your age!

http://www.archive.org/details/ActYourA1949

Aside from being really, really funny, this 1949 Coronet film portrays the teen angst of young Jim, who is trying to find emotional maturity. Through the guidance of his wise father-figure principal, Jim seeks atonement through sanding/varnishing the destroyed desk and an excessive amount of conversation. (I’m wondering what else Principal Edmonds has to do, because he spends a lot of time mentoring Jim…guess folks got a lot more accomplished without all those pesky e-mails!)

Now, we don’t know much about young Jim’s homelife. We don’t know what his parents do, if he has siblings, or why he’s struggling with simple algebra. We don’t know much about him at all, except that he has destructive impulses and knows the definition for ‘infantile.’ But he is trying to grow up. He even makes himself a chart.

This film is far from reality – its exposition is flimsy and message over-wrought. But it does make its point: you can’t go it alone. The spectrum of self-preservation, lizard-brain, and selfishness on one end to the extreme of martyrdom and sacrifice on the other is an internal conflict we all face. Emotional maturity is tricky. Sometimes we just need to throw a hissy fit because we are not getting what we need. There are several examples: class clown, poor sportsmanship, crying over ‘trifles,’ (I especially like that one!), not being able to take a joke; all of these ‘infantile reactions’ scream for therapy.

Maybe we should remake this film to be a more modern adaptation to our current situations. But we are still not getting what we need, much less what we want.

Opening shot: young patron writing on his arm and desks with a Sharpie pilfered from the teacher’s desk, drawing a gang symbol. Busted! Off to the Vice Principal’s office for a suspension (this is his fifth offense in two weeks for vandalism, profanity, and other violations). He stays home for a week, wandering outside only for Jack-in-the-Box shakes and to see when his friends can go hang out. During the day, he sleeps in until 10 or so, plays video games, and waits. Mom is at her first job of three. He stays up until 3AM, texting his friends, and preventing them from sleeping. Next day: very tired teenagers trying to think. Pan to teacher, narrator’s voice: “How is Miss Teacher going to gain these students’ attention, trust, and effort? She must entertain them greater than the good folks at Robot Chicken and X-Box, that’s how! Go get ’em, Miss Teacher!” (Okay, I’m going to stop here, because I feel that my vision is getting a little bitter–and I don’t want that; I really do love my job and my students–it’s the other adults/educational pundits I’m having trouble with now.)

So, I’ll think I’ll pitch my idea to my students, and see what they come up with to remake this film. Give us some production time, after the state’s high-stakes testing, the RIFs, the merit pay debate, the blah-blah-blah, and we’ll get it in the can. And, scene!

Posted on

Joe v. Volcano

joe v volcano“Joe Versus the Volcano” (1990) stars Tom Hanks and Meg Ryan. Tom Hanks plays Joe Banks, a hypochondriac (someone who thinks they’re sick all the time when they’re not), who ends up making a deal – the trip of the lifetime, with only one catch: it will kill him. Through his journey he goes through the transformation of the inner-hero.

It is one of my and my husband’s favorite movies.

What made me think about it again were two things: 1. Volcanoes in Iceland have sent plumes of ash into the atmosphere, trailing to the skies over Europe, stranding thousands of passengers. 2. There was a guy named Joe. V at Trader Joe’s today who was funny.

Now, I think about all of that ash, and how Earth still gets her way from time to time. I guess I shouldn’t personify Earth–it’s not some personality or character who has machinations on how to hurt humans,

photo-Iceland-1

killing them at worst or inconveniencing them at least.  Or should I?

In our techno-quests, did we forget the organic?

Posted on

Spit happens.

spittoonA spit-take is in response to something that’s funny, but alas, this is not. Now I know I have friends who will be quick to remind me that I could be something of a class clown, seeking attention inappropriately (which is different from seeking inappropriate attention). But I would never, ever, have done something like this:

My garulous 7th period class is a challenge. We all know this. During a conversation that sounded more like begging and pleading to please behave when I had a guest teacher, I witness one young patron spitting, yes, SPITTING on the column/wall in the back of the room.

I stopped him with a “WHAT THE HECK ARE YOU DOING?! SPITTING?!?!?!?!?!” (Cue to me with tearing purple pants, face growing a shade of jolly-green Hulk, and speaking monosyllabically.) Stopped the lesson, which, oh, by the way, was all about how to write thesis statements, and begin to explore themes – sounds dry, but it wasn’t- it was all based on Descendants, which they all watched and really liked yesterday–ANYWAY – the young patron was asked to then take my cleaner and rag and clean all of the chairs while everyone moved up front. This took 10 minutes out of instruction time, and while people were jockeying to new positions, I called the disciplarian team to come and remove young patron from the premises.

I then proceeded to have a meltdown.

I know the words “disrespect’ was tossed out there. Perhaps a “disgusting” and “childish.”

But there was fear, too. I am sometimes scared for my students, although I should never show it. I don’t mean I’m afraid of them, never. I am afraid FOR them. Usually kids who have high disciplinary issues know exactly how to work the system so they spend more time out of the classroom than in.

I am scared because I see in many of my students this story:

Teen gets a year for assaulting Metro bus driver

A 14-year-old who assaulted a Metro bus driver was sentenced Tuesday to a year in juvenile detention.

By Christine Clarridge

Seattle Times staff reporter

With her 14-year-old son about to learn his fate Tuesday for assaulting a Metro bus driver, the boy’s mother rushed into the courtroom nearly 30 minutes late.

She missed the part when her son’s attorney, Craig McDonald, had sought a more lenient sentence and urged the judge not to place too much weight on the prosecution’s claim that there was a lack of parental involvement and control over the child.

Given a chance to speak before Juvenile Court Judge Chris Washington announced the sentence, the mother claimed her son was innocent of the assault to which he already had admitted guilt.

“My son is a victim,” she said. . “I do not believe he is guilty of hitting. … My son could not have hit anyone. Look at his size.”

The mother then turned to the victim, Katherine Batey, who was sitting in court next to the prosecutor, and began to blame her for her son’s predicament. “If you had handled it differently,” she began before she was abruptly cut off by an objection from the prosecutor and the judge, who warned her not to speak to the victim.

Washington then sentenced the boy to a year in juvenile detention, well above the standard range of 15 to 36 weeks. The boy will receive credit for the nearly three months he already has served in detention.

Washington also issued an order of protection banning the teen from riding Metro buses between 8 p.m. and 6 a.m. once he’s released from detention. The prohibition will last until the boy turns 21, Washington said.

The Seattle Times is not naming the boy — nor his mother — because he was prosecuted as a juvenile.

The assault occurred shortly after midnight Jan. 23 on Metro’s Route 124 when the bus stopped at South 144th Street and International Boulevard South in Tukwila.

According to charging documents, the teen swore at Batey, 57, because she wouldn’t let him out the back door of the bus after some of his friends were allowed to use the door. The boy struck the driver, causing her to lose consciousness and suffer facial injuries.

Deputy Prosecutor Julie Kline called the attack a “savage assault” in a hearing Monday and said the teen, a former Renton High School student, is entrenched in gangs and has no parental guidance. She said the boy was intoxicated at the time of the attack.

The boy pleaded guilty to second-degree assault two weeks ago, but admitted in a statement only to “touching” and slapping the victim.

 

The difference between the driver’s injuries and the boy’s failure to fully accept responsibility for his actions contributed to the longer sentence, the judge said.

“Your action shows a complete indifference to how someone else feels,” Washington said. “I think you are a risk to reoffend, and I think you need the treatment available” in juvenile detention, he said.

Two other boys, 16 and 17, who were charged as juveniles with malicious mischief for allegedly punching and kicking out windows on the back door of the bus, received deferred dispositions after a judge found them guilty last month.

The 17-year-old was placed on six months of probation with 30 hours of community service; the 16-year-old was placed on 12 months of probation with 70 hours of community service.

The 14-year-old boy was originally scheduled to be sentenced Monday, but the hearing was postponed to Tuesday because the boy’s mother was given the wrong date for the sentencing. Nonetheless, Batey and Kline, the prosecutor, spoke in court Monday.

Batey said she still suffers nightmares from the attack and doesn’t leave her house very often. She said she doubts she can ever return to work as a bus driver because she’s afraid of being attacked again.

“I walk and I cry. I talk to my friends and I cry,” Batey said. “I’m hopeful in time I will heal.”

On Tuesday, when the time came for the 14-year-old to speak, he mumbled to the courtroom, “I’m sorry for assaulting you.”

But Batey asked the boy to say it again, this time while looking into her eyes. He complied.

“That’s all I needed,” Batey said. “Thank you.”

Staff reporter Jennifer Sullivan contributed to this report, which includes information from Seattle Times archives.

Christine Clarridge: 206-464-8983 or cclarridge@seattletimes.com