Ohio ASCD Journal
Fall 2016
OHIO ASCD JOURNAL Association for Supervision and Curriculum Development
In This Issue
Editor’s Welcome
Bad Teachers: A 40-Year Retrospective by Kari Foreman
by Dr. David Silverberg
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Lorain City Schools: A Lighthouse District by Dr. Michael White ……………………………………………….
Product Review: Bright Products/Math and Science by Chuck Benway ………………………………………………. Kids’ Corner by Cal and Tessa Silverberg ………………………………………………. How I Did It. By Dr. Frankenstein by Pepper Bates ………………………………………………. Xavier’s Story — Victim of Circumstance by Dr. Renee Willis ………………………………………………. Teacher Supervision: A Case of Selected Schools in the Guly District by Amos Olanya ………………………………………………. The Fashion of Passion - Are We Setting Goals Too High? Part II of II by Dr. Sylvia Rimm
Ohio ASCD Journal
The Ohio ASCD Journal is committed to publishing engaging articles written by real-world practitioners. The fall edition of the Journal features pieces that highlight some of the key issues of the day, including: Teacher Quality (Kari Foreman); District Improvement (Michael White); STEM Resources (Chuck Benway); Student Perspectives (Cal & Tessa Silverberg); Gifted Education (Pepper Bates); Understanding & Supporting the Whole Child (Dr. Renee Willis); Teacher Supervision (Amos Olanya); and Student Underachievement (Dr. Sylvia Rimm). Thank you for joining our exploration of today’s educational landscape. I believe that the Journal is an excellent platform for our shared growth and hope that you too will consider submitting an article that celebrates your wisdom and vision. Please send me your ideas: dsilverb@ashland.edu David Silverberg, Ed.D. • Editor, Ohio ASCD Journal • Director of Curriculum, College of Online & Adult Studies, Ashland University • Director, Telego Center, Founders School of Continuing Education, Ashland University
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Bad Teachers: A 40-Year Retrospective by Kari Foreman, M.S., M.Ed., TTW, Post Secondary Transition Consultant, State Support Team Region 2 (Retired) There are not many things in life that bother me more than bad teachers. I have had bad teachers, worked with bad teachers, and now I am watching my children suffer through bad teachers. I am not saying all teachers are bad. On the contrary, I know and will always love and admire most of the teachers in my life. I'm just talking about the bad ones. My first grade teacher, for example, was in the bad category. It was 1962 and I was experiencing an enormous amount of strife at home. Imagine the worst. I don't remember doing anything particularly offensive in class, however, I do recall coming home from school most nights with "tasks" that were supposed to help me become a better behaved child. These tasks involved writing the numbers 1 to 100 two or three times a night, or for a change of pace I would get the alphabet and have to copy it over and over and over again. I was six years old. Granted, my teacher was a 100 year old nun (or so it seemed) with 50 students in our class, but that is no excuse for not asking someone what my real problem might have been. A good teacher would do that. In the seventh grade my English teacher’s dad wrote for the Catholic Universe Bulletin (for which we were required to sell subscriptions), so the nuns had him at the right hand of the Father. We called him "The Claw" because he would form his right hand into a fist, slightly raising his hairy middle finger knuckle,
Ohio ASCD Journal
and then walk up and down the aisle thumping us on our head or back if he didn't like our response to a question. You can’t make this stuff up. A teacher that clearly enjoys controlling his class by fear and intimidation definitely belongs in the bad category. I went to an all-girls Catholic high school, which was a great experience overall, until 1974 and my senior year English class-the most important class you need to prepare you for your college studies and entrance exams. This particular teacher came to class stoned every day. His permanent grin and particular aroma left us no doubt as to why he just didn't care. Yes, this was the 70’s, and just past Woodstock, but we felt completely cheated. I often wonder what my ACT score would have looked like with a teacher who actually cared about me. And you can thank him for any grammatical errors here. We missed the part about not ending a sentence with a prepositional phrase. In college I ran across a whole new breed of bad teachers. Some had egos bigger than my book tab. Your life and future were completely in their hands, and some of them took advantage of that. One was the Articulation professor for the freshmen Speech Pathology/Audiology students. I received my first and only "D" in my life, and she hauled me into her musty office and told me I would never amount to anything if I could not get an “A” in her class; Most traumatic, she declared I would never be worthy enough to become a speech pathologist. I spent 2
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the next three years in college trying to prove her wrong, even though my dream to become a speech therapist had been permanently crushed. I got an "A" in her practicum class my senior year, and although I felt deeply vindicated, I lost three years of my life trying to validate myself. Bad teachers can ruin a person. In 1980, I inadvertently became a teacher myself. I didn't have a teaching certificate (this was pre-license) at the time, nor had I ever stood in front of a classroom. My roommate's father was a central office administrator, and I was hired on a temporary certificate. For 30 years I learned something new about people each and every day. Seeing teachers from this vantage point only affirmed my belief that among some very kind and loving educators, the bad ones lurk, ready to pounce on the weak or misguided child. I helplessly watched a couple of colleagues destroy the hopes and dreams of students. Their words and actions, and sometimes inactions, were indescribably powerful. When a teacher speaks, the innocent will listen, and will take to heart what they hear. A good teacher will think things through ahead of time. Be proactive, not reactive; They are kind and gentle, not mean-spirited. They understand the importance of relationship. Today I see my own children, and one in particular, who has been affected by bad teachers. In a moment of thoughtlessness by a teacher, a child who loved writing, figuring math problems in his head, and creating wonderful little cities out of sand or legos is now thinking he is incapable. This is such a travesty, a miscarriage of justice, a very sad, sad thing. He is a bright kid: started school at four, then skipped the 4th grade, and graduated from high school at 16. I fear, though, he may have lost his zest for learning. I hope I am wrong.
Ohio ASCD Journal
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For every one or two bad teachers you have, you will need 10 exceptional ones to help pull you through. I pray those teachers will come into my children’s lives. My ten teachers include Mrs. Mercy, my kindergarten teacher. She hung my painting of a purple horse, and to this day I consider myself artistic because of that gesture. I still remember the butterfly sticker she put on my cubby. There was no doubt I was loved. Mrs. Jackson, my third grade teacher, understood I was a sensitive, fearful child, and was very sympathetic when I wet my pants in class because I was too afraid to raise my hand. She treated me with dignity, and I knew she felt my pain. In high school, Sister Dort (our nickname for her) was more like a true sister to me, and did not rat us out when we spent the night at our school. She found us brushing our teeth in the school bathroom the next morning, and simply gave us a knowing nod. Sister Mary Josephine was my science teacher in the 8th grade, but then moved up with our class and taught my high school Biology and Physics classes. She was my favorite of all. She made us laugh and gave us all endearing nicknames, helped us understand that dissecting was relevant, and didn't yell at me when I dropped a weight during a physics experiment that took a big chunk out of the new terrazzo steps. I adored her, and I knew it was mutual. In college, Mrs. Hope Johnson saved my life by changing my Articulation grade from a “D” to a "C" because she was not only my teacher but my advisor and she could. She risked the wrath of Professor P., but did it anyway. I will never forget her compassion. I will always love Professor Fred Discus, who gave me a graduate assistantship and trusted me to write a chapter in his textbook for special educators. I don't think I did a very good job, but he did, and that's all that mattered.
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My remaining exceptional teachers came into my life as colleagues: Polly Barrett (my BFF to this day), Susan Resar, and Billy Jo Hewitt. There were others that inspired me, of course, but I witnessed these three teachers treating students with the utmost respect and love, and in turn earning the mutual admiration of their students and peers. If a teacher treated one of my students with disabilities with kindness and compassion, then they were all right with me, and went on the good list. So I ask myself the obvious question. Why do bad teachers go into education? This is a rhetorical question. I don't know if there is an answer. The money is not all that great, and the rewards are few and far between. Maybe the bad teachers start out good, and then something goes awry. It can be stressful in many ways. For the good teachers, it is a labor of love. A love of children, a love of learning, a love of their content. What makes the bad teachers put on their pants every day and come to a building of eager children when it is clearly not their heart’s desire?
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I wish students pondering teaching as a profession would take a good, hard look at what they are considering...really delve into their reasoning behind this decision. It must be so much more than a love for the arts, or science, or social studies. It must be the abiding desire to make life better for every child that sits before them in a classroom; The strength to come back, day after day, year after year, looking for ways to be better and to do better. It is understanding that if the students aren't getting the concept, perhaps it is you, not them, that needs to make an adjustment. And then you make the adjustment. It is looking each student in the eye and saying hello, or good morning, or nice to see you today so they feel noticed and cared for...to leave your ego and all of your hang-ups and childhood issues at the door, and embrace each day as an opportunity, not an obligation. If you can agree to do these things for 30 years, then you will be one of the good teachers. If not, please just choose another vocation. It is that important.
Lorain City Schools: A Lighthouse District by Dr. Michael White, Ph.D., Director of Educational Consulting Services Teachers, and at times entire school districts, can get caught up in the thesis that certain children can’t achieve at high levels. They spend endless hours excusing, tracking, and correlating the percent of low-birth weight babies, percent of children born to single moms, percent of children from families who receive government assistance, and percent of children with disabilities. Armed with printouts, statistics and newspaper clippings, they will lament that, “We are not strong enough to raise poor, ethnic minority or disabled students to a higher level due to forces outside the school Ohio ASCD Journal
tugging them downward.” And then these teachers start settling for “good enough” work. The result is schools that don’t expect very much from themselves or their students – and in turn don’t get much from either group. Do outside forces tug so hard that they cannot be overcome by any particular kind of school, any set of in-school reforms, or an effective and caring teacher? What if public schools and teachers are not the answer?
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Before throwing our hands up and exclaiming, “There’s nothing public education can do,” the other side of this debate deserves consideration. There are public schools “beating the odds” and producing well-educated youngsters in spite of the hostile forces at work in many of their kids’ lives. High performing and high poverty schools are not simply urban legends. They do exist. Here is a real example: Lorain City School District in Ohio. In April of 2013, the state of Ohio declared a small handful of districts, including the Lorain City School District, in Academic Emergency. These districts had failed to make adequate yearly progress for four or more consecutive years on their State Report Cards. Each of these districts was required to develop an Academic Recovery Plan and work in concert with their stakeholders as well as an Ohio Department of Education team. With 88 percent of its students meeting the qualifications for free and reduced-price meals, 77 percent minority, and an average household income of twenty-four thousand dollars, The Lorain City School District had to be very deliberate about everything it did to improve. Their Academic Recovery Plan needed to be purposeful, practical, and have a sense of urgency. Their Academic Recovery plan contained six priorities: College and Career Readiness/Graduation Rate The district increased opportunities for students to take college courses and earn an associate’s degree and career technical certification. Their alternative school, New Beginnings Academy, is being reviewed by the National Center for Dropout Prevention.
Ohio ASCD Journal
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Communication/Community Engagement The district created a Communications and Community Engagement staff position to ensure that all stakeholders are aware of and have input into district decision-making and initiatives. Academic Rigor and Standards A team of educators coordinate academic planning, curriculum calendars, and pacing guides to ensure consistent, collaborative, and effective teaching and learning across the district. Professional Learning Communities A newly developed position, Director of Professional Learning, revitalized the district’s Teacher-Based Teams (TBT), Building Leadership Teams (BLT), and the District Leadership Team (DLT). Staff Retention and Recognition The district celebrates their successes, big and small. A staff-led team recognizes individuals for years of service, volunteering, perfect attendance, and quarterly staff appreciation. Retention initiatives include an end-of-the-year all-staff picnic and retention interviews. Cultural Competency A district steering committee composed of parents, community members, and staff ensures that all stake holders appreciate and celebrate the district’s diversity, both academically and socially. As far as how these priorities have worked: The most recent Local Report Card (2014-15 LRC) rated the District an A for ValueAdded. This is the second successive year of an A rating and the third successive year of a C or better on Value-Added. The district also received A’s for academic growth among its 5
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disabled students, as well as students in the bottom twenty percent of achievement. The district received a B for the academic growth of its gifted students. A Value-Added score of C represents a year’s growth for student’s within a school year. A Value- Added Score of A or B represents more than a year’s academic growth in a single school year. It should be noted that Lorain City School District’s Value-Added scores stand in sharp contrast to scores across the state, where ValueAdded letter grades of A fell by 11%. Today the district places in the top 3 percent of Ohio public schools for its overall Value-Added score and jumped past 196 districts from their previous year rank. The District is on track to promote over 96% of Third Grade students this school year, with 89% already qualifying for promotion. Internal tracking data shows that, in a year-to-year comparison, the district’s promotion rate has increased by 7% from 2014-2015. Lorain’s ranking among Ohio public schools is better than it has been in the past eleven years. Lorain City Schools moved up twenty-
one positions in performance index ranking among public school districts in Ohio between 2014 and 2015. The Next Step Many school district and many states — losing population, jobs, and heart — find themselves dropping in academic achievement as the poverty level of their families increases. The Lorain City School District, with the assistance of the Ohio Department of Education, has improved its academic achievement. Districts that successfully serve low-income students and students of color demonstrate that it is possible to dramatically change the trajectory of children’s lives, and these districts may quietly exist in places all over the country. We need to identify, honor, and draw critical lessons from these districts and those state programs that support them. The Lorain City School District should be held up as “lighthouse district” — and their road map to academic recovery broadly shared with the field.
Product Review: Bright Products/Math and Science by Chuck Benway, Ashland City Schools
Math-a-Round Sigma If the objective is to have fun while strengthening the four basic math operations, Math-a-Round Sigma is worth considering. Students will gain plenty of practice time, and the variations of the main activity keep things Ohio ASCD Journal
interesting. It truly is a game, and the outcome is unpredictable as students race to achieve specified number values through addition, subtraction, multiplication, and division. Teachers will be able to find ways to fit this into
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the curriculum in terms of playing time, and students will find the rules are easy to follow. The Math-a-Round Sigma game was more fun than I anticipated. Younger kids will like this, and older kids who need to practice math operations will find it ‘cool’. The kit is sturdy, and teachers probably do not need to have one kit per student.
Bright Atom Teachers will find the Bright Atom kit to be effective both as an introduction and as a skill building tool for students learning atomic structures. Students use one or two Bohr model trays to help them arrange and draw specific atoms such as oxygen or magnesium, but they can also investigate the concepts of isotopes and ions. Bright Atom allows for a variety of depths of understanding atomic structures, and can provide both practice and challenge. Teachers will discover that the display model of the atom is very sturdy, and the suggested worksheets are helpful and allow for independent work.
Bright Teacher Molecule This kit provides an ample number of colored magnetic circles to help an instructor show and discuss the concepts of chemical reactions, molecules, bonding, and balancing. Smaller rectangular magnets can be used for addition signs, yield signs, and bonds. While the six colors are assigned to common atoms such as carbon and oxygen, teachers can assign practically any element to these colors. Few instructions are provided, however, teachers will find this kit useful as a display model that allows them to rearrange atoms in chemical reactions and molecular structures.
Product Resources The written material that comes with Math-aRound Sigma, Bright Atom, and Bright Teacher Molecule is useful, but it would be helpful if the creators revised their instructions and brochures. Some of the grammar and the terms they use are noticeably incorrect, but not confusing. Teachers reading the brochure would probably prefer an improvement in the grammar.
Note: BRIGHT of Sweden supplies educational products for science and math, all developed within the company. The award-winning products, developed within the company and all made in Sweden, are appreciated in schools all over the world. In 2007, Pernilla Molander (Founder & CEO) and Anna Kristensson (Founder & Marketing Director) were appointed Swedish Women Inventors of the Year for BRIGHT Atom. Please visit their website at http://www.brightsite.se/site/en/index.php?id=0.
Kids’ Corner Various articles of the Ohio ASCD Journal will now include a “Kids’ Corner”, which will feature brief product reviews from children’s perspectives. This edition features Cal and Tessa Silverberg.
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Regarding the Bright Atom ™ kit described in the above product review, Cal (9) had this to say: It would be a nice change from…the things we usually do in school because it wouldn't be just worksheets. Better, because we can explore. It would help if they added different things about the different molecules, like H2O.
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While Tessa (7) stated: Sometimes people say that boys are more capable of stuff than girls. It's pretty amazing that these women created this.
How I Did It. By Dr. Frankenstein by Pepper Bates, Gifted and Instructional Assessment Coordinator, Wadsworth City Schools The monster analogy just kept coming to mind..... A process of trying to improve something, breathing new life into a creation, refining and improving a being. The Gifted Improvement Process; bringing together pieces of this and that for some sense of coherence in our strategic plan. The gifted indicator has done that for us. It has moved us, tore back the skin to see the muscle and made us examine the whole growing process. After viewing gifted education from the inside, as a coordinator for five years, I look
Ohio ASCD Journal
back on this process as it occurred in our district. Ann Sheldon, Executive Director of Ohio Association for Gifted Children (OAGC) and the governing board have led the charge. Her advocacy and foresight has shaped the gifted indicator. Credit is also due to the Ohio Department of Education Accountability Office and to the “Always Ready for a Challenge” ODE Gifted Department who has tried to support those of us in the field, in many positive ways. We were moving along following operating standards, dreaming of a time when all needs of 8
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gifted students were being met, and I remember feeling like I was the only one who cared. Gifted services get slashed from the budgets, and then they come back, first with baby steps, and as the needs grow, rebuilding strategically. All the while, everyone employed in the gifted field watch with trepidation that another need to cut budgets may rear its head again. As attempts to update the operating standards moved through committees and were tabled, I remember thinking, “this is no way to make progress!” Enter: the gifted indicator for the district local report card. Now we are talking accountability! Accountability, like strong chains, holding back this monster until it can be trusted. Executive functioning needs to be researched carefully when you decide to build a better monster. Schedules, staff, priorities, choices for students, curriculum compacting, qualifying criteria, impact on classroom balance, and other critical issues must be examined. Our Superintendent, Dr. Andrew Hill, supported the cause and began with administrative discussions and an Academic Council that included teachers, parents, and administrators. Very rich discussions led to a clearer vision and some specific direction on identifying other data we needed. Simultaneously, a new strategic plan was in the works and, ironically, a community survey exposed a strong thread regarding the need to expand gifted services. I was feeling good, and evidence was swelling. Playing right into our hand, this new metric would provide additional motivation. Internally, Director of Curriculum and Instruction, Dr. Michele Evans, stepped in with the principals, and a closer study of the gifted indicator was conducted. A vision of what this would look Ohio ASCD Journal
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like with perfect implementation was discussed, and then slap… back to reality. A wish list had to be developed; one that considered staff, curriculum and policy. As I wrote down that wish list and started thinking about what would have to happen between these goals and making it a reality, I recognized that we had some good structures in place--a fully stocked laboratory, if you will--a supportive community and a committed administrative team. All we needed was some lightning and a bit of luck to get this monster really breathing. Breathe monster, breathe…. Staff: In a move to build capacity to support our goals, we researched and approached a number of higher education institutions to discuss offering a gifted endorsement course of study here in Wadsworth. We were successful and a gifted cohort group gathered and took on the challenge of William and Mary’s endorsement program. Eight dedicated teachers, including Dr. Evans, dove into the books and educated themselves in the ways of teaching the gifted student, seeking the credentials necessary to serve the gifted population. Curriculum: From the high school down, we examined College Credit Plus, Advanced Placement offerings, and honors level classes with expansion plans to the middle school. We currently offer only honors math, but will expand to honors science and honors language arts as well. Gifted teams with a dedicated Gifted Intervention Specialist (GIS) in the intermediate grades will cover Math and Language Arts. Finally, support at our five elementary schools, with a GIS working in third and fourth grade classrooms, round out the list. Policy: We dropped our qualifying service criteria from 130 to 128 to match the state definitions of gifted identification and in doing so pulled in another group of gifted students 9
Ohio ASCD Journal
formerly left unserved. We reviewed and promoted a kinder and friendlier “RTI (Response to Intervention)- like” approach to looking at individual students who have needs early on in the primary grades. This resulted in early entrance to kindergarten for a few more students, acceleration through grade skipping, and consultation support in the classroom for teachers of these bright, pre-program young ones. Reflecting back three years now, we recognize that we polished up our monster, replaced faulty parts, filled him with new breath, and put him on a diet of review and wellness checks by our team of professionals. We created some real opportunities for our gifted students. I think credit is due to the task force that developed the indicator. In our district it has focused our action. Unfortunately, all things are not equal in Ohio school districts. Capacity to move forward in Wadsworth, however, has been an ongoing priority, resulting in support to the staff and administration from the community. I believe that advocacy for
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gifted education can impact more than just gifted students. And we will keep working on Frankenstein… he still has a few flaws. Endnotes: Shelley, Mary. Frankenstein; or, The Modern Prometheus was first published on March 11, 1818 by the small London publishing house Lackington, Hughes, Harding, Mavor, & Jones. Sheldon, Ann E., Executive Director, Ohio Association for Gifted Children, 501 Morrison Rd. Ste. 103, Gahanna, Ohio 43230, Advocacy Alerts, 2014-2016. William & Mary, School of Education, Center for Gifted Education, Williamsburg, VA http://education.wm.edu/centers/cfge/ , May, 2016. Wadsworth City Schools Strategic Plan 2016-2020, Curriculum/Instruction/ Assessment, pgs. 1-3, http:// www.wadsworth.k12.oh.us/%20.
Xavier’s Story — Victim of Circumstance by Dr. Renee Willis, Superintendent, Richmond Heights Local School District Xavier was 15 when I met him. He was a participant in a program designed to prevent minority boys from dropping out of school. We were taking the boys to Washington, D. C. to the opening of the new MLK National Monument. The night before our departure, we had them spend the night at the local Salvation Army so that they could be briefed on the trip as well as receive some valuable history lessons about the Civil Rights movement. Xavier really stood out Ohio ASCD Journal
above the other boys in that his questions were so reflective and passionate. I had the opportunity to engage in one-on-one conversation with him about some of the things he was asking about. What I later learned about Xavier, while on this trip was absolutely amazing and yet re-confirming for me. Xavier was the oldest of 10 siblings. His life had been normal until about six months 10
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prior. His normal was defined as his mother, father, and their 10 children all together, although living in poverty. He recalled that there were times when there was no electricity or heat, but they were all together. I guess normal is purely relative to one’s perspective on life. Xavier recalled that it was as if someone “pulled the rug right out from under his feet” overnight, and his normal life ended. In a flash his family was totally torn to pieces due to an act of family dysfunction that forced his father to have to leave, and several of the siblings were removed and placed under the custody of the Department of Children and Family Services. What I saw in Xavier was a silent genius that most people wouldn’t take the time to see, nor would they have been able to sift through the peripheral “garbage” in order to see the genius in him. Through no fault of his own, this young black boy had his world turned upside down. Upon being removed from his home he was placed into a shelter where the personnel kept him from attending school due to paperwork glitches. So he missed the third and fourth marking period of his tenth grade year after having done terribly in the first two quarters when the episode was unfolding. It should be noted that prior to this ordeal, he was practically a model student with great grades and a thirst for knowledge. A half year of playing Scrabble and reading magazines later, Xavier was finally re-enrolled into Martin Luther King Jr. High School the summer after what should have been his 10th grade year. He was then placed into a boy’s group home and he resided there until he aged out of the system.
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He had some decisions to make. Xavier could have blamed life, his father, his mother, the county, God, himself, or his caseworker for his time in a group home with no family, but he decided to focus forward, and I decided to mentor him. Thanks to a great support system and credit recovery online courses, he managed to graduate on time with his class. Upon graduation, he received several honors which include being the President of the Fire Academy at the local junior college, a top student in the local Upward Bound Program, Homecoming King, President of the CTAG mentoring program, Captain of the Soccer Team, Member of the basketball team, and Honor Roll all the quarters of his senior year. He was blessed to have people in his life who were sent on divine assignment to make sure that he didn’t give up then, and won’t give up now. My role in Xavier’s life became one of mentor, surrogate mother, confidante and advocate. Once his basic needs of food, shelter and clothing were met, I pushed him to reignite the genius that was inside of him. Today, Xavier is a college student at Central State University. He has rare contact with any of his biological family, as they are dispersed all over the state of Ohio and Illinois. Xavier’s story is one of resilience, but it is a lesson to educators that we must look beyond the surface and seek to find the genius inside of our boys. We must not pass judgment or assume that our black boys have somehow caused their own situations of distress. Xavier is a perfect example of how merely being a victim of circumstance almost derailed his life.
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Teacher Supervision: A Case of Selected Schools in the Gulu District (Uganda) by Amos Olanya, National Teachers' College Unyama 1. Introduction In Uganda, supervision of schools started in 1924 during the missionary era when supervisory duties and responsibilities were entrusted to religious leaders. This was because most schools belonged to missionaries and their Arab counterparts. Decades later, an education department was established with the main objective of inspecting schools countrywide. At present, the Ministry of Education Science and Technology (MoE) in Uganda still maintains its supervisory roles through Education Standard Agency (ESA) whereby, supervisors are required to exhibit their competence, tactfulness, sincerity and integrity in their work (Nambassa, 2003). Esudu (2010) reported that the school inspectors do not visit schools to monitor the head teachers, who in turn also are not closely supervising teachers. As an unreliable alternative, supervision and monitoring is being done on phone and internet by filling appraisal forms, yet there is no practical evidence that someone is performing in the field. Lack of supervision has made some teachers not to regard teaching as a desired career and always take it for granted. To make the matter worse, such teachers do not mind about improving their teaching, school performance and they report in school for work at will and do school duties only when pushed to (Education Policy Review Report, 2005). 2. What Is Evaluated During Supervision The significance of classroom supervision are considered in four aspects: (i) Lesson Ohio ASCD Journal
Preparation (lesson planning, lesson notes, scheme of work, teaching and learning aids (T/ A), cleaned and well organized seats for learners, objective properly stated and caters for any of the three domains), (ii) Lesson Presentation (motivation of learners, effective use of T/A, communication, subject knowledge, appropriateness of preparation, lesson development) (iii) Classroom Management (teacher/pupil relationship, quality of pupils' contribution, class discipline and routine, professional appearance, flexibility) (iv) Assessment (records of work covered, students progress reports, lesson attendance, utility of the lesson prescribed times, class assignments, teacher's ability to evaluate own performance). A teacher who has all the above requirements in his or her file and can demonstrates the required skills in classroom presentation is said to have met the maximum standard for the supervision. 3. Lesson Notes According to Waititu & Orado (2009) lesson notes helps the teachers to be successful in lesson presentation since they stimulate the introduction, which helps the learners to focus on the content of the lesson. The students are also exposed to a lot of activities which help in developing the processing skills in the learners and encourages their active participation in the main teaching steps. The teachers are also able to use locally available materials with their environment, hence this encourages students to use improvised materials when learning and the teacher are able to keep on asking and inviting 12
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questions in the main teaching steps. This helps the teachers to receive feedback from the pupils, hence they are able to give more guidance to students on lesson activities and make appropriate adjustments in the conduct of the lesson. 4. Teachers' Lesson Planning A lesson plan is a teacher's detailed description of the course of instruction for one class. A daily lesson plan is developed by a teacher to guide class instruction. Details will vary depending on the preference of the teacher, subject being covered, and the need and/or curiosity of children. There may be requirements mandated by the school system regarding the plan (O'Bannon, 2008). A teacher's lesson plan is a professional document prepared by teachers for the purpose of presentation of a lesson. The teacher indicates whether the lesson has been taught and objectives achieved; if the lesson is not taught, then the teacher indicates the reason why and when he intends to cover it. If the lesson objectives are not achieved, the teacher plans for remedial lesson in order to make the concept understood by the students. Head teachers should monitor lesson plan preparation frequently; otherwise it may lead to poor performance in national examinations (Reche, Bundi, Riungu &Mbugua, 2012). 5. The Scheme of Work Scheme of work is a guideline that defines the structure and content of a course. It maps out clearly how resources (e.g. books, equipment, and time), class activities (e.g. teacher-talk, group-work, practical, discussions), and assessment strategies (such as tests, quizzes & homework) will be used to ensure that the learning aims and objectives of the course are met successfully. It will normally Ohio ASCD Journal
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include times and dates. The scheme of work is usually an interpretation of a specification or syllabus and can be used as a guide throughout the course to monitor progress against the original plan. Schemes of work can be shared with students so that they have an overview of their course. Silsil, P (2008) recognizes the head teacher as the overall supervisor of all academic and administrative activities in the school, and the one responsible for improving and maintaining high teaching and learning standards in the school. Teachers therefore perform their duties under the directions and guidance of the head teacher. 6. Methodology To look at the challenges of supervision in Gulu district, some six secondary schools were selected: Sir Samuel Baker School, Helgoland High School, Gulu High School, Gulu Secondary School, Alliance High School, and Gulu Army Secondary School. Thirty-eight (38) teachers were selected for interview and six head teachers were also interviewed separately regarding the mode of supervision they used in their specific schools. Some students were also interviewed about what they think as regards teachers' supervision in their schools. 7. Teachers' Responses When asked if teachers like to be supervised, 60% of teachers agreed that they like to be supervised. This was, to some extent, in relation to how teachers regard supervision as well as what they expect and need from it. As reported by some teachers during interviews, longserving teachers are not willing to be supervised; they direct supervision to new teachers who have just embraced teaching and are in need of experience. An elderly teacher from Gulu Army secondary school had this to say: “I have served as a teacher for over thirty 13
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years. That means the experiences I acquired needs no supervision. Supervisions are for young teachers because they are still new in the field.” A study conducted by Kruskamp (2003), however, reported that David smith, a participant and a head of department, had this to say: “Besides treating individuals according to the situation and according to their unique histories, much of what I do is dependent on the experience of the individual teacher with whom I'm working. Beginning teachers generally require more attention and so there is need to pay more attention to them….. Supervision is, to great extent, supervisee-centered.” When 38 teachers were interviewed from the sampled schools, the majority was very positive about supervision and only a few were negative. They had these to say: “Six teachers said supervision helps them get new skills, 13 teachers agreed that supervision motivates teachers and stimulates them to love teaching profession, 11 teachers agreed that supervision is done as a way of evaluating teachers' performance, eight teachers agreed that supervision of teachers is done as a way of helping teachers improve their teaching practices and develop professionally.” Secondary school teachers' perspective of supervision was understood as what teachers think supervision is all about with regard to one's attitude toward supervision. As regards supervision of teacher performance, evaluation creates negative attitude. Study findings indicated that some participants regard teacher supervision as teacher evaluation. But both fields, supervision and evaluation, have different intents and purposes as evaluation is subjective not putting into consideration the person doing the work. The interviews with teachers also revealed what teachers need in Ohio ASCD Journal
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regard to supervision. To that end, 26 interviewed teachers reported that their individual needs were overlooked during supervision. That is, head teachers are not interested in knowing what teachers are passing through in their daily life. Hence, since these teachers, according to themselves, do not see any benefit from general and instructional supervision, they become apathetic in supervision and do not want to hear anything about supervising them. In this regards, however, Barasa (2007) emphasizes that good supervision creates a climate in which personal desires and needs are expressed and satisfied in order to meet instructional purposes. A teacher from Sir Samuel Baker School in Gulu district had this to say: “I need to pay my daughter's school fees, I have a family to feed, pay monthly rent and meet the family's medical bills, how do you expect me to waste my time attending to supervision?, In this case I better commit fewer hours to classroom teaching in favor of my private work e.g. gardening perhaps as a means of supplementing my incomes. Schemes of work, lesson planning and records of students are not our work; they are for primary school teachers —not secondary school teachers.” The finding on teachers' perspectives and attitudes parallels with what Kramer et al. (2005) found in their study. After their research study, Kramer and his co-researchers (2005) found through findings that there is a significant difference between the attitudes of teachers in low performance schools and the teachers in high performance schools. Teachers in high performance schools on the average had more positive attitudes toward supervision of instruction than teachers in low performance schools. For example, the head teacher of St Joseph College Layibi, a high performance school, had this to say: “Teachers in this school prepare schemes of work, lesson plans, lesson 14
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notes, record of work, and record of students' marks regularly even without being supervised. They have positive attitudes towards quality education and this makes us perform well during national examination.” Not surprising that even Habimana (2008), study findings showed a conflict of participants' understanding and varied attitudes toward supervision. That is, head teachers, teachers, and students do not have the same point of views in regard to supervision, and this may have a significant effect on the success of supervision. Kramer, et al (2005), mentioned earlier, found through their study that even teachers themselves have different attitude vis-à-vis supervision. In support of this view, some of the interviewed teachers did not like the way their head teachers handle supervision. All the contacted teachers said they had no prior communication from their head teachers before they are supervised. There have also been criticisms of the quality of supervision. DEO (2014) reports cases in Gulu where classroom supervision had become ritualized to the point where it involved only an inspection of lesson notes. As one teacher from Alliance High School described it: “So sometimes … they [other teachers] will prepare lesson notes, but they will not intend to teach … Someone is in our staff, he will prepare sometimes … and he has a big bundle of notes and he just transfers the notes., … So in this way the head teachers are stressing on the lesson notes, the teachers will take advantage, prepare lesson notes and not teach, and go away.” 8. Head Teachers' Responses When asked if teachers like to be supervised, 70% of head teachers said that teachers do not like to be supervised. To wash negative attitudes from the teachers' mind, the head teachers regularly met teachers and explain Ohio ASCD Journal
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to them what are the intents and purposes of supervision and how it benefits teachers individually. An interview with the head teacher of Gulu Senior Secondary revealed that some few years ago, a local NGO (Invisible Children) organized and sensitized selected secondary school teachers in Gulu district on the benefits of supervision. To experienced teachers, when supervision is perceived as evaluation of teacher's performance, what comes out is obviously negative attitude. This is simply because they perceived the function of evaluation as greatly different from the function of supervision. Supervision, according to them, is more democratic, motivational, and flexible, while evaluation is completely administrative with strictness. A study by Nampa (2007) revealed that effective supervisors expect nothing less than high productivity and good performance from teachers. The supervision that is done in the secondary schools sampled is informal by function and methods. Six of the head teachers, in the selected secondary schools, said that they do not supervise their teachers in a formal way. The majority of them simply check if teachers' file contains the required tools and if teachers report in classroom for routine lessons. The head teacher of Helgoland High School, when interviewed, had this to say: “We ascertain teachers' presence in classroom by checking staffs' attendance book kept in the staff room, checking lesson attendance book, filled in and kept only by student leaders and ensuring that they have schemes of work and lesson plans for the lessons assigned to them. No more or less than that is done concerning supervision.” Interview with the head teacher of Gulu Central High School produced a different result: “I do not inform teachers when I am going to supervise them. However, I always meet with my 15
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teachers after supervision process for the discussion and give them feedback on what was observed during supervision.� Interview with head teachers and some few teachers indicated that many secondary schools are developing monitoring tools for use at school level. In Gulu Senior, there is an attendance register in every office, and responsible officers have to sign in daily. Teachers also sign a form showing what they taught in each class. In Sir Samuel Baker School, teacher attendance is recorded using the teacher attendance register indicating arrival and departure for both morning and afternoon sessions. In Helgoland High school too, a recent move requires that all teachers sign in to record their attendance. It was difficult to relate this finding to other findings in the field of education regarding supervisory methods. However, Zepeda (2003) contended that supervision could be formal or informal, clinical or some modification of the clinical process, or it may be differentiated or developmental with specific methods and approaches. I t i s w o r t h n o t i n g , h o w e v e r, t h a t instructional supervision is a process that has three phases, namely: pre-observation conference, observation, and post-observation conference. Practically, according to Okumbe (2007), in pre-observation conference, supervisor meets with the person to be supervised before supervision starts. This phase has not been taken seriously at Gulu Central High School. But in observation phase, the supervisor observes everything that is taking place as the other person is performing the work. This phase is not conducted well at Helgoland High School, and in postobservation, the supervisor meets with the supervisee for the observation feedback and mutual discussion of what was observed. All Ohio ASCD Journal
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methods and techniques relate to each of these supervision phases. As asserted by Zepeda & Ponticell, (1998), while numerous studies detailed various supervision models and methods, teachers have had, to date, little voice in the process of instructional supervision. Head teachers' supervisory practices are denoted by supervision skills, supervision facilities, informal and formal classroom visits, appraisal forms, and supervision reports, while teachers' performance was indicated by teacher's regularity in school and classroom, time management, prepared pedagogic documents, classroom instruction and management, conduct and teaching behavior. 9. Students' Responses Among those interviewed, nine students argued that during supervision, they understand their teachers and the lessons better than during other normal classroom lessons, while 11 students said that their teachers do better in their teaching and classroom management after they have been supervised by the head teacher or deputy head teacher. And most of their teachers change their behavior for the better after they have been supervised by the head teacher or deputy head teacher. While in Gulu Central High School, one of the students had this to say: “Most of the students are not satisfied with the way their teachers teach them in some subjects, especially sciences, and the students fear to tell the teachers due to fear of repercussion. Most of the teachers dictate notes and leads the students through junk of theory only. It is difficult for the students to see the use as most classrooms are reportedly very passive. Students are rarely required to participate actively in lessons, other than to repeat by rote what had been said by the teacher or to sing and clap So, there is a need to 16
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supervise the teachers to improve their teaching.” This statement was supported by one of the teacher from Keyo Secondary School who said, “As teachers, we feel wary about moving away from what is laid down on the printed page, even though we are surrounded by rich and varied resources outside the classroom and school environment. The rigidity of secondary school curricula and examinations set by NCDC and UNEB discourages us from moving beyond the boundaries of the subject area.” As revealed through the study, the implication is that teacher performance is partially dependent upon supervision of school and classroom instruction. It is deciphered that there are other factors that cater for the good performance of teachers in schools besides teacher supervision. In support of the study findings still, Nampa (2007) research study indicated that there is a significant effect exerted by monitoring practices of teachers' performance in secondary schools. This finding is supported by other long ago findings from Lyman and Lawler's (1982) study, which also indicate that followers can have all the willingness and skills to do the job but will always need guidance through supervision. And while correlating supervision with quality teaching in Gulu district secondary schools, ESA (2013) study findings indicated that lack of supervisors and inadequate inspection brings about poor quality teaching and learning in secondary schools. In conclusion, head teachers have got to supervise teachers in order to boost quality teaching and learning in secondary schools. 10. Challenges Only face-to-face interviews with the head teachers were used to gather data on these Ohio ASCD Journal
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challenges. The most apparent challenges that head teachers reported with reference to supervision of teachers are as follows: “Private secondary school managing directors interfere with our responsibilities. We the head teachers in private secondary schools have limited power and authority vis-à-vis school leadership and management. Important and final decisions are made by the school managing directors, and we do not have full power to deal with undisciplined, disrespectful and failure teachers because of the teachers' tie of friendship or relationship with the managing directors. We are just being used by the school managing directors as pawns. Some teachers take a long time to improve their teaching or change their unbecoming behavior. Even after they have been warned and counseled several times, some teachers remain obstinate and do not change at all for the better.” More than 60% of interviewed head teachers reported that a couple of teachers, especially veterans, do not want to be supervised by the director of studies whom the head teacher sometime delegates to supervise teachers. These teachers think that the director of studies is not worthy of exercising leadership power over them in school and classroom matters. Another supervision challenge that is peculiar to head teachers mainly in private secondary schools is lack of time. These head teachers overwork themselves by assuming office work and teaching in classroom in order for them to get a significant salary. 11. Lesson Learnt Supervision exercise in Gulu district is not yet adequately embraced by the teachers because it's poorly managed by the head teachers due to a number of factors. The reasons lie mainly in attitude, leadership gap, and institutional capacity to fund the exercise. For 17
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supervision of school and classroom instruction to be effective, the top key education stakeholders must join hands and see to it that anything that may thwart supervision is effectively dealt with, especially at school level. As regards lack of time on head teachers' side with regard to supervision, this finding agrees with Kruskamp (2003), research finding whereby he found that constraints to instructional supervision do exist. To overcome challenges faced by secondary school head teachers in supervising teachers, however, combined efforts are needed from the education stakeholders, especially the Ministry of Education, Education Officers, Inspectors of Schools. In this regards, some of the head teachers said they have learnt to do among others the followings: developing monitoring tools that can easily be used within schools, training senior teachers which specifically equip them to mentor other teachers, and focus on the quality of teaching. Focusing supervision visits on quality by following all the three phases. 12. Conclusions The study has established that supervision by head teachers were not adequate which reduced the effectiveness of the teachers' preparation, involvement and motivation support to learners in achieving effective classroom teaching and learning. This could be due to the head teachers facing a number of challenges that may be attitudinal, leadership skills and Institutional. Just as head teachers and other education managers need to supervise and support in their schools, they also need to supervise and support the teaching and learning process in the classroom. Good supervision requires the willingness and commitment of the supervisors (head teachers) to support the teaching and learning process and the cooperation of both the teachers Ohio ASCD Journal
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and the learners in fully embracing supervision process. Head teachers should, alongside classroom supervision, share life experiences with the teacher (mentoring) at the most convenience way to improve the teacher's psychological mindset. Head teachers should appreciate that leadership is different from management. They should ensure that the key purposes of supervision are well perceived by the teachers and the learners prior to any supervision exercise and point out the clear directions; resources and skills teachers should have to effectively be supervised and leave the management of the process to the teachers so that they own it. The learners should be prepared to cooperate fully with the supervisor and the supervised teacher till the end of the exercise. Teachers' attitude towards supervision contributes greatly to its effectiveness. There is need to instill in the mind of teachers that supervision in itself facilitates professional development and offers opportunity to be mentored so as to achieve quality teaching and learning. Although the Ministry of Education and Sports has set up its supervision arm, ESA, it's underfunded and this hindered their supervision capacity. The school proprietors also consider supervision exercise as a waste of time and a financial burden. The head teachers are hence left in the cold with the task to manage supervision within the limited budget. The government has to enhance supervision budget and empower schools to embrace supervision exercise. References: Barasa, J. M. N. 2007. Educational Organization and Management. Nairobi: The Jomo Kenyatta Foundation. Esudu, S. 2010. UPE, USE should be monitored. The New Vision, January 13, 2010. 18
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Glickman, C. D; Gordon, S. P. and RossCordon. 1998. Supervision of Instruction: A Developmental Approach. (4th ed.). Boston, MA: Allyn & Bacon.
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Habimana, A. M. 2008. The Effect of Head Teachers' Instructional Supervisory Practices on Performance of Private Secondary School Students in Musanze District, Rwanda. Published Master's Thesis, Bugema University.  
The Fashion of Passion - Are We Setting Goals Too High? by Sylvia B. Rimm, Ph.D., Director, Family Achievement Clinic Clinical Professor, Case School of Medicine NOTE: This is Part II of a two-part article by Dr. Sylvia B. Rimm. Part I appeared in the Winter/Spring 2016 edition of the Ohio ASCD Journal.
Too High Expectations Lead To Underachievement
predominant behavior of achieving people.
Figure 4 (pg. 24) describes the paths that many gifted and creative children take when they feel extreme pressure to accomplish what they fear they are unable to achieve. I have excerpted here pages from my book "How to Parent So Children Will Learn" (Rimm, 2008, p. 14-17) that describes this figure:
Outside the circle are prototypical children who represent characteristics of underachievement. These children have learned avoidance and defensive behaviors to protect their fragile selfconcepts because they fear taking the risk of making the efforts that might lead to less-than-perfect performance.
The children in the inner circle (figure 4) are achievers. They've internalized a sense of the relationship between effort and outcome - that is, they persevere because they recognize that their efforts make a difference. They know how to cope with competition. They love to win, but when they lose or experience a failure, they don't give up. Instead, they try again. They don't view themselves as failures but only see some experiences as unsuccessful and learn from them. No children (or adults) remain in the inner circle at all times; however, the inner circle represents the
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The children on the left side of the figure are those who have learned to manipulate adults in dependent ways. Their words and body language say, "Take care of me," "Protect me," "This is too hard," "Feel sorry for me," "I need help." Adults in these children's lives listen to their children too literally and unintentionally provide more protection and help than children need. As a result, these children get so much help from others that they lose self-confidence. They do less, and parents and teachers expect less. They become expert at avoiding what they fear.
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On the right side of the figure are the dominant children. These children only select activities in which they feel confident they'll be winners. They tend to believe that they know best about almost everything. They manipulate by trapping parents and teachers into arguments. The adults attempt to be fair and rational, while the dominant children attempt to win because they're convinced they're right. If the children lose, they consider the adults to be mean, unfair, or the enemy. Once the adults are established as unfair enemies, the children use that enmity as an excuse for not doing their work or taking on their responsibilities. Furthermore, they often manage to get someone on their side in an alliance against that adult. Gradually, these children increase their list of adult enemies. They lose confidence in themselves because their confidence is based precariously on their successful manipulation of parents and teachers. When adults tire of being manipulated and respond negatively, dominant children complain that adults don't understand or like them, and a negative atmosphere becomes pervasive. The difference between the upper and lower quadrants in Figure 4 is the degree and visibility of these children's problems. Children in the upper quadrants have minor problems which they often outgrow. Parents who understand the potential for their worsening can often prevent them from escalating. If upper-quadrant children continue in their patterns, however, they will likely move into the lower quadrants. Most of the dependent children will, by adolescence, change to Ohio ASCD Journal
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dominant or mixed dependent-dominant patterns. There are also some children who combine both dependent and dominant characteristics from the start. Dependent and dominant children practice these control patterns for several years before they enter school. It feels to them that these behaviors work well, and they know of no others. They carry them into the classroom and expect to relate to teachers and peers in the same way that they have to their family. Teachers may be effective in improving some of the children's ways of relating; however, the more extreme the dependency or dominance, the more difficult it is to modify. Furthermore, teachers may respond intuitively to these children in ways that only exacerbate the problem. The dependency pattern often disguises itself as shyness, insecurity, immaturity, inattentiveness, or even a learning disability. Teachers may also protect these children too much. The dominant pattern does not always show itself in the early elementary grades because the child feels fulfilled by the excitement and power of school achievement. Dominance may also be exhibited as giftedness or creativity, or, not so positively, as ADHD or a discipline problem. If it shows itself as a discipline problem, teachers may label these children negatively. The children may end up sitting next to the teacher's desk or against the wall with a reputation as being the "bad" kid of the class. Parents often refer to a dominant child as strong willed or stubborn.
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Even if some teachers manage these children well in school, the dependent or dominant patterns may continue to be reinforced at home or in other classrooms. As time goes on, dependent and dominant children are likely to become underachievers because their self-confidence is built on manipulating others instead of on their own accomplishments. In granting children appropriate power, we must give them sufficient freedom and power to provide them with the courage for intellectual risk-taking. However, we should also teach sufficient humility so that they recognize that their views of the world are not the only correct ones. Although we need to empower them enough to study, learn, question, persevere, challenge, and discuss, we cannot grant them so much power that they infringe on adult authority for guiding them. That authority is indeed more fragile for this generation's children than it has ever been. For children with long-standing patterns of underachievement, adults make better progress by responding counter-intuitively. If children's goals are to be "most creative," "brilliant" and "best" or to "find their passion" and if they believe that reasonable goals will not be satisfying for themselves or for those who will love them, they will either listen to compromise and reset their goals to be more moderate with maturity, or they will continue into life as frustrated adult underachievers (Rimm, 1994). Here are 3 case studies:
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*Case study #1: Andrew had an early history of underachievement probably related to being both gifted and learning disabled. Math had never been his strength, but he was an excellent thinker and a very verbal young man. In high school he had reversed his underachievement, earned excellent grades, was a star in creative drama and had taken the initiative to build a "spook house" business that had been extraordinarily successful. He had netted a $10,000 profit from his enterprise. His motivation, hard work, imagination and creativity were remarkable and earned him an excellent scholarship for college. His successful entrepreneurship motivated him to follow his passion to major in business. Andrew earned A's and B's his first year in college for his introductory business courses, but his second year included multiple math courses which caused him severe problems. TV screens, video games and socializing distracted him from his main agenda and the pressures of a broken romance and poor grades lead him to panic attacks and suicidal ideation. Counseling and perseverance helped Andrew temporarily put his past girlfriend in perspective, decrease screen time and bring reasonably successful closure to his semester. A family session was intended to help Andrew set new realistic goals. Both parents were involved and they were discouraged and worried about their son. Andrew explained that he thought he should quit college and develop spook houses" as an enterprise because 21
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he believed he could make them into a successful lifelong business. Both parents wanted Andrew to complete his college degree. Very reasonably, they were trying to guide him toward taking classes in his areas of strength, exploring new interests to manage his stress and to give him alternatives for his future. His very educated and intelligent father urged Andrew repeatedly to search for his "passions." Unfortunately, his loving father did not realize that his well-meant message to Andrew to find his passions was actually the message that Andrew was hoping to follow by dropping out of college. His extraordinarily successful one time entrepreneurial experience with the spook house was the emotional high he preferred to follow. A full college education would have given him more realistic choices for a good career for the rest of his life. Andrew was not passionate about studying and did not respond to his father at all. He believed that he had already discovered his passion and he saw no reason at all for a further search or study. * This case study has been altered to protect privacy. Case study #2 - Letter from an adult who is still searching for her passions I discovered your literature while searching the Internet for insight into my life (as an adjunct to formal therapy), and what was written in your book, Why Bright Kids Get Poor Grades And What You Can Do About It (Rimm, 2008), resonated strongly with me. Parts of this book felt like a narration of my own life. Ohio ASCD Journal
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Unfortunately, as a 30-year-old, the period of my life that aligns with that which you describe in your book is now over. I have been told that I am "smart" and "bright" and I was enrolled in gifted programs in school, but I have always been plagued by chronic perfectionism, avoidance, and low self-esteem. Unfortunately, my achievement (or lack thereof) thus far in life reflects that. Are there resources available that detail any recourse for an adult who never reversed their underachievement problem? Case Study #3 - Another letter concerning a search for passions At the age of four I was labeled through testing as being gifted. I was then "branded" the genius of the family which often made me the center of attention. This caused me to place a huge amount of pressure on myself, and my mom also pressured me to be the first in my family to earn a college diploma. I was praised by adults for being smarter than others and kids who did not like hearing this shunned me. I even felt shunned by my siblings. I have found it difficult to be "successful" in any profession and I feel a constant urge to move on when I reach a wall. I am a "Jack of all trades, but a master of none." First, I was a short order cook, and then I tried sales, and sold furniture, cars, and hi-fi equipment. I love customer service because I meet new people, learn their life stories, and they help me to remember that my life is not so bad. 22
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On the other hand, my scientific side loves space, the stars, and learning about the physical universe. I also find myself to be passionate about the spiritual universe and the weird and wonderful ways it works. My greatest passion will always be music. I continue to try to find out who I am. What I understand now, with your help, is that my aims are not too high. I have cruised through life just being mediocre in what I am faced with. I work hard, but not as hard as I could. I know that I can achieve success, but I put too much pressure on myself thinking that I have to be the best at whatever I set out to do. I just wanted you to know that those traits you spoke of do continue into adulthood. They can be strengthening, but can also be detrimental to motivation. Graduation Message I have heard many educators direct to students to find their passions. Many parents have also reminded me how much they want their children to be happy and find their passions. I have also heard multiple graduation addresses from middle school through university level that have urged graduating students to search for passions. In contrast, excerpts of my favorite and most meaningful graduation address was the following given by Dr. Steven Muller at Johns Hopkins University (Rimm, 2008, p.18):
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As we congratulate you on your academic attainments and wish you well, it also seems more timely than ever to remind you‌that you have received here a great blessing, and that therefore you bear as well a great responsibility. Whatever your field of study, you have been blessed by academic freedom in all fullness. But let me also remind you that knowledge alone is not wisdom; that information is a means, not an end; that the object of free inquiry is truth, not profit; that freedom without responsibility is animal anarchy. Finally, Figure 5 (pare 24) summarizes my Top Ten recommendations for bright young people to realistically and creatively steer their lives toward meaningful careers. They can guide young people toward developing strengths, engagement in their work, making real life contributions, appreciation for the education they have been given, achieving reasonable happiness and being able to support themselves and their families. It invokes both the freedom and responsibility advocated by Dr. Muller. I believe that educators who use my advice to guide young people will be more likely to lead them toward creative and fulfilling lives. As contributing adults who have set reasonable goals, they will likely hopefully also feel passionate about their work at least some of the time. 
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Figure 4:
! Figure 5: My Top Ten Recommendations for Gifted Students to Fulfill Their Potential
1. Interests: Find a career that utilizes your strengths and interests. 2. Hard Work: Expect to work hard and persevere. 3. Competition: Good careers are highly competitive. You will win and lose, succeed and fail. 4. Independence: Don’t expect everyone to like and praise you. No one is perfect. 5. Humility: You will start at the bottom and are more likely to succeed if you help your supervisor to become successful. 6. Responsibility: Earn enough to support yourself and your family. 7. Tradeoffs: Life always involves some tradeoffs. You will need to make compromises. 8. Contribution: Make at least small contributions to our world. It needs your help! 9. Contribution: If you are highly successful financially, please give some back to those who made your success possible. 10. Reason: Following only passions is irrational. Uniting reason and emotion will allow you to enjoy your work some of the time. Ohio ASCD Journal
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References Rimm, S. (2008). Why bright kids get poor grades and what you can do about it. Tucson, AZ: Great Potential Press. Rimm, S. (2008) How to parent so children will learn (3rd ed.) Scottsdale, AZ: Great Potential Press
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=================================================== The Ohio ASCD Journal is intended to advance the work of educators and educational leaders by publishing compelling articles by local, national, and international authors. Key Features Diversity - We encourage writers from diverse of backgrounds, and with diverse views, to submit for publication in the Journal. Frequency - The Journal is published two times per year, once at the beginning of the fall semester and once at the beginning of the spring semester. Length - While there is no hard guideline around the length of the Journal's articles, pieces often run from 1,000-2,000 words. Remuneration - There is no remuneration for having work published in the Journal; the authors who benefit are enriched by having been read. Selection - Articles are selected for the Journal by the editorial staff. Tone - The Journal is read by busy educators and educational leaders, so the tone of its articles should help to celebrate and elevate professional practice. Topics - The Journal is intended for an audience of educational practitioners, so topics should be relevant for impact-driven professionals. Submissions are received on a rolling basis and should be sent to: Dr. David Silverberg Editor, Ohio ASCD Journal davidsilverberg@ohioascd.net =======================================================================
CREDITS
EDITOR-IN-CHIEF David Silverberg, Ed.D.
DEPUTY/MANAGING EDITOR Terri Jewett, M.Ed
ASSOCIATE EDITOR Kameren Jewett, J.D. Ohio ASCD Journal
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