DOCUMENT RESUME CS 215 375 ED 396 324 Strickland, James, Ed.; Kiernan, Henry, Ed. AUTHOR English Leadership Quarterly, 1994. TITLE National Council of Teachers of English, Urbana, IL. INSTITUTION Conference on English Leadership. PUB DATE 94 69p.; For volume 17, see CS 215 376; for volume 15, 181!)TE see ED 365 988. Serials (022) Collected Works PUB TYPE English Leadership Quarterly; v16 n1-4 Feb-Dec JOURNAL CIT 1994 MF01/PC03 Plus Postage. EDRS PRICE *Academic Standards; *English Instruction; *English DESCRIPTORS Teachers; Higher Education; *Professional Development; Secondary Education; Student Research; Teacher Behavior; *Teaching Methods; Whole Language Approach; Writing Assignments; Writing Teachers Goals 2000 IDENTIFIERS ABSTRACT These 4 issues of the English Leadership Quarterly comprise volume 16, published during 1994. Articles in number 1 deal with practical advice, and include: "The Law of Privacy and the Writing Teacher" (Ben T. Allen); Beware of Teachers Who Laminate Their Lesson Plans and Other Useful Suggestions about Teaching" (Robert Perrin); "Firefighter, Cook, Pack Rat, Teacher: Advice for Chairs" (Mary M. Licklider); Dependence and Grade Inflation: A Vicious Cycle" (Candace O'Donnell); "When Models Collide" (Diana Dreyer); "Writing the Mall" (John S. Simmons); "When Does a Vulgarity Become an Obscenity?" (Carol Jago); and "The First Six Minutes" (Terrie St. Michel). Articles in number 2 deal with innovations and classic ideas, and include: "The Standards Movement Explained and Considered" (Jim Burke); "A Classic Assignment" (Rick Chambers); "Local Color--Local Voices: A Focus for Student Research" (Rocky Colavito); "One Teacher's Odyssey toward Better Teaching" (Joy Marks Gray); and "The Appreciative Focus in the Listening Curriculum" (Constance L. Hoag and Maurine V. Richardson). Articles in number 3 present case studies in English leadership and include "Professional Growth through Supervision" (Daniel A. Heller); "Losing the Chair: Whose Seat Is It, Anyway?" (Ted Lehmann); and "A Whole Language deal with the promise Vision" (Alyce Hunter). Articles in number and paradox of national standards, and include "Goals 2000 Adds New Project: Issues to the Standards Movement" (Miles Myers); "The Edison New Standards for New Schools" (Francie Alexander); "The Language Arts Standards Project: A Professional and Community-Based Collaboration" (Charlotte Higuchi); and "Looking Back: A Local Standards Project That Failed" (Larry Crapse). (RS) *********************************************************************** Reproductions supplied by EDRS are the best that can be made * * from the original document. *********************************************************************** ENGLISH LEADERSHIP QUARTERLY, 1994, Volume 16 OF EDUCATION U.S. DEPARTMENT Research and improvement Office of Educational PERMISSION TO REPRODUCE AND INFORMATION EDUCATIONAL RESOURCES DISSEMINATE THIS MATERIAL CENTER (ERIC) reproduced as VIrtis document has been HAS BEEN GRANTED BY organization received from the person or originating it. have been made to . 0 Minor changes quality. improve reproduction staled in this Points of view or opinions necessarily represent document do not RESOURCES TO THE EDUCATIONAL policy. official OERI position or INFORMATION CENTER (ERIC) BEST COPY AVAILABLE EN8-.21A LEADERSHIP QUARTERLY Leadership for Excellence Conference on English Leadership Volume 16, Number 1 February 1994 Editor: James Strickland exchange and told him how much it had meant to her students. In This Issue One boy, Sean, still carried Taylor's letter with him in his wallet, but still two years later, a little tattered from reading and refolding, intact, still with him wherever he went. Taylor understood. PRACTICAL ADVICE So, my advice: Give students something valuable, truly valu- by James Strickland, editor able, and work and talk with them in authentic ways about mean- Let me offer a bit of advice. The funny thing about advice is that ingful things. Let school boards wony about the rest of the obligated to everyone feels qualified to give it, while no one feels nonsense. take it. Still, I have some advice. But first I'd like to tell two stories, The authors in this issue offer more advice. You are free, of both involving a teacher I know, Amy, who works with institu- worth considering. course, not to follow any of it, but all of it is tionalized children. Ben Allen, a member of the California State Bar Association Blake was an unusual student, even in a class of emotionally since 1973, has been a criminal prosecutor and, in private practice, disturbed adolescents. He was a walking demolition man, destroy- of business administration a civil litigator. Currently a professor ing everything he touched. If someone gave him a new pair of it. (continued on page 2) pants, he ripped them. If someone gave him a game, he broke His school books, notebooks, pensall looked as if they'd been recovered from a disaster site. Counseling and therapy didn't help; he treated everything with disdain. At some point in the year, Amy page number Inside ... I believe. gave him a copy of an S. E. Hinton novel, The Outsiders, For weeks, Blake carried that book around with him in perfect 2 The Law of Privacy and the Writing Teacher condition, though it was obviously being read. Finally Amy by Ben T. Allen couldn't stand it any longer and asked the obvious: "Blake, how Beware of Teachers Who Laminate her and come nothing's happened to the book?" He looked at Their Lesson Plans and Other Useful simply answered, "No one ever gave me anything that was worth 5 Suggestions about Teaching anything before." by Robert Perrin My other story involves Amy and Theodore Taylor, author of Firefighter, Cook, Pack Rat, Teacher: The Cay and other popular works of adolescent literature. Two 6 Advice for Chairs having Ted years ago at NCTE's Annual Convention, while I was by Mary M. Licklider Taylor autograph a copy of his book for Amy, I told him about Dependence and Grade Inflation: how she had been using The Cay as part of her literature-based 8 A Vicious Cycle unit on the Caribbean, mentioning in particular how much the by Candace O'Donnell students had loved the characters and some of the writing activi- 9 When Models Collide ties. Taylor's eyes sparkled, and he said to have the students write by Diana Dreyer for to him, scribbling his address on the back of an advertisement 11 his latest book. The students were excited by the idea of writing Writing the Mall to an author, though they rightfully conceived of themselves as by John S. S;mmons authors too, having published their own tales of shark attacks and 12 When Does a Vulgarity Become an Obscenity? . . adventures on a life raft. Asking specific and authentic questions, by Carol Jago they approached the letter writing as a genuine activity, not as an 13 The First Six Minutes exercise in 1 Irding fan mail. And Taylor wrote back, sending by Terrie St. Michel individual letters in response to individual queries. This year at 14 Call for Manuscripts/Announcements the Annual Convention, while Amy had Taylor autograph a copy 15 Call for Program Proposals of the sequel to The Cay, she reminded him of the letter-writing National Council of Teachers of English 1111 W. Kenyon Road, Urbana, Illinois 61801-1096 at Humboldt State University, Ben is concerned that the practice and made its destination the mall. Any mall in the United States of sharing students' writings is done at the teacher's risk of will do for John and his students as they use their powers of liability for invasion of students' privacy. He offers one attorney's observation and reflection to discover subjects for writing. view in "The Law of Privacy and the Writing Teacher." As many Carol Jago, who shall henceforth be known as the "award- readers will know from consulting with lawyers, Ben's advice winning author from Santa Monica High School in California," represents one opinion. Another lawyer might reasonably be follows with "When Does a Vulgarity Become an Obscenity?" In expected to support the practice of publishing student writings as this article, she offers some brief advice about censorship and long as the student retains control over the subject matter and is good sense. aware from the start of the writing's primary and secondary Another frequent contributor, Terrie St. Michel of South audiences. Don't be surprised if a case such as this ends up on L.A. Mountain High School in Phoenix, concludes with her advice Law. about what she does with "The First Six Minutes" of every class. Robert Perrin, a frequent contributor from Indiana State Uni- Finally, if none of this advice seems to help, you may want to versity, offers much more mundane advice in "Beware of Teach- try "Dear Abby" or our own Sue Benjamin's Survival Kit for ers Who Laminate Their Lesson Plans and Other Useful Teachers and Parents. Suggestions about Teaching." Expect counsel on keeping accurate records, rnaldng careful but flexible plans, simplifying classroom THE LAW OF PRIVACY rules, sharing ideas with others, resisting fads, staying fresh, and AND THE WRITING TEACHER other practical matters. by Ben T. Allen Mary M. Licklider of Rock Bridge High School in Columbia, Humboldt State University, Arcata, California Missouri, sees her role as language arts chair as that of "Fire- A common pedagogy among English teachers involves sharing fighter, Cook, Pack Rat, Teacher," though not necessarily in that the writing of their students: reading papers to the class, putting order. Her article offers some practical advice for those assuming writings on bulletin boards, placing student compositions in an- the multifaceted demands of leadership positions in English and thologies, sharing student writings with parents. Nonetheless, this the language arts. pedagogy, though effective, should be balanced with students' When Candace O'Donnell, an English teacher at Elizabeth- right of privacy. Failure to do so violates this right and may result town College in Pennsylvania, first wrote to me with her article in liability. about the relationship between grade inflation and dependence in Consider these six examples: (1) a fifteen-year-old girl writes writers, I thought of Donald Graves's advice about getting stu- about her abortion; (2) a high school student writes about a dents off writer's welfare, encouraging them to take more and particularly emotional moment as a young child; (3) an eighteen- more responsibility for their decisions. But something in Can- year-old writes of current despondency at the ending of a personal dace's article bothered me, and I wrote asking her to clarify the relationship; (4) a twenty-year-old college student writes about main point and to perhaps adjust the tone of the piece. The the sexual practices of a friend but changes the name of the friend alternative was to couple it with another piece offering an oppos- so that the material appears to be fictional; (5) an eighteen-year- ing view. Candace wrote back, "I'd like to take you up on your old high school boy writes about the nudity and bisexuality offer to print the piece, as is, as one half of a debate. I've . . . practiced by his parents in the family home; (6) a seven-year-old concluded that . my theories are controversial and would . . girl writes about physical and sexual abuse in the home. Will a provide a catalyst for a lively debate." teacher violate the students' right of privacy by sharing these For the other half of the debate, I turned to my colleague Diana writings? What should a teacher do with the information? Can a Dreyer. Students, often noticing that our classes seem to reinforce te'icher avoid liability by obtaining a signed waiver or consent? each other, frequently ask if we plan our classes together. I just The laws regarding the right of privacy and the concomitant tell them that we share the same philosophy of learning. I knew I liability for invasion of privacy are developing rapidly as legisla- could impose on Diana to write the piece, and I was confident that tures and courtsin an effort to define the limits of permitted her essay, which she titled "When Models Collide," would express intrusion into our livesexamine such diverse issues as abortion, the concerns I felt. Read Candace's and Diana's essays together. sexual preference, dying, surrogate parenting, and drug and psy- Better yet, make them the subject for a department debate. chological testing in the workplace. To assist other faculty mem- John S. Simmons, professor of English education and reading bers in the process of balancing pedagogy and privacy and to at Florida State University, has revived the time-honored field trip decrease the likelihood of liability for invasion of privacy, I will, as an experienced attorney and professor, explain one portion of It is the policy of NCTE in its journals and other publications to provide a forum the total realm of privacy and provide guidelines for determining for the open discussion of ideas concerning the content and the teaching of English appropriate circumstances for sharing students' writings. I will and the language arts. Publicity accorded to any particular point of view does not also discuss the validity of student consent forms and other waiv- imply endorsement by the Executive Committee, the Board of Directors, or the ers of rights. membership at large, except in announcements of policy where such endorsement Throughout this article, I will use the term to publish to include is clearly specified. Copyright for articles published in English Leadership Quar- terly reverts to the respective authors. any communication to a third party, that is, anyone other than the (ISSN 1054-1578) is published in October, English Leadership Quarterly teacher or the writer. Thus, to publish includes, but is not limited December, February, and May by the National Council of Teachers of English, to, sharing papers among students, reading papers in the class- 1111 W. Kenyon Road, Urbana, Illinois 61801-1096. Subscription price for the room, placing writings in public view, and including writings in Conference on English Leadership, $10.00 per year. Add $2.00 per year for Canadian and all othcr international postage. Single copy, $2.50 ($1.50 members). anthologies. Rcmittances should be made payable to NCTE by check, money order, or bank I will address two questions: (1) Do teachers violate students' draft in U.S. currency. Communications regarding change of address should be right of privacy by publishing students' writings? (2) If a student addressed to the National Council of Teachers of English, 1111 W. Kenyon Road, grants permission to publish, does the teacher avoid liability for Urbana, Illinois 61801-1096. Permission to reprint articles should be directed to the editor of invasion of privacy? English Leadership Quarterly. 2 stacks to be sorted through or passed back by students or on The Law of Privacy bulletin boards. (Although posting of grades is not the subject Current law does not answer categorically the question of whether of this article, teachers should note that publicly displaying teachers violate students' right of privacy by publishing student grades with identifying names or marks that allow knowledge papers. Rather, the evolving principles of privacy must be applied of the particular student is also a violation of privacy law.) in each situation to determine whether there is liability. The laws regarding invasion of privacy protect our right to be 5. When determining whether the privacy of material should be protected, consider the following: Is the information intimate let alone, our right to be able to live our lives without unreasonable intrusion by the government or by other people. Our privacy is or embarrassing? Is the information of general knowledge or personal to the writer? Would you like someone to know this ours and not the business of others. (The law of privacy has several information about you? What benefit might be gained by sources, including constitutions, statutes, agency or district policy, and court decisions. A brief overview of these and of the history sharing the information, and does that benefit outweigh poten- tial harm? Is this a writing based on actual events and people of privacy law is included in an appendix.) Under the legal theory of the "public disclosure of private that purports to be a fiction? If so, can the true characters or facts," the principles that have evolved are that we have a right events be identified by other students? 6. Remember that, after the fact, lawyers, judges, and juries might not to be publicly embarraSsed and not to have private information communicated publicly. We are not protected, however, if the be examining your decision. information is "newsworthy." Thus, a balancing or judgment Illustrative Applications of the Law process is required to protect both an individual's privacy and the First Amendment right of freedom of the pressanfl the benefit Based upon the considerations discussed above, what should a that the public gets from receiving the information. teacher do in the case of the previously presented examples? There are four questions that courts and juries examine in Example 1: If a fifteen-year-old girl writes about her abortion, determining liability, questions that teachers should review in it very likely falls within the realm of privacy and should not be published. The critical factors are the age of the girl, the intimacy making their decisions: and potential embarrassment of the situation, and the lack of 1. Is the information private? benefit gained by publishing. This information would seem to be 2. Is it intimate? personal to the student and of limited pedagogical benefit to any 3. Is it embarrassing or offensive to a reasonable person? other person. 4. What is the necessity of or benefit gained by the publication in Example 2: If a high school student writes about a particularly relationship to the harm caused? emotional moment as a young child, the content, even though it shares an intimate event, does not likely fall within privacy In order to prevail in a lawsuit based on publication by a teacher, protection, unless the student expresses or implies some embar- a student must prove that a public disclosure of a private fact about rassment or need for confidentiality. The benefits of sharing the the student occurred, that the fact was offensive and objectionable commonality of personal and emotional experience outweigh the to a reasonable person, and that the fact was not of a legitimate privacy aspects. public concern. Example 3: If an eighteen-year-old writes of current despon- A case that illustrates the application of these concepts in- dency at the ending of a personal relationship, the situation likely volved a newspaper that published an article about a woman who resides within the area of privacy because it is personal and current was the student-body president of a community college. The to the writer. In other words, this situation has less universality woman was also a transsexual, having undergone gender correc- and resultant teaching benefit and more personal and intimate tive surgery. The court found the newspaper and its reporter liable content than the situation in example 2. for $775,000 for disclosure of this information. Other instances of Example 4: If a twenty-year-old college student writes about publication that provide a basis for understanding the potential the sexual practices of a friend and changes the name of the friend liability for teachers include the release of medical information by so that the material appears to be fictional, and if the material is a doctor, publishing the identity of sexual assault victim, and the intimate and embarrassing, publication will violate the privacy of distribution of a purported work of fiction containing intimate the friend. Thus, even though this writing might purport to be information based on real persons and events. fiction (and we cannot often distinguish whether it is fiction or Some Guidelines for Determining Whether to Publish not), the privacy of the third party is violated by the student writer Teachers must decide what disclosure is appropriate when they and by a teacher who publishes this information. Be particularly publish students' writing. Here are some guidelines to assist in that alert in this context, because students know each other and know decision: about events and can therefore often identify purportedly fictitious I. When in doubt, protect privacy and do not disclose. characters. Example 5: If an eighteen-year-old high school boy writes 2. Examine the nature of class assignments to determine if they about the nudity and bisexuality practiced by his parents in are likely to elicit private or intimate information and deter- the family home, it clearly falls within the realm of right of mine whether that information is necessary to achieve your privacy for the student and for the student's parents. This pedagogical goal. information is private and may be embarrassing to the student. 3. Be careful about placing students in peer situations that cause The pedagogical benefit of publishing is small compared to pressure on them to read aloud or otherwise share their writing. the importance of privacy. In addition, a teacher risks liability If you are committed to this type of sharing, make it clear that to the parents in this situation because of invasion of their students have the option not to share, without consequence. privacy. If the case involved an eight-year-old student, however, (Issues regarding the validity of student consent to this and the situation might require, depending upon the nature of the other activities are discussed below.) student's words, a mandatory report of child abuse, as discussed 4. Do not place student papers that include grades or comments below. or private information in a place of public viewing, such as in 3 that is about some other person, the consent has no effect on Example 6: If a seven-year-old child writes about physical and that third person. In other words, even though the writer con- sexual abuse in the home, it must be disclosed under mandatory sents, the person who is the character in the story can sue. child abuse statutes, regardless of privacy. By law, the need for disclosure and protection of the child outweighs the right of Conclusion privacy. Teachers need to be aware of their state's laws regarding As society becomes more complex and intrusive, the right of mandatory child abuse reporting. For example, California law privacy is expanding to provide a shield to defend our right to be mandates that teachers report such situations to child protective let alone. And as this occurs, liability for invasion of privacy is agencies and provides immunity from liability. increasing. Accordingly, we must exercise judgment in the appli- Consents to Disclosure cation of pedagogy and in the balancing of students' rights. To do Many believe that if there is a risk of liability, it can be avoided so requires wisdom, which is in part based on experience and on by having students consent to publishing. But consent depends on knowledge of legal responsibility. various factors. Appendix: A Brief Overview of Privacy Law An adult can waive the right of privacy by agreeing to disclo- The legal concept of privacy was recognized initially in 1890 in sure, that is, by granting permission to publish. This waiver can an article written by Professor Louis Brandeis, later a Supreme occur expressly by signing consent forms or by agreeing orally. Court Justice. Yet privacy did not become a recognized and Consent also can occur implicitly by voluntarily participating in enforced body of law until 1965, when the Supreme Court held an activity. An adult in such a context is generally any person who that a right of privacy is implied in the Bill of Rights of the United is over the age of eighteen and who has the reasonable capacity of States Constitution. Thus, even though the word privacy is never an adult. If a person is an adult and consents to disclosure, no actually mentioned in the Constitution, the Supreme Court held liability exists. that privacy is an inalienable right in the United States. This Yet what appears to be a consent to disclosure may not precedent became the foundation of privacy rights. be. The risk that arises in an adult student and teacher situation Some states also provide a constitutional basis for the right of is that a power differential exists which can vitiate the consent. privacy. For example, the California Constitution provides spe- Students and teachers do not have the same power in a class- cifically for an inalienable right of privacy in article 1, section 1. room. When a teacher says, "I'm going to read these papers Based on this section, courts have held that the right of privacy in class" or "Each of you is now going to read your paper applies to minors (generally any person under age eighteen) as to the class" or "I'm going to put these on the bulletin board for sharing," students may fail to object because they are well as to adults. State and federal legislatures have also passed statutes to concerned about poor grades or other consequences. Their provide some limited protection of privacy. For example, the failure to object in this situation is not an implied waiver; Federal Privacy Act of 1974 (5 U.S.C. 522a) and the Family failure to say "no" does not mean "yes." These same concepts Education and Privacy Act (20 U.S.C. 1232g) regulate govern- can apply when a student signs a written consent. This express ment recordkeeping regarding citizens and determine who can consent will be invalid if the student is signing because of obtain access to these records. In California, the "Privacy of express or implied pressure from the teacher. Student Records Act" (Education Code, section 67140 et seq.) Minors cannot legally waive their right of privacy. Therefore, limits disclosure of college students' grades. In addition, statutes any consent from a minor, express or implied, is invalid. If the have been enacted to prevent violation of privacy in such areas as material would reasonably be considered private, teachers should disclosure of bank records, cable television records, video store not disclose regardless of any form of consent. Additionally, records, and tax records. parents generally cannot legally waive the rights of their children. Agency or district policy also may regulate teacher conduct in Therefore, any consent, signed or implied, from a minor's parents this area. Teachers should examine the policies of their institutions has no effect. Teachers should not rely on forms containing and districts to determine if local policies regarding the privacy of parent's signatures. student writings exist and should comply with those policies that Guidelines for Effective Adult Consents do currently exist. In my experience and observation, however, Here are some guidelines to follow to have an effective adult most districts either do not have policies or have a very general consent for disclosure: policy that offers little guidance. 1. Be certain that students are informed that they have the right A Brief Annotated Bibliography not to have information disclosed. Discuss this openly and Brill, Alida. Nobody's Business: Paradoxes of Privacy. Addison- often in class. Wesley Publishing Company, 1990. Discusses privacy issues 2. Do not have any consequence, expressed or implied, that would in regard to abortion, AIDS, dying, and sexual preferences. result from the denial of disclosure. Watch out for subtle Dill, Barbara. The Journalist's Handbook on Libel and Privacy. pressure to compel students to disclose or share their writing. The Free Press, 1986. Discusses four types of tort liability for Avoid saying such things to a class as "Well, it looks like Bob invasion of privacy. is the only one who is not sharing his writing today" or "I'm Freedman, Walter. The Right of Privacy in the Computer Age. sure that we all want to share our papers today" or "Okay, table Quorum Books, 1987. Looks at the privacy of government 3 students will now read their papers to the class." records, including arrest records, school records, and social 3. Never openly discuss, post, or otherwise publicly display ma- security numbers. terial which might invade privacy based on the lack of objec- tion by a student. Remember that lack of objection is not Mayer, Don. "Workplace Privacy and the Fourth Amendment: An End to Reasonable Expectations?" American Business Law necessarily consent. journal, Winter 1992. Focuses on workplace privacy, drug 4. Liability can occur for purported works of fiction which tell a testing, psychological testing, and polygraphs. true story. If a student has consented to the publishing of a story 4 involved in learning eliminates many of the problems that occur Rothfelder, Jeffrey. Privacy for Sale. Simon and Schuster, 1992. in unfocused classes. Yet there's a wrinkle that most methods Discusses access to information about individuals. The author teachers seem not to have realized: school systems have a way of is the person who obtained a credit report on former Vice interrupting a teacher's predetermined schedule. President Quayle. So plan your courses carefully, but, in anticipation of "un- Samar, Vincent J . The Right to Privacy. Temple University Press, foreseen complications," block in an "open day" every two 1991. Discusses gay and lesbian teachers, gay and lesbian weeks. That way you'll have time to spare when the principal parents, surrogate parents, AIDS, and pornography. calls an assembly so that your British literature class can listen to the guy who used to whistle the theme songs from Lassie, BEWARE OF TEACHERS WHO LAMINATE Andy of Mayberry, and Hang 'em High. And, on the off chance THEIR LESSON PLANS AND OTHER USEFUL that no pep assembly, substance-abuse program by ex-drug mavens, or get-your-class-ring promotion seems to appear, you SUGGESTIONS ABOUT TEACHING can always use the open days for class discussions that are by Robert Perrin Indiana State University educationally sound. I still remember my first day of full-time teachingnot student Don't Have Too Many Rules teaching under the protection of Glennie Plath, but teaching on my We've all known teachers who have rules for everything: chairs own, in my first real job, with my own classroom, my own desk, must line up with the floor tiles before a class can be dismissed, and my own students. I was a young-looking twenty-one. It was a rough drafts must be written in blue ink and final drafts in black, sultry September day in a building without air conditioning, my dates must be written in day-month-year order, no one can use the sophomores were boisterous, my supplies were insufficient, and I pencil sharpener during a test, and so on. In fact, some teachers had a new haircut that I didn't like very much. After six straight have such expansive lists of classroom rules and procedures that periods of classes, with a half-hour lunch squeezed in, I flopped class time an entire double-wide bulletin board and two days of on the couch in the teachers' lounge and took off my tie. Then I must be used to explain them, resulting in an atmosphere akin to remembered that I needed some materials from the library. Drag- United Nations negotiations. ging myself off the couch, I headed down the hallwayonly to The problem is that such an array of rules is almost impossible get stopped for not having a hall pass. Thank goodness I laughed. for adolescents to remember. And when every situation has a rule, Twenty-two years have passed since then, and I've learned a the "big" rules get lost. So simplify matters. Decide which rules great deal about myself, about students, about administrators, and are truly importantfive or ten that have to do with courtesy about school systems, and about teaching. Some of the things I've order will be about rightand let the others go. Let son _on who learned, I've learned easily, instinctively; some I've learned isn't interested in kids or teaching worry about how many staples through simple trial and error; some I've learned through repeated someone gets to use each hour. mishaps, reassessments, and struggles. So now, in a true evangeli- Share Good Ideas cal spirit, I'd like to share some of this information in the hope that it will help others avoid some of my teaching traumas. Too often, the only ones who benefit from our good ideas are our students. Actually, that's no,' so bad, because these days that can Beware of Teachers Who Laminate Their Lesson Plans be as many as 150 people. But it's also a shame, because many Every school has at least one teachersome lucky schools have just the ones more people could benefit f:om our good ideas, not morewho has reached such a state of teaching perfection that he the computer chose to be students in our classes. or she can enshrine lesson plans in plastic. You should be alert to So be openeverywhere you canabout your large and small the terrors that these teachers inflict, because, having reached classroom successes. Chat with colleagues in the lounge, present teaching nirvana themselves, they may try to drag you along tot visit the a conference paper, write an article, or, if you ever get to Perhaps they'll offer sage advice that only they (or so they think) like country club, tell a school board member. Small successes, can give, or mistake good typing for good teaching, or make you discovering a way to get Shanna to bring a pencil three days in a feel unjustly paranoid because you still haven't figured out what finish row, may lead to big successes, like arranging for Jason to to do with your ten o'clock class. The worst quality of laminated his research paper at the boy's home. Trust me. Good ideas are teachers is that once they "get it right," they never modify or not that common, so you should spread yours around. change anythingnot even their hairstyles. Acknowledge That You Might Not Like All Students Keep Accurate Records We've been trained to believe that we should like all of our This old saw from methods class is absolutely true. Keep clear students. But as long as teachers are human beings, that simply attendance records; maintain accounts of late work; record all won't happen. Whether it's the smart-ass in the back row, the grades, major and minor; transcribe averages along with final goofy giggler near the wirdow, or the kiss-up who's grubbing for grades. Nothing is quite as impressive or as helpful as a well-kept students will be, quite a better grade than he or she deserves, some gradebook when, on the up side, you need to write a letter of simply, itrlossible to like. Honesty is important in dealing with recommendation a year after having a student or, on the down side, these studentshonesty with ourselves, I meanto ensure that you need to have a parent-teacher conference. Let me suggest one avoid penalizing this we don't overcompensate in our attempts to by more fling: make sure that your records can be deciphered student and, in our own generous way, let them get away with too students, administrators, and parentsreal people, not just cryp- much. We should avoid the I-don't-like-Pat-so-I-must-be-gener- tographers and pedagogical archeologists. ous-to-be-fair gambit, particularly in grading. Find a colleague who doesn't know the student and have him or her review your Plan Carefully, But Expect to Vary from Your Plans grading. Chances are the grades will be too high, which isn't fair In one sense, methods teachers are correct about the importance to the other students. of planning: a well-planned course that keeps students actively 5 Have Friends Who Aren't Teachers when students are reading or writing, teachers don't have much to look at either. Although it's cathartic to hash through the horrors of the school So jazz up your classroom. Post some posters (new ones, not day with someone who understands exactly what it means to the old Jefferson Airplane or Bon Jovi posters from your dorm try to teachthat is, another teacherit can also perpetuate room); lug in some plants (polyester ones if your real ones are neurotic, self-indulgent, unimaginative behavior: you say, "I prone to botanical suicide); tote in some statuary, oeramics, or can't believe the assistant principal said, 'Blah, blah, blah' "; found objects (so long as they aren't discarded power tools). your teaching friend replies, "What a jerk." It's a simple, self- You'll be surprised by how much easier it is for you and your reflexive dialogue. students to make it through the day in a space that doesn't look You will have at least two enjoyable challenges if you locate like a Motel 6 conference room. and try to keep friends who aren't teachers. First, you may actually have to carry on conversations that aren't school related, an Keep Your Sense of Humor amazing intellectual exercise that will force you to draw upon Teaching can be described by lots of adjectives: demanding, resources that you may have forgotten you had. Second, if you intriguing, time-consuming, challenging, nerve-racking, reward- must talk about teaching, you'll have to employ your descriptive ing, excruciating, invigorating, annoying, satisfring, draining, skills to help your friends visualize the "players and to re-create and others. But one descriptor we often forget to use is amusing. the situations in an entertaining way. One of the well-kept secrets of teaching is that so much of what And if you can't find friends who aren't teachers, at least find goes on in schools is, quite simply, funnyeven when it's sup- some people who don't teach English. posed to be serious. If we can maintain our sense of humor, then Resist Fads in Teaching the girl who wants to leave during the SAT because she just stuck chewing gum in her hair, the plaid-polyester-suited principal Teaching fads are fun. That makes them like pedagogical parties: discussing the need for a dress code, and the librarian who won't socially motivated, pleasant, but ephemeral. But teaching fads are let the students touch the books can all be put in perspective. This also contagious. And that makes them like some diseases: easily is not to say that these matters don't deserve our serious attention, comMunicable, resistant to treatment, and ultimately annoying. but a good laughor at least a sly chuckle or a knowing smile The best thing to do is build up your academic resistance by can help us get through the day and keep our sanity too. relying on the vitamin C of teaching: good sense. Protected by good sense, you can spare yourself and your students from doing Reflect on Your Teaching needlepoint projects to accompany The Scarlet Letter, from build- On a fairly regular basis, you should take time to think about the ing a miniature of the. Globe Theater out of sugar cubes, from ups and downs of your teaching. Whether you do it weekly, pack-ratting under the guise of portfolio building, and from reen- monthly, or yearly is a matter of personal choice, but reflect you acting scenes from novels instead of discussing them. should. Sort out why certain parts of your classes work well and figure out why others don't. Maybe even ask your students to do Stay Professionally Alive course evaluations to guide your reflection. Then set goals for It's sometimes difficult to stay "centered" when so many people yourself and adjust your teaching to meet them. and issues pull at you. During second hour, Marlene tells you she To have some fun with your reflectionthis should not be an needs her recommendation by fifth hour; Bryan forgot his psoria- exercise in wearing a pedagogical hair shirtyou might try vari- sis medication and gets itchy during fourth hour; you've got a ous ways to reflect in writing. Journals are always useful, but you parent-teacher conference during your planning period; after might try writing haiku about your study hall ("Lethargic students, scho- ol, you have to help organize.the National Honor Society car / Resting from their part-time jobs. / So why are we here?"), washif the members remember to show up, because the baseball composing limericks about that guy in your first-period class team just made it to sectionals. This kind of day seems to focus on ("There once was a boy we call Nathan, / Whose behavior was everyone but you: college-bound Marlene, scratchy Bryan, put- ."), or conducting mock interviews with always frustratin'. upon parents, overcommitted NHS members, even egotistical . yourself ("So, Mr. X, what was the most rewarding aspect of hall baseball players. duty?"). Most of all, remember that focused thinking about what Professional activitiesattending conferences, presenting ses- we do can enhance our chances for future success. sions at conferences, attending seminars, writing for publication, Having chosen a life of teaching, and having spent over taking classeshave dual value for solving the everybody-but-me half of my life in the profession (egad!), I can honestly say dilemma. First, these activities enhance teaching while providing that I wouldn't want to do anything else. That doesn't mean, intellectual stimulation. Second, they focus wholly on you. So go however, that I love everything about teaching. Who could? to a state or national meeting (avoiding those with the words Too much of what goes on at the edges of learning is disruptive, "deconstruction" or "semiotics in their titles), compose a teach- counterproductive, and just plain weird. But if you keep my ing article for a state or national journal (avoiding articles with helpful suggestions in mind, perhaps your best of times will titles like "Woodchuck Imagery in the Writings of Henry David balance out your worst of times, and you will be able to arm Thoreau"), or take a class you "want" to take (avoiding classes yourself against the slings and arrows of outrageous situations. that promise discussions of "pedagogical content knowledge ma- I mean this figuratively, of course. trices assessments"). Personalize Your Work Space FIREFIGHTER, COOK, PACK RAT, TEACHER: The basic classroom can be a dismal place to spend the workday. ADVICE FOR CHAIRS Most classrooms, with window walls (or worse yet, windowless by Mary M. Licklider walls), institutional colors, wide expanses of chalkboards, and Rock Bridge High School, Columbia, Missouri commercial shelving, are fairly sterile environments for any ac- When I inherited the position of language arts chair, I also inher- tivity, and especially sterile for learning. Not only do most class- ited a strong, dedicated department. That was good, too, because rooms provide little visual stimulus for student daydreamers but 6 C.) I'm not talking about or a conversational question over lunch. I didn't have the first idea of what serving as their chair should being sneaky or about whitewashing problems. I am saying that entail. Seven years later, as I prepared to leave the classroom for problems can and should be addressed directly and promptly, and family reasons, I hoped I was leaving the department at least as that no one needs to be humiliated in the process. We need to reflecting on strong as I'd found it. In any case, I found myself cultivate a balance between mercy and justice. things I wish I'd been told seven years before. Maybe these snippets of advice will prove useful to others assuming leadership Keep One Ear to the Ground roles. A disciplinary rule from the classroom is applicable in the chair's office as well: hear everything, and know what to ignore. Most Meet Regularly and Require Attendance oftento continue my firefighter metaphormatches burn, go is Although regularly scheduled meetings won't do it alone, it individual out, cool, and are tossed away, forgotten. These well-nigh impossible to forge an identity as a group and a relation- "matches" are probably best ignored. Occasionally, though, a And ship of professional respect with individuals we never see. allow a pattern begins to emerge. Being alert to such patterns can decisions that speak for the group should be made by the group. department chair to fan the flames of inspiration with whatever To allow members, who may be absent because they are feeling the help or encouragement might be at his or her disposal or, on somewhat disengaged or disenfranchised anyway, to quietly miss other hand, to cool a smoldering ember before it ignites. meetings is akin to avoiding calling on the student who works so hard to "disappear" in the classroom: it only aggravates the Remain an Advocate problem. Invite the district coordinator and the principal to the Make sure administrators, students, other teachers, and sometimes meetings. This helps accomplish two goals: it encourages prompt about the good things teach- even legislators and the media know attendance, and it facilitates communication. advocate. And similarly, ers in your department are doing. Be an "take the heat" occasionally. If as department chair, be willing to Make Meetings as Painless as Possible department chair's role to address a problem arises, it is often the Provide food at meetings; it sets a congenial tone after a long day. and it. If departmental decisions are reached by consensus, support Encourage a prompt call to order. (Latecomers in our department explain them to parents or whomever. the following month.) Distrib- are responsible for bringing treats efficiently. Unpro- ute an agenda, stick to it, and move through it Become a Scrounger (a.k.a. Pack Rat) ductive discussion is an insult to a busy teacher's schedule. Invite talented teachers I remain convinced that conditions drive more ramblers to discuss issues individually after the meeting if neces- time finding out of the profession than money does. Spend some sary. for what purposes. In out about which funds are available and district-level departmental our district, for example, there are Observe Each Teacher Every Year extracurricular budgets (English, reading, journalism, drama), Some districts require yearly observations as part of the evaluation federal Chapter accounts (book fines, Writing Club, PTA money), hour in someone process; others don't. I have yet to sit through an and II grants. state Incentives for School Excellence grants, else's classroom without learning something. No other single Browse federal Free Text fundsall with their own limits. activity as department chair taught me so much respect for the things can through office and school supply catalogs. Little teachers I worked for. No other activity opened as many channels find those little mean a lot to morale, and knowing where to for discussion of concernsreal concerns about how we serve will help things is a learned skill. If a laminated wall calendar share kids. And no other activity gave me as many opportunities to work during flu season, find a teacher keep track of make-up department the wealth of our department: lesson ideas the whole will save time, find them. one. If pre-cut bulletin board letters needed to hear about that a teacher might be too modest, too easily to me, (I must confess that the skill of scrounging came forgetful, or too busy to share. pack rat.) as I have always been something of a Develop Conferencing Skills Set High Standards skills, If your district doesn't provide training in conferencing Just as A department chair is a leadership role, like it or not. and make it a personal priority. Observations open the channels through hun- the tone and expectations for a classroom are set conferencing skills create opportunities for communication. Good for an dreds of day-to-day decisions, the tone and expectations teachers bring that potential to fruition. Good conferences allow departmental entire department are set through issues raised at been and where to step back, take a breath, look at where they've approach con- meetings, through the sincerity with which we they want to go, and maybe even think about how they want to get students, ferences, through our professionalism with our own revise there. Sure, we do that on our own from time to time. We the through the professional memberships we maintain, through be writing on our own, too. But we all know that there is much to professional conferences we attend. Set high standards. Others gained from getting another reader's response to our writingnot notice. is with conferencing. to write for us, but to serve as audience. So it talk for We need to learn how to listen productively, not how to Ask for Help Occasionally the teacher. The department chair may be a leadership role, but no one ap- advantage pointed any of us "Super Teacher." Besides its obvious Be Discrete with Confidential Information flattering show of to us as chairs, asking for advice or help is a away." Shakespeare noted that "two can keep a secret, putting one files from the last respect for a colleague. If there are departmental help with real If teachers and administrators are to trust us to learned department chair, read them. I was surprised at how much I will have to be discrete with concerns, there will be times when we member. That about a department of which I'd been a long-time of confidential information and keep secrets without dying. One reinven- broader perspective is useful, and it can often prevent the "brush fires," the roles of the department chair is to put out tion of the wheel. develop into containing and dousing minor flares before they "recipes" for Like anything else in education, there are no of destructive blazes. This is best done quietly, through the timing seasonings to suit the situation success. Each cook must adjust the "coincidental" visit to a classroom after school an observation or a 7 and the guests. I do hope, however, that these suggestions might be submitted to us for a grade in "such a state." Only those few serve as basic ingredients, as, if you'll forgive me, food for notoriously irresponsible students who missed class, writing thought. groups, and individual conferences would slip through the cracks, and for those few, I, for one, had precious little sympathy in assigning marks. DEPENDENCE AND GRADE INFLATION: Granted, possibly there is no intrinsic harm in giving a dispro- A VICIOUS CYCLE portionate number of higher grades. I certainly don't hew to by Candace O'Donnell grading on the curve. In fact, I believe that a pass/fail system is Elizabethtown College, Pennsylvania ideal for writing instruction. But that is a separate discussion. My Recently the provost of the college where I teach writing and concern here is the effect on students who would probably earn a methods of teaching English sent out a memo chiding the faculty lower mark in a system that required more independence. for being "old softies" on grades. I laughed, wondering how many Bear with me as I sketch a profile of an imaginary student. Let's call him Joe. He's a first-year college student, but secondary professors caught the musical allusion. Was this yet another sign of my advancing middle age? teachers will probably recognize similar dangers for the students they are preparing for college or jobs. Joe is polite, friendly, and Still, I had to sign a rueful mea culpa. Most first-year students hardworking to the point of compulsion. He never misses class, in my introductory writing course earn a B; A's are relatively rare, but so are C's, D's, and F's. In my own grading, in that of my takes notes assiduously, participates actively in class discussion, more than carries his weight in writing groups, comes well pre- colleagues, in the experience of the student teachers I supervise, pared to all individual conferences with me, and, additionally, and even with the superb cooperating teachers with whom we work, I can clearly see the pervasive spread of grade inflation. stops by my office for extra help. If he needs still more assistance, As I ponder the ways in which I have applied and, to some he goes to the well-staffed writing center at our college. Joe has degree, misapplied the valuable concepts of process writing and been known to put his papers through eight to ten drafts. peer editing, I am forced to admit that my own contribution to Because a major component of his grade is degree of improve- ment, determined by comparing multiple drafts, and because, grade inflation is the inevitable consequence of the overdepen- dence that I have unwittingly fostered in my students. Let me abetted by his writing group and me, his Herculean efforts have attempt to dissect this entangled cycle of dependency and grade managed to correct his more glaring problems, Joe squeaks by my course with a C+, perhaps even a B-. I know, howeverand I have inflation. tried to warn Joe of thisthat he still has major weaknesses in his Perhaps the first warning, unheeded at the time, came a few writing: perhaps his syntax is garbled, or his vocabulary is sparse, years ago when I attended a symposium of over two hundred local or his usage patterns are not standard, or he is incapable of writing teachers, kindergarten through college. At this sympo- developing an original thesis, or all of the above. I gently caution sium, the keynote speaker proudly announced that if she asked her Joe to continue using the writing center for papers in future high school students to turn in a paper without peer editing, she courses. I offer my ongoing help with his writing, and Joe usually wou.:1 have a "near tiot" on her hands. takes me up on this. In my early days of experimenting with peer groups, I too found Joe has proved himself a genius at some valuable life skills: he that when I asked my first-year college students to prepare and is tenacious, and he knows how to seek and implement help from complete their final paper for the semester without consulting with the appropriate sources. It could be argued that these skills are either their writing group or me, their reactions ran the gamut from much more important than writing fluency, but I have my nagging mild insecurity to outright rebellion. And a significant number had doubts. How well has the process served Joe? How well have I much weaker papers when expected to write independently, indi- served him? How will his papers be judged by other professors? cating that perhaps the students had not, in fact, mastered the skills Even more worrisome, how soon will he be up against a blockade supposedly mastered during collaboration. Indeed, even when we did use peer groups, after weeks of in his career when he cannot mask his writing weaknesses? For instance, will he ever have to produce an annual report under feedback at every drafting stage, some students became petulant deadline without input from co-workers and polishing from an and demanding. A few whined if their group did not catch every executive secretary? Melodramatic? Maybe, but still, I wonder. mistake on content, style, even mechanics. For example, one girl I have reluctantly concluded that the best way to control grade was crushed when I pointed out convoluted "pretzel" sentences in inflation is to nip budding overdependency. Without regressing to her final draft. She countered, "Why didn't you mention this to the bad old days and subjecting every essay to a bloodbath of red me earlier? Why didn't my writing group catch it? If someone had ink, I am gradually evolving techniques to wean my developing just told me, I could have corrected it, and then I would have gotten writers. an A!" I caution my students in writing at the beginning of each With steady support from teacher and peers at every stage of the processbrainstorming, drafting, revising, and editingno semester and repeatedly remind them that neither their classmates are nor I am responsible for correcting every problem or catching student has a valid excuse for turning in a D or F paper, and A's every mistake. I continually fine-tune the distinction between peer and B's abound. The reason for such inflation was perhaps best response groups and peer editing groups. My students now seem illustrated by a colleague of mine who had interviewed for a to grasp the concept that response groups give lively and useful position at another school. As part of her screening, she was asked feedback throughout the process, feedback that the writer is free to write comments on and assign a grade to a sample student essay. to accept or reject. Peer editing groups or proofreading partners s she told me later, "I had no idea how to grade it because I are rarely used, only, if ever, at the culmination of several drafts. couldn't believe it was supposed to be a final submission. I would Even then I stress that peer editors are not expected to be eagle- never let a paper get to me in such a state!" eyed, infallible error spotters; that falls under the ultimate respon- I could only agree with my friend. Both she and I were so sold sibility of each writer who is, in the final analysis, solely on process that we would have workcd with students on prelimi- responsible for his or her grade. nary drafts to weed out egregious errors so that few papers would 8 0 t.