Issues in the Media

There have been a lot of relevant stories in the news. In today's New York Times, the chancellor of public schools in D.C. is resigning. Michelle Rhee is calling it quits. I didn't agree with her tactics, but it would have been interesting to see if they were effective. she battled the teachers' union. She abolished tenure and supported merit pay. With her absence, I'm not sure we will get a clear picture of the results of her efforts.

The recent story about the Rutgers student that committed suicide has everyone talking about digital media, social networking, and cyberbullying. My principal has been subtly pushing me to address bullying schoolwide. I think we have done a decent job of handling any bullying situations. My social worker went to a workshop that de-emphasized the use of the term "bullying". The rationale is that it can be vague and it often requires prolonged abuse. She proposed that we work on abolishing meanness. Even kids in kindergarten can identify something that's mean. They don't always understand bullying.

"Waiting for Superman" is taking the nation by storm. I haven't seen it yet, but I would like to. I'm not as defensive about the teaching profession as some of my colleagues. However, I do think that most people that bash teaching have no earthly idea what they are talking about. And they wouldn't last 5 minutes in front of a typical classroom.

A Change to No Child Left Behind

The Obama Administration is planning a change in the No Child Left Behind law. There has been a lot of grumbling about the proposed changes and what they might look like for a few months now. First the administration announced the initiative "Race to the Top" which was their way of encouraging schools to make changes, including dismissing ineffective teachers. I believe that many states have applied for the program, but there were some that didn't qualify. The main difference is less emphasis on standardized test scores. Under the current law, every school would have been on the failing list because by 2014, each school had to have 100% of its students meeting goal on the state standardized test. This was impossible and if we reached 2014 with the current law intact, it would have been the tipping point. For now, the administration wants to make significant changes, including getting rid of the goal for 2014. Now there is a different goal: All students are college ready or career ready by 2020. These are admirable goals, but I feel that NCLB needs to have a significant parental component. There are parents that do not understand nor accept their responsibility in their child's education. It is frustrating when they think that the school can do it all. In order for there to be true education reform, parents have to play a part.

BBC

Teachers Are Made, Not Born

Recent article in the New York Times Magazine examines the training that teachers receive before they are employed. Lately, there seems to be a lot of stories in the media about teachers. My latest Newsweek has a cover story about bad teaching. I'll have something to say about that article once I read it. The article in the Times Magazine focused on teacher-training programs. I was disappointed to read that those that were examined are designed for teachers in charter schools and Teach for America. The author mentions that university training programs are lacking, and that most first-year teachers do not feel ready to teach once they enter the classroom, but there wasn't a lot of info in the article about how universities are working to improve their education programs. One of the researchers, Deborah Loewenberg Ball, created a curriculum for teaching teachers called Mathematical Knowledge for Teaching, or M.K.T. M.K.T. gets teachers to consider how others think about math, not what they themselves know about math. If you can understand how someone can think and misunderstand math, then you can teach it effectively. That makes so much sense. The one takeaway for me in the article was the idea of cold-calling: instead of having students raise their hands, whenever I ask a question anyone can be called upon, therefore everyone has to pay attention and think of the answer. I like that one. I think I'll use it next time I do a Second Step lesson.

BBC

School Psychologist vs. State Assessment

It's that time of year again. The time of year when teachers get depressed, children freak out, and my principal becomes a woman obsessed with security: it's the Annual Statewide Standardized Assessment. I've been neck deep in test manuals, test protocols, and number 2 pencils. Whenever I get into Annual Statewide Standardized Assessment (ASSA*) mode, I can't help but reminisce about the SAT, GRE, and Nationally Certified School Psychologist (NCSP) Exam. The last moments in my life when I would have to take such a monumental test. Now our students take high-stakes tests from 3rd grade into high school.

I ran into one of my old professors today and I was telling her how busy I am this time of year because of ASSA. I told her that other SP's in my district are busy as well. She started to go into this diatribe about what my role should be and that I shouldn't be doing this. Well, what does she expect me to do. First of all, the entire building shuts down because of testing. From 9:00 to noon, there is a test going on in one of the grade levels. During this stressful time, my caseload is off limits. I'm not giving anyone IQ tests during this time. I'm not pulling kids for counseling. I barely see my students during the month of March because they are way too busy. So what am I supposed to do during this time. Did I mention that there is also the strong possibility that I lose my office during testing? We have so many students that need accommodations and modifications during the test that every available room is being used. Every conceivable space is being used so even if I'm not playing an administrative role in this, I would be involved as a proctor.

The level of test security to prevent cheating is pretty serious. The test booklets are kept in locked office. But it's not the security beforehand that's suspect, it the security during the test. It's considered a security breach if: you write down test questions that you happened to see on the test, talk about test questions that you saw on the test, leave a test booklet unattended, lose a test booklet, and if you take a look at test booklets before testing begins, to name a few.

I was discussing this with my intern and we talked about how school psychologists make the most sense as being the person in charge of this. We, more than anyone else, understand the importance of test security and test administration. Also, in this age of high stakes testing, many schools are being investigated for allegations of cheating. Teachers are strongly invested in how their students perform, and if they depend on how well their students perform, then one can understand the lure of cheating. The same goes for the principal. When schools get recognized for improving test scores, the principal and teachers get the accolades. No one goes around congratulating the school psychologist. Therefore, having me in charge of the test booklets before they are distributed makes sense, it's one more layer of security. I considered the thought of having K-2 teachers handle the test booklets, but it would be too tempting to crack one open and see what questions are inside. Who wouldn't want to take a peek to see if what they have been teaching is relevant to what kids will be tested on in a matter of years? Well, it goes back to the SP being in charge. And I don't mind. Besides what else would I be doing for the next 2 weeks.

BBC

Teach for America

Recent article in the New York Times looks at a study that focused on the level of civic participation of those involved in Teach for America. Growing up, I remember the disdain that teachers had for Teach for America members. They felt as if they didn't really pay their dues and they weren't dedicated to being teachers. They felt as if the TforA members considered it to be domestic peace corps. They go in for 2 years, teach some underprivileged kids, then go back to their "real" lives. I guess this article shows that these people aren't any more civically engaged than the rest of us.

My gripe with Teach for America and other programs of their ilk is that it operates under the premise that anyone can be a teacher. Why is it that one of the most important professions in the world is treated as if it doesn't take any particular skill or talent to do it? This is a difficult profession and only those who are dedicated to the profession should join. If I want to be a doctor, lawyer, mechanic, appliance repairman, I have to go to some sort of specialized program. But apparently, if I want to be a teacher, I can just join an organization. And teach in some of the neediest areas of the country. How does this fit with NCLB and "highly qualified teachers"?

BBC

RTI: An Update

My district decided to roll out RTI at all elementary schools this year for grades K-2. It decided to do this by having a 2 hours inservice with every k-2 teacher, elementary special education teacher elementary school psychologist, social worker and speech pathologist. It was a packed room with a bunch of confused people. There was too much information and not enough explanation on why RTI is a different concept. That's my main gripe: So far, only special ed people have been talking about RTI. Regular ed teachers haven't been talking about it. So when they sat in the inservice, most of them had no idea what the presenters were talking about. Each school should have had its own day to discuss this. The teachers need a new frame of reference. Many times I heard teachers still using terms as "referral" and "pre-referral" and they just didn't get it.

Unfortunately, my principal is to blame for the teachers from my school misunderstanding RTI. She erroneously told them that RTI was just like our broken pre-referral system. Therefore, the teachers didn't bother to pay attention. She is in denial, and we need her to get a grip and realize that this is a paradigm shift. The old way is dead. RTI is now.

The literacy specialists are inviting a teacher from a school that ran a pilot RTI program. We hope to learn how they adjusted and what role each person played. That's the main concern from the support staff: How do we fit into RTI? If our principal isn't taking the lead, then we need to be proactive and figure out how we fit before someone tries to use us as before.

BBC

RTI: The Experiment

"It's just like stuff we've already been doing." That's what my principal said in response to teachers asking "what's RTI?", when she informed them that there was a professional development day that would focus on it. Yeah, this year is going to be great. (sarcasm alert) When she said that I looked across the room to a couple of special ed. teachers and chuckled. This is going to be a mess. Where to begin? First, there is nothing happening in my school that is related to RTI. For some reason my principal thinks that it's better to introduce it as something that has been done before, but it's not. This is a huge shift from everything we've been doing. Our pre-referral process is a nightmare, and it needed something major to fix it. This is a start if it's implemented well. Second, the fact that teachers haven't heard of RTI is a major concern, but it has always been my concern. This is supposed to be a regular ed initiative, but regular ed people haven't been talking about it. This should be interesting.

BBC

Merit Pay for Teachers

This columnist makes a good point: merit pay can be disastrous in the wrong school. I think that mine fits that bill. http://bit.ly/16pECq

I see my staff becoming insanely jealous of any teacher that would earn the bonus. I can see some cheating happening, and worse, I think referrals would increase. Not only would we see an increase in teachers focusing their instruction solely on standardized tests, but more teachers would try (in vain) to have kids identified so they wouldn't be in their classes anymore. I'm not sure how that would work towards their yearly progress numbers. Furthermore, how would I become eligible for some merit pay? I'm pretty good at what I do, don't I deserve a bonus. Yeah, I don't see this working too well.

BBC

Interpersonal Relationships

My principal has this ongoing joke that I should go back to school and get my doctorate, and my dissertation should be a study on the interpersonal relationships of teachers within my school. She always mentions this when she has a story for me about warring teachers and their juvenile antics. Today I was passing by her office and she called me in. She waved a letter at me and told me that she had more data for my doctorate. She handed me the paper and I tried to read it, but it didn't make sense. A teacher had written a note asking my principal to intervene with a conflict she was having with a fellow teacher. They were bickering about wall decorations and use of a personal refrigerator. It was ridiculous because they are supposed to be adults and should have been able to handle this on their own, but they wanted "mom" to intervene. She forced them to work it out amongst themselves during planning, but she informed them that she would be present during their planning time.

I had a more pressing issue that required my attention, so I sought her advice while I was there. I was approached by one of the special ed teachers who was concerned about one of her students. She told me that this particular student didn't feel welcome in his homeroom class. He's has a learning disability and really struggles with reading. The special ed teacher told me that the student often showed up at her door during off hours because his teacher sent him out of the room. It sounds like there was no inclusion in the classroom. He's starting to feel ostracized and unwanted, and we aren't sure if the teacher is doing this consciously. So the special ed teacher wanted to talk to the homeroom teacher but she wanted to a) use the right words so that she could convey a convincing message and b) do it when she wasn't so emotional about it. I commended her on recognizing how emotional she could be if she approached the teacher now. Other than that, I was kind of clueless about what advice to give to the teacher. My principal gave me some pointers. The teacher should focus on saying how she was uncomfortable with what was happening and that she wanted to know how she could help the teacher. If the teacher focused on her discomfort, then the focus wouldn't be on the actions of the other teacher. It made sense, and luckily it was exactly what the special ed teacher wanted to hear. In the end, I felt like I was able to help in some way. I'll see what happens once she actually approaches the homeroom teacher.

When Things Come Together

First thing this morning I had the two meetings that I mentioned in the last post. Both meetings went really well. I was amazed at how we were able to sit down and actually develop ideas on how to provide better services to students. I think we were able to change how one teacher views her role in the classroom. This particular teacher was hung up on the fact that her student wasn't turning in homework and his mother wasn't helping the situation. I told her that she had to let the homework go. There are more worthy battles to fight. I have often found it hard for people to realize that you can't always change behavior, but you can change how you react to it. I hope that the message sticks this time. My principal was pleased with the outcome of both meetings; it was her idea to have the meetings in the first place. If she's happy, then I'm happy.

On another note, I got a request for records from Nathan's mother. Now they are living in Vermont. We'll see how long that lasts. I'm expecting him to be back in my school by next year, it really is the next logical step.

BBC

Tensions Running High

For some reason there were a few teachers who were a little high-strung today. I don't know if they all had rough days, rough weekends, the cold weather, or the fact that January seems to never end, but I was dealing with grouchy, stressed-out people all day. One teacher knocked on my door and came in to talk to me. That's always a sign of something serious, because teachers rarely have the time to actually knock on my door. The teacher told me that she had discussed the problem with the principal and she suggested that the information be shared with me. So I had one teacher complaining about her recent interaction with a mother and child. It's the old familiar tune of a student that isn't completing homework, mom thinks that the teacher doesn't care, and mom is doing everything she can to undermine the interventions and extra work that the teacher has put in place. This teacher wasn't that grouchy actually, more exasperated. As I was talking to her, there was a knock on my door and my principal walked in. This was a sign that she wanted immediate action. So she reiterated the case and requested a meeting of relevant staff soon. I looked at the schedule and she pressed for sooner, so I scheduled the meeting for tomorrow. She then asked me about an ongoing issue with a special ed teacher and a regular ed teacher. I didn't have promising news, so she demanded an additional meeting with those teachers after we meet on the first student. I had 2 new meetings scheduled in less than 2 minutes!

The other grouchy teacher run-in happened at the end of the day. I was at my mailbox and a teacher comes up to me and says, "I need help with this kid," then she proceeded to show me that the student's reading score hasn't changed since last May. My response was "At least he's consistent." I was treating it lightheartedly, which did not go over well at that moment. She became infuriated and stormed off yelling, "You know, I just can't get any help in this school!" I tried to tell her I was kidding and she's normally good-natured and full of sarcasm. I guess she was having a bad day.

BBC

Land of the Luddites

Maybe Luddite is too strong of a word. Technologically naive seems more appropriate. I've been on a crusade to get people in my school to embrace basic technology: email, web-based programs, word processing programs, i.e., nothing fancy. As I've been trying to educate others I've noticed the different levels of technology naivete that people have in my building. My district, like many others in the nation, has moved towards using a web-based program for writing IEPs. The problem has been that only two people out of 6 are comfortable enough with the program to complete an IEP. Everyone else has expressed their trepidation towards using the computer. One of the drawbacks is that the entry fields do not appear as they do within an IEP so that those who are used to completing them by hand do not know what they are looking at on the computer. I remedied the situation by creating a manual that helped everyone work in the computer program with ease. I think that it was well-received.

Another one of the initiatives I started in my building was to post a Tech Tip of the Day. I read a New York Times blog post by David Pogue and it enlightened me on the numerous bits of computer knowledge that I've been unaware of all these years. Since there were things that I didn't know about, I figured that no one else in my building knew these either. So I started posting Tech Tips each day. I thought about sending them via email, but that would have defeated the purpose, since some people are reluctant to check their email. Well, people are reading the posts, I've seen copies floating around the school.

The last week, I've experienced two different eye-opening moments on the vast technological divide that exists in my school. Those on the inexperienced end amaze me. I was asked by a co-worker how to attach a file to an email. I thought that was the lowest, but that was beaten the next day. I was sitting in my office when I got an internal call from another room. A teacher was on the other line and she asked me if I had turned off the computer when I used it in the lab. I used the lab when I taught my coworkers how to use the web-based program last week. I guess I turn off the computer out of habit; I was finished using it so it seemed like the thing to do. I didn't know that there were people in the building that didn't know how to turn on the computer. So I figured it must have been something complex. I went to the lab to see what was wrong. The LCD projector was working so that was one less problem to deal with, but the screen was black. I thought that maybe something was unplugged and when I looked at the computer, I realized that it wasn't on. I pressed the button on the CPU and the computer sprang to life. It couldn't have been that easy, I figured that I would have to do something more than that. Well it appeared that the teacher was pressing the wrong button. Instead of the on/off switch she was pressing the button that opens the CPU. If you're familiar with old Dell computers then you know what I'm talking about. She was pressing the wrong button and couldn't understand why it wouldn't turn on. That was a new one for me. I thought I had seen it all until that moment.

BBC

Alexander

One of my goals this year was to increase my consultation cases. I wanted to get into the real nitty-gritty of working with teachers on issues they are having in the classroom. Of course, when it comes to consultation, it also means that I evaluate the teacher to see what changes she can make to address the target behaviors. Over the past 3 weeks Alexander had floated to the top of the "Children that require extra attention" list. He was noticeably from the first day of school, but now he's been attracting my attention.

He's classically ADHD. He calls out. He can't stay seated. He sings and hums at his desk. He plays with his pencil and eraser when he should be doing classwork. I had started working with his teacher to address his behavior. We came up with different plans, one plan was to address his frustration. It was designed to give him a way to release his frustration. There was also a plan to reward him for positive behavior. The teacher just started to use these plans in conjunction, sometimes.

Yesterday afternoon, I was called to deal with Alexander three times in about an hour and a half. It was getting ridiculous because I was trying assess a student. I knew that I could have been on call, so I was only conducting an interview. The student got to see some of the things I have to do in school, and he marveled at how often my intercom phone rang. After dealing with Alexander and seeing how frustrated his teacher was, I knew that I had to develop some ideas. I felt like I was stuck in the "No Idea" corner. I knew I had to kick it old school and hit the books. It was the first time in a while that I wished I was still in grad school; just to be able to brainstorm with my classmates. I really needed to talk to them last night. My SO told me to email them, but that would take to long. I would have to spell out all of the details in order to get an adequate response. So I hit the books and the internet and found some inspiration. I had to remember what the goal of consultation is. At the moment all I wanted was a peaceful day without having to report to this classroom multiple times a day to remove Alexander to another room. After some thought, I remembered the goal of consultation: empower the teacher. With that, I knew what I had to do.

To start, I really needed to see what was going on in the classroom, because by the time I got there, I ended up witnessing the tail end of a long spiral of behavior that went from bad to worse. Multiple incidents usually started with Alexander getting frustrated and instead of leaving the classroom to cool-off, he would have a stand-off with his teacher and refuse to leave. She would request someone to come to the room, to escort him to a neighboring class to cool-off. And of course, he would still refuse. I would ask what happened, and I wasn't able to get a clear answer to what set him off. I decided that an observation would give me the opportunity to see what led up to Alexander's removals.

I sat in the classroom for about 2 hours this morning, and what I saw was jaw-dropping. This kid was non-stop. He was a constant ball of energy; all over his desk and chair, seriously sitting upside down in his chair, I didn't think that was possible. He was singing and talking to himself. He was calling out for no real reason. All of his behavior was attention-seeking. To her credit, his teacher ignores a huge amount of it, but that may be part of the problem. Most of the students were ignoring him, which was remarkable on their part. But Alexander wouldn't be denied, he kept pushing and pushing until someone was going to notice him. The students eat breakfast at their desks in the morning, so they eat breakfast while they complete their morning work. Alexander was focused on eating and playing with his breakfast, and decided that he could use his milk to gain the attention of his classmates.

As I sat only four feet away from him, he proceeded to shake his milk carton, open it and giggle like a 4 year old, and stick his hand up to his wrist into the milk. Then, he started to fling his hands around in order to spray anything in his vicinity with milk. A couple of his classmates felt the milk hit them and started to say something. At this point I intervened because it was obvious that his teacher wasn't paying attention to this either. That was the perfect opportunity for the teacher to address his behavior and she didn't. When I intervened, I wished I had a camera, because my words cannot do justice to what I was watching. Alexander turned to me, his face, hands, and forearms dripping with milk. At that moment I wanted a camera. Before he could deny his involvement in the situation or question mine, someone announced that the principal was coming. Alexander looked bewildered and when the principal walked in, I had never seen a kid try to get his act together so quickly. He became a completely different child. (I wanted to tell someone about his unbelievable behavior and I realized that with my wireless laptop, I could email the principal, who was most likely sitting at her desk at that moment. However, I never imagined that she would actually come in for an observation.)

So my principal found a seat and it just so happened that the class was transitioning to group reading activity. This required them to sit on the floor while the teacher read them a short passage. As the students gathered on the floor, Alexander worked on cleaning off his desk and the floor around him. When he made it to the group, he was the model student; sitting with his legs crossed, hands in his lap, looking forward, and raising his hand to answer questions. He was a different student. The principal left after a short time and Alexander managed to maintain his appropriate behavior. When the class made it back to their seats, Alexander's good behavior lasted for about 5 minutes. Then the noises and movement around his desk returned.

What I had witnessed for those 2 hours provided me with many ideas to help the teacher. I left with a better picture of what occurs in the class. I met with the teacher and gave her some ideas. My principal and the social worker also had some ideas. I was worried at first because I didn't know where to go, so I went back to the basics. It's amazing what a good ol' observation can do.

BBC

Tall Poppy Syndrome

Tall Poppy Syndrome comes from the idea that when an individual reaches a higher status, others feel the need to cut him or her down, i.e. cutting the tall poppy. Recently a teacher in my school was awarded a very prestigious national teaching award. There was a huge build-up to the event. We all knew that there was going to be a special assembly, and that many people from around the entire state would be in attendance. There was a huge amount of suspense and they finally announced that one of the teachers in my school won this magnificent award. It was a great event, and I was happy for her.

I had spent the first part of the morning trying to figure out what the announcement was going to be. I met some of the special guests and developed a few theories based on who they were or where they were from. At some point in the morning, my principal pulled me aside and told me that she had an assignment for me during the assembly. She wanted me to read the body language of the teachers after the announcement was made. At first I thought that the announcement was going to be some sort of letdown. Were they going to announce a new initiative dealing with curriculum, or something else less desirable? So now my wheels were really turning-what were they going to announce?

I remembered my assignment and when the name of the teacher was announced I made sure I observed all of the staff members that were within my view. There were many teachers who seemed happy, I'm sure there were a few who were putting on a show, which was fine. But there were a few who didn't try to hide their displeasure or apathy towards the announcement. It was really interesting to see the number of people who were not thrilled about this teacher winning the award. Tall poppy syndrome reared its ugly head. I guess when one person is singled out, everyone asks the question, "Why not me?"

All teachers work hard, so when one person gets recognized, others feel left out. I understand. But I would have hoped that those teachers would see how this one teacher's recognition shines a spotlight on our school. One teacher that I talked to mentioned that we all should be recognized for the work that we do. I agree but I think we should support and celebrate when a teacher is recognized for his or her work. Maybe it's easier for me because I'm not a teacher, therefore I don't have to "compete" with them. This teacher didn't apply for the award, in fact, no one can apply for it, the committee selects each candidate from a pool of candidates that each state provides. This teacher was selected from a pool of candidates and the selection committee liked what they saw. I'm proud of the fact that my school has a teacher that has received national recognition.

BBC

When Background Knowledge Backfires

I was in my office today when a teacher knocked on my door. She has a new student and she was worried about some things that were occurring in the classroom. She mentioned that the child hasn't caught on to the rules yet, that he's needed to go to the bathroom several times in the morning. The other issue, and I suspect the main issue was that the student told another student that he didn't have to listen to her because she's white. This obviously flustered the teacher because she was in my room talking about the student and she didn't know how to handle it. All of this became clear when I learned that the student started school yesterday. He hasn't been exposed to our positive behavior support system long enough to understand it fully. He's still feeling his way around the teacher and figuring out what he can and cannot do. I was surprised to hear her concerns when this kid hasn't been here for 2 full days yet. His racial comments must have struck a nerve. In addition to those issues, there was a history of animosity from the family. His older brother attended the school years ago and developed quite a reputation. Apparently his father threatened a teacher and the police were involved. So now this student is carrying the baggage of his family's actions, which one could argue is warranted, but still, this has cast him in a negative light. Now it seems that his new teacher sees him in that same light. My principal shared the history with the teacher, but I wish that this kid could have had a chance. We'll see if she comes around. The social worker and I told her that she has to make a connection with the student, besides, we don't know his true feelings or intentions. He could have made those comments for shock value. Nonetheless, I think she has to present herself in a manner that debunks his theory on why he doesn't have to listen to her. I envision many teachable moments for the two of them. Let's see what happens.

BBC

Rubber Room

I was listening to "This American Life" on NPR over the weekend and heard an interesting story about what happens to teachers who are removed from their classrooms in New York City Public Schools. Here's an archived version from The New York Times. When teachers are put on suspension because of some inappropriate action they are sent to the reassignment center, or as the teachers call it, the rubber room. Teachers report to the rubber room each and every morning until their cases are tried. Some of these teachers have been in the rubber room for months, even years. Some end a school year and start another school year in the rubber room. Meanwhile all of these teachers are earning a full salary. A full salary for doing 0% of work. 0.0%!!!! It would seem that the school district would want to hear these cases so that these teachers could be immediately terminated, if warranted. It is also peculiar that the teachers' union hasn't stepped in and stopped this mockery of the public school system. Any given day 750 teachers are attending these rubber rooms where they sit around, read books, play cards, sleep and do other frivolous things while substitute teachers teach their classes for them.

I know that some of these teachers get what they deserved. I'm sure there were more than a few that did things that I would not want a child to be subjected to, but why keep these people in limbo? This is reminiscent of Guantanamo Bay. Speaking of which, some of the teachers had been in the limbo room so long, that a prison culture has developed. There are racial cliques, people are hyper-territorial, and there is a pecking order. It's amazing how people respond to different situations. Educators reduced to hardened criminals.

BBC

Article on Middle School

I read and article today in the NY Times about middle school teachers. It' worth a read, and it really opened my eyes to the unique psychology of the middle school teacher. It does take a special person to deal with the turmoil of adolescence.

BBC