Welcome!

Welcome to Laurie Goodman's blog. I use this space to share news and opinions about education and schools in Ridgewood, the state of New Jersey and the nation, in addition to other issues I'm personally interested in. I invite you to share your thoughts, feelings, questions or opinions, too, by posting comments on any blog entry. Please observe basic courtesy -- keep your comments focused on issues, no personal attacks or bullying, please. Contact me directly at: lauriegood@mac.com

Wednesday, December 29, 2010

Rethinking Education in the Age of Technology.

In a year-end wrap-up of education stories from Columbia Teachers College, I read a review of a late 2009 book titled, Rethinking Education in the Age of Technology. The most notable paragraph gave me food for thought:
The book systematically reveals a compelling picture of the “seeds of a new system of education” that are being sown all around us. The explosive growth of home schooling, workplace learning, distance education, learning centers, educational TV, videos and software, and Internet cafes are testimony not only to technology’s expanding role in learning, but also the new ways, venues, paradigm, and ages for and of learning. The authors argue that these, coupled with the mechanics of a global information economy, are ushering in the third era of education after the apprenticeship and universal schooling eras. Distinct shifts are the defining elements of the critical transformations in all three of these eras. Responsibility shifts from parents to the state to individuals and parents once more, thus seemingly completing a virtuous cycle of evolution; expectations shift from social reproduction to success for all to individual choice; content shifts from practical skills to disciplinary knowledge to learning how to learn; pedagogy shifts from apprenticeship to didacticism to interaction; location shifts from home to school to anywhere.
Such a fascinating time for schools. I'll add this to my (huge) "to read" list.

Public schools have to fail: the corporate takeover of our education system?

Make no mistake: education is big business. Scary big. It’s got a perpetually renewing crop of “customers” in every community big and small. Fear of other countries passing us by. Plus emotion, poor little children, and nothing less than the fate of all (American) mankind at stake. Here in Ridgewood, we know education is expensive. Look at that big budget we’re asked to vote for every year. New Jersey property taxes are the highest in the country. The economy sucks, our paychecks are shrinking. Our houses are worth less. Somebody must be to blame. And somebody must have the simple solution.

No wonder it’s so easy for people like Governor Christie to dangle the magic of charter schools in front of the state. Never mind the fact that overall, charter schools have been proven in study after study to achieve no better results than public schools. Let’s just never mind that for today. Instead, let’s focus on what’s really going on in the oh-so-trendy, brave new world of “education reform.”

I was referred to an interesting article, titled Waiting for SuperFraud, by Michael T. Martin. In it, Mr. Martin made some good points that I haven’t really been considering. He wrote,
Public schools have to fail. There is no alternative. So give up trying to argue otherwise with facts and logic.

The mockumentary Waiting For Superman made this clear. Funded by millionaires, the movie told the story of some privatized schools in Harlem portrayed as saviors of children otherwise condemned to public schools. Privatized schools mostly funded by hedge fund millionaires on Wall Street. They spent two million dollars to promote the film nationally. Another major film titled “The Lottery” told a similar tale: children in Harlem desperate to escape public schools. Funded by more millionaires.
Mr. Martin goes on to tell about a 1999 Merrill Lynch in-depth report titled “The Book of Knowledge, Investing in the Growing Education and Training Industry.” The report notes: “The K-12 market is the largest segment of the education industry with approximately $360 billion spent annually or over $6,500 per year per child. Despite the size, the K-12 market is the most problematic to invest in today.”

In other words, there’s a $360 billion (today more like $700 billion) market – full of desperate taxpayers and scared parents – up for grabs, and private enterprise is being invited in to take over – as an investment strategy, not for educational outcomes.

Big business doesn’t make decisions out of the goodness of its heart, or for the betterment of society, but rather with an eye on huge profits and a captive audience. It’s just something to think about. “Follow the money” as they said in my favorite movie. And evaluate potential "supermen" accordingly.

Tuesday, December 28, 2010

Please stop texting while driving.

Here's a short (10 minutes) but powerful video on the consequences of texting while driving. Please watch it...then please share it with others, especially any teen drivers in your life. Thank you.

Tuesday, December 21, 2010

2010 Parent Survey Reports are online!

The 2010 Parent Survey Reports are online at the District website. Click here to download your school's report, or to see the complete district report. (Note: the surveys were really designed to be school-based, so while the district summary info is interesting, the most useful data will be at the school level.) I am looking forward to hearing what you think about the survey results.

BOE seeks volunteers for Community Planning session.

The Ridgewood Board of Education has announced that we will engage in a community planning process to help structure the District’s strategic planning for the next three years. As part of that process, the Board is seeking residents (not just parents, but any residents) willing to engage in a one-session meeting in mid-January, joining district staff members, village administrators, civic group members and other community representatives.

Educational consultants Sousa & Stern will be facilitating the one-time Community Planning session on Wednesday, January 19, 2011, at the Education Center, 49 Cottage Place, Floor 3, from 5 p.m to 9 p.m. If you wish to be considered to be part of this process, please contact Debra Anderson, Public Information Officer, at 201-670-2700, ext. 10555, or via e-mail at danderson@ridgewood.k12.nj.us.

The number of participants is limited, so if you'd like to take part, please contact Debra Anderson by January 3, 2011.

Sunday, December 19, 2010

Are we willing to re-think the "Race?"

A few of my thoughts in advance of the third Ridgewood showing of Race to Nowhere, tomorrow (Monday) night at the Ridgewood Public Library Auditorium (7:00 p.m.).

When I watched the movie the week before last, I noticed what I felt was a moment of irony. A parent in the film said that she has always wanted her kids to do better, to succeed, so that they will have "more choices in life." But when I listened to these pressured kids talk, it was clear to me clear that they actually end up having fewer choices. Or no choices. No real choice about where they go to college, or what they're going to study, or where they will find their passion. They are on a track and there is no getting off that track.

On the topic of homework, the film cited research that looked at the correlation between the amount of homework kids have and how they perform academically. (To be honest, I don't remember what they used to measure that performance...I think it may have been standardized test scores.)

According to the research cited in the film, in the elementary school years, there is no correlation between the amount of homework and achievement. In middle school, there is some correlation, but it falls off after one year. And in high school, there is some correlation, but not after an average of two hours of nightly homework. Any more than two hours of homework has no effect of achievement.

This actually dovetails nicely with the Parent/Guardian Survey results, which I wrote about earlier today. In some of the parent comments for elementary schools, parents wrote that they wanted more homework and more rigor in their children's education. There were parents who want more tests in kindergarten and first grade, to "prove" that kids are learning! Here's a little snapshot of the problem, right here in Ridgewood: how do we balance these parents' wish for "academic success" with these emerging conversations about the so-called "race to nowhere?" Are we really willing to make a change?

And on another related note, the principal of Ridgewood High School announced that this upcoming Winter Break will be "homework free." The high school administration wants to see what it's like -- for students and for teachers -- if kids are allowed to simply rest over the break. Of course, in our house, this has already created some confusion. My son has a large research/writing project that's currently underway. My son is wondering how he can just take a week off without falling behind on the project overall. My natural response is to hope he can get enough work done this week so that he can enjoy the experience of the "no homework break" next week. But something doesn't feel right to be "rushing" now in order to "rest" later. Jumping off the merry-go-round is a little scary. Sort of like...jumping off a merry-go-round.

What are your thoughts on the concept of a "race to nowhere?"

Parent Survey results will be public (finally!)

I am so excited to report that the long-awaited results of the Parent/Guardian Survey which the District conducted last June will be available very soon. The reports are being presented to the Board at our meeting tomorrow night. After that, the school-by-school reports will be posted on the District website.

As a member of the Communications Committee, which was responsible for the creation and oversight of this survey, I can tell you -- we certainly did not intend to release these reports in December...a full six months since the survey was conducted! But now that we've gone through the entire process, I can say that we learned a lot about how to make the process better (and faster!) next time.

The reasons for the delay in reporting include:
-- Reduced staff in the MIS/IT Department, which was responsible for assembling the data and creating the survey reports
-- Additional (simultaneous) pressure on the IT Department due to the implementation of the new Skyward student information system. It was "all hands on deck" this Fall to get Skyward up and running!
-- No exact plan up front for the reports -- we elected to see how the data came in and let that information, in part, drive the format for the reports. In other words, we didn't exactly know up front how we wanted the results to be reported...we waited to see what made the most sense. I think this was great in terms of creating truly useful reports, but it was a more time-consuming approach.
-- The committee process for reviewing comments was a bit cumbersome. We wanted parents and staff involved in reading every single comment that was given. Before that could happen, comments which contained identifiable personnel or student information had to be redacted so that confidential information was not made public. Then, a committee (or group of smaller committees) met several times to read every comment and to summarize the themes which could be identified. This was on a school-by-school basis, so the comments will be more useful to parents and staff. After all that reading and sorting was complete, the reports had to be physically put together -- again, with a limited staff at the Ed Center.

Anyway, the results are done and it has been (and will continue to be) a truly fascinating and informative process. I hope every parent will download the survey results for his/her school and review them closely. Talk amongst yourselves. Talk to your teachers and principal. Talk to us. I think you'll find the data to be interesting, and the "free-form" comments are quite educational. For one thing, you'll see just how differently parents feel about certain issues. I find it fascinating (and sometimes frustrating) how some parents can have one opinion and others will have a 180-degree different opinion on the exact same topic.

I think parents and the community will also be interested in the level of honesty and passion -- both positive and negative -- in the parents' comments. It's not often that a school district is willing to share the good, bad and ugly. We'll all be experiencing this new exercise in introspection together and I hope we can use whatever we learn for positive growth.

I'll post a reminder when the survey reports are live on the District website.

Thursday, December 16, 2010

Race to Nowhere to be shown again Dec. 20

The thought-provoking film Race to Nowhere, which was screened for Ridgewood parents and high school faculty last week, will be shown one more time in Ridgewood, thanks to financial support by the RHS Home & School Association.

Monday December 20 @ 7:00 PM
Ridgewood Public Library Auditorium

All are welcome.

I saw the movie at RHS last week. It was eye-opening, reaffirming, depressing, enlightening, and empowering. For me, anyway. I'll write some more thoughts later.

But for now, if you missed the showing last week, I encourage parents (of any age children) to take some time on Monday night to watch at the Library. And I'd be interested to hear what you think.

Wednesday, December 15, 2010

Changing the education paradigm

I found this video so fascinating, a well-presented (and entertaining!) lecture that looks at our system of education, why it is structured the way it is, the culture of our schools and ways in which (according to Sir Ken Robinson) we should be changing the paradigm. Check it out!

Monday, December 6, 2010

Ridgewood students dominate All-Bergen band auditions.

Congratulations to the RHS bands!

At last week's All-Bergen County Band auditions, more than 350 students from around the county competed for 85 positions in the performing ensemble recognizing Bergen's best musicians in the county. How's this for a performance? A total of 21 Ridgewood High School band members were selected to perform in this year's All-County Band, the most ever chosen from one school.

That's an amazing accomplishment! I'm very proud of our students and teachers.

You can witness the talent of these students -- and 180+ others -- at the RHS Winter Concert, Wednesday December 8 at 8:00 p.m. at the RHS Campus Center. Admission is free. The program will include the Symphonic Band and the Concert Band & Wind Ensemble.

See you there?

Sunday, December 5, 2010

On my BOE radar this week.

Sorry I’ve been posting a little less frequently than normal…it’s been a busy time around Thanksgiving, I had my mother and her husband visiting for 10 days, and my workload for clients has been extremely heavy. But just because I haven’t been blogging much, that doesn’t mean I haven’t been consumed by Board of Ed business as well. There’s always plenty to do in that area!

Tomorrow night the Board will have a regular public meeting (7:30 p.m., Ed Center, 3rd floor; streaming live click here). A few highlights from the agenda:

• Sheila Brogan and I will present a report on the Facilities Committee meeting which we held last Monday at Ridgewood High School, to listen to concerns from the RHS neighbors regarding the fields and lights. The Board will discuss neighborhood concerns and consider next steps.

• Asst. Superintendent Regina Botsford will present the Districtwide Testing Report for 09-10.

• Dr. Fishbein will give us an update on referendum construction projects

• We’ll get an update on meetings to develop the 11-12 district budget

• The Board will review and approve some course changes at RHS.

• As always, there will be two opportunities for public comment.

Other than tomorrow’s BOE meeting, I have some other Board business I’ll be taking care of this week:

• Tomorrow afternoon I’ll be watching the film Race to Nowhere along with the RHS faculty. The movie, sponsored by the RHS Home & School Association, is being presented to Ridgewood parents at 7:00 p.m. at GW Middle School, but since we have a BOE meeting, some of us will be watching with the faculty. I wonder if it will be a different experience to watch with teachers vs. parents?

• Tuesday night I will join a couple of other Board members and Human Resources Manager Gary Hall at a presentation of the New Jersey School Boards Association, titled “Negotiations and the Toolkit.” This is a roundtable discussion about “negotiations, superintendent contracts, and other employee relations issues in this changing legislative environment.” Supposedly, we’ll learn how the governor’s proposed "toolkit" of bills can affect our negotiations efforts with the REA.

• Wednesday morning I’ll be at the Fields Committee at 7:00 AM – I suffer through these early morning meetings but I have to admit – it’s kind of cool how much time I still have left in the day to get things accomplished.

• Thursday I’ll be at the “You Make a Difference” Breakfast at RHS at 7:15 (another early day!). This breakfast is hosted by Principal Jack Lorenz to recognize students who normally may not receive accolades but who have accomplished small victories at school. After the breakfast I’ll attend the Federated HSA meeting with the presidents of all the schools’ Home & School Associations. Then after that I’ll go to the Somerville Holiday House Tour fundraiser. Whew…busy day Thursday!

I’m telling you my BOE schedule this week just to report on what I’m doing. I’m sure some of you wonder…what does she do anyway, besides attend those boring meetings twice a month? Now you know. As a BOE member, there’s a lot more to do than I originally understood. I truly love being around the schools, though, so when I can, I’m eager to take part in activities that get me into school buildings and that give me a good view of what goes on every day. (My clients aren't quite so enthusiastic about our schools, so sometimes I have to play a little hooky...fortunately as a freelancer I have the flexibility to catch up on work later...sometimes much later...like a few minutes from now.)

After tomorrow night’s BOE meeting – maybe by Tuesday or Wednesday – I’ll write something about the Board’s discussion about the fields and lights (one of the more popular topics in my inbox lately!). Have a great week!