(One of) Today's Educational Challenges!

I was reading an article recently about America's declining scores in math and science and how other industrialized nations test scores have surpassed our own. I have to say I am at a loss for this decline, as it seems we are expecting more and more of our students each year.

I can't imagine any adult has looked at a child's textbook in the past five years and not marveled at what students are learning now versus what we learned at the same grade level. Perhaps that is part of the problem. As we are constantly forced to "up" our curriculum to stay on pace with what other schools are doing, not to high school expectations, we may be exposing our children to too much too soon.

As children's mature, their brains are also developing and it is only at specific developmental stages that they are capable of certain thought processes. This development continues through their teen years, but we often forget this because the child "looks like an adult." If a child is expected to comprehend concepts before they are capable of grasping them, perhaps our students are convincing themselves that they are incapable of doing well in these areas and thus they stop trying.

Another possibility may be what seems like an increased emphasis on athletics over academics. It seems with the advent of club sports, high school sports agents, etc., more and more people are identifying athletics as their child's route to college and beyond and school work is taking a back seat. Similarly, the overly regimented schedules many of today's youth follow allow very little, if any, free time. Children need to be bored if they are going to develop their creativity and imagination, which can be essential elements of understanding specific content in science or higher level math.

Another possibility may be that we have become complacent with our standing in the world, and we no longer feel the urgency to be the best because we already think we are.

I don't know the answer to all this. I know teachers are teaching, students are learning and parents are involved. I think it's a very real issue that we as educators, and as a country, need to consider and search for answers. We still are dealing with incredibly bright, talented children who have the capabilities to be leaders in any field, but we must supply them with the proper tools to accomplish this.

Abolishing Religion at Holy Angels

That headline had to get some attention! About a month and a half ago, the entire school was asked to respond to a survey about the school as well as share any thoughts or opinions regarding what is going on at Holy Angels. Some of the comments were ones we have received, and responded to, in the past, while others contained new critiques and insights. Probably the most interesting comment, to me, was the survey that called for the elimination of religion classes at the school.

My first thought was why would you send your child to Holy Angels if that was your opinion. If the desire was to obtain an inexpensive "private" school education, Holy Angels is a bad choice. We are first and foremost a Catholic school. (Yes, a significant difference exists between the two.) We provide a strong education, but our faith is the reason Holy Angels exists.

However, I did begin to reflect on what it would mean to the school if we did get rid of the religion classes. We would have the minutes in the day for the Spanish classes or extra P.E. people often speak about. That would be great! But we would also lose what makes Holy Angels the school that it is, and more importantly, it would change the students we produce at Holy Angels.

Teaching our students about our faith provides the foundation for so much of what we do and what makes the school special. We do not view Catholicism as a subject that fills thirty minutes of the students' day. In addition to being the building blocks of the values we pass on to our students, it also becomes the rationale behind our expectation that the students live their faith.

Living your faith may sometimes mean collecting for those less fortunate than ourselves. While compassion and social justice are qualities I would hope every school-aged child learns about, for our students, it is mandatory. Sometimes it may be taught through our school family activities or when classes collaborate on an activity. Responsible leadership, the sharing of knowledge, and community building are all characteristics of the Church that our youngest students should be learning about and participating in.

Even if we eliminated religion classes from Holy Angels, to eliminate the words and teachings of Jesus from our school would be doing our students a huge disservice. Peace, tolerance and love of God and others can only make our world a better place.

We are fortunate to have religion as part of our curriculum. It is an invaluable guide in helping us produce individuals who know that what they do is more important that what they say. As a principal, I'd rather have a Catholic child who only speaks one language than a bilingual child lacking the qualities that make our students who they are.

Parent Teacher Conferences

Perhaps one of the few things that can add to the stress of all that is going on during the holiday season is the highly anticipated report card conferences! It's ironic that often times, these conferences are viewed with a sense of hesitancy from both the parents' and the teachers' perspectives.

Hopefully, no one is coming into these meetings with a sense of wonder or will be leaving surprised. Everyone should have a pretty good sense of how their child is doing in class, particularly if it is an area of concern. We all should enter these talks with the belief that we are attempting to strengthen the partnership that must exist if our children are to succeed. It is just as important for parents to come into conferences prepared as it is for the teacher.

Before you meet, write down some questions you may have regarding your child's you have concerns, see if they match with he teacher's concerns. Be aware of the difference that occurs with group learning versus working alone with an adult at home. Do not become defensive about your child's school performance, partner for ways to improve it. Make a plan with the teacher (and your child) to do better.

Afterwards, sit down with your child and look over the report card together. Find items to praise and discuss how to improve the areas that need improvement. Now is not the time to get upset about a bad grade, but instead ask your child how you can help him or her do better.

Finally, be careful about rewards for good grades. Again, consider the message you are sending. Do you want to attach a dollar amount to a grade, or prefer your child understand that the most important benefit of acquiring a good grade is the knowledge gained from that grade?

Virtual Zoo

With the constant barrage of thoughts that filter through my mind regarding kids, education, global warming and how it will all come back to haunt me when my child becomes a teenager, I think its important to consider the rationale behind writing this blog. One of my primary objectives is to celebrate all the great activities that take place at Holy Angels.

Many years ago, at another school, I had a long time parent approach me and say, "I can't believe all the things that take place here that I had no idea about." She realized this as she was going through photographs for the yearbook, and it made me think that often times, the child's response that "nothing" happened at school that day is not altogether accurate. Today was a great example of one of the many fantastic, yet less publicized, events that take place at the school.

Our fourth grade assembled their "Virtual Zoo" in which they researched an animal, dressed like that animal, and presented information about the animal to people who visited the "zoo". Ms. Woehler always does a great job with this event, and the parents and students both loved visiting and participating in it.

Our teachers are constantly providing the students with creative ways to learn, and amidst all the concerns within education, we have to remember that making learning fun is an important component of educating . Congratulations to our fourth graders and to Ms. Woehler for a job well done. I hope one use for this space is to celbrate the accomplishments within our school like this one.

Developing Responsibility

Probably one of the most difficult aspects of raising or educating children in a society so focused on instant gratification is to make decisions with an eye to the future. Growing up, I am sure we were subjected to regulations that were more important for the lesson they teach than the actual rule they enforce. I am sure more than one parent has instituted some of these same rules. We can't forget that these lessons are vital to ensure that our children develop into the adults we want them to be. The same holds true for some of the regulations in place at Holy Angels. Sometimes they may seem petty in nature, but may have a more far reaching intention than the momentary consequence.

We have been relatively unbending this year in regards to our permission slip policy. Clearly stated at the top of every slip is that it is due no less than one school day prior to the event. More often than not, we could accommodate a child who brings the slip in on the day of an event, and it is extremely difficult to refuse a student the privilege of participating in an event. However, we believe it is more important that the students learn responsibility and its consequences, both good and bad.

This concept can be taken much further, be it denying access to a classroom after school so a student can get the books he forgot to take home or refusing a call home to bring a child's homework. Similarly, parents must insist that a child take responsibility for his or her school or home work instead of intervening on their behalf, not to punish the child, but to help build the responsibility necessary for success later in life.

None of us enjoy seeing a child suffer. Denying a child can often fall into the old, "It hurts me more than it hurts you" adage. But it is extremely important that we make decisions not to alleviate the momentary discomfort of the child, but based more upon who we want all our children to become as adults.

What Has Your Child Learned?

Today marks the conclusion of our first trimester, and once again the time honored tradition of assigning a letter to represent how a child has done in a class begins.

Thirty years ago, we lived in a society fairly obsessed with grades. Today, we live in a society that is ten times as obsessed. We have gotten to the point where many of our children view anything less than an "A" a failure. God-forbid they receive a dreaded "C", a grade that used to mean the students were performing at grade level.

Now days, it seems that we view the grade as the objective, and not the learning. Any teacher can recount story after story of children who scored 100% on their spelling tests each week, received an "A" in spelling, and misspelled every other word when using the words in a writing assignment. Grades do no reflect learning, and we have to keep this in mind when we view the students' grades. Students come to school to learn.

This trimester, my algebra class will probably receive a very limited number of "A"s on their report cards. But that is in no way a reflection of the learning that has taken place. In fact, I will say this group of students has probably put more effort into and learned more about algebra than any group I have ever taught. We need to keep this objective in mind. Before getting upset or frustrated by your children's grades, remember that it is the learning you should be concerned with.