As the only male teacher at Wallace Elementary School, Carlos Mendoza is often asked by female colleagues to help discipline select students -- usually boys needing extra attention.
"I guess it's because there is always a mom figure and a dad figure. Things you can get away with with mom, you'll have a different attitude and behavior with dad," said Mendoza.
Having positive male role models is important for elementary school boys and girls, Mendoza said. It's good for students -- especially those without a father at home -- to see a man caring about their well-being and success, he said.
But the number of men nationwide teaching elementary school is hovering around a 40-year low, said Bryan Nelson, founder of the nonprofit and advocacy group MenTeach.org. Only about 5 percent of early education teachers nationwide are men, he said.
Part of that is due to a societal misperception that men aren't as nurturing as women toward young children, Nelson said. Surveys also find men choose other professions for higher pay or fear suspicions of abuse if they interact closely with children, he said.
"Men are suspect if they want to be around children ... It's a barrier for some men, like, 'Do I need this headache?'" Nelson said. "It takes fortitude. It takes a very strong self-confidence to stay in the field."
Many Longview and Kelso elementary schools have only one male teacher outside of physical education or other specialty classes. One school, Carrolls Elementary, doesn't have any male classroom teachers at all. Olympic Elementary in Longview appears to have the highest number of male teachers -- five -- or about 33 percent of the school's teaching staff.
Kelso School District's affirmative action plan calls for increasing the number of male elementary school teachers, though Longview's does not. School officials said few men apply for the jobs and schools by law cannot consider gender in the interview process or specifically recruit male teachers.
"We want our staff to be representative of our students," which is about 50 percent male, said Jenae Gomes, a Kelso School District human resources officer. The district's affirmative action plan aims to have 50 percent of its elementary staff be men, she said.
Neither Longview or Kelso school districts track the percentage of men who teach elementary grades.
Mendoza, who teaches second grade, said he's happy to fill a void of male teachers at Wallace. Students and parents have never expressed concern about having a male teacher, he said. After a while, students get used to him and sometimes even forget he's a man.
"Sometimes they call me 'mom' by mistake. They'll say, 'Mom? I mean, Mr. Mendoza?" he said. Students aren't trying to be funny or disparaging, he said, but "I just chuckle."
Mendoza said he makes a point of attending social events, such as baby showers, hosted by colleagues -- but even he says "no thanks" when it's time for diaper-folding games.
"I support them a lot in different things, but I have my limit," he said.
Most of his daily interaction with another man is the school's lead custodian. It's nice to relax, joke around and talk football with him during breaks, Mendoza said.
"It's kind of a lonely life," he said. "I have really good (female) friends, but it isn't the same as asking a guy, 'Did you see how the Steelers played?' "
Mendoza said he takes several precautions his female counterparts don't have to worry much about.
"As male teachers, we have to be careful with how we deal with little kids. Hugs are on the side" of his hip and nobody sits on his lap, he said. "We have to have those rules in our heads all the time. You have to be careful because there's a very thin like between good touch and bad touch," he said.
Students benefit not only from having strong male role models, but also from seeing positive interaction between men and women in the classroom, Nelson said.
"Students see teachers interacting all the time. 'Can you give me a hand here? Can you watch my classroom?" he said.
While it's good to have men represented in elementary grades, it's important to maintain balance.
"I don't want to imply this is men-versus-women. It's just saying, what do we want that's best for our children? It's not just that we want more men, we want quality teachers, we want quality teachers that are men and women," Nelson said.
If school districts want more men lead classrooms, Nelson said, schools need to be more welcoming to men and better portray men as nurturers.
"If we look in schools, we don't have images of men being nurturing to children. We have pictures of men in a suit on the wall. These messages hit you over and over again."
http://www.menteach.org/news/few_men_teach_at_elementary_schools_those_who_do_often_have_a_big_impact
Saturday, November 27, 2010
Tuesday, November 23, 2010
Op-ed Article to the Wall Street Journal by William R. Harvey
TO THE WALL STREET JOURNAL
BY
WILLIAM R. HARVEY
PRESIDENT OF HAMPTON UNIVERSITY
CHAIRMAN, PRESIDENT'S ADVISORY BOARD ON
HISTORICALLY BLACK COLLEGES AND UNIVERSITIES (HBCUs)
A recent Wall Street Journal article by Jason Riley questioned the relevance of historically black colleges and universities (HBCUs) in today's society. He complained about President Obama's conventional approach to HBCUs and opined that "instead of more subsidies and toothless warnings to shape up," the President and federal government ought to "…remake these schools to meet today's challenges."
I cannot speak for the President, but I have spoken to him about HBCUs. An ardent supporter of historically black colleges and universities, President Obama understands and appreciates their value to the nation and the world. The facts justify his support, i.e., representing 4% of all American colleges and universities, HBCUs conferred over 22% of all degrees awarded to African Americans. With only 13% of African Americans in higher education, these colleges awarded nearly 30% of all undergraduate degrees earned by African American students in the science, technology, engineering, and math (STEM) disciplines; 50% of all bachelor's degrees in teacher education received by African American students; and 85% of Doctor of Medicine degrees acquired by African Americans according to statistics compiled by the National Association for Equal Opportunity in Higher Education.
Most HBCUs are also economic engines in their communities. According to a 2006 National Center for Educational Statistics report, the short term economic impact of HBCUs is $10 billion annually, providing more than 180,000 full and part-time jobs. The report also noted, "to put that in perspective, the rolled up employment impact of the nation's HBCUs exceeds the 177,000 jobs at the Bank of America in 2006, which was the nation's 23rd largest employer."
In attempting to make his case, Riley presented biased, antiquated suppositions such as articles written by Thomas Sowell some 36-years ago along with references by Christopher Jencks and David Riesman some 43-years ago. Riley also makes such groundless claims as "…available evidence shows that in the main, these students are better off exercising their non-HBCU options." What evidence? This certainly is not the experience that we have seen at Hampton University.
Another ridiculous assertion that Riley offers is that "For-profit entities could be brought in to manage other schools." He uses the University of Phoenix, a for-profit college, as an example stating that they confer more bachelor's degrees on black students than any other school. Does he really want HBCUs to model themselves after an institution whose latest graduation rates, as reported by the Integrated Postsecondary Education Data System (IPEDS), was 1% at 4 years, 4% at 6 years, and 6% at 8 years?
Riley's mindset, journalistic standards, and research methodology aside, as President of Hampton University, and Chairman of the President's Advisory Board on HBCUs, I want to provide a more accurate view of HBCUs and the quality work many of these institutions perform.
First and foremost, just like predominately white institutions, HBCUs are not a monolith. Some are exceptional, the majority are sufficient — all but a few are accredited institutions that meet or exceed the standards set by the accrediting bodies for any institution. An acknowledgment of some of the world-class academic and research activities at HBCUs is in order. Let me begin with my own institution—Hampton University.
In August, Hampton University began seeing its first patients at the Hampton University Proton Therapy cancer treatment center. The center is one of only eight in the United States and the largest free-standing facility in the world. Sixty-five percent of the patients treated at this facility will have prostate cancer, the other 35% will be those with breast, lung, ocular, and pediatric cancers.
Faculty in our School of Pharmacy have been involved in Alzheimer's research. If their research on proteins in the blood can provide a link to Alzheimer's, then a protocol establishing an early diagnostic test will allow physicians to treat the disease before it manifests itself.
Our Skin of Color Institute is a research center dedicated to probing issues, challenges, and diseases unique to the skin in people of color. The goal is to develop new and better treatments.
In 2007, Hampton University launched a $140 million weather satellite from Vandenberg Air Force Base to study noctilucent clouds in the ionosphere. With this feat, Hampton became the first historically black college or university to have 100% responsibility and control of a NASA satellite mission.
Hampton is also home to the National Center for African American Marriages and Parenting. The Center's mission is to strengthen families in the African American community by helping them gain essential knowledge, skills, and other resources required for building and sustaining healthy marriages and practicing effective parenting.
Hampton's nationally known physics department continues to do outstanding work. One physics group has received 12 patents on prostate and breast cancer detection devices. Another group has 14 patents on prosthesis for artificial limbs.
The Hampton University Leadership Academy is providing a multi-faceted approach to improving the level and effectiveness of school leaders. Hampton is the only educational entity in the entire state of Virginia to receive funding from the U.S. Department of Education in support of this initiative, and will work with the public school systems in Norfolk, Portsmouth, Franklin, Danville, and Roanoke, Virginia.
When one looks at the depth and breadth of Hampton University's academic, research, and public service activities, any objective analysis will show that Hampton does not need a remake, as it is clearly one of the best and most productive modest-sized universities in the country.
Other HBCUs are also doing outstanding work. Xavier University in New Orleans has educated nearly 25% of the approximately 6,000 black pharmacists practicing in the United States, and ranks first in the nation in placing African American students in medical schools. Tougaloo College ranks among the top 50 institutions whose graduates earn PhDs in science and engineering disciplines. More than 40% of Mississippi's practicing African-American physicians, dentists, other health professionals, and attorneys are graduates of Tougaloo College.
North Carolina A&T is the nation's largest producer of African-American bachelors and doctorates in engineering. North Carolina A&T, Tuskegee, Florida A&M, Spelman, Tennessee State, Prairie View A&M, Morgan State, Howard, and Alabama A&M cumulatively graduate more than 30% of all African Americans who receive engineering degrees.
In addition to training physicians, dentists, and other health professionals, Meharry Medical College has a Center of AIDS Health Disparities Research. Faculty at this Center have discovered and patented a salve that removes cholesterol from the HIV virus causing it to lose its ability to infect.
This short list of some of the research and academic activities at HBCUs refutes the assertion that HBCUs are inferior. In fact, it illustrates that some HBCUs are superior.
Better research could have enlightened Riley immensely. Sometimes, however, particularly when a viewpoint is inaccurate or extreme, people don't want to be confused with the facts.
Clearly, historically black colleges and universities do not need "a makeover" or "a new mission." What is needed are major publications, such as the Wall Street Journal to conduct solid and sincere research so it can better appreciate the value and contributions HBCUs make.
WILLIAM R. HARVEY
PRESIDENT OF HAMPTON UNIVERSITY
CHAIRMAN, PRESIDENT'S ADVISORY BOARD ON
HISTORICALLY BLACK COLLEGES AND UNIVERSITIES (HBCUs)
A recent Wall Street Journal article by Jason Riley questioned the relevance of historically black colleges and universities (HBCUs) in today's society. He complained about President Obama's conventional approach to HBCUs and opined that "instead of more subsidies and toothless warnings to shape up," the President and federal government ought to "…remake these schools to meet today's challenges."
I cannot speak for the President, but I have spoken to him about HBCUs. An ardent supporter of historically black colleges and universities, President Obama understands and appreciates their value to the nation and the world. The facts justify his support, i.e., representing 4% of all American colleges and universities, HBCUs conferred over 22% of all degrees awarded to African Americans. With only 13% of African Americans in higher education, these colleges awarded nearly 30% of all undergraduate degrees earned by African American students in the science, technology, engineering, and math (STEM) disciplines; 50% of all bachelor's degrees in teacher education received by African American students; and 85% of Doctor of Medicine degrees acquired by African Americans according to statistics compiled by the National Association for Equal Opportunity in Higher Education.
Most HBCUs are also economic engines in their communities. According to a 2006 National Center for Educational Statistics report, the short term economic impact of HBCUs is $10 billion annually, providing more than 180,000 full and part-time jobs. The report also noted, "to put that in perspective, the rolled up employment impact of the nation's HBCUs exceeds the 177,000 jobs at the Bank of America in 2006, which was the nation's 23rd largest employer."
In attempting to make his case, Riley presented biased, antiquated suppositions such as articles written by Thomas Sowell some 36-years ago along with references by Christopher Jencks and David Riesman some 43-years ago. Riley also makes such groundless claims as "…available evidence shows that in the main, these students are better off exercising their non-HBCU options." What evidence? This certainly is not the experience that we have seen at Hampton University.
Another ridiculous assertion that Riley offers is that "For-profit entities could be brought in to manage other schools." He uses the University of Phoenix, a for-profit college, as an example stating that they confer more bachelor's degrees on black students than any other school. Does he really want HBCUs to model themselves after an institution whose latest graduation rates, as reported by the Integrated Postsecondary Education Data System (IPEDS), was 1% at 4 years, 4% at 6 years, and 6% at 8 years?
Riley's mindset, journalistic standards, and research methodology aside, as President of Hampton University, and Chairman of the President's Advisory Board on HBCUs, I want to provide a more accurate view of HBCUs and the quality work many of these institutions perform.
First and foremost, just like predominately white institutions, HBCUs are not a monolith. Some are exceptional, the majority are sufficient — all but a few are accredited institutions that meet or exceed the standards set by the accrediting bodies for any institution. An acknowledgment of some of the world-class academic and research activities at HBCUs is in order. Let me begin with my own institution—Hampton University.
In August, Hampton University began seeing its first patients at the Hampton University Proton Therapy cancer treatment center. The center is one of only eight in the United States and the largest free-standing facility in the world. Sixty-five percent of the patients treated at this facility will have prostate cancer, the other 35% will be those with breast, lung, ocular, and pediatric cancers.
Faculty in our School of Pharmacy have been involved in Alzheimer's research. If their research on proteins in the blood can provide a link to Alzheimer's, then a protocol establishing an early diagnostic test will allow physicians to treat the disease before it manifests itself.
Our Skin of Color Institute is a research center dedicated to probing issues, challenges, and diseases unique to the skin in people of color. The goal is to develop new and better treatments.
In 2007, Hampton University launched a $140 million weather satellite from Vandenberg Air Force Base to study noctilucent clouds in the ionosphere. With this feat, Hampton became the first historically black college or university to have 100% responsibility and control of a NASA satellite mission.
Hampton is also home to the National Center for African American Marriages and Parenting. The Center's mission is to strengthen families in the African American community by helping them gain essential knowledge, skills, and other resources required for building and sustaining healthy marriages and practicing effective parenting.
Hampton's nationally known physics department continues to do outstanding work. One physics group has received 12 patents on prostate and breast cancer detection devices. Another group has 14 patents on prosthesis for artificial limbs.
The Hampton University Leadership Academy is providing a multi-faceted approach to improving the level and effectiveness of school leaders. Hampton is the only educational entity in the entire state of Virginia to receive funding from the U.S. Department of Education in support of this initiative, and will work with the public school systems in Norfolk, Portsmouth, Franklin, Danville, and Roanoke, Virginia.
When one looks at the depth and breadth of Hampton University's academic, research, and public service activities, any objective analysis will show that Hampton does not need a remake, as it is clearly one of the best and most productive modest-sized universities in the country.
Other HBCUs are also doing outstanding work. Xavier University in New Orleans has educated nearly 25% of the approximately 6,000 black pharmacists practicing in the United States, and ranks first in the nation in placing African American students in medical schools. Tougaloo College ranks among the top 50 institutions whose graduates earn PhDs in science and engineering disciplines. More than 40% of Mississippi's practicing African-American physicians, dentists, other health professionals, and attorneys are graduates of Tougaloo College.
North Carolina A&T is the nation's largest producer of African-American bachelors and doctorates in engineering. North Carolina A&T, Tuskegee, Florida A&M, Spelman, Tennessee State, Prairie View A&M, Morgan State, Howard, and Alabama A&M cumulatively graduate more than 30% of all African Americans who receive engineering degrees.
In addition to training physicians, dentists, and other health professionals, Meharry Medical College has a Center of AIDS Health Disparities Research. Faculty at this Center have discovered and patented a salve that removes cholesterol from the HIV virus causing it to lose its ability to infect.
This short list of some of the research and academic activities at HBCUs refutes the assertion that HBCUs are inferior. In fact, it illustrates that some HBCUs are superior.
Better research could have enlightened Riley immensely. Sometimes, however, particularly when a viewpoint is inaccurate or extreme, people don't want to be confused with the facts.
Clearly, historically black colleges and universities do not need "a makeover" or "a new mission." What is needed are major publications, such as the Wall Street Journal to conduct solid and sincere research so it can better appreciate the value and contributions HBCUs make.
Monday, November 22, 2010
R.E.A.L Men Read
More than 180 male volunteers will fan out among Atlanta Public Schools’ 4,000 second-graders to help boost literacy through the R.E.A.L. Men Read program. Started in Chicago’s public school system and then to Houston, R.E.A.L. (“read, excel, achieve, lead”) Men Read hopes to solve two ongoing concerns: the lack of visible male role models who read, and the lack of books available in the homes of young students.
The volunteers will make monthly visits to the elementary schools over the next sixth months, introducing the students to books by reading to them, and then offering a seventh book for summer reading. The program enjoyed a kickoff event on Nov. 9 at The New Schools at Carver, with a reception featuring a version of “He’s Got the Whole World in His Hands” by Carver School of the Arts senior DeAngela Glaze. (Watch her entire performance here.) Motivational speaker Mike Howard served as MC, and the program featured appearances by SRT-3 Executive Director Michael Pitts, Atlanta City Council member Ceasar Mitchell, APS literacy director Monishae Mosley-O’Neill, a videotaped speech by Ambassador Andrew Young, and an appearance by Greg Worrell, president of Scholastic Classroom and Library Group.
Watch the video above, which includes highlights from the program along with an in-depth explanation of the program by Mosley-O’Neill.
Don't Blame the Teachers
By Nicole Weaver
What happens when students are not achieving? Who should be held responsible? In the urban district where I teach, some believe that teachers are to blame, so you have to change the staff in order to improve the school and student achievement.
This is the most outrageous thing I have ever heard. I can speak from personal experience: there are so many factors that come into play when students are not doing well, and more often than not teachers have very little control over what goes on in their schools. For instance, last year one student failed because he never came to school. He missed 100 days out 180. Why is that my fault?
Research has shown that teachers only influence 10% of the changes in students’ achievement; the other 90% is directly related to parental involvement, poverty level, and other factors that are outside of a teacher’s control.
Problems with achievement must be carefully and properly evaluated in order to come up with plausible solutions. There is no guarantee changing staff will fix the problem. In Los Angeles, in an attempt to make change, a large number of experienced and qualified teachers were replaced with inexperienced teachers and long-term substitutes. This move did not help resolve issues with achievement. I have seen a total turnaround in one high school in the district where I teach, in the hopes that it would help with an achievement gap. The opposite happened. Students are still performing poorly.
I do believe it would be in the best interest of all students to look into research-based solutions. The report titled Changing the Odds for Students' Success: What Matters Most states that there are five factors that have a positive impact on student achievement: Collaborative goal setting; non-negotiable goals for achievement and instruction; board alignment and support of district goals; monitoring; and resource alignment. Unfortunately my district has pandered to political pressure by opting for the replacement of teachers instead of focusing on research-based solutions.
Teachers have become easy prey: if students are not achieving then it must be the teachers’ fault. This kind of mindset will only make a bad situation worse. Each school community has specific needs; it would be wise to come up with a comprehensive plan unique to that particular school. At best, it is foolish to have a cookie-cutter approach to solving such a complex problem. Quick fixes will only make things worse.
Read more: http://blogcritics.org/culture/article/dont-blame-the-teachers/#ixzz161Lo3hu0
Article Author: Nicole Weaver
Nicole Weaver was born in Port-au-Prince Haiti. She writes children's picture books. She is fluent in Creole, French, Spanish and English. She is a veteran teacher of French and Spanish at both the middle and high school levels. …
What happens when students are not achieving? Who should be held responsible? In the urban district where I teach, some believe that teachers are to blame, so you have to change the staff in order to improve the school and student achievement.
This is the most outrageous thing I have ever heard. I can speak from personal experience: there are so many factors that come into play when students are not doing well, and more often than not teachers have very little control over what goes on in their schools. For instance, last year one student failed because he never came to school. He missed 100 days out 180. Why is that my fault?
Research has shown that teachers only influence 10% of the changes in students’ achievement; the other 90% is directly related to parental involvement, poverty level, and other factors that are outside of a teacher’s control.
Problems with achievement must be carefully and properly evaluated in order to come up with plausible solutions. There is no guarantee changing staff will fix the problem. In Los Angeles, in an attempt to make change, a large number of experienced and qualified teachers were replaced with inexperienced teachers and long-term substitutes. This move did not help resolve issues with achievement. I have seen a total turnaround in one high school in the district where I teach, in the hopes that it would help with an achievement gap. The opposite happened. Students are still performing poorly.
I do believe it would be in the best interest of all students to look into research-based solutions. The report titled Changing the Odds for Students' Success: What Matters Most states that there are five factors that have a positive impact on student achievement: Collaborative goal setting; non-negotiable goals for achievement and instruction; board alignment and support of district goals; monitoring; and resource alignment. Unfortunately my district has pandered to political pressure by opting for the replacement of teachers instead of focusing on research-based solutions.
Teachers have become easy prey: if students are not achieving then it must be the teachers’ fault. This kind of mindset will only make a bad situation worse. Each school community has specific needs; it would be wise to come up with a comprehensive plan unique to that particular school. At best, it is foolish to have a cookie-cutter approach to solving such a complex problem. Quick fixes will only make things worse.
Read more: http://blogcritics.org/culture/article/dont-blame-the-teachers/#ixzz161Lo3hu0
Article Author: Nicole Weaver
Nicole Weaver was born in Port-au-Prince Haiti. She writes children's picture books. She is fluent in Creole, French, Spanish and English. She is a veteran teacher of French and Spanish at both the middle and high school levels. …
Saturday, November 20, 2010
District's poor deserve same public-school education as its affluent
District's poor deserve same public-school education as its affluent
Friday, November 19, 2010; 9:31 PM
The uneven distribution of teacher talent in the D.C. schools is unacceptable in a nation that views education as the path to the American dream. ["Top teachers have uneven reach in District," Metro, Nov. 13].
Across the United States, school districts that have a mix of affluent and high-poverty neighborhoods are vulnerable to creating an "opportunity gap" in which the more wealthy kids have better resources and those better resources lead to better outcomes.
In some instances, not only are their teachers better credentialed, more experienced and more talented, but children in affluent areas also have a stronger, more challenging curriculum and learn in buildings that are in far better condition than those of their poorer peers. Still, we would all agree that kids from across economic groups deserve the same quality from tax-funded public schools.
This resource disparity is regrettable, but it can be addressed head-on if school boards (or in this case, the mayor and schools chancellor) become more purposeful in decision-making and develop enforceable policies that make fairness and opportunity a higher priority. For example, the Charlotte-Mecklenburg school system in North Carolina has a strategic staffing initiative that provides incentives for a talented principal and hand-picked excellent teachers to move as a unit to underperforming schools - usually in poor areas.
Until policymakers deploy time and attention to this insidious problem, children in the District and around the country who start out with considerably less will, as a consequence, get less from education. For poor children, fairness is the key that unlocks our democracy.
Edwin C. Darden, Washington
The writer is director of education law and policy for the national office of Appleseed, a nonprofit group that works to solve public policy problems.
http://www.washingtonpost.com/wp-dyn/content/article/2010/11/19/AR2010111905965.html
Friday, November 19, 2010; 9:31 PM
The uneven distribution of teacher talent in the D.C. schools is unacceptable in a nation that views education as the path to the American dream. ["Top teachers have uneven reach in District," Metro, Nov. 13].
Across the United States, school districts that have a mix of affluent and high-poverty neighborhoods are vulnerable to creating an "opportunity gap" in which the more wealthy kids have better resources and those better resources lead to better outcomes.
In some instances, not only are their teachers better credentialed, more experienced and more talented, but children in affluent areas also have a stronger, more challenging curriculum and learn in buildings that are in far better condition than those of their poorer peers. Still, we would all agree that kids from across economic groups deserve the same quality from tax-funded public schools.
This resource disparity is regrettable, but it can be addressed head-on if school boards (or in this case, the mayor and schools chancellor) become more purposeful in decision-making and develop enforceable policies that make fairness and opportunity a higher priority. For example, the Charlotte-Mecklenburg school system in North Carolina has a strategic staffing initiative that provides incentives for a talented principal and hand-picked excellent teachers to move as a unit to underperforming schools - usually in poor areas.
Until policymakers deploy time and attention to this insidious problem, children in the District and around the country who start out with considerably less will, as a consequence, get less from education. For poor children, fairness is the key that unlocks our democracy.
Edwin C. Darden, Washington
The writer is director of education law and policy for the national office of Appleseed, a nonprofit group that works to solve public policy problems.
http://www.washingtonpost.com/wp-dyn/content/article/2010/11/19/AR2010111905965.html
Thursday, November 11, 2010
No More Politics
I am in the process of changing my blog. I will keep this blog about education. Coming soon!
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