SpeedBumps

Welcome All! We all made it through our first full week of school, with only a few power disruptions. How are classes this year? How are your class sizes? Have you come across any interesting, lets call them, "speed bumps" this year.

I have encountered several, but this one annoys me and perplexes me. When talking with our Special Education Department this year, they have chosen to try to rewrite the definitions of modification and accommodation for our students. In my research, according to one source on-line, modification is the act of modifying, or a slight change or alteration in something to change or improve it. Then Accommodation is when something is supplied for convience or to satisfy a need. According to these two definitions, and everything I've been taught, when you alter a test, assignment, or homework that is a modification! When you "supply" anything that assists a student (ie. another textbook, a ruler, calculator, computer, etc...) that is an accommodation. They seem to be confusing the two! I think someone needs to go back to school!!

How does changing the definitions help? Personally, I think we are trying to side step the law, so that funds can be used however they choose! Now, I may be wrong, it would NOT be the first time, but I don't think so. What do you think? What is going on in your building?

Another "Speed Bump" that I encountered was a parent giving a child whatever they wanted! First, they didn't want the child in my room. Then, after half a day in another room, the child cried to come back to my room, and the parent requested it. I wonder who is in charge in the home? Who is looking out for the child, when they allow them to always dictate what they want? Any ideas?

What were your speed bumps? Have you had any yet this year? Remember ACT is hear to help if you need us!

To New School Year! Or NOT?

I was all set out to write a wonderful "welcome back" blog, until I saw the front page of the Saipan Tribune today.

Sorry, Welcome back Teachers, Staff and Administrators!! I trust that all have had a somewhat relaxing summer.

Like you, I'm ready to try to get into my room and start setting up the classroom for another fun year. When I went to school this week, I was reminded, I could stay and work, but could NOT turn on anything. This outage included and was NOT limited to lights, water machine, fan(s), computer, etc...). Nothing, absolutely nothing could be turned on. I was reminded that they were monitoring the power. Has this happened to you? What is going on in your school?

Questions that came to mind, for the powers that be, are;

1) How do you set up a classroom, office, or school without any power?

2) What public official went into office, and set up his/her office without a lick of power?

3) Why/how do they really think that starting school late will really help our/their children?
Teachers? Accreditation? Continuity of Federal Funds?

4) Why do you continue to take away from the Children of this island, which will be the future
leaders of tomorrow.

5) Will delaying school really help you? At what cost to these future leaders of tomorrow?

I have come to understand that some on this island do not seem to care if we get any (US) federal funds for this Island or not. But, who are they really hurting? Themselves? Or the future leaders of tomorrow? If you truely believe in change or even things to stay the same, we(PSS Teachers) must be allowed to teach these future leaders to handle not just the island, but their place in the world and it's economy as well. Technology and all that goes with it(power included), are part of the future! Like it or not!!

Hope to see you all at the first state-wide PD, soon! Again, WELCOME BACK!

Meeting with BOE regarding Dr. Borja's "retirement" rescheduled

Approximately 20 teachers arrived yesterday to attend the Principal's meeting with members of the BOE regarding Dr. Borja's resignation. Unfortunately, only principals were allowed in. There was some confusion because the principals requested the meeting and at least 4 principals invited their teachers to attend. However, members of the BOE would not let us in the door. When the question as to whether this was a public meeting was raised, we were told it was not a BOE meeting, and therefore not open to the public. We did ask permission to sit in the back as observers, however this request was also denied. Several teachers expressed frustration as to whether the BOE had the right to block us from a meeting requested by principals, in which teachers were invited. (If it was a BOE meeting it should be open to the public. If it wasn't a BOE meeting, and in fact was a Principals meeting, the BOE does not control the audience.)

The BOE Chair-Woman did inform us there will be a special Board of Education Meeting regarding the resignation of Dr. Borja next Thursday at 9:30 a.m. in the Board of Education Conference Room. This meeting is open to the public. We encourage all concerned teachers and members of the public to attend. All stakeholders have a right to be informed and aware of issues surrounding PSS. As always, I will send an update after the meeting for those who are unable to attend.

Responses regarding opinions for an ACT position statement on the topic have been coming in all week. General teacher responses range from shock to anger to fear. No one who has written me supports the decision as it was made. Of course, there are those, myself included, who realize we may not have the whole story and do not want to jump to conclusions, but overall teachers are shocked and saddened.

Being as each speaker is limited to three minutes during the public comment phase of a BOE meeting, and I usually allow individual teachers and parents to speak first (I go last to add the thoughts of the organization), I thought I would compile a typed statement with teacher comments listed verbatim (names removed of course) and use the three minutes I am given to share an analogy I think sums up the way the majority of teachers feel in this situation. I'll post it below and would be interested in your opinions. If it sounds reflective of the majority of your feelings, I will share it on Thursday. If I am way off base, please let me know so I can adjust accordingly. My comments to the BOE on Thursday will be reflective of majority opinion submitted. (All individual opinions will be compiled in the written letter I deliver.)

Here's the analogy I'm thinking to share: A few years back the Board of Education selected Dr. Borja to be the driver of a vehicle we shall call PSS. There was some discussion as to whether he was perfect for the job, but nonetheless he was handed the keys. We all thought we knew where we were going. Along the road Dr. Borja may have turned left when the BOE intended him to go right. We wish the BOE had handed him a road map and given him a chance to get back on the right road, or stopped the vehicle and discussed a new driver, But throwing our driver out of a moving vehicle, puts the children and teachers of the CNMI at tremendous risk, especially when we're not sure where we're going anymore.

What are your thoughts? Too corny? In the right ball park? Way off base?

Okay, enough with the serious stuff. It's a beautiful Saturday afternoon, I'm hitting the beach! While I know times are troubling, I sincerely hope you are able to enjoy your vacation and a much deserved break.

As always, please let us know if there is anything the Association of Commonwealth Teachers can do to assist you.

Hope you see as many of you as possible on Thursday,
Betty Miller
ACT President

Resignation/Retirement of the COE

Greetings All,

For those who have not heard, Dr. Borja has been asked to resign as the COE. This news was contained on the front page of today's Marianas Variety, and a meeting was held with the PSS leadership team this afternoon.

I am in the process of drafting a statement for the Board of Education on behalf of the Association of Commonwealth Teachers.
If you have any thoughts you'd like me to take into account while preparing this statment, please send it by tomorrow night, as I would like to have the statement prepared for a meeting with the BOE on Friday morning.

To my understanding, this meeting is open to the public and will begin at 9:00 a.m. in the BOE conference room. I strongly encourage all concerned to attend and hope that you will do the same.

I sincerely hope to see many of you there,
Betty Miller
ACT President

Bingo Anyone???

Received this in my personal e-mail, and thought I would pass it along.

Hi Everyone! As you all know, *Diabetes* is a serious health problem affecting a large percentage of our island population. The CommonwealthDiabetes Coalition is a non-profit umbrella organization that is made of ofa partnership between governmental and non-governmental organizations onisland. It consists of members from Public Health, CHC, Diabetes Prevention& Control Program, the Ayuda Network, Marianas Health Services, thereligious communities, Bangladesh community, Filipino community, and Chinesecommunity, to name a few.
The Diabetes Coalition sponsors the Wise Women Village Project that offershealth screenings in the community for local women, Walk on Wednesday's forblood pressure and blood glucose screening, continuing education forhealthcare professionals in the CNMI, and the Foot Clinic that is run out ofthe Physical Therapy department at CHC. They also pay for newspaper, radioand TV ads to provide education on diabetes prevention and control to thecommunity. The Coalition is a *non-governmental *organization that receivesno funding from the government. They rely entirely on fundraising, publichealth grants, and community support in order to provide these services.
As such, the Commonwealth Diabetes Coalition is holding a *BINGO Nightfundraiser on May 30*. Your support is *greatly appreciated*. There is agroup of us who plans to get together and go play, so *please come out andjoin us*, it will be FUN! If you aren't able to attend, or BINGO is justnot your thing, please consider purchasing a ticket in support of theCoalition. It you purchase a ticket, there will be volunteers who will playyour card for you, and deliver your winnings after the event!!!
You can stop by the PT Department at CHC to pick up a ticket from me(730am-430pm), or I can arrange to meet you somewhere. Also, please passthis information along to anyone you feel may be interested and have themcontact me at *mcfaddendana@gmail.com* or *236-8327/8*. Please see detailsbelow, and don't hesitate to contact me with any questions. *Thank You!!!
Cost: $20/ticket
What Do I Get?1) 8 regular games with prizes of $100 per game2) 1 mini-jacket pot game with a prize of $2503) 1 blackout game with a prize of $450
When: Friday, May 30, 2008
Time: 6pm - 12am
Where: Garapan Fishing Base (where the June Carnival and July 4th Festivalis held every year)**Other Prizes: Also, for an additional $20 a separate ticket can be purchasedfor the "Bingo For Life" game. Prizes for that game are:1) $50,000 Jackpot2) $2000 Consolation prize3) $1500 Package payout

Count Down to What

We are getting ready to begin "Teacher Appreciation Week" at the end of another school year here in the CNMI. We have all worked extremely hard this year, with very, very few acknowledgements for that work, by the administration, the board, parents, students or the public (not that any are really expected-but would be nice).

Most people (not teachers) do not understand how much time really goes into teaching outside of the 7:30 to 3:30 time frame. We, as highly qualified teachers (HQT), must put in anywhere from two to ten hours for any one lesson. For each lesson, we must find resources (to supplement the cirriculum); put together a lesson plan; make copies or activities for students (individually or for groups); we must make charts (as reminders for students); and/or we must cooridinate field trips or guest speakers with the principal, other staff members, the cafeteria or caterer, bus transportation, the parents and students (again to supplement the cirriculum), just to name a few. All of this must be accomplished on top of the teaching day and, also, on top of any additional duties that are assigned by the respective principal. Usually, there are a number of theses!

We, as HQT educators, put in all this time and effort, for what? We are continually losing - pay, time, funding, supplies, and support in all ways, from all directions such as, the board, principals, parents, students and the public. It would be helpful if more teachers felt that all their hard work is needed and appreciated. Then, we as HQT educators could continue to endure low pay; lack of airconditioning in poorly constructed or poorly sealed rooms; no supplies and rooms over-filled with students and moldy termite infested books and other inconviences.

We HQT educators go through all these things for our students. We realize that they are the future and we are continuing to try to "stick it out" for them. It's just that acknowledgement of enduring would be appreciated.

A college degree should be rigorous and a priority

By Jeffrey C. Turbitt

Against a backdrop of Northern Marianas College fighting to retain its accreditation, the distinction that determines a valuable college degree versus a worthless piece of paper, stories about classroom overcrowding and the high failure rate for NMC's admissions test appeared in the local media this week.

Let me preface my thoughts by saying that for all the educational problems on the islands, compared to all the systems in the area and most definitely Guam and rural Hawaii, we are the most successful system in the region. The problem with that line of thinking in that commonly made point is that we live in a globally competitive economy, so being better than the rest of Micronesia just isn't good enough, and we should not want our local college to lower its placement standards.

For all the noise about PSS, there are two issues that dominate all others that I see. The first is that several schools are falling apart from a simple construction and facilities standpoint. The second big issue is that many classes are wildly overcrowded. Kagman High School is listed as having an average of 29 students per teacher. For a core class like language arts those numbers are usually higher. An art, music or computer class is usually much smaller than 29, so when the average says 29, there are usually more than 29 students in math, science or language arts classes to make up for those smaller elective classes. At SSHS, the freshmen pre-honors language arts class has 35 students. Three of my four classes are above 29 students per class.

As for the entrance exams, the criticisms of NMC have been somewhat ridiculous. College is supposed to be rigorous. Every college has admission tests generally in math, language arts and a foreign language. I had to take two remedial math classes myself when I entered college for the simple reason that my math skills weren't at the college level, which made it harder to graduate in four years, but it was still done. The argument that NMC is using this as some kind of money raising tactic is hokum. It could simply raise its already very cheap tuition fees if money was the prime focus.

This comment from a letter to the editor from Ivan Propst defending the NMC admission tests was interesting: "And for those whom the placement system indicates a need to improve their English skill development prior to entry into English 101, a far greater percentage require writing skill development than require further work on their reading skills."

This isn't very surprising. The high schools have a four period block schedule. A real world average of about 33 students times four eighty minute classes means 132 students. A two page writing assignment turns into 264 pages for a teacher to review. A five page paper would be 660 pages. Perhaps that is why a Hopwood teacher recently wrote a letter to the editor requesting help on this from other language arts teachers in the same boat. The simple fact is no one can do those in depth writing reviews more than once or twice per quarter, especially considering the no preparation time and wildly disparate skill levels in the classroom that are a fact of life in the public schools. In each class there is probably a minimum of two students who should be in an ESL class because they have absolutely no understanding of basic English. PSS has no ability to implement these classes because they lack the classroom space and the staff. It also just doesn't seem to be a priority.

Beyond that, while the local government has not funded education properly, an even bigger problem is that many parents have not instilled enough focus, will and urgency on their children to get that bachelor's degree, which is the admissions ticket for any serious hope at a decent middle class lifestyle. During my four years teaching seniors, I was staggered by the frequency that some of my best students told me their parents flat out told them not to leave the island to go to college. As expensive as college is these days, and it's astronomical, not going or taking the slow route is far more expensive. Median U.S. weekly earnings for a college graduate age 25 and older are $962. For a high school graduate the number is $595. That means it costs $19,084 per year not to have finished college in median earnings differential. That number might be even more dramatic in the CNMI. Very few students here avail themselves of federal financial aid loans that are easy to get, have low interest rates and flexible repayment schedules and instead hold out hope for the scarce "free college money," try the slow way by working low wage jobs to finance the degree or worst of all, "take a year off." That year costs a lot, and the longer it takes the student to get that four year degree, the more it costs in foregone potential earnings. Many other parents encourage direct military enlistment instead of going immediately to a four year college, joining college ROTC, entering the military with a degree as an officer and having far greater career and earning possibilities in the military while still receiving the college financial benefits the military offers, not to mention all that is offered by the college experience.

The CNMI is in a well documented financial crisis. There seems to be little will among our leaders to make hard choices. The temptation is going to be to continue to give short shrift to education as educational benefits are far off and the need to keep voters employed is immediate. Going that route would be a mistake. To obtain a college degree and to achieve a high level of intellectual ability should be a paramount skill and value we instill in our children. We should not look to diminish college standards because we are too cheap to do what we should be doing for the schools.

Jeffrey C. Turbitt is the language arts department chairman at Saipan Southern High School, as well as an avid scuba diver and traveler. He offers more thoughts in his blog Hypercritical Thoughts at: www.turbittj.blogspot.com/ He welcomes feedback, tips and story ideas at turbittj@yahoo.com. His column appears regularly on Wednesdays.