Society for Quality Education

Volume 19, Number 4, December 2010. ISSN-1201-215

FROM THE PRESIDENT

In this issue, there is some great information for parents and teachers who want their students to learn more. For example, Aunt Malkin discusses the merits of school uniforms. Marjorie Gann talks about what class size reductions mean to teachers and students. There are some interesting book reviews, including one on how to make children excel at math. And, for those who live in the Toronto area, you can find out about an upcoming chance to meet the people behind SQE and at the same time hear an address by a best-selling Canadian author. And be sure to read right to the end of the newsletter, because we always have something completely different at the bottom....

Last issue, we polled our readers to see which type of school they would choose for their child if money or place of residence were no object. Most respondents would choose a private school (43%), with another large group (29%) favouring home schooling. This month, our poll (click and then scroll down to the bottom of the page) is asking whether you know of a child who has been bullied at school to the point that his or her parents were forced to intervene. At press time, 86% of respondents had reported that they knew of at least one such child, and a few had appended comments.

Please feel free to give us feedback or follow up on something that catches your attention. We love to hear from our readers.

Best regards, Malkin

MAIL BAG

24/7 Kindergarten

After reading the article in your last newsletter about our current provincial government implementing all-day kindergarten for children as young as three, it became obvious to me that this government cares nothing about what's best for these little children and everything about what the teachers' unions want - more teaching jobs. Sarnia, ON

Helpful Font

I have a dyslexic child, and in Australia there is unfortunately little support for students with learning difficulties. As a parent, I attend professional education courses at my own expense in order to seek strategies to help my child when the system will not. In one of the courses specifically targeting learning difficulties, I learned that the Sassoon Primary Infant font used in the THRASS teaching resources is easier for young children to read. I have also found your Stairway to Reading remedial reading program very helpful. Victoria, Australia

Lowered Standards = Higher Pass Rate

As a retired high school teacher, from time to time I chat with former colleagues who are still in the trenches. They tell me that it has come to pass that grade 12 teachers now have to present and defend a full report on any student who fails his or her course. There is no suggestion that the student should have to justify his or her being elevated to a passing grade. Needless to say, it is in the interests of a quiet life for teachers not to present any failures on the final mark sheet handed into the administration. Overall, it seems to be a very McGuintyesque solution to "improving" education in Ontario: despite some failures on the grades 3, 6, 9, and 10 examinations, we all pass grade 12! But what do I know? Except the continuing commentary that Canada's productivity is not up to par and our gross indebtedness is of the highest order.... Peterborough, ON

Timetable Block

Further to the letter on teacher assignments in the last newsletter, your readers might be interested in one of principals' crafty methods for repelling teachers who are unwanted for some reason. The practice is particularly useful when a teacher has applied for a voluntary transfer into the school. By setting up a timetable which is full of challenging classes or classes where the prospective teacher has no experience, the principal significantly increases the probability that the teacher will think better of transferring in. In this way, the teacher often remains at his or her original school and a more wanted teacher is hired instead. To be fair, the principal often has a very good reason not to hire a particular individual and, since principals' hands are tied by union contracts, they have to be able to work around the problem somehow. Timetable blocking usually leaves no paper trail and is difficult to prove, but sometimes teachers at the school raise an eyebrow when they see who has been hired... Kingston, ON

School for Thought

I just had to write in and say how much I am enjoying your blog School for Thought. It's the first thing I look at every morning when I fire up my computer. I just love the humour as well as being able to keep up to date on educational developments, especially in Ontario. Thank you so much! Mississauga, ON

SQE ACTIVITIES

WHAT'S WRONG WITH OUR SCHOOLS AND HOW WE CAN FIX THEM is the title of Michael Zwaagstra's best-selling new book. Mr. Zwaagstra is a Winnipeg high school teacher, and he will be the keynote speaker at our AGM in Toronto on Saturday, December 4. The event will take place at Toronto's Metro Hall, 55 John Street, Toronto, from 12:30 pm until 3:00 pm. Admission is free, but we request that you register so that we have some idea of how many will be attending. Come out and meet the people behind SQE.

As a free service for parents who are at their wits' end, we have outlined what they should do if they are forced to find a better school for their children. Click here for some very practical information.

ASK AUNT MALKIN

A veteran of the school wars herself, with the scars to prove it, Malkin Dare always has lots of experience in dealing with education problems. If you want some been-there-done-that advice, give her a call at 519-884-3166 or e-mail her.

Question

My school council is voting on whether to bring in school uniforms. How should I vote? Sarah, Guelph

Answer

Like everything else in education, there are pros and cons to school uniforms.

The downside is primarily the unease that many people feel about uniformity and regimentation. However, most uniform-wearing students do manage to add individual touches, as anyone knows who has seen the girls with hemlines reaching dangerous heights.

Other people are concerned about the expense of school uniforms, although the cost is generally the same as or less than that of regular clothing - especially if the school council sets up a uniform recycling program.

On the positive side, school uniforms get rid of the snobbery and one-upmanship of brand-name dressing. And there's no angst involved in deciding what to wear each morning - just pull on the uniform and head downstairs.

As well, schools with uniforms are more secure, since intruders stand out.

Last, but certainly not least, most students take pride in their uniforms and strive to live up to them. As with Brownies and air cadets, wearing the uniform makes them feel important and part of a group. When school uniforms are introduced into a school, typically behaviour and academic achievement improve.

Few Ontario parents realize that individual school councils have the power to authorize school uniforms. Generally speaking, school councils are quite powerless, but here is one area where parents can actually do something positive. Go for it!

Regards, Aunt Malkin

FOOD FOR THOUGHT

The following is a guest editorial by Marjorie Gann, a retired elementary teacher. Mrs. Gann is the author of Report Writing I and II (Educators Publishing Service). Her new book (with co-author Janet Willen), Five Thousand Years of Slavery (Tundra Books) will be released in January.

Class Size Reduction: Does It Work?

The issue of class size is raised periodically in the media. Most recently in Ontario, the McGuinty government decided to cap classes at 20 from JK to 3, citing research that smaller classes in the lower grades yield higher achievement.

But how true is this? The results from the two main American experiments are at best confusing. The Tennessee results conclude that smaller class sizes work, but critics claim the data were skewed when early results leaked out, prompting teachers to work harder to confirm the positive rumours. The Wisconsin programme also showed positive results for smaller classes, but there were other variables - a longer school day and a more rigorous curriculum. All kinds of biases creep into behavioural research.

I retired from the classroom two years ago but, over the course of a 35-year career, I experienced extremes in class sizes. While I can't offer objective data, perhaps I can contribute some nuance to this debate.

For over 20 years, I taught in a small Nova Scotia town suffering unremitting economic decline. As the town bled people, its schools suffered. One September morning, I arrived to find 41 kids in my Grade 4 room; this was reduced (by removing out-of-district students) to 36. That year, I had three non-readers (who got negligible remedial help), a child with Down's Syndrome who had an educational assistant, four spelling groups, and three reading groups.

In 1988, I moved to Toronto where I taught for 11 years at an élite private school where classes were never larger than 22, usually smaller.

What a difference! In both schools, the students took the Canadian Tests of Basic Skills. In Nova Scotia, we were encouraged if our students scored at grade level on reading comprehension. In Toronto, we were discouraged if our students failed to score two years above grade level.

Was class size the determining factor? Far from it. My upper-middle-class Toronto students had everything going for them from the get-go: language-rich homes where they had been exposed to nursery rhymes and the alphabet from early childhood. Many of my Nova Scotia children had had little pre-school stimulation and arrived in Grade 1 with low vocabulary and little phonemic awareness.

Smaller classes alone can't close this gap. What they can do is make possible some good things that may narrow it.

Here are some scenarios (based on very vivid memories of my Nova Scotia years) to show how large classes impede learning.

1. A Writing Lesson

I'm teaching my class how to write a book report. We read a model report together, and then I say: "Now, it's your turn. Start your book reports and see me if you need help."

I write "Help!" on the board. Students raise their hands. I write their names down, and every few minutes I call up two, striking off the names of those who have had their turn. With a class of 35 or more, I rarely get to the end ofthe list. With classes of 22, I did.

2. A Science Experiment

In Grade 4 science, we're doing an experiment on cold and hot weather fronts. For six groups of six students, I need a dozen large water jars, hot and cold water, food colouring, buckets, plastic bags. I also need time to prepare the room, move 36 desks, and set up the equipment. An hour's set-up for an hour-long lesson. What a deterrent for a busy teacher!

The next time science comes around, I think, "You know, they can learn the concept just as well if I demonstrate it. Setting up for an experiment is such a production."

But what a loss to science when students are passive, not active, learners. Boys, in particular, thrive on doing, not watching.

Teachers will undertake hands-on learning more readily with smaller classes.

3. Maintaining Discipline

The bell rings at the end of lunch recess. Now the fun begins. I have to deal with the incidents: fights, swearing, snowballs. I have to take the time to listen and be fair. The larger the class, the more of these issues there are, and I can't start teaching until I've resolved the complaints and smoothed the ruffled feathers. With a large class, I can lose 15 minutes of instructional time.

4. Dealing With Parents and Professionals

Close to half of my 36 students are from single-parent homes. I'm on the phone a lot - with mums about homework problems or discipline problems, with social workers, with psychologists, with social services. I have to write up reports on these conversations. I have meetings with principals, social workers, and parents. Phoning takes time, meetings take time, and the number of these interventions is multiplied in schools with high concentrations of social problems and large classes. The time I spend writing reports or on the phone is time NOT spent on preparing lessons.

Reducing class size is not a magic bullet. Whatever the size of the class, students will learn better if instruction is rigorous and well-structured, with systematic phonics instruction and drill on math facts. But smaller classes do allow more positive things to happen.

1. They make it more likely that the teacher can help everyone who needs help.

2. They make hands-on learning more feasible, which is better for boys.

3. They privilege teaching over discipline.

4. They allow the teacher to spend more time on preparation - as opposed to bureaucracy.

Sadly, it is the most disadvantaged students, the ones who have the most to gain from smaller classes, who are least likely to get them. Their parents can't afford private schools.

WHAT'S NEW?

Go to our blog, School for Thought, for fast-breaking education news, helpful teaching tips, and heated debates. Join in the conversation.

BOOKS OF INTEREST

Education Unbound: The Promise and practice of greenfield schooling. Frederick M. Hess

The word "greenfield" is a term used by investors, engineers, or builders to mean wide-open opportunities - unrestricted areas where they are unconstrained by previous versions or developments. The author of this book argues that North American schools are a long long way from being greenfield, that in fact they have so many entrenched barriers to success that attempts at incremental improvement are doomed. He points out that real breakthroughs, like the invention of automobiles or amazon.com, were not the result of improvements to buggies or bookstores but were rather the result of outside-the-box thinking. In this book, the author is advocating for the removal of entrenched bureaucratic barries and restrictions, in favour of a deliberate clearing of the way for entrepreneurial approaches to education delivery. The excerpt talks about innovative ways to think about teaching talent, pointing out that such innovations would be impossible in a unionized school.

Excerpt (pp. 99-100)

"Schools can do more to systematically assign administrative and other noninstructional tasks to relatively inexpensive support staff, freeing teachers to perform the work for which they are best suited. While K-12 schooling employs a large number of school-based personnel who are not teachers, they are rarely deployed in this fashion. NCES reports that there are more than 600,000 'instructional aides' in K-12 schools, but they are rarely used to maximize teacher effectiveness. Other professions handle specialization and support staff differently. There are 5 million medical professionals in the United States but just 500,000 physicians. The rest are trained practitioners, like nurses, whose complementary talents allow physicians to focus on their specialties.

"Attorneys have paralegals and secretaries to do routine paperwork, compile billing reports, or type letters to clients. Some version of this approach, executed thoughtfully and shaped to the needs of particular districts, could allow schools to take greater advantage of faculty strengths and make it easier to address staffing shortages. Alternatively, rather than label personnel simply as teachers, paraprofessionals, or administrative support staff, schools might embrace hybrid positions that allow potential teachers to grow within an organization and leverage and develop their skills in new ways. A district might downsize its central office and invest those dollars in talented veterans who can take on part-time teaching loads and spend the rest of their time on professional development, curriculum development, or parental outreach. Teachers would be able to grow as professionals without abandoning the classroom.

"One compelling example is Citizen Schools, which arranges for local volunteers to provide students with highly regarded after-school instruction and career-based learning. Rather than simply mentoring or tutoring students, participants teach weekly modules that tackle complex projects. This leverages the epertise of local professionals who have competing obligations and makes room for valuable part-timers who have a lot to offer. In other fields, organizations tap into particular expertise or retain the service of talented professionals in a variety of ways, including full-time and part-time roles. Such efforts to utilize talent and expertise are rarely evident in schooling."

The Equation for Excellence: How to make your child excel at math. Arvin Vohra

As the title promises, this excellent book teaches parents the fundamental principles and techniques that they can use to make their children excel at math. Written in an easy-to-read style, the author demonstrates how everyone can be good at math, given proper teaching. Math is important because it develops students' abilities to analyze and solve problems, use logic and reasoning, and generally develop their fundamental cognitive architecture. The book explains how parents can improve their children's math abilities, with the resulting increase in motivation and self-esteem. The excerpt shows that concentration is a learned skill.

Excerpt (pp. 63-65)

"If a child says he cannot swim, he is probably telling the truth. He cannot. He does not know how to swim. He knows the general idea of what swimming is, but he himself cannot do it.

"However, that does not necessarily mean that the child has some physical defect. It does not mean he needs to walk around all day with a life vest on, just in case he falls into some water. It just means he needs swimming lessons, and then a lot of swimming practice.

"Similarly, if a child says he cannot concentrate for two hours, he is telling the truth. But that does not necessarily mean that he has a mental defect. It just means that he needs to learn how to concentrate, and then practice concentrating.

"My first student with severe Attention Deficit Hyperactivity Disorder (ADHD) had a high IQ and a total inability to concentrate. Not surprisingly, he was doing horribly on the SAT, which requires students to concentrate for several hours.

"The solution was to build his concentration skills. I first had him do math for fifteen minutes without stopping. Then we increased the time to half an hour without stopping. Then we increased the time to one hour. Then we increased it to two hours. By the time he took the test, he was comfortable doing math for three hours without stopping. He ended up with a perfect SAT Math score.

"Building up concentration is like learning to walk. It is a slow process, but it is a process that almost everyone can go through.

"If your child has difficulty concentrating, help him develop the skill. Do not wait for him to sink to the bottom of the class. Do not treat him as if he is helpless, unless you want him to think that helplessness is the best way to approach life.

"So what should you do? Treat concentration like any other skill, and help him gradually learn how to do it. For the first week, have him concentrate for 15 minutes at a time. Then increase the time to 30 minutes. Then increase it to an hour. Then increase it to an hour and a half. After two months, he should be able to concentrate for 3 hours.

"From this experience he will gain far more than just the ability to concentrate. You will have taught him to take control of his life, and to refuse to accept perceived limitations. You will have taught him to overcome challenges and to do what is necessary to succeed."

Spin Cycle: How research is used in policy debates: The case of charter schools. Jeffrey R. Henig

The author is a professor who has studied and written about school choice issues for 20 years and is viewed as unbiased by researchers on both sides of the argument. His book examines how the debate became so polarized and, as well, lays out the bottom line of the evidence on charter schools to date. His main conclusions are that there are good and bad charter schools, that the test scores of charter school students are on average slightly lower than the test scores of students in conventional public schools but that this does not necessarily mean that charter schools are failing to perform (because charter schools may attract weaker students) and that parents are generally more satisfied with charter schools than they are with conventional public schools. The excerpt discusses why newspapers don't present substantive and authoritative information on charter schools (as well as most other education issues).

Excerpt (pp.198-200)

"First, education journalists, particularly outside the more prestigious outlets, tend to lack training in research or deep experience with education policy issues....Most education reporters are in the suburban offices and they essentially cover school board meetings....

"When reporters graduate up to the central office of larger newspapers, they still may not be expected to cover the nitty-gritty aspects of education policy and research. The big city school beat is often covered as politics as opposed to covered as education, and there is not a lot of coverage on teaching and learning....

"Part of the reason that turnover is high and expertise shallow is that, within the walls of most newsrooms, education is considered a low status beat. Even when it leads into what might seem like big-time stories, education policy is still seen by some as tantamount to covering PTA meetings and budget hearings....

"Lacking the skills to sort research wheat from research chaff, the typical education beat reporter might find it easier to sidestep the tougher issues altogether. Rather than assess whether some studies are more reliable than others or deal with methodological intricacies, they might simply present multidimensional debates as stylized point-counterpoints, in which representatives of two extreme positions state their case and denigrate that of their opponent."

AND NOW FOR SOMETHING COMPLETELY DIFFERENT

When it comes to school success, one of the biggest and most crucial differences among kids is the size of their vocabulary - because the number of words a child knows is closely related to his or her IQ. Parents can increase their children's vocabularies in several ways: talking to their children using their full vocabulary; reading challenging books to their children; ensuring that their children become fluent readers themselves; and explicitly teaching their children new words. Wordly Wise * is an excellent workbook series for increasing vocabulary, and here is a website that provides free practice for the vocabulary content of each lesson.

*We have no financial interest in Wordly Wise.