Friday, November 28, 2014

Inspirational quote from Ursuline sisters

Found while cleaning my office at Springfield College in Illinois, posted to the blog in 2006 and re-posted here for easy reference, an inpirational quote from the writings of St. Angela Merici, founder of the Ursuline order:

Do something,
get moving,
be confident,
risk new things,
stick with it,
then be ready for
BIG SURPRISES!

(as translated by Sr. Terry Eppridge, OSU)

I found it in a three-fold brochure promoting the Ursuline Companions in Mission, Central Region, Crystal City, Mo. It is a modern paraphrase of a passage in St. Angela's Counsels and Legacies, dictated to her scribe, Gabriele Cozzano, ca. 1539-40.

Since 2006, a translation from the Commentary on the Writings of Saint Angela Merici by M. Ignatius Stone, OSU, has been available on line. In that translation, the passage reads:

"Act, move, believe, strive, hope, cry out to him with all your heart, For without doubt you will see marvelous things, if you direct everything to the praise and glory of his Majesty and the good of souls. (Modern American translation: “Do something, get moving, be confident, risk new things, stick with it, get on your knees, then be ready for big surprises!”)

-- Ursuline Sisters of Mount Saint Joseph, Maple Mount, Kentucky, 2009. http://ursulinesmsj.org/_uploads/SaintAngelaMericiwritings.pdf

Tuesday, November 25, 2014

Show 'em your you're cross, Sister

Does this story (a lightly edited version of one that's been around for a while) have anything to do with value-added measures for teacher and school district assessment?

SHOW 'EM YOUR CROSS, SISTER

Two Irish nuns were sitting at a traffic light when a bunch of rowdy drunks pulls up alongside of their car. One of the drunks shouts, "Hey, show us your tits, ye bloody penguins!"

The Mother Superior turns to Sr. Margaret, "I don't think they know who we are. Show them your cross."

So Sr. Margaret rolls down her window and shouts, "Screw off, ye little fookin’ wankers, before I come over there and rip yer nuts off!"

Sr. Margaret looks back at the Mother Superior and asks, "Was that cross enough?"

Oh, well, I guess really it isn't about education. But I still like the story. It makes me feel better about a lot of things.

Monday, November 24, 2014

Benedictine University-Springfield, 2003-2015

It's been a month now since Benedictine University at Springfield announced it will shut down its 520-student traditional BA program at the end of spring semester and lay off 75 of its 100 full-time employees in order to concentrate on adult and graduate education. The university estimated it would cost $40 million to build all the dorms, athletic facilities and other amenities of an elite residential college campus, and to serve the greater "social … and spiritual" needs of traditional (18- to 22-year-old) students.

Which suggests that adult students who wait till the kids are older to go back to college aren't scared to death and don't have needs. Who knew?

Maybe the powers that be at Benedictine believe what they're saying, and maybe they believe their numbers. Maybe their cost estimates weren't gold-plated in order to justify a predetermined decision. Who knows? Certainly it's consistent with a widespread trend that isn't confined to higher ed.

BenU's decision comes at a time when other colleges and universities nationwide are relying on part-time, temporary adjunct instructors to teach their undergrad classes; urban school districts like Chicago are closing neighborhood schools, firing the professional teachers and replacing them with entry-level temp workers half-trained by Teach for America. Even service industries like retail banking are laying off branch bank tellers and replacing them with ATM machines.

So maybe Benedictine is cashing in on that trend. Maybe not. Maybe their aim is what they say it is, to provide quality graduate education.

Whatever. Who knows?

There was no input into BenU's decision from students, faculty or the larger community in Springfield, all of whom were blindsided by it. So there's no real way to question it. Why bother, anyway?

Fletcher Farrar, editor-publisher of Illinois Times, had the most gracious -- indeed, just about the only -- public comment. In an Editor's Note that ran Oct. 30, the week after BenU's announcement, he said:

We had thought Benedictine was doing so well, and appreciated how the Lisle-based university had brought life and investment back to the historic Springfield College campus. The abruptness of the announcement highlighted how little connection Benedictine’s board has with Springfield. Had somebody here known the place was in trouble maybe something could have been done to save it.

Whatever. Who knows? Who cares anymore?

Farrar also said Benedictine broke its promise, proclaimed all over town on billboards that were hastily taken down after the announcement, to provide Springfield with "affordable and attainable undergraduate education." That comment, one paragraph in length, said everything that needed to be said.

Sunday, November 23, 2014

Required reading: A blogroll

  • http://dianeravitch.net/ -- Diane Ravitch's blog: "A site to discuss better education for all." I never could have imagined, when I was chairing the assessment committee, that I would ever agree with Diane Ravitch on anything. Now she has the most comprehensive and credible website tracking education issues.

  • http://preaprez.wordpress.com -- Fred Klonsky: "Daily posts from a retired public school teacher who is just looking at the data." If you've been missing Slats Grobnik the last 10 or 15 years, check out the Tony at the Red Line Tap archives. Indispensable source on Chicago schools, Illinois politics.

  • https://deutsch29.wordpress.com -- Mercedes Schneider, who has a Ph.D. in psychometrics and now teaches in the public schools in Louisiana. Her critique of high-stakes testing is withering because she understands the science behind it and how it is being abused.

  • http://curmudgucation.blogspot.com -- CURMUDGUCATION: A grumpy old teacher trying to keep up the good classroom fight in the new age of reformy stuff. By Peter Greene, a high school English teacher in northwestern Pennsylvania. Writes a local newspaper column, too. Keeps up. Has Common Core, charters, other "reformy stuff" absolutely nailed!

  • Jersey Jazzman

  • http://edushyster.com -- "EduShyster: Keeping an eye on the corporate education agenda" by freelancer Jennifer Berkshire who edited an AFT newsletter in Massachusetts. (She's also originally from Springfield [Ill., not Mass.]! Funny. Incisive. Has cool stickers that say "Rotten to the Common Core" and "Blame Me -- I'm a Teacher."

  • http://michaelklonsky.blogspot.com/ -- "Mike Klonsky's SmallTalk Blog: Sharing some ideas about public education, school reform, and ed-politics in general" -- Chicago.

  • http://www.schoolnewsservice.com Jim Broadway's Illinois School Policy Updates. Bio here.

Saturday, November 22, 2014

Accountability bites: A rubric for assessing politicians like teachers -- and kids taking standardized tests

What would it look like if politicians, college presidents and school "reform" experts were assessed by the same benchmarks and criteria as classroom teachers? Comes now the Chicago Teachers Union with something I've wanted to see for a long time -- a rubric for assessing the performance of elected officials in three "domains" that parodies the language of Illinois' Performance Evaluation Reform Act of 2010.

Fred Klonsky, whose blog on Chicago school politics is required reading (yep, even for a retiree whose teaching career was in higher ed, at a private school downstate), headlined his post: "Whoever thought of this at the CTU deserves an award." Yep, and yep again! Klonsky writes:

This almost caused me to do a spit-take with my coffee this morning.

Whoever came up with this at the CTU: God bless ‘em.

If you missed it, this completely mirrors what politicians in this and other states have foisted upon teachers.

In a nutshell, the CTU questionnaire evaluates candidates for political office on evidence of proficiency in three domains (planning, legislative issues and professional ethics), according to a rubric that sets criteria for ratings of unsatisfactory, basic, proficient and distinguished. It's exactly like the rubrics I worked with at SCI-Benedictine.

Greg Hinz of Crain's Chicago Business found it: "Cheeky, boldly assertive and even arrogant," not to mention "a bit bureaucratic and onerous." (I would have added: "Snotty." But that's how the language of all rubrics strikes me.) Klonsky thinks Hinz missed the joke, but I'm not so sure. Over the years Hinz has been a pretty astute observer of Chicago and Illinois state politics. And he does headline his article on the questionnaire:

CTU tells candidates: Sit up straight and raise your hand for support

Which perfectly matches the tone of CTU's gambit.

Hinz aptly summarizes it:

Overall, CTU asks that those seeking its endorsement answer three general questions, with as many as five sub-questions each, about them and their campaign. On each — much like a standardized test — the candidates will be ranked: unsatisfactory, basic, proficient or distinguished.

For example, in question 2e, dealing with cuts to public services, an "unsatisfactory" candidate would be one who has supported cuts in services such as health clinics, Medicaid, police protection and schools. A "proficient" candidate would have "consistently opposed cuts" via "pubic pronouncements and legislative initiatives." To be rated "distinguished," that contender would have to have "proposed reinstatement of prior cuts."

Another example: campaign communications. The "unsatisfactory" candidate has "no strategy for communications," but does have an "uncomfortable" public speaking style. But a "distinguished" one would speak "in multiple formats" in ways that are "easy to comprehend." And the candidate should be such a good speaker that his or her future constituents will be "excited about the candidate."

In other words, no dees, dose and dems, alder-people.

Here's why I think Hinz maybe gets it after all -- it's when he slips "much like a standardized test" into a subordinate phrase. He adds:

To those who think this all sounds a bit bureaucratic and onerous, the union pretty much says: tough.

In the form, it notes that, over its opposition, the state in 2010 adopted new teachers evaluation standards that have "four domains with 19 separate components," with teachers being rated unsatisfactory to distinguished.

"We believe those who develop, pass and enforce laws should be held to the same standards as our members," the evaluation form says. "To that end, the Chicago Teachers Union will assess candidates for elective office using this rubric based on the one used to evaluate teachers."

It's also the language that has been used to evaluate students for years now. And, as Hinz noted, it is much like a standardized test.

The complete text of CTU's rubric, uh, questionnaire, is available on line at:

http://www.scribd.com/doc/247306416/CTU-Questionnaire.