One reason foreign countries are often ahead of us in education is that they don't mess around. Their philosophy is that students should be taking courses rich in content from an early age. Students begin chemistry in middle school and are exposed to complex literary and historical issues which engage the brain with their quality. The foreign exchange students I have met have also had a course in the great ideas of Western man, his literature, art, and philosophy. They can discuss the works of Plato or intricate details of literature and the historical and philosophical ideas underlying the writer's viewpoint. It doesn't reach everybody by any means, and those who can't cut it are dropped out of the system and funneled on to vocational training.
Ok, now, in a Battle Royale between Plato or Popeye for the world's greatest philosopher, which do you think would win in a U.S. high school? Up until this point, my bet was on Plato. Now I'm not so sure. This generation has been inundated with pop culture to the point that they have little or no desire to understand the core truths that have been valued in our nation for over 200 years. Don't get me wrong - they really are great kids, smart kids, wonderful kids. My point is not to demean them.
I can go out on a limb here, though, and take a hard look at our country and its values, and what it might be doing to our children. NCLB is certainly trying to set a higher standard of core education for American students and I have seen a modicum of improvement among my students in a general understanding of key principles and foundational knowledge.
But overwhelmingly in the past three weeks I have been faced with the stark impression that education is not important to this generation. They are of the belief that 'I am what I am, and that's all that I am, and you can't make me be anything else.' They think that any road will get you there and life is a journey, so if you have to take a little side trip through the school of hard knocks, so what? They absolutely refuse to see that education might have an ultimate purpose outside of the classroom. And, they may be right, but this is a new attitude that I have not seen during the last 33 years. It is prevalent across the country.
Furthermore, this has not been my experience, nor the experience of thousands of people for whom education signified a way out of poverty and into the ease of the middle class. This attitude may be one more sign of post-industrialism, but the creators of South Park and The Simpsons certainly had access to that kind of an education. Their cartoons are filled with references to Hamlet and haiku and Plato's Cave Allegory. Only it will be wasted on most of our kids. But, it's okay - they'll still laugh, because Cartman will let out a string of curse words and Bart will do something devious.
In the midst of the ease of our middle class lifestyle, we have forgotten a few key principles ourselves. Just this week the news about the American dollar has not been good. Neither has the housing market report been good. China holds millions of dollars of our debt, which can't be good. But, don't worry, 'cause it's all good, and maybe Popeye or Batman will come and save us. Hey, it could happen. Just as a positive end note, in an informal survey, most students felt that they functioned under virtue ethics, striving to at least try to do the right thing. If it is a representative sample of the majority of American high school students, it might be our saving grace.
Saturday, September 29, 2007
Tuesday, September 25, 2007
I Won't Grow Up!
I won't grow up
I don't want to wear a tie
And a serious expression
Not even gonna try
Peter Pan
On a routine trip to the mall or a sporting event, look around. Ball cap, turned backwards. Inappropriate T-shirt. Jostling for position at the video game display or fist fights over a disputed call at the ball game. Rows of screaming fans at a rock concert. Note scantily clad females with belly button piercings and tattoos that are visible and indiscreet. Whoops. There goes said female, right into the mosh pit.
Those teenagers today! Right? Wrong. Adults. Fathers in America used to have sons. Now they have mini-me. Mothers used to have daughters who wanted to grow up so they could be just like Mom. Now the Mother's want to be just like their daughters. Pop and his offspring head out to the ball field dressed in the same outfits: baggy shorts, flip flops, athletic socks and T-shirt, topped by a baseball cap. Mothers and daughters head to the mall, shop at the same stores, go to the same movies and talk about the same things. One is older and bigger, the other smaller and younger, but their tastes overlap to a remarkable degree. Today, the child truly is father to the man and mother to the woman.
Diana West, columnist for The Washington Post, has written a fascinating book, The Death of the American Grown-up. It is more than just baseball caps, rock and roll, blue jeans and four-letter words. Narcissistic baby boomers, she writes, have methodically reversed the maturation process, destroyed parental authority and subverted traditional values.
Once upon a time, in the not too distant past, childhood was a phase, adolescence did not exist, and adulthood was the fulfillment of youth's promise. No more. Where have all the grown-ups gone? And, why is the world without grown-ups such a dangerous place?
We are all familiar with Baby Britneys, Moms Who Mosh, and Dads too young to call themselves mister. This phenomenon seems shaped by a social bias against maturity. Not growing up is still relatively new -- to our cultural and political behaviors as a people and as a nation. We are a society of perpetual adolescents who can't say "no"; West argues that during the so-called culture wars, we sophomorically retreated from the lessons of Western civilization. Americans now find themselves without an understanding of own identity -- or our enemy's.
From the rise of rock and roll to the rise of multiculturalism, from the loss of identity to the discovery of diversity, from the emasculation of the heroic ideal to the PC-ing of Mary Poppins, The Death of the Grown-up makes the case that it is our own childishness that is our greatest weakness as we confront jihadist Islam in a mixed-up post-9/11 world, arguing that there is something about our past that we might better appreciate -- not just to enhance our future, but to help us survive.
The gist of it is this: In a now-vanished age, parents knew the difference between right and wrong and taught it to their children. For reasons that might have been fascinating to explore, the same generation that fought World War II, the Greatest Generation, rejected this role, raising children more interested in self-gratification and creating their own culture of music and clothes than in emulating their parents.
West argues, The common compass of the past, that urge to grow up and into long pants; to be old enough to dance at the ball; to assume our rights and responsibilitie, all completely disappeared. Rudderless, the baby boomers developed a values-free, nonjudgmental world view that reached fruition in multiculturalism, a debilitating condition that has left the West virtually powerless to argue for its own interests, to recognize and denounce evil or to resist aggression.
Author Lionel Trilling notes the complete eradication of the notion of making a life with a beginning, middle and end. This aspiration has disappeared. It used to be a reflexive action to reject your growing years. People were expected to grow out of adolescence and lose certain traits such as the self-absorption, lack of identity and that striving of a young person to find himself. We as a society no longer expect to find ourselves, it has become an open-ended process
One of the things we all enjoy about childhood is getting lost in the world of pretend. But such flights of fancy are not supposed to govern us as adults in both raising our own children and in the larger picture of formulating a geo-political strategy.
I was at church Sunday and watched with pleasure as a young couple stood before the congregation and baptized their newborn. This young Father is a 3rd grade teacher in a Muskogee School. He wears a tie every day in the classroom. Why? Because he wants to impress on his students that he is a professional, that he takes his job seriously, and that he is a grown-up. Something we all should aspire to.
.
Thursday, September 20, 2007
Little Extortionists
Were you ever accosted by those playground bullies who take your milk money or make you give them your tennis shoes? Yeh, well, that's not who I'm talking about. I'm referring to the little extrotionists living right under your own roof.
We all learn to extort to a degree, I guess, transfixed by owning material wealth or getting our way. It's common to hear a child say, "I will love you, Mommy/Daddy, if you_________." In extreme cases sometimes love really is extorted or used as a means of extortion by children and adults alike. Fortunately, most people use that phrase only facetiously.
But, the kind of extortion I am talking about is subtle and different. It consists of cell phone bills and car/insurance payments, clothes and college tuition. Maybe there's even food thrown in there somewhere and a Sony Wii. Maybe it's not even our kids extorting us, but us extroting ourselves for our kids.
I was listening to three economists on NPR discussing the appropriate time to stop paying for a child's cell phone bill. Many parents keep paying for a cell phone as long as their child is in college (I know I am), but now parents are continuing to pay until the child (is 25 a child?) is established financially. The three men (also dads) on NPR agreed this is foolish. This would not have even been considered in olden days (20 or 30 years ago).
Don't get me wrong, helping out is one thing. Like, buying one's adult child a new set of tires, or helping a teen get a first car. But, to continue to provide unnecessary goods and services in perpetuity for our kids, no. We trick ourselves or are tricked, though, in so many ways. Guilt is a really effective means of extortion. Some things I've heard people say:
"Well, you want me to be successful, don't you?"
"But, how can I call you, if I don't have a cell phone?"
"You're the one always wanting me to call every thirty minutes."
"Well, I can't get to my job, if I don't have a car."
"Everyone is going to have a new dress, and I'll look like an idiot. Is that what you want?"
"I'll just buy this new ____ (boat, flatscreen tv, computer, Wii), and it will give us more family time together."
We're not bad people. We only want the best for our children. We want them to have what we did or did not have when we were growing up. It has been a growing trend since World War II for parents to want the next generation to suffer less, have more, and it's reaching a crescendo. Our children are not bad people, either, but they do know how to play the game. But, when is enough, enough?
We all learn to extort to a degree, I guess, transfixed by owning material wealth or getting our way. It's common to hear a child say, "I will love you, Mommy/Daddy, if you_________." In extreme cases sometimes love really is extorted or used as a means of extortion by children and adults alike. Fortunately, most people use that phrase only facetiously.
But, the kind of extortion I am talking about is subtle and different. It consists of cell phone bills and car/insurance payments, clothes and college tuition. Maybe there's even food thrown in there somewhere and a Sony Wii. Maybe it's not even our kids extorting us, but us extroting ourselves for our kids.
I was listening to three economists on NPR discussing the appropriate time to stop paying for a child's cell phone bill. Many parents keep paying for a cell phone as long as their child is in college (I know I am), but now parents are continuing to pay until the child (is 25 a child?) is established financially. The three men (also dads) on NPR agreed this is foolish. This would not have even been considered in olden days (20 or 30 years ago).
Don't get me wrong, helping out is one thing. Like, buying one's adult child a new set of tires, or helping a teen get a first car. But, to continue to provide unnecessary goods and services in perpetuity for our kids, no. We trick ourselves or are tricked, though, in so many ways. Guilt is a really effective means of extortion. Some things I've heard people say:
"Well, you want me to be successful, don't you?"
"But, how can I call you, if I don't have a cell phone?"
"You're the one always wanting me to call every thirty minutes."
"Well, I can't get to my job, if I don't have a car."
"Everyone is going to have a new dress, and I'll look like an idiot. Is that what you want?"
"I'll just buy this new ____ (boat, flatscreen tv, computer, Wii), and it will give us more family time together."
We're not bad people. We only want the best for our children. We want them to have what we did or did not have when we were growing up. It has been a growing trend since World War II for parents to want the next generation to suffer less, have more, and it's reaching a crescendo. Our children are not bad people, either, but they do know how to play the game. But, when is enough, enough?
Tuesday, September 18, 2007
Parent-Teen War -Eureka! Parents Win
Homecoming. For our generation it evokes pom pom corsages with pipe cleaner letters in the school colors, the bigger the better. Tissue paper class and club floats that everyone worked on all week, culminating with a big parade downtown. There was the Homecoming Queen and her court, riding around the track at half-time, waving gaily to all the fans. Homecoming brings back memories of fall and football and bonfires. Those dates to the Homecoming Dance. Ahhh. It was a simpler time. And a safer one.
The paper today issued a warning from the police to high- schoolers that the traditional Homecoming week of retaliation and destruction would not be tolerated. To the uninformed, this means a nightly attack against members of another class. Teachers knew it at MHS as the dreaded Junior- Senior War.
The "tradition" seemed to start when one group destroyed another group's float, probably about nine or ten years ago. There went the float tradition. An edict came from downtown that there would be no more floats for homecoming. Those few kids who made bad decisions affected this memorable and creative activity for the rest of our student body. Sound familiar?
So, no floats. No parades. If memory serves me right, eggs and toilet paper next became the week's activity. First years were on foot, a house by house assault. Kids roamed neighborhoods, Juniors against Seniors. The next morning property owner complaints poured in at the Ed Center and MHS. (How someone assumes non-sanctioned, non school activities are the responsibility of said organization in the first place is another column.)
Every year that I was there, The Junior - Senior War became more the focus and the most anticipated activity of Homecoming. That was all students were talking about, some in whispers, others with maps and computer print-outs. T-Shirts even appeared, claiming bragging rights and battle cries for the week. Administration warned, threatened and cajoled, unfortunately, only adding to the excitement, anticipation and danger.
Paint Ball Guns appeared somewhere in this time line. Paint Ball guns fired not only on foot, but from cars. We are now talking not only about damage to property. Paint Balls fired from moving cars cause accidents. Only last spring a talented young athlete from Jenks was killed when a paint ball war resulted in an auto accident. Not only will his family live forever with the loss, the lives of the other young men involved will never be the same.
In an earlier column, Mel discussed teen brains. It has been proven that their sometimes lack of common sense and feeling of immortality is a chemical process. "Gee, maybe this isn't such a good idea" often does not enter into the equation. Adrenalin, the herd instinct ( and often alcohol) override personal safety and respect for other's property. It's a rush to" make a hit" and drive off into the night, tires screeching and doors slamming. It is also destructive and dangerous.
Here's a suggestion. Parents win. Just Say No this year. Put your foot down. Absolutely forbid your child's participation in this warped form of entertainment. Lock up the paint ball guns. Tonight there is a Homecoming Festival at the school. Positive and dare I say, wholesome activities have been planned for your teen's enjoyment. Then, they come home. No vague, "I'll be over at Johnny's for a while"...know exactly what the game plan is. Tomorrow night, maybe join with another parent or two and offer a swimming party or bonfire. Thursday, if they have to throw eggs, offer a big field and let them have at it. Keep it contained and monitored. Be the parents of the class that breaks the pattern. Offer alternate activities but don't allow the old "It's a tradition" to weaken your resolve. Be firm parents! You can do it! Looking back, I wish I had.
The paper today issued a warning from the police to high- schoolers that the traditional Homecoming week of retaliation and destruction would not be tolerated. To the uninformed, this means a nightly attack against members of another class. Teachers knew it at MHS as the dreaded Junior- Senior War.
The "tradition" seemed to start when one group destroyed another group's float, probably about nine or ten years ago. There went the float tradition. An edict came from downtown that there would be no more floats for homecoming. Those few kids who made bad decisions affected this memorable and creative activity for the rest of our student body. Sound familiar?
So, no floats. No parades. If memory serves me right, eggs and toilet paper next became the week's activity. First years were on foot, a house by house assault. Kids roamed neighborhoods, Juniors against Seniors. The next morning property owner complaints poured in at the Ed Center and MHS. (How someone assumes non-sanctioned, non school activities are the responsibility of said organization in the first place is another column.)
Every year that I was there, The Junior - Senior War became more the focus and the most anticipated activity of Homecoming. That was all students were talking about, some in whispers, others with maps and computer print-outs. T-Shirts even appeared, claiming bragging rights and battle cries for the week. Administration warned, threatened and cajoled, unfortunately, only adding to the excitement, anticipation and danger.
Paint Ball Guns appeared somewhere in this time line. Paint Ball guns fired not only on foot, but from cars. We are now talking not only about damage to property. Paint Balls fired from moving cars cause accidents. Only last spring a talented young athlete from Jenks was killed when a paint ball war resulted in an auto accident. Not only will his family live forever with the loss, the lives of the other young men involved will never be the same.
In an earlier column, Mel discussed teen brains. It has been proven that their sometimes lack of common sense and feeling of immortality is a chemical process. "Gee, maybe this isn't such a good idea" often does not enter into the equation. Adrenalin, the herd instinct ( and often alcohol) override personal safety and respect for other's property. It's a rush to" make a hit" and drive off into the night, tires screeching and doors slamming. It is also destructive and dangerous.
Here's a suggestion. Parents win. Just Say No this year. Put your foot down. Absolutely forbid your child's participation in this warped form of entertainment. Lock up the paint ball guns. Tonight there is a Homecoming Festival at the school. Positive and dare I say, wholesome activities have been planned for your teen's enjoyment. Then, they come home. No vague, "I'll be over at Johnny's for a while"...know exactly what the game plan is. Tomorrow night, maybe join with another parent or two and offer a swimming party or bonfire. Thursday, if they have to throw eggs, offer a big field and let them have at it. Keep it contained and monitored. Be the parents of the class that breaks the pattern. Offer alternate activities but don't allow the old "It's a tradition" to weaken your resolve. Be firm parents! You can do it! Looking back, I wish I had.
Friday, September 14, 2007
Watch Out for 6th Graders
I recently attended the Model Schools Conference in Washington, D.C. The major players in educational research were there, stressing their mantra for today's public schools: RIGOR, RELEVANCE, RELATIONSHIPS. Any teacher worth his/her salt knows that mantra instinctively.
What was new information, however, was something I just touched on in July: failure in school begins to manifest itself in the 6th grade. Sixth grade - who knew?
Prior understanding of potential drop outs said that the ninth grade is when failure begins to set in, after a person is in high school. The 9th grade has always been looked upon as a transitional year. Grades are usually low for freshmen and many a senior has rued their lack of serious approach to school when they find out it takes making 6 straight A's to get a C average out of the 6 straight F's they made in the 9th grade.
It has also been a strongly held assumption that attendance began to lag during the freshman year. This is the year most people attempt to skip school, cut class, run from the truancy officer, and call in sick for themselves.
But current research shows that a person's potential risk for failure at school actually begins in the 6th grade. This is the key transitional year from elementary school to middle school or junior high. Four key indicators of potential danger are:
>Attendance problems
>Behavior problems
>Math failure
>English failure
These are problems that do not normally self-correct. In other words, it takes some strong intervention from the school and on the home front to fix a potentially dangerous problem.
If you don't view this as a problem, statistics show you are wrong. For people trying to work their way up the social ladder, entry into the middle class nowadays is easiest through access to post-secondary education (not just college, but training and vocational programs, too). By not taking the above problems seriously as a parent, you are running the risk of limiting your child's personal and financial success.
The great thing is, when addressed in the 6th grade, there is plenty of time to turn the problem around. Parents are tempted to say, "Oh, it's just a phase and it will run its course." Maybe it will, but maybe it won't. Sixth grade year is no time for parents to go on auto-pilot waiting for little Johnny to grow up. It's time we started watching out for 6th graders to make sure we set them up with the best possible foundation for success.
What was new information, however, was something I just touched on in July: failure in school begins to manifest itself in the 6th grade. Sixth grade - who knew?
Prior understanding of potential drop outs said that the ninth grade is when failure begins to set in, after a person is in high school. The 9th grade has always been looked upon as a transitional year. Grades are usually low for freshmen and many a senior has rued their lack of serious approach to school when they find out it takes making 6 straight A's to get a C average out of the 6 straight F's they made in the 9th grade.
It has also been a strongly held assumption that attendance began to lag during the freshman year. This is the year most people attempt to skip school, cut class, run from the truancy officer, and call in sick for themselves.
But current research shows that a person's potential risk for failure at school actually begins in the 6th grade. This is the key transitional year from elementary school to middle school or junior high. Four key indicators of potential danger are:
>Attendance problems
>Behavior problems
>Math failure
>English failure
These are problems that do not normally self-correct. In other words, it takes some strong intervention from the school and on the home front to fix a potentially dangerous problem.
If you don't view this as a problem, statistics show you are wrong. For people trying to work their way up the social ladder, entry into the middle class nowadays is easiest through access to post-secondary education (not just college, but training and vocational programs, too). By not taking the above problems seriously as a parent, you are running the risk of limiting your child's personal and financial success.
The great thing is, when addressed in the 6th grade, there is plenty of time to turn the problem around. Parents are tempted to say, "Oh, it's just a phase and it will run its course." Maybe it will, but maybe it won't. Sixth grade year is no time for parents to go on auto-pilot waiting for little Johnny to grow up. It's time we started watching out for 6th graders to make sure we set them up with the best possible foundation for success.
Tuesday, September 11, 2007
Reading and Writng and 'Rithmatic
Oh Mel. You hit a nerve with your last post. I was the one GRADING those essays. In class, no matter how much we discussed "tighten", be specific, active voice, mature vocabulary, word and sentence order, transitions, supporting assertions..................I would find myself with 30 elementary level essays. Basic mistakes. Incorrect subject-verb agreement. No topic sentence. No introduction or conclusion. Simplistic sentences- subject, verb and direct object, over and over and over again. Spelling not corrected. And word choice. We finally had a funeral and buried nice, happy, good, pretty, cool, mean....you get the idea. Grammar? Many 18 year olds did not know basic rules and guidelines.
The ACT scores became a personal crusade. There were too many stunned faces when kids took the test the first time. I'll share a teaching tool that seemed to break down the English section of the ACT in an easy to understand way. Below are just some of the examples. This really helped my seniors see the specifics of the test and also the specifics of what they needed to be familiar with. Oh. And how much they didn't know.
(As an aside, the ninth grade is not to early to first take the ACT. Familiarity and confidence plus the additional practice are all beneficial. Way before senior year, get the ACT Prep Book. Take an ACT Prep class. Practice on- line. Study. A great tool is to order the scored test from ACT. It is only $15.00 and strengths and weaknesses can be identified early and addressed before the next test)
Below is a partial list of expected skills and the accompanying score range
A Score Range of 13-15
* recognize blatantly illogical conjunctive adverbs
* revise sentences to correct awkward or confusing arrangements of sentence elements
*revise ambiguous pronouns that create obvious sense problems (i.e. meaning or logic)
*solve basic usage problems as whether to use a comparative or superlative adjective and which word to use in such pairs such as passed or past.
*Use punctuation or conjunctions to join simple clauses.
A Score Range of 16-19
* Identify the basic purpose or role of a specified phrase or sentence
* Delete obviously irrelevant material from an essay
* Select the most obvious place to add a sentence in a paragraph
* Delete wordy material
* Correct glaringly inappropriate shifts in verb tense or voice
* Solve basic grammatical problems such as whether to use an adverb or adjective form, how to form comparative and superlative adjectives
A Score Range of 20-23
*Identify main theme of an essay
*Determine relevancy when presented with a variety of sentence-level details
*Decide the most logical place to add a sentence in an essay
*Delete redundant material (e.g. alarmingly startled)
*Add a sentence that introduces a simple paragraph
*Use the word or phrase most consistent with the style and tone of an essay
*Determine clearest and most logical conjunctions
*Recognize and correct marked disturbances of sentence flow (e.g. participle phrase fragments, missing relative pronouns, dangling or misplaced modifiers)
A Score Range of 24-27
* Identify the focus of a simple essay, applying that knowledge that sharpens that focus or to determine if an essay has met a specified goal
*Delete material because it disturbs the flow ad development of the paragraph
*Rearrange the sentences in a paragraph for the sake of logic
*Provide a transition between paragraphs when the essay is fairly straightforward
* Rearrange the sentences in a paragraph for the sake of logic.
*Identify and Correct vague pronoun references
A Score Range of 28 to a 32
* Identify both the focus and purpose of a fairly involved essay, applying that knowledge to determine the rhetorical effect of a new or existing sentence or the need to add supporting detail or delete plausible but irrelevant material
* Rearrange sentences to improve the logic and coherence of a complex paragraph
* Correct vague and wordy or clumsy and confusing writing containing sophisticated language * Use sentence combining techniques, effectively avoiding comma splices, run on sentences, and sentence fragments, especially in sentences containing compound subjects or verbs
* Add a sentence to accomplish a subtle purposes such as emphasis and to express meaning through connotation
A Score Range of 33-36 *%$#&*)+*&)#!!
* Determine whether a complex essay has accomplished a specific purpose
* Add a phrase or sentence to accomplish a complex purpose, expressed in terms of the main focus of the essay
* Consider the need for introductory sentences or transitions, basing decisions on a thorough understanding of both the logic and the rhetorical effect of the paragraph and essay
* Work comfortably with long sentences and complex clausal relationships within sentences, avoiding weak conjunctions between independent clauses and maintaining parallel structure between clauses
It is important to remember, the ACT test is an instrument that determines not only where an individual is academically in high school, but also how well an individual is prepared for the academic expectations of prospective colleges and universities. Schools require a certain ACT score for admission because the academic level of that particular school requires it. Dreams of a certain college in the future require hard work and commitment now.
I don't want to leave this discussion without a positive comment. In my classes we went back to basics. Simple exercises to illustrate what a dangling modifier was, subject/verb agreement, smooth transitions and paragraph construction. Guided discussions of theme and tone and voice. "Stevenson used this metaphor because he wanted to illustrate what about man's nature? How does this comparison show us the dark and light side of man? Everybody write down one assertion." Then, time was allowed for one on one essay rewrites and revisions. Those red marks meant nothing if a general knowledge of terms and mechanics was not in their repertoire. The writing lab at MHS made this easier. With guidance and practice, many of my students grew and matured as writers. Their Senior Anthology at the end of the year was a capstone of directed application and plain hard work.
The ACT scores became a personal crusade. There were too many stunned faces when kids took the test the first time. I'll share a teaching tool that seemed to break down the English section of the ACT in an easy to understand way. Below are just some of the examples. This really helped my seniors see the specifics of the test and also the specifics of what they needed to be familiar with. Oh. And how much they didn't know.
(As an aside, the ninth grade is not to early to first take the ACT. Familiarity and confidence plus the additional practice are all beneficial. Way before senior year, get the ACT Prep Book. Take an ACT Prep class. Practice on- line. Study. A great tool is to order the scored test from ACT. It is only $15.00 and strengths and weaknesses can be identified early and addressed before the next test)
Below is a partial list of expected skills and the accompanying score range
A Score Range of 13-15
* recognize blatantly illogical conjunctive adverbs
* revise sentences to correct awkward or confusing arrangements of sentence elements
*revise ambiguous pronouns that create obvious sense problems (i.e. meaning or logic)
*solve basic usage problems as whether to use a comparative or superlative adjective and which word to use in such pairs such as passed or past.
*Use punctuation or conjunctions to join simple clauses.
A Score Range of 16-19
* Identify the basic purpose or role of a specified phrase or sentence
* Delete obviously irrelevant material from an essay
* Select the most obvious place to add a sentence in a paragraph
* Delete wordy material
* Correct glaringly inappropriate shifts in verb tense or voice
* Solve basic grammatical problems such as whether to use an adverb or adjective form, how to form comparative and superlative adjectives
A Score Range of 20-23
*Identify main theme of an essay
*Determine relevancy when presented with a variety of sentence-level details
*Decide the most logical place to add a sentence in an essay
*Delete redundant material (e.g. alarmingly startled)
*Add a sentence that introduces a simple paragraph
*Use the word or phrase most consistent with the style and tone of an essay
*Determine clearest and most logical conjunctions
*Recognize and correct marked disturbances of sentence flow (e.g. participle phrase fragments, missing relative pronouns, dangling or misplaced modifiers)
A Score Range of 24-27
* Identify the focus of a simple essay, applying that knowledge that sharpens that focus or to determine if an essay has met a specified goal
*Delete material because it disturbs the flow ad development of the paragraph
*Rearrange the sentences in a paragraph for the sake of logic
*Provide a transition between paragraphs when the essay is fairly straightforward
* Rearrange the sentences in a paragraph for the sake of logic.
*Identify and Correct vague pronoun references
A Score Range of 28 to a 32
* Identify both the focus and purpose of a fairly involved essay, applying that knowledge to determine the rhetorical effect of a new or existing sentence or the need to add supporting detail or delete plausible but irrelevant material
* Rearrange sentences to improve the logic and coherence of a complex paragraph
* Correct vague and wordy or clumsy and confusing writing containing sophisticated language * Use sentence combining techniques, effectively avoiding comma splices, run on sentences, and sentence fragments, especially in sentences containing compound subjects or verbs
* Add a sentence to accomplish a subtle purposes such as emphasis and to express meaning through connotation
A Score Range of 33-36 *%$#&*)+*&)#!!
* Determine whether a complex essay has accomplished a specific purpose
* Add a phrase or sentence to accomplish a complex purpose, expressed in terms of the main focus of the essay
* Consider the need for introductory sentences or transitions, basing decisions on a thorough understanding of both the logic and the rhetorical effect of the paragraph and essay
* Work comfortably with long sentences and complex clausal relationships within sentences, avoiding weak conjunctions between independent clauses and maintaining parallel structure between clauses
It is important to remember, the ACT test is an instrument that determines not only where an individual is academically in high school, but also how well an individual is prepared for the academic expectations of prospective colleges and universities. Schools require a certain ACT score for admission because the academic level of that particular school requires it. Dreams of a certain college in the future require hard work and commitment now.
I don't want to leave this discussion without a positive comment. In my classes we went back to basics. Simple exercises to illustrate what a dangling modifier was, subject/verb agreement, smooth transitions and paragraph construction. Guided discussions of theme and tone and voice. "Stevenson used this metaphor because he wanted to illustrate what about man's nature? How does this comparison show us the dark and light side of man? Everybody write down one assertion." Then, time was allowed for one on one essay rewrites and revisions. Those red marks meant nothing if a general knowledge of terms and mechanics was not in their repertoire. The writing lab at MHS made this easier. With guidance and practice, many of my students grew and matured as writers. Their Senior Anthology at the end of the year was a capstone of directed application and plain hard work.
Sunday, September 9, 2007
The Law of the Farm
The first ACT is rolling around and I am reminded again of Stephen Covey, writing in The Seven Habits of Highly Effective Families, who explains the Law of the Farm. What if, he asks, you were a farmer who did nothing for most of the year, then hurriedly tried to prepare your fields, sow your crops, and expect a lush harvest? It would be impossible.
Covey was trying to explain that good results take hard work. Successful families take investment and nurturing.
I would like to add that our children are our crops. Many people realize far too late that they have not invested as much into their children as they should have. When the ACT comes, not enough investment has been made into the student's overall upbringing - not only enough knowledge itself to excel on the test, but also a significant understanding as to why the test is important or why school was important in the first place - so that the child does not do well. This is a kind of "crop failure" that is agonizing for everyone involved - teachers, coaches, the student, and especially the parents, who are ultimately responsible.
(I am saying this now, while there is still just a fraction of time left to bring your child up to the point he/she wants to be. I can't tell you how agonizing it is to see a young person who NEEDS scholarships score an 18 or 19 on the ACT. I can't tell you how agonizing it is to have to tell a senior he/she will NEVER be in the National Honor Society because their freshman year killed their cumulative grade point average. I really can't tell you how hard it is when a student watches his/her friends go off the university while he/she stays here. The only upbeat to it is that all things are learning experiences and hopefully an insight will come to the student and parent from it.)
There are, of course, factors beyond the control of a farmer. He has no control over the weather, a plague of insects, the commodities market, or bad soil. Sometimes he can do everything right and the crops still fail.
The same is true of raising a teenager. We have little control over the social climate (think of those poor parents in the '60's waging a battle against hippies and illegal drugs - an epoch whose influence has caused many bad social repercussions), the plague of unsavory "insects" circling your child as friends, your own struggle with maintaining a job in the fluctuating market, or having a recalcitrant child who will not listen, no matter what.
Still, if you are just waking up to the fact that your child is facing the end of high school and you have not been a good farmer, there are some proactive measures you can take. Some require stealth, others can be overt. The important point is to never give up.
1.) Struggling ACT scores. The first ACT is in October and the application has to be submitted in the next couple of weeks. You should have on file your child's previous attempts at the ACT or, if your child took the PLAN test as a sophomore, those scores can give you an estimate of where he/she stands. If the last score was a 19 or below, you have three options: a.)enroll in an ACT prep class now and buy practice books, b.)take the ACT again in December, so that you have access to the score before the scholarship due date of Feb. 1 (for most institutions), c.)take the residual ACT at the university your child wishes to attend - these are given daily or weekly by appointment, depending on the college, and are good at that college only - results are usually available the same day.
2.)Struggling G.P.A. This is just as hard to fix as a poor ACT score, but most students have become more serious by their junior year (which is also the hardest) and their GPA has begun to come up. By the first semester of his/her senior year, your child should be making a strong GPA, but unfortunately many college applications are sent out in October, before this takes effect on the cumulative GPA. You can wait until the first semester grades are transcripted to send in the application. or you can get your child's resume beefed up through:
3.)Involvement in Extracurricular Activities. Involvement in extracurricular activities can offset a poor GPA, not entirely, but it can reduce the damaging effects. Schools also look at the types of activities a student is involved in as an indicator of motivation, quality of person, guarantee of overall success. Today's schools offer extracurricular activities for a wide range of interests. Direct your child toward those activities which develop skills such as leadership, physical fitness, and knowledge in enrichment subjects, such as art, dance, theater, or music.
4.)Struggling Reading and Writing Skills. These are essential skills necessary in today's world for even those menial jobs. ASK TO READ YOUR CHILD's ENGLISH ESSAY. You may be shocked by what you read. If you find your child does not have the writing/grammar skills necessary for success on the college level, getting a tutor now can avoid his/her falling flat on his face as a freshman in college. Some things are better learned by experience: failing freshman English is not one of them. That is a waste of your money, as well.
If your child is a senior and you have not been planting these seeds all along, start now. Until you hear Pomp and Circumstance playing, you've still got a little time.
Covey was trying to explain that good results take hard work. Successful families take investment and nurturing.
I would like to add that our children are our crops. Many people realize far too late that they have not invested as much into their children as they should have. When the ACT comes, not enough investment has been made into the student's overall upbringing - not only enough knowledge itself to excel on the test, but also a significant understanding as to why the test is important or why school was important in the first place - so that the child does not do well. This is a kind of "crop failure" that is agonizing for everyone involved - teachers, coaches, the student, and especially the parents, who are ultimately responsible.
(I am saying this now, while there is still just a fraction of time left to bring your child up to the point he/she wants to be. I can't tell you how agonizing it is to see a young person who NEEDS scholarships score an 18 or 19 on the ACT. I can't tell you how agonizing it is to have to tell a senior he/she will NEVER be in the National Honor Society because their freshman year killed their cumulative grade point average. I really can't tell you how hard it is when a student watches his/her friends go off the university while he/she stays here. The only upbeat to it is that all things are learning experiences and hopefully an insight will come to the student and parent from it.)
There are, of course, factors beyond the control of a farmer. He has no control over the weather, a plague of insects, the commodities market, or bad soil. Sometimes he can do everything right and the crops still fail.
The same is true of raising a teenager. We have little control over the social climate (think of those poor parents in the '60's waging a battle against hippies and illegal drugs - an epoch whose influence has caused many bad social repercussions), the plague of unsavory "insects" circling your child as friends, your own struggle with maintaining a job in the fluctuating market, or having a recalcitrant child who will not listen, no matter what.
Still, if you are just waking up to the fact that your child is facing the end of high school and you have not been a good farmer, there are some proactive measures you can take. Some require stealth, others can be overt. The important point is to never give up.
1.) Struggling ACT scores. The first ACT is in October and the application has to be submitted in the next couple of weeks. You should have on file your child's previous attempts at the ACT or, if your child took the PLAN test as a sophomore, those scores can give you an estimate of where he/she stands. If the last score was a 19 or below, you have three options: a.)enroll in an ACT prep class now and buy practice books, b.)take the ACT again in December, so that you have access to the score before the scholarship due date of Feb. 1 (for most institutions), c.)take the residual ACT at the university your child wishes to attend - these are given daily or weekly by appointment, depending on the college, and are good at that college only - results are usually available the same day.
2.)Struggling G.P.A. This is just as hard to fix as a poor ACT score, but most students have become more serious by their junior year (which is also the hardest) and their GPA has begun to come up. By the first semester of his/her senior year, your child should be making a strong GPA, but unfortunately many college applications are sent out in October, before this takes effect on the cumulative GPA. You can wait until the first semester grades are transcripted to send in the application. or you can get your child's resume beefed up through:
3.)Involvement in Extracurricular Activities. Involvement in extracurricular activities can offset a poor GPA, not entirely, but it can reduce the damaging effects. Schools also look at the types of activities a student is involved in as an indicator of motivation, quality of person, guarantee of overall success. Today's schools offer extracurricular activities for a wide range of interests. Direct your child toward those activities which develop skills such as leadership, physical fitness, and knowledge in enrichment subjects, such as art, dance, theater, or music.
4.)Struggling Reading and Writing Skills. These are essential skills necessary in today's world for even those menial jobs. ASK TO READ YOUR CHILD's ENGLISH ESSAY. You may be shocked by what you read. If you find your child does not have the writing/grammar skills necessary for success on the college level, getting a tutor now can avoid his/her falling flat on his face as a freshman in college. Some things are better learned by experience: failing freshman English is not one of them. That is a waste of your money, as well.
If your child is a senior and you have not been planting these seeds all along, start now. Until you hear Pomp and Circumstance playing, you've still got a little time.
Tuesday, September 4, 2007
Priorities
Michael Vick and his dog fighting business has been all over the news. Graphic pictures and detailed descriptions have the animal rights folk up in arms. The SPCA is demanding vindication for the pooches. Every single day there has been something about the dogs, the owners, the public reaction, the trial and the repercussions since the story first broke in early August. The idea that such a barbaric and brutal "sport" exists in America. Appalling.
The public outcry has brought attention to a terrible issue. That is a good thing. The problem is that the attention over animal rights seems to surpass the attention generated by abuse to America's children.
Almost weekly there is a media report of children neglected, tortured and killed, right here in Oklahoma. It is horrifying. How can a society raise individuals that believe human life to be so expendable? How can parents terrorize and harm their own off-spring? Humans have been genetically coded since man first walked upright to protect their cubs. Open the paper or turn on the news. In some American homes, the protector has become the hunter. How did such aggressive and unfathomable behavior become even an inkling of an idea?
Last year, in Oklahoma alone, there were over 13,000 confirmed cases of child abuse. There were 51 child deaths as a result of maltreatment and 82% of those were children under two years of age. In our state alone an average of 23,000 reports of suspected child abuse or neglect are made each year. Over one-third of the reported cases are confirmed as child abuse or neglect. One third! Confirmed cases of abuse have risen 71% in the past decade. Shawnee State Representative Kris Steele reports that 51 children died in 2006 due to abuse or neglect. Oklahoma averaged 4.8 child abuse fatalities per every 100,000 children.
DHS was blamed in the Joshua Minton death. Remember? That Duct Tape incident in a licensed day-care facility. The bureaucracy of our government contributed to a young boy's death. The day care provider legally could not be closed and parents could not be warned, due to our system. It must be changed. Who would imagine our culture would need such measures in the first place? That a human being could do such a thing to another is chilling. Why aren't we all up in arms, screaming for a solution?
Nearly seven out of 10 deaths involve children not previously involved with the Department of Human Services or Child Protective Services. Society could and should not depend only on the government to rescue these children. Families must be strengthened. Education must be a priority. Job opportunities must be available for all our citizens. Welfare should be temporary so pride and responsibility are guaranteed all individuals.
Drugs in our society are destroying innocent lives. We must look at early intervention and monitoring of high risk situations and dangerous home environments. A dear friend who works as a maternity nurse often places newborns into the arms of parents who she knows for a fact are unequipped and ill-suited to leave the hospital with an infant. Attitude; overheard conversations; comments; substance abuse; poor hygiene; and improper provisions for the baby to even leave the hospital; she has seen it all. Yet she must place the newborn in the arms of its waiting "family."
Is there a quick fix? Organizations in our own community at least give these children a voice, once they are in the system. CASA and Kid Space provide counseling, temporary shelter and advocates. Monarch and the Courts are offering young Mothers the opportunity to get clean and sober without being separated from their children. Parenting Classes are offered at Muskogee High School and at the Pregnancy Resource Center. The Oklahoma Cooperative Extension Services and Muskogee County Health Department also offer classes and practical assistance.
There is lots of help out there. The question is, why didn't it help children like Kelsey Briggs? How does a young boy in Braggs, Oklahoma exist in conditions worse than dogs and cats in a pound? How could little Tripp Scott of Muskogee be used as a human tug of war by his teen parents? Over and over again our most vulnerable are subjected to a horror unimagined by most of us. We shake our heads and then, put them back in the sand.
Parenting can be difficult and stressful, especially when compounded with job loss, isolation, divorce, and substance abuse.The Oklahoma Institute for Child Advocacy, combining with 350 child advocate groups from around the state suggests research based, affordable strategies to build families and build protective barriers to prevent harm to children. The five strategies suggested are the following:
1. Provide access to health care
2. Reduce teen pregnancy
3. Provide high quality child care
4. Provide substance abuse treatment
5. Provide education and support services to parents
(6. Not on their list but I would add job training, career counseling and job placement for parents.)
Go to http://www.oica.org/ for the complete report, with an detailed explanation of each strategy.
It is easy to say that families are responsible for their children. It is hard to say that many families don't have a clue about doing so. Our society must address this epidemic of child neglect and abuse with specific programs and interventions. Mothers and Fathers must be taught to parent. Mothers and Fathers must be held accountable. Sadly, Mothers and Fathers must even be taught how to love.
The public outcry has brought attention to a terrible issue. That is a good thing. The problem is that the attention over animal rights seems to surpass the attention generated by abuse to America's children.
Almost weekly there is a media report of children neglected, tortured and killed, right here in Oklahoma. It is horrifying. How can a society raise individuals that believe human life to be so expendable? How can parents terrorize and harm their own off-spring? Humans have been genetically coded since man first walked upright to protect their cubs. Open the paper or turn on the news. In some American homes, the protector has become the hunter. How did such aggressive and unfathomable behavior become even an inkling of an idea?
Last year, in Oklahoma alone, there were over 13,000 confirmed cases of child abuse. There were 51 child deaths as a result of maltreatment and 82% of those were children under two years of age. In our state alone an average of 23,000 reports of suspected child abuse or neglect are made each year. Over one-third of the reported cases are confirmed as child abuse or neglect. One third! Confirmed cases of abuse have risen 71% in the past decade. Shawnee State Representative Kris Steele reports that 51 children died in 2006 due to abuse or neglect. Oklahoma averaged 4.8 child abuse fatalities per every 100,000 children.
DHS was blamed in the Joshua Minton death. Remember? That Duct Tape incident in a licensed day-care facility. The bureaucracy of our government contributed to a young boy's death. The day care provider legally could not be closed and parents could not be warned, due to our system. It must be changed. Who would imagine our culture would need such measures in the first place? That a human being could do such a thing to another is chilling. Why aren't we all up in arms, screaming for a solution?
Nearly seven out of 10 deaths involve children not previously involved with the Department of Human Services or Child Protective Services. Society could and should not depend only on the government to rescue these children. Families must be strengthened. Education must be a priority. Job opportunities must be available for all our citizens. Welfare should be temporary so pride and responsibility are guaranteed all individuals.
Drugs in our society are destroying innocent lives. We must look at early intervention and monitoring of high risk situations and dangerous home environments. A dear friend who works as a maternity nurse often places newborns into the arms of parents who she knows for a fact are unequipped and ill-suited to leave the hospital with an infant. Attitude; overheard conversations; comments; substance abuse; poor hygiene; and improper provisions for the baby to even leave the hospital; she has seen it all. Yet she must place the newborn in the arms of its waiting "family."
Is there a quick fix? Organizations in our own community at least give these children a voice, once they are in the system. CASA and Kid Space provide counseling, temporary shelter and advocates. Monarch and the Courts are offering young Mothers the opportunity to get clean and sober without being separated from their children. Parenting Classes are offered at Muskogee High School and at the Pregnancy Resource Center. The Oklahoma Cooperative Extension Services and Muskogee County Health Department also offer classes and practical assistance.
There is lots of help out there. The question is, why didn't it help children like Kelsey Briggs? How does a young boy in Braggs, Oklahoma exist in conditions worse than dogs and cats in a pound? How could little Tripp Scott of Muskogee be used as a human tug of war by his teen parents? Over and over again our most vulnerable are subjected to a horror unimagined by most of us. We shake our heads and then, put them back in the sand.
Parenting can be difficult and stressful, especially when compounded with job loss, isolation, divorce, and substance abuse.The Oklahoma Institute for Child Advocacy, combining with 350 child advocate groups from around the state suggests research based, affordable strategies to build families and build protective barriers to prevent harm to children. The five strategies suggested are the following:
1. Provide access to health care
2. Reduce teen pregnancy
3. Provide high quality child care
4. Provide substance abuse treatment
5. Provide education and support services to parents
(6. Not on their list but I would add job training, career counseling and job placement for parents.)
Go to http://www.oica.org/ for the complete report, with an detailed explanation of each strategy.
It is easy to say that families are responsible for their children. It is hard to say that many families don't have a clue about doing so. Our society must address this epidemic of child neglect and abuse with specific programs and interventions. Mothers and Fathers must be taught to parent. Mothers and Fathers must be held accountable. Sadly, Mothers and Fathers must even be taught how to love.
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