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By Kyle, September 28, 2009 9:49 am

The Rolling Stones – In Another Land

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I follow a number of education bloggers, who are quick to point out the good, the bad, the ugly, the ridiculous, the hilarious, and the downright unjust within education today.

What caught my eye was a reference by Joanne Jacobs to some Denver schools that have changed their promotion policies to reflect student proficiencies rather than students age. Instead of moving up to the next grade level at the end of the year, students will be promoted based on the amount of proficiency they have demonstrated with their learning goals.

For those of us who are math teachers, this rings so true! After all, why is it that Cochran’s math results are abysmal? Well, a big portion of that is the fact that the majority of kids come to Cochran a few grade levels behind in their basic skills in math, and because math is so cumulative a subject, are never able to actually catch up. Put more bluntly, if you’re in 6th grade and can’t multiply, you’re basically dead in the water (although we’ve got potential beginnings of a remedy for this).

At some point, the kids of Los Angeles figure out that they don’t really need to do anything to move on up in the next grade level with their friends, thus transforming school into a social club, rather than the primary setting of gaining knowledge, wisdom, and experience. And it should be a simple fix, with a ten-year long term goal.

More any LAUSD policy makers out there, here’s how you’d do it. Next year, give the kindergarteners a test at the end of the year on kindergarten standards. Those who pass move on, those who don’t get another opportunity to learn it again in kindergarten, whilst learning the value of learning. The following year, do the same thing for kindergarteners and 1st graders. The following year, expand it to 2nd grade, etc… In a decade, you’ve got a system where kids get educated, kids understand content material, and kids value the learning and the balance of both fun and hard work involved in it.

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By Kyle, September 25, 2009 11:00 am

My Chemical Romance – Famous Last Words

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Hollywood endings are rarely as gleaming and bright as they seem. 20 years after the inspiring film Stand and Deliver appeared, inspiring countless students and educators in the power of hard work and perseverance to overcome the most difficult obstacles, the real-life high school of math teacher Jaime Escalante is now in danger of being taken over by charter organizations. Although Escalante has long since retired, it is sad to see such an inspiring legacy ultimately disintegrate and fade away. Luckily, the DVD will always last.

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By Kyle, September 20, 2009 2:02 pm

The Soundtrack of Our Lives – Flipside

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Oh yeah. That was my lunch today. A sumptuous meal of “Turkey Tacos”, which consist of sliced turkey, onions, green peppers, mushrooms, warmed up in the microwave, topped off with a bit of iceberg lettuce and some hot sauce.

And some grapes….

And some strawberry-banana juice.

I’ve got to say that since moving into my new place, I’ve found that cooking (perhaps more appropriately termed “eating at home”) has made a comeback in my life. Well, “comeback” perhaps isn’t the right word either as it implies that “cooking” was once present in the first place. I think that the confusion of living with 3 roommates for the past five years led to a general stifling of any desire to keep track of the groceries I was buying. Once they were home, I could never keep my stuff straight from my roommates’.

Now, on the other hand, it’s simple. I know exactly what I have, exactly what I don’t, and am actually having a bit of fun dreaming up concoctions out of desire, or, in the above case, necessity (I ran out of bread today).

Simple. Easy. And my dishwasher keeps the place clean too!

All you lurkers out there (AND I KNOW YOU EXIST…I’m averaging about 30-40 hits per post and about 0.0003 comments per post), send me your favorite easy recipe (a link to a website will work just fine). And then, when you come visit, I can make it!

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By Kyle, September 17, 2009 7:10 pm

Bon Iver – Babys

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Just like Bon Iver can multitask haunting vocal indie melodies within a post-modern minimalist Riley-esque (one of the most AMAZING and jaw-dropping pieces I’ve heard in a while…..take a listen), I’ve been learning to multitask at work with 2 MAJOR side projects aside from teaching.

The first is the implementation of our 6th grade math basic skills program, called “Kids Mastering Math” (KMM). The teachers so far have really bought in and we’ve heard some really constructive feedback so far, but most importantly, the 6th graders seem to be into it too. Let’s just see how they do on their quiz tomorrow.

Second, we’ve partnered with another AMAZING mover and shaker at our school, Don, to expand Hope. Change. Choices., our effort to spread awareness (and increase applications) of magnet schools in our district. Although LAUSD certainly has some schools that suck, they have some schools that absolutely rock as well. Unfortunately the process is so complex that few even attempt. This year for the first time, we’re actually going to be putting on a Magnet Fair (similar to a college fair or job fair) at our school! We’re hoping that this really explodes the parental knowledge, understanding, and motivation within our community to research ALL school options for kids!

Oh yeah, did I mention that I’m teaching 5 classes of math students too? Sometimes I forget that, too. :)

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By Kyle, September 14, 2009 7:12 pm

George Harrison – Beware of Darkness

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Darn it!! This is the second time this has happened since school started. The first time, I actually had to go back and get a custodian to unlock the gate!

Anyway, school has started wonderfully, and the students seem ready to get into the swing of things. I’ve got to say that it’s really great to have the same group of kids for a second year. I know them, they know me, and their parents know me. Just today I ran into the dad and mom of a pair of brothers in one of my classes. They were just visiting school “checking in” on their sons. YES!!!!!…I LOVE it when parents do this, although I’m certainly glad that mine never did :)

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By Kyle, September 12, 2009 9:09 am

Spoon – My Mathematical Mind

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The madness has officially and finally begun. Wednesday was the first day of school, followed conveniently by Day 2, and Day 3, respectively.

This is my 6th year teaching at Johnnie Cochran Middle School and with it, my 3rd time I’m starting an 8th grade year with the same kids as I taught 7th grade last year. As predicted, some of my best from last year are now gone, and some of my most challenging from last year are not only back, but back together in one giant class (ala The Great Escape’s Von Luger boasting about putting “all our rotten eggs in one basket.”). Anyway, it is actually nice to be back and nice to start the teaching process once again, even if teaching math in full won’t begin until this coming week. Currently, we’re working on rules and procedures, which is never very interesting, yet essential for success.

Anyway, aside from teaching my own kids, which has taken up only about 30% of my mental and energy capabilities, our 6th grade math program Kids Mastering Math (KMM) is taking up a disparately large proportion of my time and energy. Don’t get me wrong….I love it, but it’s sure time consuming, but well worth it for the kids that will benefit from it!

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By Kyle, September 7, 2009 11:40 am

John Parr – St. Elmo’s Fire

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Moving to a new apartment while simultaneously beginning for the first days of school is a real headache. Perhaps the most frustrating part of the whole process is the fact that I’ve realized how maddeningly dependant upon internet technology I’ve become. My internet will not be hooked up until approximately 15 hours before students arrive in my classroom on Wednesday, September 9th. So what now in the process? Well, I’m learning where the local coffee-shops are with wireless internet, as well as learning that my computer wireless adapter doesn’t do such a great job with public networks. Anyway, today is Labor Day, and thus, the last “day off” before I head back to work for another 10 months with kids!

Woo-hoo!

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By Kyle, September 4, 2009 4:25 pm

Brad Mehldau – Paranoid Android

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I walked into Orchard Supply Hardware yesterday innocuously enough. I was on a mission to purchase some furniture gliders and as I stood in the entryway, I gawked, utterly shocked, although I knew this day had to come.

Yes, that’s right. Solar lights. You heard me “SOLAR LIGHTS”!!!!!!!!!

I’m not sure what’s more frightening: that they are marketing these in the first place, or that 5 from the above display have already been sold.

Clearly, the socialists have won.

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By Kyle, September 1, 2009 4:17 pm

Queen – Flash

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After five wonderful years of living on beautiful Rimpau Blvd. in Mid-City Los Angeles, I’m moving. Or, to say it more accurately, I’ve moved. My new abode is still close enough to work (1.7 miles, as opposed to the previous 1.4) to earn the scorn of friends and family who suggest that walking (or minimally, riding my bike) would be more appropriate.

I promise to put up some pictures of the new place once it doesn’t look like a train wreck, but what was perhaps just as interesting this past Saturday as getting into a new home, was the process that went along with the new home.

On Saturday, myself and a team of friends completely moved all my stuff in a total of 90 minutes. Yep, 90 minutes, including loading into a 17’ U-Haul, driving to the new place, and unloading all the stuff into the apartment. I had even hoped to buy my helpers lunch but it was 10:30am when we finished and no one was even hungry.

So how in the world did this record-fast move actually happen? After thinking about it a bit, and listening to others, basically, it boils down to two elements that were central to Saturday’s move. organization and teamwork.

Organization: Prior to the day of the move, I had packed all my stuff up in boxes and placed those boxes in a corner in my living room. And while the living room was certainly cluttered, it made it incredibly simply to say to folks, “All of this stuff here, goes”. Once the process had been greatly simplified, everybody jumped in immediately and got straight to work. Easy.

Teamwork: The second element that was central was the fact that I had 6 additional people helping me move, and yes, I did bribe them with Starbucks, donuts, and the possibility of lunch, it was largely their amazing willingness to jump on in and be a part of this that made it happen. No one was forced, no one was coerced, and these folks have freaking amazing character!

Anyway, why should you (or anyone else) really care? Well, this theme of organization and teamwork has kept coming up in my mind during the past week as some of the centrally important elements in anything, be it school, work, or whatever. When I get frustrated with stuff at school (and rant about it on this blog), it’s usually due to a lack of either organization (the leaders not leading) or lack of teamwork (the leaders simply dictating rather than building trust and buy in).

Hmmmm… let’s see if I can keep these in mind as I go forth this year!