It’s Tuesday! Ruby from the song and the sky from the weather outside make... (wait for it) ... RED & GREY! Go Raiders.
Forthcoming Deadlines
Q&A
Support Resources
The impeachment of the President
Now that the whole House will formally vote to go forward with the impeachment process, it is possible that you will get a renewed round of questions about it. I think Jamie put it best when he said, “If we are precise and factual, we won't have any problems.” That is, in the discussions we might have with students, we need to focus on explaining the mechanism of impeachment in the Constitution, the importance of what it means for Constitutional rule of law, and historical cases of it. We need to make sure students are respectful of each other’s opinions and our practice encourages respectful, good listening, not divisiveness. Our opinions, if expressed at all, should be made only after we give students a chance to formulate their own opinions about it. I personally am opposed to us expressing our opinions on such things to our students, since it our personal opinions carry such huge weight for our students and it stymies their own critical judgment, but I know that others feel quite differently about it and I respect that. Amy and I tussled for years with this question; she adamantly argued for students to be able to see their teachers’ passionate ideas around politics and culture. I adamantly disagreed, but conceded her point. There is no set policy on this, but good instructional practice builds students’ capacity for critical analysis, self reflection, and well-supported argumentation. We must frame whatever we do or say within those parameters.
At any rate, here are some curated materials that might be useful:
PD & Misc. Opportunities
Forthcoming Deadlines
- Your self assessment and goals are due Thursday. This is a hard deadline. Please see my last memo for more information and resource materials.
- MP1 ends on Friday. Grades are due by 8:00 a.m. next Wednesday.
Q&A
- I was asked if there would be time during PD next Tuesday that is allocated for grading. The answer is no. The self-directed time at the end of the day will be devoted to your PLC meeting together. All of the other time is structured at this point. You will have the opportunity to choose one 45-minute break-out session for skill building on a number of different fronts. Info about that will be forthcoming.
Support Resources
- In case you missed it, the procedures for getting copies and classroom supplies have been updated. There are new forms in front of the Copy Center. You still need to go through the department head to get the form signed off, but otherwise the operation should run more smoothly. Amanda Perrin is in charge. Text of her announcement reads:
- The Copy Center will be open Monday-Thursday Periods 1& 3. Deliveries will be made Monday-Thursday Period 6. The Copy Center will be closed on Fridays. Please help me welcome Mr. Chris Badessa and his Vocational Education Class on Mondays & Wednesdays Period 1, Mr. Rick Lawrenson and his Vocational Class on Tuesdays & Thursdays Period 1, as well as Monday, Period 3. Mr. Steve Szecskas will be in the Copy Center Tuesday-Thursday Period 3 with experienced, Copy Center interns. As always, please email me with any questions or concerns, as I will continue to oversee Vocational opportunities within the Copy Center. We appreciate your business and look forward to an exciting year!
- The forms for getting copies or supplies are here (copies) and here (supplies). You can fill out forms electronically and e-mail them to me, in order to save yourself a trip to the Teacher Center. You will need to come here, though, to get the copies/supplies.
The impeachment of the President
Now that the whole House will formally vote to go forward with the impeachment process, it is possible that you will get a renewed round of questions about it. I think Jamie put it best when he said, “If we are precise and factual, we won't have any problems.” That is, in the discussions we might have with students, we need to focus on explaining the mechanism of impeachment in the Constitution, the importance of what it means for Constitutional rule of law, and historical cases of it. We need to make sure students are respectful of each other’s opinions and our practice encourages respectful, good listening, not divisiveness. Our opinions, if expressed at all, should be made only after we give students a chance to formulate their own opinions about it. I personally am opposed to us expressing our opinions on such things to our students, since it our personal opinions carry such huge weight for our students and it stymies their own critical judgment, but I know that others feel quite differently about it and I respect that. Amy and I tussled for years with this question; she adamantly argued for students to be able to see their teachers’ passionate ideas around politics and culture. I adamantly disagreed, but conceded her point. There is no set policy on this, but good instructional practice builds students’ capacity for critical analysis, self reflection, and well-supported argumentation. We must frame whatever we do or say within those parameters.
At any rate, here are some curated materials that might be useful:
- An infographic and PowerPoint slide deck from iCivics. I have edited it slightly and cleaned up formatting. The original is a Google Slide Deck. I changed it to PowerPoint in order to make it more portable. The slide deck has teacher instructions in the notes boxes. The “lesson” is not well developed, but the materials are sound.
- This link leads to a good lesson from the Bill of Rights Institute.
- Nate contributed this essay in the website History Matters by Eric Foner comparing the Clinton and Johnson impeachments.
- Jamie has a very nice outline of how the Constitution constrains the exercise of power. You can get it here.
- This is a Listenwise current event assignment from the beginning of the impeachment inquiry.
- Ben Butler (Class of 1831) was one of the House Managers (prosecutors) for Andrew Johnson’s trial in the Senate. There is good information about it in The Impeachers: The Trial of Andrew Johnson and the Dream of a Just Nation by Brenda Wineapple, Random House, 2019. I have the kindle version (alas, otherwise I'd offer to lend it out) and have just read the first section, but it looks very good. The Pollard has both a physical copy and an e-book for download borrowing.
PD & Misc. Opportunities
- Next week we will have a full day of PD on Tuesday. My honest sense is that what we will work through is crucial for everyone in light of what we need to do this year and for the future after that. However, I also know that folks with kids in LPSD will be in a bind and might need to use a personal day because their kids are out of school, too. One way or another, please make sure that you have all of the information that comes out of Tuesday.
Kudos & News (please contribute!)
More kudos or news that the department should know? E-mail me for the next memo...
More kudos or news that the department should know? E-mail me for the next memo...
A final note...
I must be brief this week. I was made aware, quite clearly, of the perception that all of the TAP issues focus on teachers, with the implicit message that our turnaround status is due to the poor job of our teachers. This perception is, perhaps, the fault of leadership and the ILT to communicate the larger picture of why we are in Turnaround. Right now, the house deans feel that they are bearing the greater burden of the turnaround, because so much of the data that contributed to our status rests on their shoulders. They have to get kids into the building and keep kids in places where their behavior can be effectively redirected. Our support staff is under the gun to provide complex data in a more timely manner and in greater depth than we've had before. Central has taken a much more direct role in what Marianne and the chairs are doing.
All that having been said, the instructional core (student <> teacher <> curriculum) remains paramount, so it is natural that the most focus is there. It would be there irrespective of our status. Our students will not change. We are an urban school with an increasingly diverse student body and a lot of kids who need a lot of work to help them become educated. We ain't Weston. Our cohort represents all of what America is, not a wealthy suburban, latte swilling, Jaguar driving, luxury house living, trips to France every vacation traveling, expensive tutor and enrichment attending, trust-fund world.
If it helps, I think that the great things I see in different classrooms in all three buildings, every day, are manifestations of all that is good in a democratic society predicated on the idea that liberty can only be sustained by the effective education of the people. It is what we are all about in our field.
Thank you for keeping your shoulder to the plow.
RD
Back to main memos page for AY2020
I must be brief this week. I was made aware, quite clearly, of the perception that all of the TAP issues focus on teachers, with the implicit message that our turnaround status is due to the poor job of our teachers. This perception is, perhaps, the fault of leadership and the ILT to communicate the larger picture of why we are in Turnaround. Right now, the house deans feel that they are bearing the greater burden of the turnaround, because so much of the data that contributed to our status rests on their shoulders. They have to get kids into the building and keep kids in places where their behavior can be effectively redirected. Our support staff is under the gun to provide complex data in a more timely manner and in greater depth than we've had before. Central has taken a much more direct role in what Marianne and the chairs are doing.
All that having been said, the instructional core (student <> teacher <> curriculum) remains paramount, so it is natural that the most focus is there. It would be there irrespective of our status. Our students will not change. We are an urban school with an increasingly diverse student body and a lot of kids who need a lot of work to help them become educated. We ain't Weston. Our cohort represents all of what America is, not a wealthy suburban, latte swilling, Jaguar driving, luxury house living, trips to France every vacation traveling, expensive tutor and enrichment attending, trust-fund world.
If it helps, I think that the great things I see in different classrooms in all three buildings, every day, are manifestations of all that is good in a democratic society predicated on the idea that liberty can only be sustained by the effective education of the people. It is what we are all about in our field.
Thank you for keeping your shoulder to the plow.
RD
Back to main memos page for AY2020