USA - Land of innovation and talent!

I heard on National Public Radio yesterday that the U.S.A. exceeds the world in the patents we submit for new inventions.

Our Chinese neighbors are here visiting and looking for how we develop talent and innovation! How do Americans keep thinking "out of the box?" How do we develop the sort of critical thinking, in a democracy, that creates a healthy distrust for monolithic forms of thought?

It's good stuff and it leads people to create inventions which grow commerce and wealth. It's our national product - what we are known for world wide. We aren't known for lock-step thinking or stepping in line - we are appreciated for our fierce independence, our sincere optimism and can-do attitude.

We don't have a melting pot or a salad, we have a garden! It is young and alive with rebellious sprouts. We believe in the fact that with the right soil, air and water, we can keep growing a nation. What we have is wonderful raw material and the tendency to keep growing and nurturing the democratic roots that sustain us.

Even our fractious debate between our political parties is dynamic. We keep swinging that pendulum from right to left and back again. All part of growing.

We Americans love our individualism and our right to keep it, but we want to be judged by the same measures that test people who are vastly different in their core values and stategies.

In public schools, we educate all of our children and we take their test scores and share them with the world. Then, we're compared with other nations who carefully sift out their bad test takers early in life and route them to technical or vocational work.

It's important to own who we are and stand up proud and shout it. Far from being the "ugly American" who arrogantly struts into the world and declares what the world should do, I say that we accept who we are and get more comfortable in our own skin.

Of course, we have hard work to do. The achievement gap must be eliminated. We need to prepare our students for the century we live in, not the one we left behind. We need to reinvent our schools to adapt to a new age with new needs.

But this is happy work. It's work that teachers, students and parents can roll up our sleeves to do. It's our educational barn raising. We put up our beams and we lift them up into a structure which shelters our children, fosters their creativity and innovation and invites the community in to share.

It's quintessentially American work and the way we do it can and should be informed by the educational models we see in the world, but this effort must uniquely suit our people and our needs. No apologies required.

Let's be proud of what we've made in our fine public schools across this nation. Like Lady Liberty says, "give me your tired, weary, yearning to breath free."

Our schools fling open their doors to all who enter here. They are free, public places which form a rock of scholarship and a window of opportunity for all who enter. For generations, they have held the dreams of immigrants and have given the keys to the city to all who open the books treasured herein.

We create a unique recipe which combines dreams for a new tomorrow, uncertainty, a spirit of independence and a belief in the power of hard work. This is American education. It produces a world-wide treasure and I am proud to be a part of it.

Wagzie at the Spirit Animal Sanctuary

When my daughter, Melynda, was in college, she worked at an animal shelter for a time. When she was there, she fell madly in love with a dog whom we later called Wagzie.

Now, my husband Joe and I didn't want a dog. Not one bit. We had already shared our lives with a lovely Cavalier King Charles Spaniel named "Vincent" who had passed away, but when Melynda met Wagzie, she told her brother Joe about this wonderful, intelligent dog she had fallen in love with and thus the "Adopt Wagzie" campaign began.

Wagzie, you see, was not being adopted by anyone. She was a mix of Rot and German Shepherd and the people who came to the Bergen County Shelter favored little dogs. Even though the shelter was a "no kill" environment, Wagzie had been there for over six months, living in a small caged space with a concrete floor and no toys, pillows or regular walks. The only fun these dogs would have was dependent on the generosity of the shelter volunteers.

The shelter was meant to be a temporary solution designed to move a dog towards adoption, but with a dog like Wagzie, it wasn't so easy. Besides being big, she had separation anxiety, a love for foraging in gooey garbage cans and an urge to hop over tall fences to meet neighborhood pets.

These feisty qualities, along with her size and rather large teeth, made her difficult, if not impossible to place. She had already been adopted and returned to the shelter because she would get into trouble with the blinds and curtains when her owners would go off to work.

Wagzie's days were numbered at the shelter. It was a "quality of life issue," as they called it and if someone didn't come to the rescue soon, the dog would be put down!

My daughter's love and passion to save Wagzie quickly found an ally in her brother Joe who sat with her to create financial spread sheets and other presentational tools to convince us to bring her home.

The last straw came one morning when my husband Joe and I found a "Dog Contract" hanging from the ceiling signed by our children with spaces for us to add our signatures. This contract listed the responsibilities associated with dog ownership and laid out how they would be handled.

We folded.

That was seven years ago and Wagzie lived with us happily for all of these years, after an initial period of adjustment.

Melynda grew up, married and had a baby. When my granddaughter started toddling, Wagzie suddenly felt threatened and started to get nervous and walk away. Next she began growling and finally, one sad day, she had to be held back because she was going for the baby's face.

We looked into this behavior and found out, from my cousin Barbara Long, who is a dog trainer, that this can happen and the solution requires training - a whole family approach - along with time. Even with this human-canine therapy committment, there is no guarantee of success.

We became terrified about the possibilities of harm and sought other options. Even if it were possible to bring Wagzie to a shelter and have her placed with a different family, this new behavior made her a risk to them. We couldn't live with that, but we didn't want to destroy an animal who had become part of our family.

What we needed was a farm. We dreamed of a place where Wagzie could run free with other animals, under the care and supervision of kind caretakers. But where could we find such a place?

I began searching for things like "dog retirement" on Google and finally - thankfully - I found the Spirit Animal Sanctuary (www.spiritanimal.org) in New York State, where we agreed to leave Wagzie.

At Spirit Animal (www.spiritanimal.org) , Alan Papzycki, a third generation dog trainer, is the leader of the pack for over seventy dogs who have found a home with him. They live happily in a true sanctuary with interlocking fields, human contact, canine companionship and love.

Each dog is a story. Some have come to him from loving homes with stories similar to Wagzie and others have found refuge from terrible abuse or abandonment. They all live together at Sprit Animal as one, happy, canine family.

What you see here is a video of Wagzie as she frolics with another dog named Bella, in the snow. We are so happy that she has found her home at Spirit Animal and that Alan has taken on the mission of letting these dogs live free, as they were meant to be.

People angry at public workers

Marie Cornfield (photo from NY Times, January 2, 2011)

Today's New York Times talks about the rising resentment about the salaries and benefits of public workers. A teacher, Marie Cornfield, in Flemington, confronted Gov. Christie at a Town Hall meeting. The Times quotes her:

“People I don’t even know are calling me horrible names,” said Ms. Corfield, an art teacher who had pleaded the case of struggling teachers. “The mantra is that the problem is the unions, the unions, the unions.”

I think the time has come for some sorting out.

Our economy is bad and people are hurting - a lot. Folks are losing their homes and jobs, limiting their experiences and curtailing their dreams.

In such economic times, those with steady, public jobs are held up to public inspection. What seemed like a modest salary in better times, all of a sudden looks pretty good.

When I was young and thinking about teaching, some people thought I should choose law or business because they saw me as a talented student. I was called to public service, however, and I haven't regretted it ever since. In 32 years of teaching, I have learned so much from my talented colleagues in all disciplines and like to think that I've touched quite a few of my students' lives.

But that's not what this is about - it's about money.

The Times says that even with benefits calculated in, school teachers make the same or slightly less than private sector employees with similar educational levels.

The difference is that the public workers have more secure jobs.

So all of a sudden, there is a focus on the worst educators and why, in this terrible time of economic difficulty, the lowest performing members of my profession have a job when the public feels they shouldn't. To respond, the New Jersey Education Association has proposed changes to the process of tenure to ensure that failing educators can be more easily separated from a district. Tenure is not a "job for life," but the right to due process. Well, it just got easier to remove an educator from his/her position when the job isn't being done properly. This is in everyone's best interest.

But, in the end, I believe that it's not about tenure or other educational or public service issues, it's about money.

During hard times, people get angry and right now, they are angry at teachers, cops and firefighters.

But think again.

Does a person who has somehow survived a career of running into burning houses deserve a secure old age?
Does the police officer who has stood between you and crime in a torrent of bullets deserve the support of the public sector?
Have teachers, who have spent a career nurturing the minds of our community's children, earned a modest pension?

I would say they have. These are public workers whose employee is the state and the towns where they work. They have been doing a good job serving the public and they went into these jobs with the expectations that the rules wouldn't dramatically change once they reached mid career.

True, the financial picture is one that nobody had predicted and new decisions have to be made, with all stake holders sitting together.

Do we value the continuity of our children's' education?
Do we cherish our safety, security from crime, fire or ignorance enough to step up and honor our agreements?
Do we recognize that the anger the public is feeling is due to the feelings of loss and fear in this economic climate and not due to a true dissatisfaction with the service public workers have and will provide?

In the attempt to cut budgets, public workers are being vilified, not because they have failed to serve nobly, but because revenue is sought.

I find it curious that the public is angry at modest wage earners instead of the fabulously wealthy among us. I do not question anyone's right to hard-earned money, but there are notable cases of wealth that is ill gained.

Perhaps, we might look at why we are having these economic difficulties and what we might do in the future to prevent them. Easy money is not what public servants get. Quick bucks and shaky investments that have gone bad have brought us to this place.

Now, we are all trying to dig ourselves out. We must remember that we are all citizens trying to run communities and our public workers keep us safe and smart. They have earned our support, respect and collaboration.

The Ed Show Tonight! MSNBC

Visit msnbc.com for breaking news, world news, and news about the economy

I got an email near the end of the day from Washington D.C. to see if I wanted to be on the Ed Show. Ed Schultz is horrified at the way that our New Jersey Governor is attacking public employees and I am too.

I'm a full-time teacher. Last year I won the New Jersey Teacher of the Year title and now I am in the running for the National Education Foundation Teaching Excellence Award. I'm very excited about all of the acclaim and honor that I have received. There are many good things about being recognized, but one of the best is having a bigger microphone to share the excellence of my colleagues.

Tonight, the taxi was waiting for me at 4:15 in front of my house when I pulled up from school so I ran in to get dressed in a flash. We hit the traffic on the G.W. Bridge and then got into midtown without a whole lot of fuss.

Before speaking on the Ed Show, I thought a lot about the way our Governor said that people shouldn't have pensions and about how he wanted to expose the unions and tell the truth.

I feel that what Governor Christie is doing is creating a giant myth about what is happening in our classrooms and is somehow engaged in an anti government worker public relations campaign. How is that possible for the leader of my state?

In order to attract the caliber of professional that we want to be teaching our children, we need to offer a reasonable package to them. I just read an article that the number of people in California who are seeking to get certified as teachers is down 40%!

We are at a time when we need to recruit and retain these talented young people, not attack their salaries, dishonor their work and call their professional leaders "bosses!"

Tonight, I felt so upset with Governor Christie and frankly baffled about why he would launch such an attack on his own public employees!

Tonight on the show, I felt that I was able to say much of what I wanted to say, yet I could have gone on.

Maybe Ed will invite me back some time.

Governor Christie needs to understand that teachers and public workers are an important part of the excellence of our state. If not, he seriously threatens to shortchange the future of our children and that would be inexcusable!

Thumbs up to film making!

Here I am with my wonderful digital arts trainers - Ben and Caitlyn - from the Pearson Foundation.



I snapped this picture as they were rolling out the laptops and cameras that the students used to make movies all week. We bid our farewells and I thanked them and the NEA Foundation for making this all happen for me and my students.



We made the films in my two senior classes - about 50 students combined. The students made more than 20 different 2 minute and 30 second movies about our Spanish class and me. I was the topic, but the tools and instruction will be useful to them in other contexts of their lives.

On Monday, we debriefed to see how they had enjoyed the experience. Everyone had positive things to say which included things like...

I liked having the creative freedom to make something I am thinking!
I liked having the chance to say what I feel about you! (awwww!)
It was fun to switch things up and have a totally different kind of learning!
This was a great group experience!
I can't wait to see the movies - when can we see them?

Ben and Caitlyn uploaded the student films and took them back to use for the final movie. One of my students - Fred - is really into film making so he spent a lot of extra time putting together a polished film. Other students also made use of extra periods to get editing done and to brainstorm ideas. It was a terrific work environment.

I loved seeing how the students connected with the project, the work and with each other. I am inspired to keep doing video projects like this in class - now, where can I get about 10 flip videos??? Hmmm.......I'll have to work on that!

The Ed Show

I got a call in study hall yesterday from MSNBC to see if I would want to be on the Ed Show last night. The situation was that our Governor Christie treated a teacher poorly at a Republican Town Hall meeting last Friday when the fellow was only asking a question! Ed Schultz was interested in my response.

I had seen the film of the teacher and read some articles about the Town Hall meeting and was horrified to see how the Governor ordered this elementary school teacher off the stage and asked a state trooper to accompany him! Incredible!

I really don't understand why this happened! The teacher was asking about the municiple cuts that are affecting our classrooms, our staffing and what we can provide for our children and the Governor just wouldn't hear it!

Why not? I see that he was blocking dialog and was unwilling to respond to the questions he was asked.

I wouldn't allow such behavior in my classroom!!!

Under the lights, when you are asked questions on live television, you respond the best you can, but I have found that some really great answers come up just after you are off the air!

Here's the clip of what I said - just copy and paste it into your brouser to view!

http://www.msnbc.msn.com/id/21134540/vp/40541497#40541497

Besides that, I would have added that the Governor must come to the table to engage in dialog with his state's teachers. The NJEA is working hard to be a proactive partner for educational reform and we need to all put our heads together to come up with the best solutions for the children.

We cannot afford this name calling and poor treatment. It is intolerable and inappropriate. We cannot permit our elected officials to belittle, demean and disregard teachers! Those days must be over and done. They should never have happened, but since they have, it's time to see this as a bad time which we must dig ourselves out of to start anew.

We must look forward to a new day of collaboration in which we come to terms with the issues that we face in the 21st Century, in our classrooms and in our profession. This is what is right. This is what we need to be doing.

No more blocking dialog. No more grand standing. No more, Governor Christie - please!

Cell phones in class, anyone?

On Wednesday, December 1st, Northern Highlands Regional High School was the recipient of a wonderful Professional Development program. Angie and Sandra, from the Pearson Foundation, flew out to New Jersey to introduce our staff to the use of mobile devices as educational tools. The training was part of the NEA Foundation Awards for Teaching Excellence!






We were all very excited to get this training. Thirty staffers volunteered to attend the after-school session, including our school's Superintendent, Mr. John Keenan and our Principal, Mr. Joe Occhino. I was also thrilled to have our Technology Director, Mike Rightmeyer, present and actively engaged in our shared discovery.



Staff from every department participated in our exploration of the use of 21st Century tools. Julie Goldberg, our school librarian and PD coordinator even canceled a previously scheduled meeting to attend and to allow others to get involved.

This is the way great communities work - we all come together to learn and to support each other. I was particularly impressed with such participation because it was the Wednesday after Thanksgiving and everyone has so much on their personal and professional plates!

In our workshop, we looked at the best and worst-case scenarios of mobile phone use. Mobile phones have more power than a room could house, when computers first came out years ago, and our students love using them.

How do we direct this use?
How can we empower our students to engage in meaningful work with their own electronic devices?
What do you do if some students do not possess this equipment?
How do teachers balance individualized electronic engagement with teacher directed activity?

We talked about all of this and watched some serious and humorous video clips to inform us and to prompt discussion.

Then, we went right to texting, polling and connecting with the use of these mini computers!

Most folks came away thinking that they just might give this a try at some point in the future. We grew and enjoyed the shared learning!

I was so happy that the NEA Teaching Excellence Award included this staff development from the Pearson Foundation! It's the first prize that I have ever received which included a gift for my colleagues.



The student newspaper was really interested in what we were learning and I got an inquiry from a student reporter.

In the end, this staff development encouraged teachers, students and administrators to put their heads together around how we might consider inviting these powerful new technologies into our classrooms. That's a fantastic outcome!