Book Review: What Teachers Make

What Teachers Make: In Praise of the World's Greatest Job. By Taylor Mali. Penguin-Putnam Publishing. Hardback. 2012. $12

At 197 pages What Teachers Make is short, sweet and to-the-point. Mali has a wide following, having taught in numerous places, with experiences across curriculums and disciplines. He draws from his wide experiences in this brief collection of anecdotes, many humorous, a few serious, and all poignant.

Taylor includes some poetry samples which should be read aloud. I'm a big fan of "spoken word" poetry and Mali has been part of the HBO Def Poetry Jam, a brilliant show.

Taylor Mali on HBO Def Poetry Jam

What Teachers Make is not a salary survey of compensation or benefits. What Teachers Make recounts episodes in Taylor's teaching career in which he has affected or been affected by students (smart and dying), parents (allies and enemies), and bureaucrats (who should act smarter than they do).

Mali's book should be read by anyone thinking about a career in Education. Unfortunately, most teacher wannabees have no idea what they are getting into until he or she begins student teaching. When the real scope of teaching is discovered many teachers, almost 50%, resign from teaching after the first 5 yrs. A person must want to not only be a teacher but also understand the incredible demands teaching makes on a person's life. You will sacrifice time, energy, money, emotions, and a bit of your soul to be a teacher. Teachers spend over $1 billion of their own money to support their classes. And, as Taylor points out, and is well documented, the cost of educating one student per year is 1/2 the cost of incarcerating an adult. In Arizona, for example, the wonderful bastion of tolerance {sarcasm}, studies indicate a child who has failed to read by the 3rd grade will most likely end up in prison.

One idea Taylor presents is putting first year education majors into a real life classroom. Throw them in the pool and see if they can swim, he says. Make them teach something. Take the ones who really want to learn how to educate and help them become better educators. Keep tossing them back in. Why wait until the very end, after 4+ years have been expended, and 5 years thereafter the teacher quits. Better to show them the environment and then spend valuable time on the ones willing and able to learn. I have to admit, I like the idea.

The book will validate many of you who do teach. Having experience as a middle school teacher, Taylor may speak with a familiar voice. Those of you needing some new ideas, or are feelings de-energized by educational politics may also find familiar sentiments.

What Teachers Make are future adults who question, who doubt, who can think on their own, and who can cast a critical eye upon their world.

What Teachers Make would make a nice gift for a teacher as he or she prepares for the 2012-2013 school year.

Ethics of Deadlines in Education

I recently attended a day-long workshop at the Jefferson County Community and Technical College-Southwest in Louisville, KY. GeoEd 2012 targeted two-year college staff and faculty looking to incorporate geographic information sciences (GIS) in their coursework. My primary employer is a 4-yr institution but the presentations were not especially directed to universities, which is good; otherwise the trip would have been a waste.

I'm a nosy person when it comes to education. I want to know how the classrooms are outfitted with technology, make/models of computers, brands of data projectors, podium-based devices or multimedia podiums, and how the seats are arranged. I want my program to be attractive and I'm constantly looking for new ideas.

On one hallway a poster was taped instructing anyone who saw a student cheating to "turn in the cheaters." I was amused, yet appreciative of at least a superficial attempt by the administration to support academic honesty. Peeking into a classroom I noticed taped to the whiteboard and offset from the projection screen so as not to be hidden was a sheet of paper printed with the words "Do Your Own Work. Don't Cheat." I checked another classroom and in the same location was an identical announcement. Cool, I thought; every student needs a reminder.

I can understand why someone would want to cheat. Laziness. The student sets some other activity above doing the requisite work for the course, like fishing, hunting, golf, XBox, etc. Then, the student tries to find a short-cut to a better grade and in doing so undermines the instructor, other students, and his/her own education. Usually, cheating is also accompanied by a bad attitude about having to take the course. "I don't see why I have to take this course?" The lack of understanding creates a sense of justification for cheating.

Personally, if you don't understand the Importance of Education, then, please, stop consuming financial aid and educational resources, leave school, find yourself and discover why an Education is important. When you can appreciate the knowledge you are gaining then, and only then, should you re-apply.

Education is not merely training. Education is immersive, holistic, and never-ending. Education is about understanding the milieu, the ecosystem of a problem, using critical and creative thinking, logic, reason, and tapping into other disciplines.

Training will provide some education, but training is task-oriented. Training provides a specific set of skills, installing, setup, and administration of a computer server, for example. Or, learning how to program in Python or C++ or F#. Plumbing, roofing, electrical work are skills and while people trained in such occupations become educated about the details of those endeavors, reading Plato and Democritus and learning about Golden Hordes is not a prerequisite for installing a circuit breaker.

I do not understand why some students help other students cheat. The Accomplice does the work and assumes as much risk as the Cheater. The Cheater does little to no work while the Accomplice carries the weight with no real return. Maybe money changes hands, or a form of quid pro quo relationship develops, then each student undermines their own character and ethics. How else will the behavior manifest? In what other ways will the Cheater and Accomplice rationalize their behavior, i.e. "this is too expensive, so I'll just take this;" or "my boss doesn't pay enough, so I'll take a few office supplies home." Cheating is simply the rationalization of the theft of a grade and perpetrating fraud upon other class members and the college and university.

Get to the point, you say; your post is about Deadlines!

Cheating is out in the open. An entire section of most higher education syllabi is devoted to Academic Honesty, Academic Ethics, and Plagiarism. There is another ethical issue in education, a behavior which is silent and insidious. And, admittedly, I have been guilty of the behavior but no more.

At the conference, a presenter discussed the attitude of current (and probably future graduates) of being dismissive of Deadlines. Employees show up late, leave early - those are deadlines. Contracts and legislative dollars usually come with timelines and deadlines, or at least benchmarks. Some contracts are written to force payback of money if work is not completed by certain deadlines.

"At West Point, if a student does not submit homework on-time, that is disobeying a direct order."

Stew on that for a while.

Faculty set deadlines. "The paper is due on April 27th" or "make sure your Powerpoint is ready-to-go by March 17th." Deadlines are typically provided well in advance of a due date. Usually, deadlines and due dates are included  on the syllabus. All students are responsible for reading a syllabus regardless of whether a syllabus is covered during class time or not. Therefore, there are no surprises, only choices.

Students are obligated to read and know the syllabus. Faculty are obligated to stand beside their deadlines. Being faculty, sometimes deadlines need to be modified. Inclement weather can interfere with class time. The complexity of the material can impact uptake of information and students may need an additional class period. However, when a deadline is extended, the deadline is extended for all students.

Ethical issues arise when a single or a few students are allowed more time to submit homework for reasons falling outside of the traditional "Act of God." For example, a student who decides to spend the weekend in St. Louis watching a Cardinals home stand does not get more time. A student who opts to practice for the GED does not get more time. A student who decides to cruise the Caribbean does not get more time. For me, only the death of an immediate family member constitutes an occasion of changing a deadline. Or, a serious illness which requires extended hospitalization. Even then, if something so life-altering occurs, the student must make a decision regarding near-term education and not place the burden on the faculty or university. Student are people, and people are responsible for their own lives. Not me. Everyone gets to decide how they react when poked. Reaction is choice.

Faculty need to pay attention to their deadlines. Faculty need to stiffen their backbones and prevent manipulative people from undermining the work of other students. A student who receives even an extra day extension receives an unfair advantage over those students who practiced due diligence in getting assignments completed before or on the deadlines. In essence, faculty who allow themselves to be manipulated are also an Accomplice to aiding and abetting cheating. I also know occasions when faculty have adhered to deadlines and have been overruled by ineffectual chairs and deans. Then, the institution undermines their own Academic Standards and the institution itself becomes an Accomplice. See what I mean by "insidious?"

Yes, I was a bit of a pushover, years ago. Then, I realized being "flexible" was not fair to the other students. Why should a student who "forgot" to do an assignment get an extra week to finish an assignment other students did on time? Now, when I go over a syllabus, I have two categories, the "Act of God"-type problem, which needs to be handled on a case-by-case basis, and the "I-forgot"-type problem. I tell students:

"If you forget about a deadline, test, quiz, or assignment, don't ask me about turning it in late. Just do not turn it in. Life is about deadlines. The IRS has deadlines, your job has deadlines, etc., and this class has deadlines. Miss a deadline and you might as well keep whatever you have. Learn from your bad choice. Buy a calendar or an appointment book."

The effects of my rigid policy have been fascinating, actually. Students simply choose what grade they will settle for in the course. To illustrate, a student will choose between showing up for an exam and going to a concert.

"When will I get a chance to see Def Leppard again? I don't care about the exam; I'll take a zero. I figure I'll end up with a C. It's all I need to keep my financial aid, anyway."

The only part of the above I am making up is Def Leppard. I had a student take a cruise in the middle of the semester one year. I do make exceptions for events I deem important, such as high-profile people who occasionally grace our cultural wasteland, like Maya Angelou, P.K. Botha, and the late Prime Minister of Pakistan, Bennazir Bhutto. I do not make exceptions for cruises, deer-hunting, the season premiere of The Mentalist, or Mylie Cyrus concerts.

If you cannot attain a grade on your own then suck it up and figure out how to improve your study and research skills. Stop using the events in other people's lives as an excuse for not being in control of your life.

Most faculty will take some time to help an honest student figure out how to improve study skills. Most new faculty have no idea, not the ones I have run across. Over the course of 3-5 years, then their ability to foster student learning improves immensely. New faculty receive little to no education on how to teach, by the way. They learn the nuances of teaching on-the-job. By working with you, and you them, each will learn from the other about what is needed to communicate knowledge.

If you are faculty, or know someone who teaches, ask yourself if you (or him/her) have ever bent on a deadline. Now, ask yourself,

"If you were a student in a class and you discovered another student received another week to take a test or to submit a paper, how would you feel?"

Would you feel cheated? I hope so.

Students might lie to a professor or a teacher but students are proud of pulling the wool over on the System and will boast of getting more time, or boast of cheating to fellow students. When you see students in the hallway, congregating and swapping stories, one or two of them are bragging about how (s)he used a phone to cheat, or how she manipulated the instructor  into getting extra time to turn in the assignment.

Faculty, chairs, deans, and provosts are all responsible for maintaining the educational integrity of all courses. Cheating can be flagrant and typical, as when students collaborate and scheme to exploit others or technology to steal a grade. Cheating can be abetted by faculty who cave on deadlines, the mistake belief of being "a nice guy" or thinking she will earn the accolades of students for being "nice." The only thing you'll be known for is being a sucker.

PAX

Accolades to my Map Use & Analysis Class

I'm sure I'm like many college faculty. We become so frustrated with our students. Frustration builds like a storm as we feel stymied class after class by the apparent lack of knowledge absorption by our supposedly eager students.

"What can I do different to encourage them to soak this stuff up?"

The reality is we have limited control. Student must provide their own energy to learn, even in the face of lackluster performances of faculty. What you get out of Higher Education is more often than not what are are willing to put into your education.

On the other hand, there are students and classes which are completely validating. One student in a course can make the course completely worthwhile, and at times, an entire class becomes infected with a desire to assemble knowledge gained in other classes, or extracurricular activities, and do something interesting.

My Spring 2012 Map Use and Analysis course did some nice work this semester I thought I would share (with their permission.)



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What makes these maps different, you ask. People can use many web apps these days for creating maps, so what makes these maps and these students different?

They are using the industry standard GIS software, ArcGIS, from ESRI. The software is notoriously challenging to use, regardless of the propaganda issues by the company. At one time, the number of programming objects available in the software was second only to Microsoft's .NET programming environment. The software is way-powerful, though, and if the functionality is not present, nearly every language is supported for coding the needed functionality. ESRI's software controls about 45%-50% of the global mapping market and people skilled in ArcGIS are typically in demand at local, state, national, and international levels, in both public and private sectors.

Students are learning about what I call the "backstage" of mapping activities. Its one thing to sit down to a web app running in a browser and pump out a map. There is still a need for a entire industry of people to know how to create, alter, edit, and manage all of the geographic data floating around the Internet. Those cool map apps do not magically appear; humans fluent in the use of spatial data are making those apps happen. Some of the backstage mapping activities are what my students are learning.

My students are developing an understanding of appropriate uses of data. The Internet represents an overwhelmingly vast repository of data. Literally anyone anywhere can grab an Excel XLS file, or Access MDB file, or a simple comma-separated value (CSV) text file, and push numbers around. That anyone can do this does not mean everyone knows what they are doing, though. Learning how to "lie with maps" is tantamount to learning how to "lie with statistics." Maps, in one sense, are the visual representation of numbers, and if you know how to manipulate numbers then one can also manipulate the message of a map. And, as we all know, a "picture is with a thousand words." People who control maps can steer public sentiment and public policy, and in some cases, foreign policy. Think of Colin Powell and his use of maps to incite the discourse in the run-up to deposing Saddam Hussein and the alleged Weapons of Mass Distraction...

Yes, I teach my students how to "lie with maps." I even bought them the book of the same title by Mark Monmonier, "How To Lie With Maps."

My students chose their own topics, collected their own tabular data and their own spatial data. While I had hoped someone might have selected topics outside the United States. Often, U.S. data is easier to access, and understanding data limitations can be challenging when a language barrier is involved. The only advice I gave them was to pick a topic meaningful to them.

Surprisingly, I was involved very little this semester, as most student sought out each other for help and advice. I took some pride in that; frustrating as it may have been to the students, the most valuable learning experiences arise from overcoming obstacles on one's own. In one case, I spent about 30 minutes with a student whose database file was uncooperative. We fixed the problem but I could only speculate as to the cause of the issue, as the problem was not self-evident.

Every student adopted a topic not only meaningful to them, but also has the potential of being a stepping stone for further research. Crime and Education, Education and Child Abuse, Prevalence of Community-Supported Farms, Retail Site Location, and Use and Type of Energy Products are all current U.S. domestic policy concerns. I was glad they avoided, "Prevalence of Bigfoot Sitings 1970-2011," genre of topics, though there is a place for those, too.

The technology behind many of today's iPhone, iPad, and Android apps arrives via people skilled in knowing how to weave computer technology, programming, and geospatial skills together. And, that is the knowledge my students are working diligently towards.

Create and Share Custom Maps with ArcGIS Explorer

Geography is so much a part of our everyday lives we take our experiences for granted. Being a geographer is not enough; we are still susceptible to bias and not immune to being oblivious. However, I would submit the holistic nature of Geography allows trained geographers to see, interpret, and question patterns many others would miss.

How can we develop better spatial skills ourselves? How can we help others develop better spatial skills? Everyone needs better spatial thinking skills as much as we all could use more critical thinking skills. In fact, I would argue each goes in hand with the other.

If you are in the position of helping others see patterns, analyze and interpret information, you might find ESRI's ArcGIS Explorer Online a nice tool for enhancing your web site or your presentations. Explorer Online is a wonderful app allowing anyone to create, develop, and share maps, using prepared data.

Initially, you will want to perform two tasks. First, install Silverlight for your web browser. Second, in order to share any map you create you will need to save the map. Saving a map requires an ESRI Global Account. Creating an account is free and allows you to save, store, and share your maps. On your first visit to ArcGIS Explorer Online [link] go ahead and setup an account.

The app is so easy to use a child could create a meaningful map in about 5 minutes and share her map with friends or classmates around the world. Wordpress.com blogs do not allow "iFrames" so I am providing a link to a public map [link] so you can see a working map which I created in less than 5 minutes. An argument to host my own web site I suppose :)

I'm not going to do anything about explaining data, as my intention here is merely to detail two cool functions of ArcGIS Explorer Online a person can use immediately, and we have to have a working map before those option are available to us.

Once you login, an interface will load showing three button at the upper-left, "Home," "Details," an "Share," plus four icons, Save, Print, Basemap, and Add Content. Mouse-over the buttons and a popup box will identify each button.

Click "Add Content" and a scrolling menu will appear. A good habit in working through any exercise, one I practice, is to examine any dialog box which should appear. Software changes so rapidly written directions are often out of date within weeks or months of apps being launched.

After you have examined the Add Content scrolling list, replace the "Search or URL" with 'median household income,' then search. You don't have to follow my example verbatim; I am going to "add" the first result in the list, "USA Median Household Income." Click outside the dialog box, the box will disappear, and click on the "Zoom To Rectangle" tool found under the "Presentation" tab. Draw a rectangle around the coterminous United States (the lower 48.) The view will zoom, capturing the area you defined with your box. Save your map; you'll have to name the map - I called mine, Mike's Map.

Awesome Map Option #1

At the top left, see the "Share" button? Click the button. Right there on the dialog box are a number of really great choices. You can share your map to Facebook, or Twitter immediately. If you have created an ESRI Group, you can share with group members, or you can simply allow everyone in the world to see your map. At the bottom, you can generate HTML code to embed you map in your own web site. How cool is that? Except, like I said earlier, the HTML uses iFrames which might be an issue for some web sites.

Awesome Map Option #2

At the top-center of our window are two tabs, one says Mapping, the other Presentation. Choose Presentation and watch how the app changes.

We are prompted to "Click to add first slide." I am not going to walk you through all of the finer details though by mouseover, you should be able to discern the functions of all buttons. However, anyone with elementary Powerpoint skills should be able to figure out how to add, delete, insert, and run a slide presentation.

An awesome trait of the Presentation mode is the maps upon which the slides are built is "living" data. In other words, you are not creating screenshots of your maps, your slides are your maps. You can update, alter, modify your maps as you develop your presentation. You can even introduce more data during your Presentation. Change them on-the-fly. And, as we saw on the Share button, you can share your Presentation with whoever you want, or embed within a web site.

Thanks to Joseph Kerski, ESRI's Education Manager for helping pass along the niceties of ArcGIS Explorer Online. Faculty and staff were very excited by the sharing and ease-of-use potential of Explorer.

I suggest getting your kids involved. A child 8+ might find making maps interesting. The exposure to the technology might inspire them in new and different ways to bring geography into their classroom. I can see Explorer being a great tool for homeschooling, as well. Free technology, using real data, and easy to use and share.

Brilliant!

Educated People Damage Education

I grapple with the paradox of my post title daily. Think about those words. The Uneducated do not create or implement educational policy at any level. Degreed people do. "No Child Left Behind" was not developed by non-degreed folks, yet inarguably NCLB has been the worst "education reform" since President Reagan declared ketchup a vegetable.

When we argue about Educational Policy we are arguing with other supposed educated people about paths to follow which result in more educated adults. People with educations are then the problem, right? I do not mean to say "people with education degrees are the problem;" I mean people responsible for evaluating, analyzing, creating and implementing education policy are the problem.

The fact educated people are at the root of our educational problems bothers me greatly. Seriously. How can educated people, people with BA/BS degrees, perhaps Master's, or even Ph.D's, be responsible for damaging an educational system from which they are the product? The illogic of educated people damaging education baffles me.

Currently, Congress is debating continuation of low student loan interest rates [washpostlink]. Continuing low student loan interest rates should be a no-brainer and not worthy of debate. But, educated people argue with other educated people about the benefits and costs of student loans. Do these people remember their loans? Were they at all grateful for the loans? Do they understand the costs of college even at local community colleges and regional universities? Or, did opponents of student loans even have student loans? How did he/she pay for an education?

Watching C-Span, I am struck by the shear obtuseness of our Congresspeople. How soon they forget the benefits and experiences of their college life. Did he/she even pay attention? Did they really receive an education, or did he/she merely jump through the hoops of coursework and for their perseverance were awarded BA/BS degree? And, now, comfortable with their election - no, their 'elevation' to public office, are now confident in their role as a public policy leader.

In a recent Chronicle Review, a supplement to the Chronicle of Higher Education, dated March 2, 2012, professor Andrew Delbanco wrote "College At Risk." A wonderful, eloquent piece striking to the heart of the fate of Higher Education, as the Educated seek to push NCLB-type standardized testing into the hallowed halls of colleges and universities, potentially resulting in the newly graduated receiving less "learning."

How can the newly graduated be receiving less education?

Standardized testing is essentially a box. Faculty set "learning objectives" based on criteria determined either through in-house focus groups, or using a set of Federally-derived criteria. Then, faculty are obligated to teach to the criteria, assess students on their absorption of knowledge, and evaluate teaching modes and methods.

Nothing is wrong with evaluating teaching modes. Faculty should always be on the lookout for new, different, and interesting pedagogical tools. Teaching should be fun, interesting, enlightening, and focused on challenging students perceptions and tearing-down and building-up their knowledge.

Teaching-To-A-Test is nothing but teaching to a test. Assessments truly only test a student's ability to take an assessment. Standardized tests do not effectively evaluate a student's creativity, wisdom, or wit. Furthermore, the Real World rarely comes in standardized packages. People need to be able to synthesize a variety of data from which real world decisions are made. Teaching to a standardized test in no way can prepare a student for handling real world situations. Thus, a student can perform very well on standardized tests yet not be prepared for either college/university or life after high school/college/university. The words above are mine, my sentiments, but Dr. Delbanco pretty much says the same thing:

"...we need to keep in mind that standardized test-at least those that exist today-are simply incapable of measuring the qualities that should be the fruits of a true liberal arts education: creativity, wisdom, humility, and insight into ethical as well as empirical questions."

Dr. Delbanco makes many great points. I won't cover all here simply because I don't want to get myself in trouble with re-creating Chronicle of Higher Education material.

Dr. Delbanco states

"...there is mounting evidence the law [NCLB] has had little positive effect, while driving "soft" subjects such as art and music to the margins or out of the curriculum altogether.

Standardized test are major problems for a couple reasons. They do not adequately measure teaching or learning. Creativity fostering classes like art and music are eliminated. Another casualty from Standardized Testing is physical education. I remember a minimum of two recesses while in elementary school. I also had gym class. We learned games, tumbling, and general physical fitness. Many behavioral problems found in elementary have a simple solution - exercise. Yet, we have educated adults arguing against longer school days which would allow additional "soft" subjects and more exercise. Arts, music, and exercise have well-documented positive correlations with learning.

Why don't educated people recognize the damage they leave in their wake?

Dr. Delbanco may have an answer to my question.

"...student tend to arrive in college already largely formed in their habits and attitudes...preoccupied with the struggles of adulthood: finding or keeping a job, making or saving a marriage, doing right by their children."

Especially in the community college environment, with both kids straight from high school and adults back in school, Dr. Delbanco's statement is absolutely factual. Students often grouse about homework; even if reading a chapter of the course textbook is the only assignment, students complain the assignment is too much. Yes, a true story. I once had a student tell me she did not have time for the textbook reading assignment.

"I have 1,2,3 kids and I have to have my mother/babysitter/mother-in-law watch them while I'm in school. I have to keep my GPA up so I can keep my food stamps/health insurance. I work part-time, too, and I am active in church."

I return to the premise of my post. I see two problems: people who make educational policy are products of the institutions they are destroying, and two, those people with little more than BA/BS are not listening to how ridiculous their ideas are nor examining the downstream effects of their choices. In other words, they may not have measurable critical-thinking skills.

As we move more and more towards the precipice of Standardized Testing in Higher Education, critical-thinking skills developed from a truly liberal arts education will gradually evaporate. As more graduates of Higher Education Standardized Testing filter into public policy, fewer people who appreciate knowledge and wisdom will hold positions of power. Some people will be able to afford real liberal arts education, though. I envision a developing caste-like system of educated people: a large body of like-minded but intellectually stunted people representing the by-products of Standardized Testing, and a few people capable of analytical thought and intellectual pursuits, yet viewed as elitists and unrealistic.

My fears are already being realized, though. Attacks, mostly by the uneducated and the GOP, upon higher education and education, in general, are on the rise. States slash higher education budgets, hurting one of the few national economies which pays dividends, and for which the United States is currently respected. The respect of a U.S. education is changing, though. The density of U.S.-educated foreign nationals is increasing, and these educated people are returning to their home countries, thereby raising the local, regional, and national educational standards. While a U.S. diploma has instant cache abroad, the respect of the conferred U.S. degree is diminishing as the world looks on and witnesses the scuttling of the U.S. educational system by the blind, the ignorant, the fearful, and the uninspired.