Is our educational system preparing our children for greatness or failing them miserably?
I recently listened to a story on NPR regarding our state's public schools, retention/failure rates, graduation rates, etc. During the story, our current budgetary and financial woes were brought up as reasons for some of our problems. In particular, Charlotte-Meck schools were singled out because they are cutting hundreds (or was it thousands?) of teaching, assistant, and support staff positions. Schools being closed and sold off.
I'm sure some of this is necessary, but at the same time I get really ticked off. I've seen firsthand some of the ridiculous things that school systems spend money on. Computer programs that help with reading scores that costs thousands of dollars per year to keep a license current. My very first "teaching" position was as a ComputerReading lab monitor. Not teacher. Monitor. All I did was load the program and make sure the kids sat in front of the computer. I've also frequently seen consultants hired to come do workshops - not on teaching - but rather on how to teach your kids to "beat" the EOG test. One principal I worked for spent thousands on workbooks that taught EOG test taking strategies to the kids via Overhead Sheets.
The focus becomes on teaching to the test. But then can you blame them? The teacher's salary and evaluations all hang on that test. Nevermind that we are dealing with whatever problems the child brings from home, or from a poor performance in another teacher's class the year before, or two years before.
This all disgusts me.
It has been proven time and time again that the single most important factor in the classroom/school is the teacher. Period. Want better test scores and student achievement? Hire more teachers and reduce your class teacher-student ratios. Get rid of the ridiculous things that we spend money on to try and slap a band-aid on the problem. Instead, we cutting teaching positions and cramming more kids in each classroom. I can guarantee you that just as much time will be spent managing behavior as teaching.
Administrators will tell you that they can't spend that money on teaching positions because its been "earmarked" by the state as other types of funds that have to be used for technology standards, remediation, or whatever. I've heard it all before. Just a bunch of excuses. We are in a budget crisis, right? Change the darn earmarks - or better yet, remove them altogether. Allow the local governments and admins the power to allocate funds as they see fit.
Remove the excuse. Then demand results.
Friday, May 27, 2011
Sunday, May 1, 2011
Sizzle? or Steak?
Which would you rather have? The steak or the sizzle? Flashy, showy, fancy martial arts or direct, effective, no-nonsense approach to training?
For a couple of years, I worked with a pretty large headwear company. They made ball caps and other hats. They were of pretty decent quality, but they spent a fortune on their packaging. Very thick corrugated cardboard, printed in multiple colors (gets pretty expensive for a box), nice tags, etc. The owner of the company was quoted as saying "We don't sell the steak, we sell the sizzle!" (its why I just can't work in sales)
I've studied quite a few martial arts styles over the years. Some were very flashy, to the point of causing me concern. I mean really, do you want to have a student go out and try to defend themselves with technique that has absolutely no chance of working unless you have a willing partner? You may as well send them to slaughter. Another style was a simple "combat" style, which was absolutely no-nonsense. Techniques were simple, and were repeated over and over. Honestly, it was kind of boring. I mean, how many times can you practice a palm strike to the face and groin before its time to move on?
People typically seek out Traditional Martial Arts like Kung Fu, Karate, TKD, etc., because they are interested in the expressive aspects of the style, as well as the self-defense. There is a satisfaction to be had by performing forms and sets that have been done for hundreds of years. There is also the need to express one's self, which can be found by performing and through training. Pulling off some of the flashy moves just feels good. I admit it. It looks cool.
At Corey Family Martial Arts, I feel there needs to be a balance in training. I will teach the traditional aspects, but also focus on self-defense...and once in awhile I'll through in some flashy moves. What is important is to distinguish between what is solid technique and what is "sizzle". My favorite teacher shows such techniques and then makes a point to identify it as "Hollywood". So, we know what is done for real fighting and defense, and what is just sizzle.
Come on down and train. Have a nice big helping of steak, with just a little bit of sizzle.
For a couple of years, I worked with a pretty large headwear company. They made ball caps and other hats. They were of pretty decent quality, but they spent a fortune on their packaging. Very thick corrugated cardboard, printed in multiple colors (gets pretty expensive for a box), nice tags, etc. The owner of the company was quoted as saying "We don't sell the steak, we sell the sizzle!" (its why I just can't work in sales)
I've studied quite a few martial arts styles over the years. Some were very flashy, to the point of causing me concern. I mean really, do you want to have a student go out and try to defend themselves with technique that has absolutely no chance of working unless you have a willing partner? You may as well send them to slaughter. Another style was a simple "combat" style, which was absolutely no-nonsense. Techniques were simple, and were repeated over and over. Honestly, it was kind of boring. I mean, how many times can you practice a palm strike to the face and groin before its time to move on?
People typically seek out Traditional Martial Arts like Kung Fu, Karate, TKD, etc., because they are interested in the expressive aspects of the style, as well as the self-defense. There is a satisfaction to be had by performing forms and sets that have been done for hundreds of years. There is also the need to express one's self, which can be found by performing and through training. Pulling off some of the flashy moves just feels good. I admit it. It looks cool.
At Corey Family Martial Arts, I feel there needs to be a balance in training. I will teach the traditional aspects, but also focus on self-defense...and once in awhile I'll through in some flashy moves. What is important is to distinguish between what is solid technique and what is "sizzle". My favorite teacher shows such techniques and then makes a point to identify it as "Hollywood". So, we know what is done for real fighting and defense, and what is just sizzle.
Come on down and train. Have a nice big helping of steak, with just a little bit of sizzle.
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