Christina Jordan’s Neighborhood

The Tunica River Park affords a host of opportunities for people who are seeking to understand the historical importance of the Mississippi River's usage from its beginnings with the Native Americans and conquistadors up through it's present-day significance as a major channel for transporting goods and individuals through the American midwest. In an ideal world my students would be able to visit the park and take advantage of the plethora of exhibits and time periods featured at the museum. However, structuring this time to maximize my students' learning must be undertaken carefully so that my students get the full effect of the academic experience of the Tunica River Park and do not simply view the excursion as pointless field trip.

Some of the before school activities that I could have my students complete are:
            1) Completing a KWL chart to document students' knowledge prior to visiting the Tunic River Park
            2) Researching the history of the Mississippi River and how it has been used in the past by disparate groups
            3) Visiting a local river (i.e. the Yazoo River) and having students read about its historic regional significance

Some of the activities I could have my students complete while they are at the Tunic River Park are:
             1) Creating a timeline to document the settling of the area around the Mississippi River
             2) Describing the work of major figures who settles or worked along the Mississippi River
             3) Formulating a schedule for other groups of students to complete a walking tour of the park on their own visit

Some of the activities I could have my students complete after their visit to the Tunica River Park include:
             1) Finishing their KWL chart by filling in five things they learned from their visit to the Tunica River Park
             2) Developing a community service project to spread the word throughout the Delta about the river's import
             3) Writing a persuasive letter to a member of Congress urging them to allot money for sharing the river's history

When teaching in the districts that MTC places us in, tangible success is often hard to come by. Failure seems to be what is constantly in our face as we think of all the things that our students are doing besides learning, all the places that our students will likely end up besides college, and all the classroom management issues we face that make us want to roll over and call out sick. Every. Single. Day. Still, it's in the little things that teachers anywhere but especially in "critical needs" districts must focus on to maintain drive and focus and continue doing what too many others have deemed highly improbable or flatly impossible for centuries: educating poor Blacks.

In many of these districts MTC teachers teach in standardized tests are seen as foreboding signs of eminent doom and embarrassment. In these places, teaching "to the test" is often resorted to as the means through which educational salvation is reached. Teaching to the test is one thing but when you're in a school environment where, from day one, what's communicated to teachers is that teaching to the test is the ONLY thing, well then you're at KIPP. On some level this is understandable as testing determines so much at charter schools like KIPP from our enrollment to our ability to woo private funders to the very renewal of our charter with the state of Arkansas. However, I cannot help but shake my philosophical belief that I have more important life skills to teach my students than finding equivalent fractions and answering multiple choice items using process of elimination.

In any event, our big state test in Arkansas is called the ACTAAP or the Benchmark Exam. KIPP Delta in Helena has some of the highest test scores in the state at the middle school and high school levels. Last year, 94% of our 7th graders at KIPP Delta scored proficient or advanced on the mathematics Benchmark Exam compared to 66% of 7th graders statewide and only 33% of students in Helena-West Helena's regular public school system. What makes this even more remarkable to many is that our school is 99% Black, 99% free/reduced lunch, and in the heart of dilapidated downtown Helena close by local housing projects, gang territory, drugs, and prostitution. Last year's 7th grade math teacher who got these results was so successful that she has been given the green light to found her own school which will be opening in Blytheville, Arkansas in the fall of 2010 as a new KIPP middle school. She's only a year older than me. The venerable 7th grade math slot was thus available when I applied to KIPP this past spring and who teaches this course with the districtwide spotlight on it now?: me. The Black, hood guy from Harvard with two years of (social studies) teaching experience who's a few credits away from a master's degree in education.

Anyway, to my success story. In preparation for the end-of-the-year Benchmark Exam we take practice Benchmark Exams every month. We chart the progress of our students and use the practice Benchmark Exams to target particular students and skills for remediation and re-teaching. Results are scrutinized for hours on end at the individual, school, and district levels. It is highly nerve-wrecking to see where your students are at month-by-month and to know that the results will be known almost immediately by your peers and superiors and reflect your quality as a teacher. Lovely. In any event, the first practice Benchmark Exam we took was in late September. We took a second one two weeks ago in late October and although the success or failure of my students on the September exam could largely be attributed to what my students came into 7th grade knowing, my school director was clear in communicating that the October exam's results would be all my own.

Much to my surprise and the surprise of many a colleague, I'm sure, not only did my students' scores increase from the first to the second practice Benchmark Exam but these were the only scores that increased in any grade level, in any subject area at the entire school. Fifth, sixth, and eighth grade math scores went down. Fifth, sixth, seventh, and eighth grade literacy scores went down. Fifth, sixth, seventh, and eight grade reading scores went down. Fifth and seventh grade science scores went down (we don't do sixth and eighth grade science testing). ONLY 7TH GRADE MATH SCORES WENT UP!!! I was elated when I saw the numbers displayed on the dry erase board at our faculty meeting the night we stayed at school until 10 p.m. grading exams and inputting results on our district network for more scrutiny. When looking at the individual students and their performances from the first to the second practice Benchmark Exam, I also noticed that most of the students whose scores increased were taught by me and not by the more experienced and better respected 8th grade math teacher who takes 15 of my 7th graders into his algebra class each day.

That's wassup. Right? 

"The idea is that students will rise to whatever your expectations are, no matter how high they are."

 This sentiment, ruminated by TFA alumni, Gary Rubinstein and endlessly quoted as an 'one-size fits all'  amelioration of student failure- is just that- an 'idea.'  This in itself, speaks to its overt fallibility.
Gary Rubinstein argues  “....when you make things too complicated, students don't rise to your 'high expectations,' they lose confidence in themselves and, more importantly, they lose confidence in the ability of their teacher.  Once they decide that their teacher is not competent enough to make 'appropriate level' lessons, they stop listening, start talking, and make it impossible to teach."

The preceding statement simultaneously identifies the cause  as being a teacher 's poor pedagogical awareness and the effect as being poor student performance. Here, the cliché, “it takes one to no one,” shamefully holds true for me.  I have been that teacher.
 As such, however, I have come to distinguish between “mak[ing] things too complicated”  and raising your expectations - they are not one in the same. Neither are 'expectations' synonymous with 'standards.'  The incisive directive with which Ben Guest so purposefully equipped us, “Release yourself of all expectations,” is timeless and true.
While expectations are tailored to the individual and often perpetuated into lofty ideals, standards should have uniformity and are (intended to be) aligned with a state, national, or otherwise accountability factor.
To this end, 'Freedom Writers,' the very movie that Rubinstein (incorrectly) cites as promoting an 'unrealistic expectations sentiment,'  actually evidences the case for realistic standards, not high expectations. 
Although unrealistic in the movie's  'feel good' ending, the teacher, Ms. Erin Gruwell (Hilary Swank) in no way, blithely upholds expectations (that are invalidated even as she attempts to teach internal rhyme using Tupak Shakur.)  Rather, she actively reflects and re-evaluates until she achieves a psycho-social, pedagogical, and otherwise awareness of her students.
It is only now, in the context of an acquired awareness of our  students' reality, may we, like Ms. Gruwell, allow this awareness to inform what must be consistently realistic expectations and relevant standards.

Sean McClish
Community Assessment: Byhalia, Mississippi

1)With regards to overall trade potential, there seems to be very little. Byhalia itself is very limited in both population and jobs. It serves mainly as a small commercial center for the rural northern Marshall county area. Most people that consider themselves as Byhalia residents do not live in the city limits, rather living in unincorporated acreage a few miles from town. These citizens will do some of their shopping, dining, and banking in Byhalia, but may opt for more broad commercial opportunities in nearby Desoto county. Economically very few of Byhalia's businesses extend beyond the rural northern Marshall county area, with the exception of Holly Springs, a town 15 miles to the Southeast. Very few residents of Memphis or Desoto county(more populated regions) venture to Byhalia. Most of the teachers at Byhalia High School characterize this trend. A survey I conducted showed that only 3 of 27 teachers that did not live in Byhalia, stated that they "regularly dine, shop, or bank" in the area. I suspect most of these affirmations are intertwined with after school activity.
 Byhalia is not active in the global economy as everything is focused at a local level.

2)Byhalia is situated 8 miles south of the Tennessee border and only 20 miles southeast of Memphis. This gives members of the community easy access to shopping, dining, hospitals and other amenities that are not afforded to more remote rural communities. Collierville, an upper class suburb of Memphis, is a mere 15 offers nice parks and high end retail. Despite its' proximity to a bustling metropolitan area, Byhalia still has a very secluded, country feel. Farmland is common as you come within a few miles of the town and property values are low. This allows some middle class homeowners and retirees to own several acres of land, while purchasing a much more robust home than they could in nearby Desoto County.
One of the more negative aspects about being close to Memphis is that contemporaries of the Memphis gangs can surface. Crime in Byhalia is actually double the national crime rate and much of it can be attributed to these gangs.

3)The population of Byhalia is under 1,000(739 according to 2007 census) but the northern Marshall county population that is served by the town's business' is much larger. The racial breakdown of Byhalia proper is 60% white, 36 % black, and 4 % hispanic. The racial breakdown of Marshall County(which Byhalia serves) is 50% black, 48% white, and 2% hispanic. The median household income for the town was $ 32,119 in 2007(compared to $ 36,338 for Mississippi) and the per capita income in 2007 was $ 18,888(compared to $ 19,365 for Mississippi. So Byhalia is fairly poor and poverty is a factor, however the down is in no way a desolate place.
Education levels for adults is rather low in Byhalia with only 60% of the population having at least a high school education, and just 13% of the population having a college degree. Unemployment is quite high as well, sitting at 11%.

4)Byhalia is a tiny town with very few employers or sources of jobs. The biggest private employer in town is Northcentral Electric Power Association. The Byhalia facility is the headquarters for the association which provides electricity for Desoto and Marshall counties. The company provides employment for many northern Marshall county residents, and over 50 employees alone work in the Byhalia facility. The second major employer in town is in the public sector, within the public schools. Byhalia high, middle, and elementary schools combine to employ over 100 teachers, administrators, and support staff. However, most of the staff seem to be commuters. In a study of Byhalia high school teachers, it was found that 27 of the 33 teachers make their home outside of Byhalia and Marshall County. We can extrapolate this data out to infer that the schools in Byhalia probably don't provide as many jobs to northwest Marshall County residents than an employer like Northwest Electric Power.

5)Infrastructure in Byhalia is a mixed bag. It can best be described as old and outdated, but functional. Water and sewer facilities have worked fine in every building I've been in. Airports are easily accessible, with Memphis International airport within a 30 minute drive. There is a major highway(Highway 78) that runs roughly 1.5 miles south of downtown that connects Byhalia to Memphis as well as the county seat of Holly Springs. There has been very little growth in Byhalia in recent years and most of the buildings in town are very old(over 30 years), and in need of renovation. Roads in town are a mixture of ragged paved streets and gravel roads. Potholes abound in Byhalia, and you always know that your ride will be a bumpy one(except on Highway 309).

6)The love of the outdoors is a common theme for residents in Byhalia. Hunting and fishing in the area's creeks and woodlands are favorite pasttimes. Aside from these outdoor activities, there are very few organized cultural and recreational amenities. There are no festivals or parks, and people usually go to Desoto county or Memphis for recreation. One highlight for the town are the high school football games, which seem to draw the whole town out on a friday night(over 1,000 people per home game this season).

7)The most influential people in the community include school leaders, church leaders, business leaders, and elected officials. Many of the leaders in the community hold multiple leadership positions that are very diverse(examples include: M.H., who was a former Byhalia high school prinicipal and Superintendent candidate, is on the board of directors(city alderman), two pastors of churches are also in the chamber of commerce, and the branch manager of the largest employer in the town(Northcentral Electric Power Association) is also the head of the school board. Most of the other elected officials in the town(mayor, alderman, school board) hold other leadership positions in the businesses and churches in the community(deacons, ministers, etc...).
It is a very tiny town where everyone knows everybody and the same 20-30 individuals seem to hold all the leadership positions in town. This ranges from public service(schools, police, elected officials) to the private sector(businesses and churches). "If you are in the good graces of these individuals, then it's very easy to become a leader in the community," veteran teacher Steve Delony proclaims. They are the individuals with all the power, making all the decisions and are the gatekeepers to power in the community. If you are friends with these individuals and chose to participate in the political process, you would instantly have a lot of pull in the community(and would likely win whatever office you pursued).

8)County government plays a large role in the community. Marshall County provides ambulatory services to Byhalia as well as law enforcement. The Marshall County Sheriff's office serves rural areas outside of Byhalia proper as well as provides school resource officers for the schools. Local government decisions are made by the mayor and city Alderman(Board of Directors) which are elected locally. With a population of 700 people, local governance is not overtly complicated, and most decisions seem to be made swiftly and efficiently. Schools are run by Marshall County with the Superintendent elected in a county wide election. The state and federal governments are involved in the community through funding assistance for the public schools.

9)Byhalia is a very historic small town, and was actually the place of death for the famed southern author, William Faulkner. The town was founded in, but has never had a population of over 1,000 residents. Longtime Byhalia high school teacher Steve Delony explains the lack of growth this way, "Byhalia is a place you grow up, you live in, and you die; it's not a place that you move to." Byhalia is not without its' rough patches historically, especially involving race relations.
On June 29, 1974 Butler Young Jr., a 21-year-old black resident of Byhalia, was arrested by two white police officers for hit-and-run driving. Young was taken into custody and they headed to jail in a patrol car; Young didn't make it alive. Long story short, evidence pointed to the officers as having killed Young and the officers had lied about it. The story they had described to Physicians was proven false by the Marshall County coroner, and when confronted with this the officers sprinted from the hospital. A court acquitted the officers of any wrongdoing, which set off a racial firestorm in Byhalia. The blacks in town organized a boycott of all white owned businesses in Byhalia, which cut profits of these businesses by more than half. The boycott finally ended 9 months later.
Byhalia has moved past these rough patches and race relations are vastly improved. Being a town of such diminutive size. Very little significant historical events have occurred in the town over the past 30 years.

10)Poverty remains a problem in the community, and the public schools don't seem to be improving to the point where the chain of poverty will break any time soon. Too many people are content with the status quo in the community, quite comfortable in a quiet country life. This is fine with regards to a way of life, but the status quo seems to extend to the public schools, where a drive to improve doesn't seem to exist(at least in the community). "This is Byhalia," many students will say in justification for their lack of effort. This satisfaction with the way things are in the community is probably the biggest obstacle to progress. There is also a history of racial tension in the town/county with two very different cultures that collide every day. The racial tension is slight, but it still poses as an obstacle.

11)God, community, family, love of country, and the love of the outdoors are some of the most meaningful values in the community. This is manifested in a number of ways. First off, the love of the outdoors shows up in the recreational/weekend activities of Byhalia's residents. Hunting and fishing are wildly popular for the area.
Church attendance is high and the local congregations play a large role in the local community. They serve as a source of unity, strength, order, and consistency in the lives of people who desperately need those things. Love of country is a common theme in Byhalia and interest in joining the military is high among high school students. Families are very large and intertwined in northern Marshall County with women bearing children from multiple men being a far too common theme. At my school it is not uncommon to have students who are siblings, but have different fathers(and different last names). Regardless, family ties are powerful and gives the residents of the community strength.

12)The uniqueness of the community draws from the racial and cultural mix of the citizens. Marshall county has a racial breakdown of 50% black, 48% white, and 2% other. The racial mix creates a cultural divide in the community between an urban black culture and a country white culture. The students that I teach buy into this extensively, and it seems that they wish to pattern themselves after one of these two stereotypes. History would lead one to believe that racial tension would be high in northern Marshall County because of the cultural divisions, but this does not seem to be the case. There exists an understanding and acceptance of the two different cultures among the residents(students) that surprised me when I first arrived, especially considering what I had heard about race relations in Mississippi.
At school, black and white students are commonly friends, especially the high achieving students, and if they are not friends they are at least civil. There is very little racial animosity, and even more surprising there is very little conflict between the urban and country cultures which seem to be cultures that would collide.

13.The community is served by Marshall County school district which serves a very heterogeneous population. The district is underperforming and in the bottom 25% in state test scores. The resources are limited in the school district but compared to other districts in the area the funding is not that bad. In my opinion the district's test scores lower than they should be. After analyzing demographics, poverty levels and funding data, I concluded that Marshall County and Byhalia High School should both be in the top two-thirds of all Mississippi schools as far as test scores go.
As far as postsecondary education is concerned, the most common college that students in the area attend is Northwest Mississippi Community College. Rust college is a private, historically black college in Holly Springs(about 15 miles from Byhalia) and is another common college destination. Other colleges that Byhalia students commonly attend include Mississippi State, Ole Miss, and the University of Southern Mississippi.

Delony, Steve.(Interview)

Sean McClish.Byhalia Teacher Survey.

Time Magazine.Mississippi: Boycott in Byhalia. 10 Mar, 1975.

Northcentral Electric Power Association.

City Data. com. Byhalia, MS city data.

Homework is a great way to practice skills and review for students. High achieving schools implement homework because they know it works. Not only does it allow you to burn skills and knowledge into your academic repertoire, but it builds time management, work ethic, and independent study skills that are needed for college and the working world.
Unfortunately 90 % of the students at my school do very little or homework at all so I don't assign it. I think that the homework article is a bit naive. It essentially states that no homework should be given so kids can do the following: (1) play outdoors, (2) eat dinner with their families, (3)read recreationally, and (4) go to bed early so they can get 10-12 hours of sleep per night. This is a "pie in the sky" scenario and philisophically seems okay because these things are important and ideal. The problem(especially in school settings similar to my own) is that homework is not the reason why these things don't happen. Eating dinner with the family depends on the value of such an experience in that  particular family unit. Playing outdoors and reading recreationally are unfortunately becoming more and more rare in this electronic age. When given free time, kids would much rather text, watch tv, play the latest video game system, or talk on the phone. If there is little structure or value in education at home, then much of the magical "pie in the sky" activities will not happen and the kids will spend much of their day in front of a screen. The rationale mentioned in this article is not relevant for all school types and I'm unsure of how beneficial this would be for more affluent schools as well. 

"High expectations" is a phrase kicked around in education quite a bit, but I feel that it is a phrase that is far too often misconstrued to the detriment of students and teachers alike. Too often teachers are told that students will meet whatever expectations the teacher holds them accountable for. If they only have high expectations of their students, then their students(regardless of who they are) will rise to and meet those expectations. The problem with this is that if expectations are unreasonable, then failure and lack of confidence sets in and the student may shut down entirely. Unrealistic expectations plagues the education system from the classroom level(expecting students who can barely read to analyze complex non-fiction literature on their own) to the district level(endless examples of districts setting unrealistic goals and then failing to meet them) and ultimately sets the table for failure and losing your class or school.
For teachers it is extremely important  know their students and what their skills, abilities, and knowledge base are at a given point. Teachers can then scaffold on that previous knowledge in order to design appropriate lessons and assignments with the right amount of challenge. I typically try to aim for the upper average student in my class so the majority of my class "gets" the lesson, but still finds it stimulating and I can spend independent practice time roaming the room helping the stragglers.
My feeling is that the "high expectations" phrase as it's commonly used in education is meaningless hogwash and teachers need to focus on simply knowing their students and creating appropriate lessons that are broken down appropriately but provide enough stimulation for the upper echelon students 

To be honest, after a second perusal of Ruby Payne's A Framework for Understanding Poverty I'm not sure how I feel about it. Two years ago when I first blogged about the book I had this to say. Oh, the days when I was a fiery leftist blogger.... I still feel Payne overly generalizes a very large, exploited population whose absent voice in a book such as this speaks volumes. I still feel it is inherently absurd to think you can understand poverty, the lifestyles of many people in poverty, or other such deeply complex and malleable concepts by reading a book. I still feel that the myriad holes in Payne's argument makes it as useful as a two-dollar bill in the vending machines on the first floor of Guyton. However, I do hear more of what Payne was trying to get across after having taught for two years in one of the poorest places in the nation.

The research article that I read was "The 'Building Tasks' of Critical History: Structuring Social Studies for Social Justice" by Wayne Au. It was published in Social Studies Research and Practice in July of this year. In the article, Au looks at two case study lesson plans by social studies teachers who actively seek to raise the consciousness of their students around social justice issues. The author utilizes discourse analysis where people "use language to operationalize certain 'building tasks' in order to express meaning, ideology, values, and other aspects of our identities in a given situation." Au concluded that these lesson plans were quality classroom pedagogical devices due to their service as vehicles for students to critically question social relations historically and in the present-day context. In doing so, he dismissed the claims of some that lesson plans stifle the true learning process by assuming that the planning and executing instruction occurs in some sort of linear fashion to a "predetermined endpoint."

For me it all starts with the way class begins. If students start the class off-task and unfocused than it will be very difficult to reel them back in and have a successful class period. It is therefore of utmost importance that the do-now/bellwork portion of your class is a priority. The key to getting a class on task quickly, is to give consequences consistently to students who are not beginning class efficiently. I use a disciplinary/attendance binder(explained in my organization blog) and once the tardy bell rings I immediately look around the room to see if anyone is out of their seat. If a student is out of his/her seat then that student is tardy which is documented in my binder(attendance/tardies section) and the student is given a writing assignment(I keep copies of this in my binder) which is documented in the writing assignments section of my binder. I then check the writing assignments section of my binder which lists students who currently owe an assignment and I circle the room collecting these assignments if necessary(this is Very important; if you always collect the assignments students will be more likely to complete them and they become a more effective disciplinary tool). If a student is off task during the do-now, I inform the student that they will be losing their do-now points for the day and I document this in the attendance/tardies section of my binder(I later referance this when entering do-now grades, and I make sure to write on the students paper that they lost points for being off task).
I continue to carry the binder with me all class so I have easy access to most everything I need to run the class the way I want. For example, if a student is off-task or breaking a rule/procedure, I can quickly give the student a writing assignment with minimal disruption to instruction.
Calling home can be helpful for some students if you address the parents with the proper attitude. The "your kid is horrible" speech usually will not work. It's best to try and mention something positive about the student first, and then bring up the issue, and try and get the point across that you have the students' interest at heart.(Ex. "You love having him in class and don't want to have write an office referral for something we can work together on to correct."

General Keys to improving classroom management:
-make sure your students know the rules/procedures of the class(be very explicit)
-make sure your students know that there are consequences for not following the rules/procedures
-make sure that these consequences are enforced consistently

Always:
-Be consistent
-Be decisive
-Do exactly what you say

Never:
-tolerate disrespect

Organization is everything as a school teacher, especially in a critical needs school. Last year my organization was not up to par and it made my job much more difficult. Some of my biggest problems last year were having efficient ways to: 1)take attendance      2)Keep track of tardies        3)Keep track of students who owed writing assignments(classroom management)       4)Get students on task on their due nows quickly        5)have an efficient way for students to make up work         6)Have an efficient way of grading/returning student work
This year the key to my organization consists of a binder with 5 different sections(seating chart, attendance/tardies, referrals, writing assignments, and miscellaneous). I carry this binder in my hand all class period as it contains most everything I need to run my class the way I want, and I can always have these materials at my immediate disposal.

The seating chart section allows me to take attendance in a matter of seconds so class can begin expeditiously. As soon as the bell rings I look around the room and if anyone is up, they are tardy and receive a writing assignment. I can quickly mark their tardy in the attendance section of my binder and mark their writing assignment down in my writing assignments section. If anyone is off task during the do-now I inform them that they are losing points and can document this in the attendance section of my binder(I can later referance this when entering do-now grades). While students work on the do-now, I glance over the writing assignments section of the binder(which lists students who owe me a writing assignment) and I go around the room collecting the assignments if necessary(this is VERY important, never ever forget to do this; it will ensure that most of your students will actually do the assignment and will give the assignments some disciplinary power). I continue to carry my binder with me throughout the class so if a student is off task or breaking a rule/procedure, a writing assignment can be given quickly without a disruption in instruction.
With regards to make-up work, I have a make-up work binder that is updated daily. I use a template worksheet that includes a notes section and assignment section. At the end of the day I copy the notes from my powerpoint onto the template, and list any assignments they need to complete. I then print out a few copies of the worksheet and place them in my make-up binder. With regards to grading/returning student work, I have a folder for every class period where I keep graded and ungraded assignments. This allows me return work and enter grades quickly and efficiently.

These are a few suggestions on what have worked for me. Hope all is well.