From the time I started working as principal at Longfellow Elementary I kept a legal pad on my desk. On it I recorded every encounter with students, parents, teachers and others. I still have all of those notes as well as my journals from those days. Those are the places I go first when writing about that time in my life.
Those notes were a reference point for me when talking to people and referring to previous incidents or discussions. Writing about things not only aids your memory, it facilitates organization and clarifies thinking.
The notepads chronicle our shift away from self-contained special education classes to near full inclusion in regular education classrooms. It includes meetings with staff and parents and notes about incidents with students. I also kept notes on any phone calls I got.
The logs are full of parent requests to have their child advanced in a content area, usually math, or be whole grade advanced. I made notes about the parent request, the meetings I had with teachers about it, and the final meeting I had with the parents.
I think every parent thinks his or her child is special in some way. They are advocates for their child as all good parents should be. They often don’t have many other children to compare to so they make their judgments on the information they do have. Schools have hundreds, if not thousands, of kids to include in the comparison and have an accurate sense of where each child is.
In my career I have seen kids advanced in a content area or full grade. Rarely have I, or any of my colleagues that I am aware of, seen any significant advantage in these advancements. More often than not we have seen a negative impact when kids are moved outside their peers.
Parents don’t seem to care what we think. Many times they are doing it because they have heard of another child that was advanced and want to be able to say their child was advanced in a class or grade. In all of the cases I only had one child who wanted to do it. It was always the parent pushing them to be advanced.
Parents pressured teachers and their own children to be advanced. I heard every possible reason why it was the right thing to do from my child is bored to I know my child is smarter than all of the other kids in class because I have talked to those kids.
I have never figured out what the hurry was. I believe being a well-rounded and successful adult has nothing to do with being in the top math class or being advanced a grade level. I had a friend who was the registrar at the University Iowa. He told me, quite emphatically, to stop sending them kids who were academically ready but not socially and emotionally ready for college life.
Generally, these parents are the same ones who push their kids to be involved in and to be the best at everything they do. Not a bad ambition but totally unreasonable. The kids grow up neurotic and dysfunctional.
Sunday, September 27, 2009
Sunday, September 20, 2009
90s26 Wildlife Habitat
I have mentioned that hyperbole runs rampant in Iowa City and the Longfellow neighborhood. I got a taste of that right away with a number of small incidents and a few major ones.
Because there was a great deal of mistrust by parents due to things that happened before I got to Longfellow I worked to rebuild that trust with parents individually, with the neighborhood association, and the PTA (Parent Teacher Association). When the opportunity arose I tried to do things that made each group feel like the school was an important part of the community. That included sharing the building and the grounds with all of those who had a need to use them.
My biggest challenge had been with the PTA. They clearly did not like the previous principal and weren’t sure about me. I found them second-guessing my decisions as well of some made by the building staff. I noticed that their preferred mode for doing that was not privately with me, but publicly in meetings or the press. More than once I found myself being talked about as if I wasn’t even in the room. I found that very odd.
I had managed to build some trust with the PTA president and thought I could win over the group in time. She began to share with me some of her reservations about others in the group who had attacked her publicly a few times, too. We commiserated with each other.
One morning she came into my office. She was concerned about the poison ivy in the fencerow around the playground. She was especially concerned about the north end and was sure that was where her daughter and others had gotten bad cases of the itchy rash. She asked if the district could do something about it, as not just students, but joggers and walkers of the neighborhood used the area. I told her I would see what I could do.
The district contracted with a lawn service and I asked them if they could help. The said that they had dealt with that problem before and would come and take care of it. I was pleased that I had been responsive and done something that the PTA President would be pleased with. If I had only known!
Within a couple of days I got a call from a local newspaper reporter. He said a parent had called them and told them I had single handedly destroyed the wildlife habitat of Iowa City. I was incredulous! I explained the whole story to the reporter and he seemed to understand. Nevertheless, the story made the front page of the local paper the next day. There were scathing comments from the parent about what I had done. The reporter much to my chagrin reported that I had indeed admitted my involvement in this terrible destruction of wildlife habitat.
The lawn care company claimed it had only done what the principal had requested. They had simply cleaned out the brush and weeds in the fencerow, so they were no help.
So the responsibility for Silent Spring in Iowa City rested solely on my shoulders. It didn’t help that I told them this was Iowa and everything in the fencerow would grow back in a year or so.
In less than a week the disenchanted parent raised over $8000 to plant trees and shrubs to replace the ones the principal had callously destroyed. The trees and shrubs are still there to this day and so is the poison ivy, worse than ever.
Did the PTA president jump to my defense? Nope! She barely admitted any involvement.
Because there was a great deal of mistrust by parents due to things that happened before I got to Longfellow I worked to rebuild that trust with parents individually, with the neighborhood association, and the PTA (Parent Teacher Association). When the opportunity arose I tried to do things that made each group feel like the school was an important part of the community. That included sharing the building and the grounds with all of those who had a need to use them.
My biggest challenge had been with the PTA. They clearly did not like the previous principal and weren’t sure about me. I found them second-guessing my decisions as well of some made by the building staff. I noticed that their preferred mode for doing that was not privately with me, but publicly in meetings or the press. More than once I found myself being talked about as if I wasn’t even in the room. I found that very odd.
I had managed to build some trust with the PTA president and thought I could win over the group in time. She began to share with me some of her reservations about others in the group who had attacked her publicly a few times, too. We commiserated with each other.
One morning she came into my office. She was concerned about the poison ivy in the fencerow around the playground. She was especially concerned about the north end and was sure that was where her daughter and others had gotten bad cases of the itchy rash. She asked if the district could do something about it, as not just students, but joggers and walkers of the neighborhood used the area. I told her I would see what I could do.
The district contracted with a lawn service and I asked them if they could help. The said that they had dealt with that problem before and would come and take care of it. I was pleased that I had been responsive and done something that the PTA President would be pleased with. If I had only known!
Within a couple of days I got a call from a local newspaper reporter. He said a parent had called them and told them I had single handedly destroyed the wildlife habitat of Iowa City. I was incredulous! I explained the whole story to the reporter and he seemed to understand. Nevertheless, the story made the front page of the local paper the next day. There were scathing comments from the parent about what I had done. The reporter much to my chagrin reported that I had indeed admitted my involvement in this terrible destruction of wildlife habitat.
The lawn care company claimed it had only done what the principal had requested. They had simply cleaned out the brush and weeds in the fencerow, so they were no help.
So the responsibility for Silent Spring in Iowa City rested solely on my shoulders. It didn’t help that I told them this was Iowa and everything in the fencerow would grow back in a year or so.
In less than a week the disenchanted parent raised over $8000 to plant trees and shrubs to replace the ones the principal had callously destroyed. The trees and shrubs are still there to this day and so is the poison ivy, worse than ever.
Did the PTA president jump to my defense? Nope! She barely admitted any involvement.
Sunday, September 13, 2009
90s25 Difficult Parents
Education is all about people, relationships, and trust. We place our children in the hands of others and trust they will keep them safe and help them grow. For the most part parents trust educators to do the right things with their children. Contrary to what some parents may think, educators do have the best interests of kids in mind as they make decisions.
I have met some suspicious and assertive parents during my career but nothing, nothing like I encountered at Longfellow. Overall, I would say that most of the parents I worked with were just fine but I was surprised at how many others thought we had some sort of evil agenda and I was taken aback by the boldness of many of them. In Iowa City everyone has an opinion and they don’t mind sharing it with you. Hyperbole and histrionics are prevalent.
Second-guessing is a local pastime and, often, people would criticize without all of the information. That was a characteristic of liberal, so called open minded, people that I did not expect. Some parents like to tell about things schools or teachers do wrong. Schools could write books about things parents do wrong. Fortunately, or unfortunately, we are too nice to do that.
During my time as an administrator, parents threatened my life twice and to do harm to me personally or professionally too many times to count. I had parents call me names and make all sorts of accusations, write letters to the school board and the superintendent and try to undermine my effectiveness anyway they could.
I also had parents who came to school intoxicated often. Drug use among some parents was a common occurrence. I sent police to homes for a welfare check several times and it often resulted in drug charges of some kind or another.
We reported several cases of child abuse or neglect. There were others we were sure of but lacked the evidence to proceed with it. There were cases of spousal abuse but no avenue to really help them.
There were cases where parents refused help for their children because fear of the stigma was greater than their desire to see their child be successful in school. Sometimes I was amazed at the choices parents would make. At some point in the future I will write more about all of these things. When I do I will have to alter them enough to make it impossible to identify anyone. The challenge will be actually describing the events yet keep the characters anonymous.
One of the most annoying and damaging behaviors comes when a parent has a beef with the school and is not able to move on. I have seen a parent put a whole school on edge and effectively damage the reputation of the school and the effectiveness of the staff. That, in my mind, is inexcusable. Sometimes other parents rise up against these bullies but often are afraid to step forward. There must surely be a special place in hell for those who make the lives of others miserable and interfere with the learning of children.
I have met some suspicious and assertive parents during my career but nothing, nothing like I encountered at Longfellow. Overall, I would say that most of the parents I worked with were just fine but I was surprised at how many others thought we had some sort of evil agenda and I was taken aback by the boldness of many of them. In Iowa City everyone has an opinion and they don’t mind sharing it with you. Hyperbole and histrionics are prevalent.
Second-guessing is a local pastime and, often, people would criticize without all of the information. That was a characteristic of liberal, so called open minded, people that I did not expect. Some parents like to tell about things schools or teachers do wrong. Schools could write books about things parents do wrong. Fortunately, or unfortunately, we are too nice to do that.
During my time as an administrator, parents threatened my life twice and to do harm to me personally or professionally too many times to count. I had parents call me names and make all sorts of accusations, write letters to the school board and the superintendent and try to undermine my effectiveness anyway they could.
I also had parents who came to school intoxicated often. Drug use among some parents was a common occurrence. I sent police to homes for a welfare check several times and it often resulted in drug charges of some kind or another.
We reported several cases of child abuse or neglect. There were others we were sure of but lacked the evidence to proceed with it. There were cases of spousal abuse but no avenue to really help them.
There were cases where parents refused help for their children because fear of the stigma was greater than their desire to see their child be successful in school. Sometimes I was amazed at the choices parents would make. At some point in the future I will write more about all of these things. When I do I will have to alter them enough to make it impossible to identify anyone. The challenge will be actually describing the events yet keep the characters anonymous.
One of the most annoying and damaging behaviors comes when a parent has a beef with the school and is not able to move on. I have seen a parent put a whole school on edge and effectively damage the reputation of the school and the effectiveness of the staff. That, in my mind, is inexcusable. Sometimes other parents rise up against these bullies but often are afraid to step forward. There must surely be a special place in hell for those who make the lives of others miserable and interfere with the learning of children.
Monday, September 07, 2009
90s24 Success!
What do stories do when
They are not being told?
Magic folds to magic
And they never grow old.
I struggled to adjust to the rigors of being a principal in Iowa City. Expectations were high, it’s a complicated community, a strong teachers association, involved parents and difficult decisions made the going a minefield of problems and potential problems. As I get closer to writing about the present it becomes more difficult because so many of the stories are so recent and many of the people are still around so being honest might be a little risky.
I have already avoided some stories that should be told but have been afraid of possible negative feedback if the wrong people read them. The truth is that it’s unlikely to happen because my audience is so small. Still, I will postpone writing about more sensitive things until more time has passed. That will give me plenty to write about in retirement.
In 1969 Longfellow Elementary was named an Apple Distinguished School. It was one of two in Iowa and a hundred in the country. It was a significant accomplishment for any school and we were very proud. We received it because we had a comprehensive plan for the utilization of technology and teacher mentors to help their colleagues learn to use it. It didn’t hurt that the district had purchased a large number of computers from Apple that year.
The national recognition was good for the staff and the school. It meant we got some additional equipment and software. We got a big discount on a small computer called an eMate. We purchased about 35 of them. It was technology way ahead of its time. Small computers like this are very popular right now. The eMates life was much greater than anything else on the market and many of the machines were still running and being used 10 years later.
Two teachers and our librarian traveled with Becky and I to Orlando near the end of February of 1997 to accept the award. It was presented to us at a dinner at the Florida Technology Conference. We had our pictures taken with company officials including one of the founders of Apple, Steve Wozniak. We had a great time and enjoyed the recognition.
When we returned to Longfellow we had a reception at the school for staff in recognition of the accomplishment. The local press, legislators, school, central office staff, U of I representatives and people from the AEA attended the reception. It was an exciting event for the school and the district.
Ultimately, and rightly so, the students of Longfellow were the beneficiaries of the recognition and technology. They were given opportunities many kids didn’t get.
We set up a rotation for the computers and all students got to try them out. It was interesting that the assertive parents of the school were adamant that all of the kids in the building got to use the eMates. We weren’t opposed to the idea but as usual the parents didn’t trust us and needed assurance that it would happen. That was an example of the
They are not being told?
Magic folds to magic
And they never grow old.
I struggled to adjust to the rigors of being a principal in Iowa City. Expectations were high, it’s a complicated community, a strong teachers association, involved parents and difficult decisions made the going a minefield of problems and potential problems. As I get closer to writing about the present it becomes more difficult because so many of the stories are so recent and many of the people are still around so being honest might be a little risky.
I have already avoided some stories that should be told but have been afraid of possible negative feedback if the wrong people read them. The truth is that it’s unlikely to happen because my audience is so small. Still, I will postpone writing about more sensitive things until more time has passed. That will give me plenty to write about in retirement.
In 1969 Longfellow Elementary was named an Apple Distinguished School. It was one of two in Iowa and a hundred in the country. It was a significant accomplishment for any school and we were very proud. We received it because we had a comprehensive plan for the utilization of technology and teacher mentors to help their colleagues learn to use it. It didn’t hurt that the district had purchased a large number of computers from Apple that year.
The national recognition was good for the staff and the school. It meant we got some additional equipment and software. We got a big discount on a small computer called an eMate. We purchased about 35 of them. It was technology way ahead of its time. Small computers like this are very popular right now. The eMates life was much greater than anything else on the market and many of the machines were still running and being used 10 years later.
Two teachers and our librarian traveled with Becky and I to Orlando near the end of February of 1997 to accept the award. It was presented to us at a dinner at the Florida Technology Conference. We had our pictures taken with company officials including one of the founders of Apple, Steve Wozniak. We had a great time and enjoyed the recognition.
When we returned to Longfellow we had a reception at the school for staff in recognition of the accomplishment. The local press, legislators, school, central office staff, U of I representatives and people from the AEA attended the reception. It was an exciting event for the school and the district.
Ultimately, and rightly so, the students of Longfellow were the beneficiaries of the recognition and technology. They were given opportunities many kids didn’t get.
We set up a rotation for the computers and all students got to try them out. It was interesting that the assertive parents of the school were adamant that all of the kids in the building got to use the eMates. We weren’t opposed to the idea but as usual the parents didn’t trust us and needed assurance that it would happen. That was an example of the
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