FCAT is OVER.....For Me....For Now!!!

The FCAT testing is over for the Socprions (well at least some of us).  My prayers go out to those who take Science tomorrow.  YOU CAN DO IT!!!  I couldn’t be prouder of the students. Everyone that took the test in my classroom was here on time all four days. Each person was focused and really put a lot of effort into each test. They all went over their tests multiple times. No one rushed and no one wasted their time. My Scorpions are AWESOME and I can’t wait to see their scores!

Speaking of scores...I am not sure when we will get the results. This is the latest in the school year that the FCAT has been taken since I have been teaching. The results for third grade are supposed to be the first reading and math scores released. But it could be the last week of school or it could even be after school lets out. Who knows?  I would not be surprised if we had another SCORING tragedy!

Volunteer Experience Blog- Let's Read!

I know it has been a while since you guys have heard from me.  No, I have not been on vacation.  I have beem extremely busy between working, going to school and participating in several civic and social groups, I have really spreaded myself thin.  I have been volunteering at this local school in Tallahassee, FL.  The school is an urban, Title I school.  I get a thrill out of reading to the little kids, so I figured I would sit in and help the teacher and read the kiddies a story or two.  In honor of Read Across America, the school decided to celebrate reading everyday.  Thus, they decided to have Read Across America month.  I was definitely right on time. 

When I entered the first grade classroom, the wiggly first graders quickly assembled onto their reading carpet, became perfectly still, and then looked up me with big round eyes.  The teacher introduced me and I began to read the classic "Green Eggs and Ham."  The children laughed at my animated voice and my body gestures. The story went so well that I quickly launched into my second book, "Where the Wild Things Are."

After reading the books, we engaged in an intellectual discussion.  I asked the kids some open-ended questions just to get them to think critically. I really enjoyed watching the kids soak up information like sponges.

Schools Like Urban Prep May Be Black Male's Saving Grace

More than six of every ten African-American boys will not graduate from public high school in Chicago, but at a high school in one of city’s poorest neighborhoods, every single black student is headed to college.  Urban Prep Charter Academy is a charter school in Chicago that serves young black men and serves them very well.

George S. Huff Jr., the assistant director of college counseling at Urban Prep Academies in Chicago, stated that the mission of Urban Prep is to provide a comprehensive, high-quality college preparatory education to young men that results in graduates succeeding in college.  The school stresses community service, discipline, and pride in oneself.
Urban Prep students have defied the odds by not falling into the trap of negative stereotypes and low expectations. Instead, Urban Prep students believe in their potential and believe in their ability to exceed that potential.  I applaud Urban Prep -- they are doing amazing work for an under-served population. They should be celebrated, and we all should study at their successes for what we can learn from their story.

Maya Angelou Touched my Soul

With a voice that is so soothing and commands an individuals’ full attention, world-renowned poet and author Dr. Maya Angelou spoke to a crowd of nearly 6,000 people with songs, poetry, stories and words of wisdom at my alma mater, Florida A&M University (FAMU), as part of the University’s Lyceum Series. 
 During her presentation, Dr. Angelou pointed out that she wanted to speak at FAMU because the institution is a “light in the sky, a rainbow in the clouds.” Although Dr. Angelou said some people could be wiser, hipper, prettier, richer or more educated than others, she stressed that no human being can be more human than another human being.
 “When you go into your classrooms do not go in being intimidated by anything that human beings do,” Angelou said.
 The famed poet also told students just as they have encountered rainbows in their clouds, they have to be rainbows for others.
 “When you get, give,” said Angelou. “When you learn, teach.”
 Following her presentation, Dr. Angelou answered a few questions from the audience.  She was asked how she would feel when she receives the Presidential Medal of Freedom, the highest medal given to a civilian in our nation, on February 15. “I will be accepting it [Presidential Medal of Freedom] for every African that stepped off a slave ship in 1619 and for every Italian, Asian, Greek, Spanish, Muslim, Arab and Jew,” said Angelou.  “And to accept it from a Black president, I may fall to my knees.”


To see and hear her firsthand validated my life to service others.  She emphasized that no one in the world can stop you from anything; that you should never limit yourself. The greatest limitation is the one that you see in the mirror every morning. Her stories about her life, tribulations, pain and progress truly inspired me.

Injustice for All: The Kelly Williams-Bolar Story

When I read about the case of Kelly Williams-Bolar, I could not help but be disgusted and disgruntled. myself confused. The 40-year-old Ohio mother of two was sent to jail for using her father's address to send her two daughters to a school in a better district. Williams-Bolar lives in a housing project in Akron, Ohio, but sent her children to school in Copley Township using her father's address.

Williams-Bolar's father, Edward Williams, was also charged with fourth-degree grand theft for stealing more than $30,000 in school services for the two girls. Williams-Bolar was sentenced to 10 days in jail and placed on probation. Also, the judge in the case, Patricia Cosgrove, made it clear that she used Williams-Bolar to set an example for other parents who may consider doing the same thing.

This is the kicker.  Besides being a single mom, Williams-Bolar was attending school part time in the hope of getting a job as a teacher. The judge stated that because Williams-Bolar was now a convicted felon, she will no longer be allowed to teach in the state of Ohio. Talk about a lifetime of punishment.
The Kelley Williams-Bolar case struck a chord with quite a few people in the black community for a few reasons. Personally, I know a lot of mothers who have done the same thing in their efforts to break the cycle of poverty that so many of us confronted as children. Urban schools are inadequately funded, so many parents have no choice when it comes to finding ways to get their kids a good education.

First of all, why was there a $30,000 funding differential between the school that Williams-Bolar sent her children to and the one that was in her district? Logic seems to imply that if funding were roughly proportionate between the two districts, it would simply be awash, where one school's spending could be compensated by another school's savings. But this is not the case in a world where far too many people of color are locked in to the horrible schools in their districts, as our elected officials continue to ignore the problem. Many of these schools don't have books or quality teachers, while the kids in the suburbs are given everything they need to be successful. The idea that citizens are now being put in jail for attempting to access educational equality is nothing short of being Jim Crow at its finest.

If she were a wealthy woman from the suburbs, she would have been able to afford the kinds of attorneys that keep people out of jail, and she also would not have been forced to break the law to help her girls get access to a good school. This case just stinks to high heaven.

FCAT: To Be or Not to Be Is the Question

A Florida freshman state legislator said Tuesday she is championing a bill in the House that would do away with the annual state exams. This is not the first time a bill has been introduced in the state legislature to end the Florida Comprehensive Assessment Test -- and each attempt has failed.  However, Rep. Daphne Campbell is not deterred.

Campbell, a Democratic state representative from District 108, which includes North Miami, filed House Bill 71 in an effort to replace the FCAT with the High School Competency Test.  Campbell stated that, "There's too much pressure on parents, students and teachers and the FCAT is not helping.''  Campbell feels there needs to be an indepth look at the accountability system in Florida.

The controversial FCAT has been the topic of many places from the dinner table to the board rooms. Personally, I have no problem with students being assessed on content they should already know...or at least should have been taught.  However, I do have a problem with the policies derived as a result of the FCAT data.  I constant hear baraging The problem that educators have with the FCAT is not that it forces them to teach to the test; the problem they have is that it forces them to teach. 

While I agree that there should be some type of statewide standard, the FCAT has become the be-all and end-all of public education in Florida. Many very bright kids perform less than admirably on standardized tests, either because of differences in learning styles or due to the anxiety produced by knowing their academic success or failure hinges on ONE SINGLE TEST. Would we as adults like to have our careers judged by a single measurement taken once annually, without regard to daily productivity? I don't think so. As with many well-intentioned government mandated programs, the reality fails to live up to the expectation. And the bottom line is that our kids are not doing any better on the tests that matter when it comes to college admissions: the ACT and SAT.

The Legislature and Gov. Bush's logic for the  FCAT was to hold schools accountable for the taxpayer's money they spend. Let's apply that logic to everybody and make the state legislature and the governor take a test to insure that the taxpayer is getting their money's worth of learning and development out of them. Although I am not leading a "Death of the FCAT Crusade,"  I do not forsee the elimination of the FCAT.  There's as much chance of that happening as having a snow blizzard in Miami every day during the summer.