It is very common to hear educators complain about the lack of parental involvement in our schools. They complain because they know that when parents are involved with their childrens' schools their childrens' grades improve. In the 20 years I have served Choctaw County’s schools I’ve heard a lot of talk about increasing parental involvement. Unfortunately, a lot of talk does not produce results. We must take concrete steps to increase parental involvement.
I know that what I am going to say next will raise some people’s blood pressure. So be it. The truth will set you free, but first it may make you mad. The truth is this: while we say we want parental involvement in our schools, what we actually try to produce is parental support and approval for what we have already decided to do. These are not the same things.
My first college degree was in communications with a minor in public relations. Anyone who knows the first thing about public relations will tell you that the way to get people involved in an enterprise is to empower them. In other words, allow people to have input before decisions are made rather than try to get them to support your decision after the fact.
Fortunately, we already have a vehicle to facilitate parental involvement: the PTO. Unfortunately, most of our parents are not members of the PTO. This will not change as long as our PTOs function only as support groups rather than groups whose input is sought and valued. This will not change as long as PTO meetings revolve around what parents can do for our schools and ignore what our schools can do for parents. Typically, PTO meetings devolve into discussions as to how parents can raise money for the schools. While there is nothing wrong with this in and of itself, this is not enough. Asking parents to raise money time and time again without ever offering them anything in return inevitably discourages PTO involvement. Our PTOs need to offer programs that will equip parents with tools they can use to help their children do better in school.
In the past, there have been times that we have actually thwarted parents who want increased involvement in our schools. For example, a caring and dedicated PTO member at one school volunteered to write a periodic newsletter to keep parents informed about the school and its programs. This is a simple, cost effective way that nearly all good schools use to increase parental involvement. Apparently, administrators felt the newsletter told too much about the school and censored it so heavily that the parent was discouraged from continuing. In a separate instance, administrators discouraged “Homeroom Parents” from meeting outside of the school to explore ways they could help their childrens' teachers be more effective. Apparently, administrators felt they would have too little control over meetings held off school property.
This last incident is indicative of the over-riding problem with our schools. Many administrators believe they must control every aspect of our childrens' educations. It’s time we recognized that America is a democracy, not a monarchy. No public educator should exercise the divine right of kings to make decisions that affect our children’s lives without our input. It is time for the public to take back our public schools. If I am elected Superintendent I will make parental involvement and parental input a priority. I will never discourage parents who take the initiative in improving our schools. If you are supporting other candidates, ask them if they’ll pledge to do the same. If they won’t, find another candidate.
Until next time, may God bless you and your children.
Bob Mamrak
Wednesday, June 27, 2007
Wednesday, June 20, 2007
Ineffective Administrators & Teachers
During the May 17th public meeting with four of the five candidates for superintendent, the following question was asked: “How will you handle ineffective administrators or teachers who have lost the respect of students, parents, and the community?” In the two minutes allotted for the answer that night each candidate present did his or her best to deal with the question. This is, however, a very important question and I’d like to answer it more fully here.
The old saying, “An ounce of prevention is worth a pound of cure,” applies. I believe that the vast majority of educators enter the field wanting and expecting to do a great job. Unfortunately, not all of them are successful. There are many reasons this is so.
First of all, make no mistake about it; teaching and supervising teachers is a difficult job. Most of us will admit to being pretty sorry for the first year or two. Therefore, it is essential that individual improvement plans be the rule rather than the exception.
Currently, most teacher and administrator evaluations are an end unto themselves. What I mean by that is once an individual has been evaluated a copy of the evaluation is put into that person’s file and that’s usually the end of it. In the best school districts that is the beginning rather than the end. The evaluation is used as more than a measure of performance; it is used as a tool to improve performance.
To insure this, the evaluator sits down with the person that was evaluated a few days after the fact and together they weigh the individual’s strong and weak points and devise a plan to enhance the strengths and correct the weaknesses. The plan needs to be specific with attainable goals for improvement. The plan should include resources the individual can use to achieve the goals. Then, when the individual is evaluated the next time, the evaluator pays special attention to the areas the person has been working on. This process should be repeated year after year.
It should be noted that this evaluation and follow-up process should not be used only with new teachers and administrators. No matter how long someone has been in education, there is always room for improvement. It is easy for seasoned public school veterans to get complacent and fall behind in the latest best classroom practices and innovations. If you’ve ever used the phrase “kids these days” you should realize that instructional practices that worked when we were kids won’t necessarily work today. Proper evaluation and follow-up of all certified personnel is the best way to keep us all up to date and on our toes.
That said, what do you do when teachers and administrators are doing a poor job and have lost the respect necessary to be effective? You begin by finding out what went wrong in the first place. You do this by talking to people (on both sides of the issue) who have first hand knowledge of the situation. You spend time at the particular school and observe the situation for yourself. You study all available written records and documentation pertinent to the situation. In short, you make certain you understand the problem.
The next step is coming up with a plan to solve the problem. It would be foolish to give specific solutions here since the question didn’t cite a specific problem. It is, however, imperative to keep the best interests of the students in mind. Ideally, a plan of action can be devised that can turn the situation around. In a case where the students’ best interests are in immediate jeopardy, reassigning the teacher or administrator to a different position may be necessary. In my view, termination would be a last resort. When the ineffective teacher or administrator’s livelihood and the well-being of his or her family is at stake, that teacher or administrator should be given every opportunity to correct the problem.
In closing, I feel it’s important to go back to where I started my campaign. We can prevent ineffective teaching and administration by hiring the most qualified people available. In the case of teachers, recruitment is the key. In the case of administrators, recruitment and common sense are the key. I’m all for promoting our own teachers to administrative positions when qualified teachers are available. In doing so, however, teaching experience and educational credentials must be the measuring stick. Until we begin promoting our most experienced, most highly qualified teachers to administrative positions, we can’t expect much improvement in our schools.
Until next time, may God bless you and your children.
Bob Mamrak
The old saying, “An ounce of prevention is worth a pound of cure,” applies. I believe that the vast majority of educators enter the field wanting and expecting to do a great job. Unfortunately, not all of them are successful. There are many reasons this is so.
First of all, make no mistake about it; teaching and supervising teachers is a difficult job. Most of us will admit to being pretty sorry for the first year or two. Therefore, it is essential that individual improvement plans be the rule rather than the exception.
Currently, most teacher and administrator evaluations are an end unto themselves. What I mean by that is once an individual has been evaluated a copy of the evaluation is put into that person’s file and that’s usually the end of it. In the best school districts that is the beginning rather than the end. The evaluation is used as more than a measure of performance; it is used as a tool to improve performance.
To insure this, the evaluator sits down with the person that was evaluated a few days after the fact and together they weigh the individual’s strong and weak points and devise a plan to enhance the strengths and correct the weaknesses. The plan needs to be specific with attainable goals for improvement. The plan should include resources the individual can use to achieve the goals. Then, when the individual is evaluated the next time, the evaluator pays special attention to the areas the person has been working on. This process should be repeated year after year.
It should be noted that this evaluation and follow-up process should not be used only with new teachers and administrators. No matter how long someone has been in education, there is always room for improvement. It is easy for seasoned public school veterans to get complacent and fall behind in the latest best classroom practices and innovations. If you’ve ever used the phrase “kids these days” you should realize that instructional practices that worked when we were kids won’t necessarily work today. Proper evaluation and follow-up of all certified personnel is the best way to keep us all up to date and on our toes.
That said, what do you do when teachers and administrators are doing a poor job and have lost the respect necessary to be effective? You begin by finding out what went wrong in the first place. You do this by talking to people (on both sides of the issue) who have first hand knowledge of the situation. You spend time at the particular school and observe the situation for yourself. You study all available written records and documentation pertinent to the situation. In short, you make certain you understand the problem.
The next step is coming up with a plan to solve the problem. It would be foolish to give specific solutions here since the question didn’t cite a specific problem. It is, however, imperative to keep the best interests of the students in mind. Ideally, a plan of action can be devised that can turn the situation around. In a case where the students’ best interests are in immediate jeopardy, reassigning the teacher or administrator to a different position may be necessary. In my view, termination would be a last resort. When the ineffective teacher or administrator’s livelihood and the well-being of his or her family is at stake, that teacher or administrator should be given every opportunity to correct the problem.
In closing, I feel it’s important to go back to where I started my campaign. We can prevent ineffective teaching and administration by hiring the most qualified people available. In the case of teachers, recruitment is the key. In the case of administrators, recruitment and common sense are the key. I’m all for promoting our own teachers to administrative positions when qualified teachers are available. In doing so, however, teaching experience and educational credentials must be the measuring stick. Until we begin promoting our most experienced, most highly qualified teachers to administrative positions, we can’t expect much improvement in our schools.
Until next time, may God bless you and your children.
Bob Mamrak
Monday, June 11, 2007
School Safety
When four of the five candidates for superintendent met with the public to discuss the issues on May 17th, the following question was asked: “In light of the Virginia Tech tragedy, what are your plans for making each campus safer? I’d like to use this space to expand on the two-minute answer I was allowed that night.
Several years ago, as a teacher at Weir Attendance Center, I was very alarmed one morning when I heard about the latest school shooting. I’m not sure now which shooting it was. There have been so many of them. I think it was either the murders in Pearl, MS or Columbine, CO. In church that Sunday we prayed for the victims and the hurting communities involved. I also mentioned that we, just because we lived in a quiet and beautiful country community, should not be unconcerned about our own schools’ safety.
Apparently, other parents felt the same. Some of them organized a meeting a few nights later in the school cafeteria. I’m not sure how much they accomplished, but everyone got to air their concerns and seemed to have felt better for having done so. The principal, who has long since gone, was very upset with me. He seemed to think that I had caused the meeting to take place. He was giving me more credit than I deserved. Ironically, he was annoyed with what the school’s parents and I thought was a good thing. Had I been principal I would have called the meeting myself.
A few years later I heard about another school shooting. This one was in Florida, I believe. A student murdered his favorite teacher, a male, 10th grade English teacher. This upset me to no end. While I may have my faults (my wife would be happy to provide a list), I can honestly say that I have gotten along extremely well with the vast majority of my students. Some still visit me, even as adults. On top of that, I am male, and was the only 10th grade English teacher at Weir! That latest shooting was getting a little too close to home for my comfort.
I say all this to let you know that school security has been a major concern of mine for over a decade. Our schools in Choctaw County are especially vulnerable due to the physical make-up of our campuses. As our campuses have grown over the years we have had to add buildings, and more buildings mean more doors.
As superintendent, the safety of our children would be a top priority to me. Realistically, there’s just so much we can do with the money available. Therefore, I would pursue whatever grant money is available to increase security. Beyond that, there are some things we can do right now that would cost very little.
First of all, we should do what other districts all over the state are doing. Keep all doors on every campus locked and install an intercom at the main entrance. In between classes, when students must pass from building to building, a teacher who would normally be posted in the hall by his or her classroom door, should be posted at the building entrances to allow students access. While this would be inconvenient, the safety of our kids should take precedence over convenience.
I’d also do the following: I’d also make sure that every classroom has a working two-way intercom. I’d see to it that a least one person in the district became an expert in the calibration and use of the sophisticated metal detectors that we already have in some of our schools, and require that they be used. I’d see to it that all staff are informed about and trained in procedures already in place for crisis management, and review and fine-tune those procedures periodically.
In addition to these and any other steps we can come up with, I’d make it my policy to be open and honest with parents on safety issues. It’s time we stop sweeping incidents under the rug and pretend they never happened. When we do that, we cause rumors to start flying around the community. Instead of making parents feel more secure, which I assume is the intent of covering up an incident, we actually make parents feel less secure because the rumors are always much worse than what really happened.
Until next time, may God bless you and your children.
Bob Mamrak
Several years ago, as a teacher at Weir Attendance Center, I was very alarmed one morning when I heard about the latest school shooting. I’m not sure now which shooting it was. There have been so many of them. I think it was either the murders in Pearl, MS or Columbine, CO. In church that Sunday we prayed for the victims and the hurting communities involved. I also mentioned that we, just because we lived in a quiet and beautiful country community, should not be unconcerned about our own schools’ safety.
Apparently, other parents felt the same. Some of them organized a meeting a few nights later in the school cafeteria. I’m not sure how much they accomplished, but everyone got to air their concerns and seemed to have felt better for having done so. The principal, who has long since gone, was very upset with me. He seemed to think that I had caused the meeting to take place. He was giving me more credit than I deserved. Ironically, he was annoyed with what the school’s parents and I thought was a good thing. Had I been principal I would have called the meeting myself.
A few years later I heard about another school shooting. This one was in Florida, I believe. A student murdered his favorite teacher, a male, 10th grade English teacher. This upset me to no end. While I may have my faults (my wife would be happy to provide a list), I can honestly say that I have gotten along extremely well with the vast majority of my students. Some still visit me, even as adults. On top of that, I am male, and was the only 10th grade English teacher at Weir! That latest shooting was getting a little too close to home for my comfort.
I say all this to let you know that school security has been a major concern of mine for over a decade. Our schools in Choctaw County are especially vulnerable due to the physical make-up of our campuses. As our campuses have grown over the years we have had to add buildings, and more buildings mean more doors.
As superintendent, the safety of our children would be a top priority to me. Realistically, there’s just so much we can do with the money available. Therefore, I would pursue whatever grant money is available to increase security. Beyond that, there are some things we can do right now that would cost very little.
First of all, we should do what other districts all over the state are doing. Keep all doors on every campus locked and install an intercom at the main entrance. In between classes, when students must pass from building to building, a teacher who would normally be posted in the hall by his or her classroom door, should be posted at the building entrances to allow students access. While this would be inconvenient, the safety of our kids should take precedence over convenience.
I’d also do the following: I’d also make sure that every classroom has a working two-way intercom. I’d see to it that a least one person in the district became an expert in the calibration and use of the sophisticated metal detectors that we already have in some of our schools, and require that they be used. I’d see to it that all staff are informed about and trained in procedures already in place for crisis management, and review and fine-tune those procedures periodically.
In addition to these and any other steps we can come up with, I’d make it my policy to be open and honest with parents on safety issues. It’s time we stop sweeping incidents under the rug and pretend they never happened. When we do that, we cause rumors to start flying around the community. Instead of making parents feel more secure, which I assume is the intent of covering up an incident, we actually make parents feel less secure because the rumors are always much worse than what really happened.
Until next time, may God bless you and your children.
Bob Mamrak
Tuesday, June 5, 2007
School Uniforms
One of the questions asked at the May 17th candidate forum was, “Do you think uniforms should be worn? Why or why not?” We were given only two minutes to answer on Thursday, and we only had room for three sentences in the follow-up article that the Plaindealer was good enough to print the next week. I promised I would answer the question more fully on this blog.
Personally, I don’t think our students should be made to wear uniforms. If I recall correctly, only one candidate, Terry Stacy, strongly favored school uniforms. He said that in the past he had actually asked the school board to require our students to wear uniforms. He felt that uniforms would make it easier for teachers to identify intruders, and he inferred that it would eliminate the problem of students being beaten up for their Nike footwear. My views differ significantly.
First of all, unless we also required standardized shoes, I think many students would continue to wear Nikes. Moreover, I’m not aware of any Choctaw County student ever being beaten up in order to have his shoes stolen off his feet. I know such things happen in Los Angeles and New York City, but most of us choose to live in Choctaw County because that type of thing doesn’t happen around here. If ever it does, swift and severe disciplinary action will put a stop to it.
In regard to identifying intruders, I guess uniforms would help spot someone who was improperly on campus with innocent motives. An intruder who was on campus and planned to do harm to our students, however, could surely obtain a uniform from the same source that our own children got theirs. Evil doers have a long history of obtaining police uniforms, military uniforms, pilot uniforms, etc. in order to commit their crimes. I just can’t believe that it would be harder to get a Choctaw County school uniform than to get a policeman’s uniform.
During the candidate forum I pointed out that requiring uniforms would add extra expense to family budgets already strained by rising gas prices. Mr. Stacy said that wouldn’t be the case because parents had to buy clothes for their children to wear to school anyway. That only makes sense if you think our kids are going to wear their school uniforms around the house, hanging out with their friends, and to church on Sunday. Parents are still going to have to buy the clothes kids like to wear at these times in addition to school uniforms. Also, how many teenage girls do you know who are willing to wear the same blouse two days in a row without washing it? Moms are going to be washing clothes every night or else they’ll have to buy several uniforms per child.
Perhaps the biggest reason I wouldn’t require school uniforms is because I take Jesus’ admonition to do unto others as you would have them do unto you very seriously. I would have hated wearing a uniform when I was in school. Clothes and image are important to our kids, and I don’t think we should take that aspect of their childhood away from them just to make our jobs a little easier. I feel that an effective, enforced dress code can take care of any problems that students’ clothing might cause.
That said, the major theme of my campaign is to give the public more say in how our public schools are run. Therefore, if the majority of parents wanted uniforms, I would not oppose them. But if I got to cast my one vote on this issue I’d say, “No, let the kids be kids.”
Until next time, may God bless you and your children.
Bob Mamrak
Personally, I don’t think our students should be made to wear uniforms. If I recall correctly, only one candidate, Terry Stacy, strongly favored school uniforms. He said that in the past he had actually asked the school board to require our students to wear uniforms. He felt that uniforms would make it easier for teachers to identify intruders, and he inferred that it would eliminate the problem of students being beaten up for their Nike footwear. My views differ significantly.
First of all, unless we also required standardized shoes, I think many students would continue to wear Nikes. Moreover, I’m not aware of any Choctaw County student ever being beaten up in order to have his shoes stolen off his feet. I know such things happen in Los Angeles and New York City, but most of us choose to live in Choctaw County because that type of thing doesn’t happen around here. If ever it does, swift and severe disciplinary action will put a stop to it.
In regard to identifying intruders, I guess uniforms would help spot someone who was improperly on campus with innocent motives. An intruder who was on campus and planned to do harm to our students, however, could surely obtain a uniform from the same source that our own children got theirs. Evil doers have a long history of obtaining police uniforms, military uniforms, pilot uniforms, etc. in order to commit their crimes. I just can’t believe that it would be harder to get a Choctaw County school uniform than to get a policeman’s uniform.
During the candidate forum I pointed out that requiring uniforms would add extra expense to family budgets already strained by rising gas prices. Mr. Stacy said that wouldn’t be the case because parents had to buy clothes for their children to wear to school anyway. That only makes sense if you think our kids are going to wear their school uniforms around the house, hanging out with their friends, and to church on Sunday. Parents are still going to have to buy the clothes kids like to wear at these times in addition to school uniforms. Also, how many teenage girls do you know who are willing to wear the same blouse two days in a row without washing it? Moms are going to be washing clothes every night or else they’ll have to buy several uniforms per child.
Perhaps the biggest reason I wouldn’t require school uniforms is because I take Jesus’ admonition to do unto others as you would have them do unto you very seriously. I would have hated wearing a uniform when I was in school. Clothes and image are important to our kids, and I don’t think we should take that aspect of their childhood away from them just to make our jobs a little easier. I feel that an effective, enforced dress code can take care of any problems that students’ clothing might cause.
That said, the major theme of my campaign is to give the public more say in how our public schools are run. Therefore, if the majority of parents wanted uniforms, I would not oppose them. But if I got to cast my one vote on this issue I’d say, “No, let the kids be kids.”
Until next time, may God bless you and your children.
Bob Mamrak
Subscribe to:
Posts (Atom)