A Regular Folk
I am not a weaver of words. Some people are able to write with such eloquence and beauty using just the right words to give you a picture of what is it they are saying. I admire their ability to connect and their talent. They speak to us. I am a “regular” writer that writes “regular” words in a “regular” way. Nothing fancy. I am pretty much a straight shooter - usually to the point and I just tell it like it is. I am just a regular folk. Today I am tired – drained. It’s hard for me to even get my thoughts down on paper. It’s been a weekend filled with love and sadness. I mourn the loss of a regular folk. This man was just a regular man. He was a husband. He was a father. He was a hard worker. He was regular folk. He was like many of us “ordinary” people. And every day “ordinary” people leave this world – regular folks. But to the people that loved them, they were so much more than just regular folks. We cannot overlook the significance of regular folk. After all it is "regular" folks that make the world go round. “Regular” folk have strands that reach out everywhere. In many ways they are the heart of mankind. These “regular” folk are the ones who really know you and care for you. They are just “regular” but they can have a major impact on a life. Where would we be without the presence of regular folk? For children, “regular” folk are extremely important. Children need the consistency of regular people interested in their well being. They need the guidance and security of regular people. It is often the regular folk who make a difference in the lives of children. Children don’t need love from the rich and famous. They need love from the people around them, regular folks. When I was a child I was raised among regular folk. So this ordinary man that raised me and loved me – is now no longer ordinary. He is among all those saints in heaven. No more pain, no more hurt, no more sadness – just love and glory. He is with the One who came as an ordinary baby and walked this earth as an ordinary man. God knew what he was doing when he sent Jesus as regular folk. To my earthly father – I once more say, “I love you.” And I say, “Thank you for being my dad.” “Thank you, daddy, for being regular folk with flaws and imperfections. I know you were concerned about your “mistakes”. I know your heart, and I thank you for helping me to be a regular folk.” To my heavenly father – I thank you for the gift of family. Thank you for regular folk who love and care for children. Thank you for my extraordinary sister, who cared for my father the last few years. Thank you for the love that is shared between my brother and sisters that are left here on earth. Dad – I know you have been reunited with our loving mom. You see once again my brother, my two sisters, and one of your grandchildren. You are in the arms of our Lord & Savior and surrounded by those who were once regular folks. Love, Your regular and imperfect daughter, BEcky
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I have been reading the articles in the Courier Journal about the state’s (Kentucky) recommendations that some principals be replaced at JCPS. I don’t know much about the process that is used for these recommendations, and I don’t know much about the schools that are mentioned. AND I don’t know any of the principals that are recommended for replacement. The articles discuss low income schools and what the loss of principals means to the students. Being a principal in this day and age is extremely difficult. Being a principal at a low income school is challenging and requires expertise.
Many of the points made in these articles are valid. High principal turnover is not good for low-income schools and the students they serve. All schools and children need consistency of leadership that is focused on the needs of children. I question, as the article does, if spending two days at a school can give you enough information to make a recommendation of such magnitude of dismissing leadership. But I also know that there are times that principals do need to be replaced, even at low income schools. So when do we become concerned with and address the performance of a principal? It really comes down to a combination of factors. I’m sure the state of Kentucky also uses a combination of indicators to make their recommendations. In my opinion, here are a few indicators that I feel are important:
These are just a few things to consider. Superintendents might want to question and explore further if there are problems in these areas. I don’t envy them this process, because they do not want to pull out a perfectly good “plant” when weeding the garden. Superintendents want to look at what is happening in the schools and determine the cause of problems. This whole discussion also brings up the question of who should be placed as leaders of low income schools in the first place. Should we be careful of putting brand new principals into these schools? If we do, how do we mentor them and ensure success? Do these schools need experienced and proven leaders? We have said that we need experienced and highly effective teachers at low income schools. Is this true also of leadership at these schools? Thinking about all of this, we also have to consider the role of the principal. To me, the two most important roles are:
The biggest questions – What system works best for determining the excellence of leadership or insufficient leadership in schools? How do we respond if “good” leadership is lacking? Leadership impacts teacher satisfaction which impacts students. We cannot underestimate the power of a good leader. BEcky What?! The last couple of weeks I have been reading about Jefferson County Public Schools in the Louisville Courier Journal. All of the stories have intrigued me, and produced questioning on my part. The story and comments about magnet schools piqued my interest.
I have always admired the fact that Jefferson County Public Schools had magnet opportunities & traditional schools. Students were provided with a rich choice of educational experiences. I loved that Jefferson County did not make all of their schools the same. Parents were given an opportunity to find a good fit for their children. I knew there were some problems with the system, but the article brought out some real concerns with the magnet schools system that quite frankly shocked me. When people fought charter schools in the Louisville area, one argument was – “We already have choices for our students.” You really couldn’t argue that, even though the rest of the state of Kentucky may not have had those choices. This opinion piece is not about charter schools though; it is about the inadequacies of the current system. I mention charter schools because the magnet system was touted as a reason for not needing to do something different. So what’s my problem? When a large number of students are “let go” from magnet schools or encouraged to leave because of low grades and/or behavior issues - that is a problem. When most of those students are low income students and students of color (as stated in the article), that is a problem. When there are requirements that students must meet to enter those schools – that is a problem. Why should these things be problems? Voices continue to rise that encourage us to support public education. After all, public education supports ALL children. They say the public school system is the only system that meets the needs of every child. My question is – Are these magnet schools really public schools if they have requirements for entrance and can “let students go?” I was under the impression that public schools had to educate each and every child; they could not pick and choose who attends based on grades and behavior. I was under the impression that public schools could NOT make students leave due to poor grades and that the behavior issue would have to be major enough to result in disciplinary actions that followed disciplinary procedures set forth by the school system. Another question I have -How many highly effective teachers leave the other public schools in the system to teach at the magnet schools? Also where do the students attend once they are encouraged to leave the magnet school? I’m assuming that the students that are let go or do not fulfill requirements go back to one of the other Jefferson County schools that have to take all students. They have to be educated somewhere. These are often the students who cannot afford to attend private schools and probably wouldn’t be admitted there either. I whole heartedly agree that we need to support public school education. We also need to make sure our schools are equitable. I hope that Jefferson County Public School s continues to offer magnet school experiences along with traditional schools. I also hope they find answers and solutions to the identified problems. Saying that families will leave to go to private schools if they change the current magnet system, is not the answer needed. That is an excuse. How can we improve the idea of magnet schools and make sure all students are provided with an enriched school experience? That is the big question. BEcky Merry Christmas!
It was the day after Christmas and I was doing my run/walk around the neighborhood. I passed a gentleman and jubilantly said, “Merry Christmas!” He was taken a little aback, and I could tell did not know how to respond. He paused, and quietly & sheepishly responded with a “Merry Christmas.” I told my husband about this experience. He said that he had experienced the same thing with a couple of other people, and that he was even going to give a sermon about this topic. I laughed and said that I was planning on writing about it. (Husbands & wives begin to think alike after so many years of marriage!) My husband went on to tell me that when he wished one lady a Merry Christmas, she paused and then said – “It’s over.” Merry Christmas! Today is New Year’s Eve. Christmas is over. Yep - For many people Christmas is done and gone. Some have already taken down their trees and put away the Christmas decorations. They are now preparing for the New Year, leaving thoughts of Christmas behind. It’s on with the new and out with the old. But is Christmas really over? I began to think about young children, and how I would respond to them as they entered what is to be York Academy of Discovery, our early childhood program. The children would be returning from Christmas break, and thinking Christmas is over. But this is how I might begin our new year in the classroom: As the little children enter the classroom, I would give each a hug or a high five and say: “Merry Christmas & Happy New Year! I am so glad you are back. I missed you very much!” Later we would have discussions of things they did over Christmas break, pointing out that we experience Christmas in different ways. We would talk again about Jesus and his birthday. I might even ask the question, “Is Christmas over now?” Many would probably respond with a “yes”. I might continue like this: I was thinking the other day and asking myself if Christmas is really over. I was thinking about how Jesus was born on Christmas day. He was a baby, and his life was just beginning. This is not the last people would hear about Jesus. As we learn about Jesus, we will see that his birth is only the beginning. Jesus will grow up and teach others how to live. He will show love to little children and to others who are hurting and to those who don’t have friends. We will learn about how he loved all kinds of people and how he loved us so much that he saved us and forgives us for all the mistakes we make. So I’m thinking Christmas is not really over, Christmas is something we continue to celebrate throughout the year. Christmas is only the beginning. Christmas remains in our hearts and in our minds each and every day. We don’t forget about Christmas because Dec. 25th has past – we remember it as the beginning of a life filled with love and hope presented to all people, a gift from God above because “He so loved the world that He sent His only begotten Son.” So my heart continues to say Merry Christmas! And I wish each of you a Happy New Year! May your new year be filled with many blessings and the love of our Lord and Savior, Jesus the Christ. Merry Christmas! BEcky Each year, on Christmas Eve, our grandchildren write letters to Santa. A few of our grandkids are at the age where they still believe. Here are two of the letters from this year:
Dear Santa, I hope you like your milk and cookies. I really hope I was a good boy. Thank you for what you have done for our world giving presents to the poor. We appreciate your kindness. From, xxxxx Santa always writes a response to the letters. Santa’s Response: Dear XXXX, How wonderful! Everything was great! Hope you enjoy your presents! I love you. Santa Dear Santa, I have been a kind of good boy and a kind of bad boy. But even if you have been bad, I still want presents, even though I know Christmas isn’t just about presents. It’s also about Jesus birth. Bye! From, XXXX Santa’s Response: Dear XXXX, I’ve had my eye on you, and I’m here to tell you that you are mostly and usually a good boy. And right you are! It’s Jesus’ Birthday! So, I love you. Enjoy it! Santa Later as I read those letters again and the responses, I began to think about the Christian classroom. How would I respond to comments or discussions like these in the classroom? Let me think: Dear First Letter, I see how you try to be “good”. What does being “good” mean to you? (Discussion) No one is perfect. We all make mistakes and do things we shouldn’t. And God still loves us and forgives us. That’s why Jesus birthday is so important. His birth shows how much God loves us. Santa is kind – we see that in his gifts to children as you have pointed out in your letter. How can WE be kind all year long? Are there things we can do, even as kids, to help the poor? Do you know anyone else who helps the poor? What do they do to help the poor? Jesus was born poor. When he grew up, he wanted others to think of the poor also. As God has given us the gift of Jesus, we like to give gifts to others also. Thank you for thinking about kindness and giving to the poor. Dear Second Letter, Thank you for being so honest and admitting that you sometimes do things that you shouldn’t. God knows our hearts. He knows your heart and sees how you want to be good and that you are sorry when you forget kind ways. One reason that God sent Jesus into the world is to help the people understand that God forgives us for our mistakes and wrong doing. God loved us that much. YES! – It is Jesus’ Birthday. What are ways we celebrate His birthday? Why do we love Jesus so much? God gave us a gift in his Son. You are a gift to your family and to our classroom. Jesus is very special to us, and so are YOU! Merry Christmas! BEcky Are we willing to take courageous action? If we hope to disrupt poverty, according to Kathleen Budge, we must be willing to take action. We have to make ourselves vulnerable. We have to act with a sense of urgency.
Paul Forbes, Executive Director, NYC Department of Education & Natalie Zwerger, Director of NYU Metropolitan Center for Research on Equity and the Transformation of Schools also believe in taking action – an action focused on equity. School suspensions are highest amongst black male students with Latino males next highest. If you look at gifted programs, most are comprised of white students, next Latino students, and least black students. Fewer than 3% of English Language Learners are in gifted programs. Mr. Forbes feels we have to disrupt existing narratives. We must confront race and power. We have to promote equity for students that do not have the experiences that we have. It is also important to empower our students as agents of social change. Coming soon to a theater near you is the movie Just Mercy. This movie is based on the book, Just Mercy, A Story of Justice & Redemption by Bryan Stevenson. This is a description given of Bryan Stevenson: “Bryan Stevenson was a young lawyer when he founded the Equal Justice Initiative, a legal practice dedicated to defending those most desperate and in need: the poor, the wrongly condemned, and women and children trapped in the farthest reaches of our criminal justice system.” “The opposite of poverty is justice” is one of Stevenson's most memorable lines.” Do we remain silent? Do we have the courage to take action? Do we “rise up”? York Academy is named after a slave – a slave who made a difference and contributed to one of the greatest expeditions, the Lewis & Clark expedition. York Academy is an attempt to rise up and to give equity to young children. One day our hope is to provide a quality learning experience for a diverse group of children. We advocate on behalf of young children in order to make a difference. During this Christmas season, we will hear and some of us will sing Silent Night. Jesus was born in the silence of the night. We hear nothing of his boyhood years - silence. But as Jesus begins his ministry, silence ends. He rises up. Jesus gives a voice to the poor, the blind, the lame, the outcasts... For many, Jesus was and is the greatest teacher to have walked this earth. Even as Jesus approaches death, he is not silent – “Father forgive them – for they know not what they do.” “I say to you, today you will be with me in paradise,” he says to the thief on the cross. “My God, my God, why hast thou forsaken me?” And just when we think all is lost, He rises up! Jesus took courageous action! What is our response? We don’t have to be as courageous as Jesus. No one can be that perfect. We can begin by showing love and mercy as Jesus taught. It takes courage to be vulnerable, to love, and to show mercy. May our children be blessed with love and mercy and courage to do what is right and just! BEcky Class size does matter when you are trying to meet the needs of children – any teacher can tell you that. I know there is research that says it really doesn’t make a difference, but when you are trying to build a relationship with students experiencing trauma and trying to meet a variety of student needs – it really does matter. The sad thing is sometimes it is our own school leadership that allows or even perpetuates large class sizes. Some leaders have the power to make class sizes smaller. So why do leaders make decisions that allow teachers in their buildings to have 30 students… For example, leadership might tell you it’s because of the grant… But who wrote the grant? Believe me - the state has many things that need to be fixed when it comes to education. But our own systems sometimes set us up for failure.
When you have a school that has classroom teachers that have 30 students in elementary grades or even 25 students in primary grades and you have at least 3 interventionists & at least 3 ESL teachers, you really need to think about what is best for kids. Today in education we have another crisis – it is the fragmentation crisis. This is where we move young, elementary students from teacher to teacher all in the name of intervention. We hand teachers schedules because this is when the interventionists and ESL teachers can assist in the classroom (not their fault – it’s the system). The flow of instruction is lost. No longer can we fit science & social studies into the school day or it is a 10 minute block… (This is another problem for our schools and our world). I argue that this may not be the best intervention when you have large class sizes. Actually the teacher – student ratio will look very good on paper because they include those intervention/ESL teachers in the teacher to student ratio. Again, I just put it out there – is this the very best way to provide quality classroom instruction? And yes, I do value interventionists and ESL teachers. I believe they can be an important part of helping kids – but what is the best way to use them? I was once told – “if there is a problem, try to come up with a possible solution to share.” So here is the possible solution. When leadership writes grants for intervention or when they decide how to use intervention strategies, etc. -instead of fragmentation, consider how to provide the most consistent, efficient and quality instruction possible. I believe that comes down to the classroom teacher. So one possible solution would be to take some of those excellent and wonderful interventionists and ESL teachers and put them in the classroom to reduce class sizes for the other teachers in your building. Try to keep one interventionist and one ESL teacher to oversee problems and to be of help to staff. Then PD that is provided is geared to helping the classroom teacher “intervene”. The teacher will better be able to do that with the smaller class size. You still have the interventionist and ESL teacher for teachers who might need additional guidance and support. I’m sure there are other ways that could be considered. We have automatically gone to this pull out and push in model that fragments students and instruction. It may even separate students by race, and takes them away from being with and learning from peers. We think the general education teachers are not knowledgeable enough to meet the needs of their own students. Shame on us if that is the case. Some do actually believe this fragmentation is the best way to “intervene” and have closed themselves off to other ideas and ways of doing things. At the very least instead of leadership saying this is how it will be done to satisfy the grant and to satisfy remediation requirements – ask teachers what they would prefer, smaller class sizes or fragmentation? Ask teachers what PD they would need to meet the needs of their student population. Don’t just ask your select few. Make sure leadership opens discussion & suggestions to all teachers. Write the grant in such a way as to show that this non-fragmentation will meet the needs of the students and teachers. The grant will provide one interventionist & ESL teacher. The grant will provide training to classroom teachers to meet the needs of the students and grant requirements. The grant will provide smaller class sizes so that the teacher can include small group remediation… I realize that some will hate my suggestion. That’s okay. What is your suggestion? There has to be something better than fragmentation and large class sizes especially when leadership has the power to make class sizes smaller. Within our own systems, when we have the power to make things better, we need to consider carefully what is best for kids. Put kids first. BEcky I ran into a great teacher the other day. As we talked, she told me that she was excited to be offered a teaching job from public school number one. She went on to say how wonderful things were at this school. She had almost any resource she could want, the students – great, the parents – so supportive… I was happy for her, but also sad. I was sad because another public school had lost such a good teacher to public school number one.
Public school number one is a “wealthy” school. This school has a small percentage of low-income students. Diversity is almost non-existent. The school has few minorities with a student population of over 90% white. The PTO at this school provides teachers with many additional education resources and also support. In this school there are many experienced, master teachers. If students are struggling, some parents will seek additional resources to help their child such as paying for tutors… Many homes have internet and computers. Test scores are good at this school. Parents from other public schools apply to have their children be a part of this school. Teachers at public school number one love having their children attend this school with them. In public school number two we see a much different scenario. This school is far from “wealthy”. It has a high percentage of low-income students. Diversity is obvious with many minority students. Staff members help with PTO duties and events. Teachers question the number of fundraisers given to their students as families struggle for basic necessities. In this school, you will find caring teachers, but many will have less experience than public school number one. If students struggle, the school does all that it can to provide supports for children so parents do not have to seek additional services. Many homes do not have internet. Though the school provides chromebooks for students, teachers cannot give homework or projects that involve internet access. Though teachers and students are working hard, test scores at this school are not so good. Teachers have to deal with many “trauma” situations. Few parents from other public schools apply to send their children to this school. Most teachers in this school send their own children elsewhere even though they could have their children attend with them. These public schools exist in our own neighborhoods. Thinking about it, this just doesn’t seem right to me. I wonder if this is what was desired when the public school system was established. I think the goal was for every child to have access to an education. We have that, but do we give ALL children access to a QUALITY education with QUALITY environments? Our way of providing a quality education to all students is to provide standards and testing and silly requirements of teachers such as doing an externship. How can we even compare test results from public school number one to public school number two (including growth statistics)? Instead of fixing the system, we focus on testing, blame teachers for failure, try to get rid of older teachers – it doesn’t matter if they are good or even excellent… We give our teachers little room for creativity or passion. We give teachers scripts and tell them exactly what to say and do. We hand them classroom schedules already developed by someone else. Even if the test scores improve, I wonder if the end result is worth it. For a student who passes the test does not guarantee us that he/she will be a productive member of society who strives to make our neighborhoods and our world better places. What do we do if we value ALL children? What do we do if we desire to put children first? My team’s response was to create York Academy of Discovery. Though you may not agree with this response – it is our desire to make a difference in what we see happening with our education system. People along the way fight and belittle our chosen response. And of course, ours is not the only way. What will your response be? How will you help our children? How can we make our public schools better and more equitable? Our team believes in and loves public schools, our kids and grandchildren attend these schools. But having public school number one and public school number two – this is wrong; it is unacceptable and needs to be changed. What is your response? (Yes – Red for Ed is a good start.) BEcky My grandson had a football, tossing it in the air and catching it as he entered the room. He came to me and asked, “Do you wanna play catch?” I said, “Sure.” So we began passing the football back and forth. This was our conversation:
Me: How’s school going? Him: Good. Me: How are the kids at school? Are most of them nice? Him: Yeah A pause Him: The only thing that makes me sad is that I get picked last all of the time for football at recess. Me: Awwwww. (I didn’t know what to say – my heart sank.) Him: It’s okay. A lot of times I get on the same team as my friends. Me: (Curious) Why do you think you get picked last? Him: Because last year I was butterfingers. I dropped the ball a lot when they passed it to me. Him: This year, I’m better – but they don’t pass it to me. My heart ached at that moment when my grandson told me that he was always picked last. While he felt some sadness, my grandson did not let this define him or his school experience. He still considers the other boys his friends and continues to play with them at recess. He has many strengths and talents. I was proud of him for being able to articulate his feelings and how he was handling the whole situation. He is a happy boy who likes school. He will not always be the best at everything he tries. This can be a hard lesson in the early years. Life and the people around us can deal us some heavy blows. That afternoon, I threw all kinds of different passes to my grandson. He did not drop the football one time. In life, he will probably drop the ball more than a few times. Our conversation on that day let me know that he is on his way to being able to handle those moments when things just don’t go quite right. He has a family who loves him. He has a grandma and papa who think that he hung the moon. And he has a Savior who loves him unconditionally whether he can catch a football or not catch a football. Jesus loves him for who he is with all of his strengths and weaknesses. To all of the children out there who don't quite measure up in some way or who struggle or who experience sadness in their lives - I hope you experience teachers who show you your value and worth. School is much more than academics, it is also learning how to meet obstacles and overcoming hardships. School can be a community that supports you as you begin life's journey. To all of my grandchildren, I say I love you always – you are my heart! BEcky Have you ever been bored? I have – ohhhhh those boring times! Now, I long for the opportunity to be bored – to just think and dream. Those boring times have led me to some great ideas and reflections. But in today’s world there is little time for boredom. And no one wants to be bored. Technology also provides us with endless opportunities – no need for boredom. But have we lost something in this busy world that does not allow for boredom and contemplation?
Just last week, I had this conversation with my third grade grandson: Grandson: I’m bored. Me: You’re bored? Grandson: There’s nothing to do. Me: You know what I read just the other day? Grandson: What? Me: I read that it’s good to be bored. When you’re bored it triggers your mind to think. It can get you to the creative part of your mind. So do you think you could be okay with letting your mind be bored? Just think a bit and try to get to your creative mind? My grandson pauses and waits a few minutes. I can tell he is thinking. Grandson: Well I’d like to make a 3-D picture. Me: So make it. Grandson: I might need help because I’m not good at it. Me: If you need help, you can come to me, but try on your own first. Grandson: I don’t have any paper. Me: I just put a notebook on the shelf. (I show him the shelf.) My grandson sits and thinks and begins to work. I continue with what I was doing. After about ten minutes, he shows me a drawing of a cheetah. Grandson: I’m not so good at this. Me: You’re better than me. My grandson goes back to work. He finishes the whole thing and did not ask for any help from me. He explains to me how it works. He shows me the 3-D movement. He is excited about what he has done. Me: That’s using your creative mind! Sometimes it’s good to be bored. BEcky |
AuthorBecky Kischnick |