[Vision2020] students and learning

[Art Deco]

A very revealing commentary, Deb.

Many teachers transform lives in positive ways that can't happen in any
other way, regardless of what the Lunies say.  As a person living in
extreme poverty while growing up in rural Idaho, I owe a great debt of
gratitude to several very inspiring teachers who took extra time and effort
to assist in learning and growing.

However, one of the big problems in education is how to improve the
performance of all teachers, especially the bad ones.  And what to do with
the bad ones that don't or can't improve.

I can say from my direct experience in Boundary County that the teacher's
union, who were once quite student oriented and who frequently forced the
administration to adopt more progressive learning programs, evolved away
from that ideal to one that rigorously defended some very terrible
teachers.  Hence, part of the solution to the problem is to convince the
teachers' unions to present equitable, progressive, and realistic solutions
to improving teacher performance, and to join in rather than oppose the
elimination of ineffective teachers.

w.

On Mon, Nov 19, 2012 at 9:30 PM, deb <debismith at moscow.com> wrote:

> **
> I am now the co-chair for Palouse Women Artists, have had shows of my
> artwork in lots of local and regional venues, and am a bit chagrined still
> when I'm described as an "artist". The reason is a fifth grade teacher who
> told me my water colors of onions didn't "feel" like onions, my paintings
> of Native American children who were my friends were "derivative" and my
> collages were "too controversial".
>
> Some teachers need a restraining order to keep them away from kids.
>
> On the other hand, I had a sixth grade teacher who fostered both my
> creativity and my "voice", a ninth grade teacher who convinced my skeptical
> parents that I should have art classes rather than tap dance classes, and
> the best high school art teacher in the world---he actually took me up in
> his airplane so I could sketch the world from above!!
>
> Teachers are not all good, not all bad, but just like everyone else in
> this world need others to keep them on a path that produces healthy,
> productive adults from the children with whom we are blessed.
>
> And that reminds me---a huge KUDO to Mel Siebe, who taught art in Moscow
> schools for umpteen years. She "rescued" a lot of kids who would otherwise
> never have found their creative energy, my son being one of them. He still,
> at 35, credits Mel with opening his mind. He now designs and creates
> bicycles for world class teams, and does some of the best black and white
> photography on the west coast....
>
> Teachers need support. Teachers need parental feedback. Teachers need
> better pay. Bad teachers need to be drummed out of the corps...
> Debi R-S
>
> ----- Original Message -----
> *From:* Tom Hansen <thansen at moscow.com>
> *To:* Robert Dickow <dickow at turbonet.com>
> *Cc:* <vision2020 at moscow.com> <vision2020 at moscow.com%3E>
> *Sent:* Sunday, November 18, 2012 7:28 PM
> *Subject:* Re: [Vision2020] students and learning
>
>  I know whatcha mean, TM.
>
> I, too, was humiliated (oh, I don't know how many times), every time my
> fourth grade teacher found me bustin' a move to . . .
>
> . . . this Chuck Berry classic
>
> http://www.tomandrodna.com/songs/ChuckBerryClassic.mp3
>
> Rock on, Moscow, because . . .
>
> "Moscow Cares"
> http://www.MoscowCares.com
>
>  Tom Hansen
> Moscow, Idaho
>
>
> On Nov 18, 2012, at 4:54 PM, "Robert Dickow" <dickow at turbonet.com> wrote:
>
>   A bit off topic: This classroom incident reminded me of my own
> childhood schoolroom humiliation. When I was in the 3rd or 4th grade, we
> had ‘music’ during the day. One day the teacher asked us all to close our
> eyes and imagine a ‘picture’ in our minds while we listened to Grieg’s
> ‘Morning Mood’ from Peer Gynt. Each student was called on in turn,
> describing their  ‘waterfalls,’ or pretty forest scenes. But when my turn
> came, I could offer nothing. I had no mental imagery. Nada. I was
> mortified. I felt like I was defective.  Nevertheless I was instantly
> enchanted by the music (and it was the first classical recording I ever
> requested for a Christmas present).  But I don’t blame the teacher; I doubt
> that she had any idea that I was having that reaction, nor did she intend
> this to happen. After all, most people easily form mental pictures while
> listening to music. I have NEVER cared to do so.  And although I became a
> composer with international prizes and performances, and numerous
> publications, the memory of the experience gives me shudders to this day.*
> ***
>
> ****
>
> Kids are delicate.****
>
> ****
>
> Bob Dickow, troublemaker****
>
> ****
>
> *From:* Tom Hansen [mailto:thansen at moscow.com <thansen at moscow.com>]
> *Sent:* Sunday, November 18, 2012 3:53 PM
> *To:* Shirley Ringo
> *Cc:* Robert Dickow; <vision2020 at moscow.com>
> *Subject:* [Spam 5.51] Re: [Vision2020] This is Wrong on So Many Levels .
> . .****
>
> ****
>
> The impression I was left with, after reading the article, was that the
> "powers that be" we're merely going to let sleeping dogs lie . . . at least
> until the next reading assignment and those with marked faces board the bus
> again.****
>
> ****
>
> If this were done at home by parents, what would the charges be?****
>
> ****
>
> Esto perpetua, VPeeps!****
>
> Seeya round town, Moscow, because . . .****
>
> ****
>
> "Moscow Cares"****
>
> http://www.MoscowCares.com****
>
>   ****
>
> Tom Hansen****
>
> Moscow, Idaho****
>
> ****
>
>
> On Nov 18, 2012, at 3:51 PM, "Shirley Ringo" <ringoshirl at moscow.com>
> wrote:****
>
>  Has anyone heard how the District plans to handle this?  The very idea
> of using humiliation as a teaching tool is beyond belief.  There should be
> strong disciplinary action against the teacher. ****
>
> ****
>
> Shirley****
>
>  ----- Original Message ----- ****
>
> *From:* Robert Dickow <dickow at turbonet.com> ****
>
> *To:* vision2020 at moscow.com ****
>
> *Sent:* Sunday, November 18, 2012 1:48 PM****
>
> *Subject:* Re: [Vision2020] This is Wrong on So Many Levels . . .****
>
> ****
>
> Yes, this was a really disturbing situation. One question I have is would
> it be best to fire/discipline the teacher straight away, or primarily turn
> it into a constructive lesson for the students in the class. It was the
> students in the class who chose the marking-pen-on-the-face punishment
> rather than a learning rewards pattern. Of course the teacher should have
> caught the problem right then and there. But the students need to learn
> that this sort of choice is demeaning, socially unacceptable behavior. Have
> there been any follow-up news items on this story? ****
>
> ****
>
> Bob Dickow, troublemaker****
>
> ****
>
> *From:* vision2020-bounces at moscow.com [
> mailto:vision2020-bounces at moscow.com <vision2020-bounces at moscow.com>] *On
> Behalf Of *Donovan Arnold
> *Sent:* Sunday, November 18, 2012 12:28 PM
> *To:* Tom Hansen; Rosemary Huskey
> *Cc:* Moscow Vision 2020
> *Subject:* Re: [Vision2020] This is Wrong on So Many Levels . . .****
>
> ****
>
> This is child abuse. Not to mention telling other students what another
> student scored on a test is illegal and a violation of their rights to
> academic confidentiality. ****
>
> ****
>
> Donovan J. Arnold****
>
> ****
>
> *From:* Tom Hansen <thansen at moscow.com>
> *To:* Rosemary Huskey <donaldrose at cpcinternet.com>
> *Cc:* Moscow Vision 2020 <vision2020 at moscow.com>
> *Sent:* Friday, November 16, 2012 5:24 PM
> *Subject:* Re: [Vision2020] This is Wrong on So Many Levels . . .****
>
> ****
>
> Exactly, Rose.****
>
> ****
>
> Those students who are struggling to achieve, in spite of their learning
> handicaps, are being told by Ms. Summer Larsen that they are failures.  **
> **
>
> Seeya round town, Moscow, because . . .****
>
> ****
>
> "Moscow Cares"****
>
> http://www.MoscowCares.com****
>
>   ****
>
> Tom Hansen****
>
> Moscow, Idaho****
>
> ****
>
>
> On Nov 16, 2012, at 5:17 PM, "Rosemary Huskey" <donaldrose at cpcinternet.com>
> wrote:****
>
>   I am sick as I read this.  I think if might be useful, or at the very
> least informative to Ms. Summer Larsen, if she heard from folks in North
> Idaho who have had the benefit of caring, compassionate, and mentally
> healthy teachers.  She is a monster.  Her email address can be found here:
> https://sites.google.com/a/cassiaschools.org/declo_elementary/faculty-staff.  It might also be useful if the school principal, Mrs.
> Hunsaker, who apparently lacks the mother wit to identify the horrendous
> abuse taking place under her leadership had her own failures acknowledged.
>  Her email address can be found on the page above.  Unluckily for them (and
> sadly for the State of Idaho), the national press has picked up the story.
> It is to be hoped that the notoriety will end Ms. Larsen’s pathetic
> career.  One hardly knows what to think about the rest of the faculty who
> apparently continued business as usual in this hell hole masquerading at as
> school.****
>
> Rose Huskey ****
>
> ****
>
> ****
>
> *From:* vision2020-bounces at moscow.com [
> mailto:vision2020-bounces at moscow.com <vision2020-bounces at moscow.com>] *On
> Behalf Of *Tom Hansen
> *Sent:* Friday, November 16, 2012 12:18 PM
> *To:* Moscow Vision 2020
> *Subject:* [Vision2020] This is Wrong on So Many Levels . . .****
>
> ****
>
> Courtesy of the Magic Valley Times-News at:****
>
> ****
>
> http://tinyurl.com/ca7hgxf****
>
> ****
>
> -------------------------------------****
>
> ****
>  Declo Teacher Allows Students to Draw on Faces as Reading 'Incentive'****
>
> DECLO • Fourth-graders who failed to achieve reading goals had their
> faces scribbled on with permanent marker by other students last week at
> Declo Elementary School — under the supervision of their teacher.****
>
> Some parents and Cassia County School District leadership are now decrying
> the consequences for the nine students, some of whom have learning problems.
> ****
>
> When Cindy Hurst’s 10-year-old son arrived home from school Nov. 5, his
> entire face, hairline to chin, was scribbled on in red marker — including
> his eyelids. He also had green, red and purple scribble marks over the red,
> and his face was scratched by a marker that had a rough edge.****
>
> “He was humiliated, he hung his head and wanted to go wash his face,” said
> Hurst. “He knows he’s a slow reader. Now he thinks he should be punished
> for it.”****
>
> Hurst said her son is a quiet, tender-hearted boy who is always “extremely
> worried about pleasing his teacher.”****
>
> “I want to see positive changes made at the school and I’m not after
> anyone’s job,” she said.****
>
> Teacher Summer Larsen, who has taught at the school for six years, did not
> respond to a request by the Times-News for an interview.****
>
> But District Superintendent Gaylen Smyer confirmed what took place in her
> classroom, though he declined to name Larsen.****
>
> The 21 students in the class have Accelerated Reading goals where they
> read a set number of books in a given time frame, Smyer said.****
>
> Larsen allowed the students to choose their own incentive to meet the
> reading goal. The class chose to have students who did not meet the goal
> either stay inside at recess until the goal was met, or have their faces
> written on by their classmates who met their goals.****
>
> Nine of the students in the class did not meet their goals. Of those, six
> chose to have their faces marked on and three chose to forgo recess.****
>
> “Although all the students in the class agreed to the incentive, once it
> occurred it was not so well received. Nor should it have been,” Smyersaid.
> ****
>
> Administrators believe the students’ incentives may have been inspired by
> a recent PTO activity at which Declo Elementary Principal Rebecca Hunsakerallowed staff to paint her face and students to paint her hair,
> Smyer said.****
>
> Hunsaker did not respond to phone calls from the Times-News Thursday.****
>
> “What occurred with a principal is not the same when it occurs with a
> child,” Smyer said. “This is a serious concern.”****
>
> *Parents’ Opinions Split*****
>
> Not every parent agrees with Smyer. Karla Christensen’s daughter, who
> made her reading goal, is in Larsen’s fourth-grade class.****
>
> Christensen sometimes helps out in Larsen’s classroom and she said Larsen
> puts in extra effort — playing classical music and wearing a microphone so
> she doesn’t have to raise her voice to the children.****
>
> “I don’t feel like this was bullying. Bullying has a malicious intent.
> This was someone trying to get them motivated,” Christensen said. “I think
> it upset the parents more than the students.”****
>
> Christensen said if her daughter had come home with similar marks, she
> would have felt it was a reflection on her own parenting for not making
> sure her daughter reached her goal.****
>
> “I think (Larsen)is just a very creative teacher who was trying to do
> something to motivate the students and it went astray,” Christensen said.*
> ***
>
> LeRoy Robinson, a grandfather of two of the marked-up students, said
> Larsen made a “poor choice and basically, it was bullying.”****
>
> “I think children should feel safe at school and know the adults there
> will protect them,” he said.****
>
> Robinson said the children had their faces marked on in the morning. They
> had to leave it on all day, but were told to wash it off before they went
> home.****
>
> “It was a humiliation because they had to wear it all day and other kids
> were asking them about it and laughing at them,” he said.****
>
> The marker was hard to wash off, LeRoy’s wife, Karla, said. Both their
> grandchildren suffer from self-esteem issues and one child has learning
> problems, she said.****
>
> “Most of these kids were totally embarrassed and wanted to hide it from
> their parents, but the marker didn’t wash off,” Karla Robinson said.****
>
> Children who rode a bus home with junior high and high school students
> then suffered further humiliation, she said.****
>
> As a reward a child should never be allowed to belittle, make fun of or
> hurt someone else, she said.****
>
> Smyer said he could not confirm if the teacher faced disciplinary action,
> but parents reported she was absent from the classroom Nov. 7-9 and back in
> the classroom on Nov. 12.****
>
> Smyer said the district received some complaints from parents, while
> others were supportive.****
>
> Although teachers are allowed some latitude in class, he said, this
> incident comes down to an issue of safety in the classroom and school
> environment.****
>
> “There are things there that we questioned,” Smyer said.****
>
> Hurst said she has since removed her child from the situation.****
>
> “I am really saddened that the teacher didn’t use better judgment, as
> well as the principal when she learned about it,” Hurst said. “They marked
> the children as being less.”****
>
> -------------------------------------****
>
> Seeya round town, Moscow, because . . .****
>
> ****
>
> "Moscow Cares"****
>
> http://www.moscowcares.com/****
>
>   ****
>
> Tom Hansen****
>
> Moscow, Idaho****
>
> ****
>
>
> =======================================================
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> serving the communities of the Palouse since 1994.
>               http://www.fsr.net/
>           mailto:Vision2020 at moscow.com
> =======================================================****
>  ------------------------------
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> =======================================================
>  List services made available by First Step Internet,
>  serving the communities of the Palouse since 1994.
>                http://www.fsr.net
>           mailto:Vision2020 at moscow.com <Vision2020 at moscow.com>
> =======================================================****
>
>  =======================================================
> List services made available by First Step Internet,
> serving the communities of the Palouse since 1994.
>               http://www.fsr.net
>          mailto:Vision2020 at moscow.com <Vision2020 at moscow.com>
> =======================================================****
>
>  =======================================================
> List services made available by First Step Internet,
> serving the communities of the Palouse since 1994.
>               http://www.fsr.net
>          mailto:Vision2020 at moscow.com <Vision2020 at moscow.com>
> =======================================================
>
>  ------------------------------
>
> =======================================================
>  List services made available by First Step Internet,
>  serving the communities of the Palouse since 1994.
>                http://www.fsr.net
>           mailto:Vision2020 at moscow.com
> =======================================================
>
>
> =======================================================
>  List services made available by First Step Internet,
>  serving the communities of the Palouse since 1994.
>                http://www.fsr.net
>           mailto:Vision2020 at moscow.com
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>



-- 
Art Deco (Wayne A. Fox)
art.deco.studios at gmail.com
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