Waiting for tomorrow | March 12, 2020, Our last day in school...

Thursday, March 12, 2020

We were on an "A" Day schedule, which means I had English classes all day. Lately we had been reading Roll of Thunder Hear My Cry by Mildred Taylor. I hadn't intended on teaching this novel, but when many of my students told me they hadn't read or heard of it, I didn't believe we had any other choice.

During lunch that day, a few students came to the room to just sit, chat, and chill as many of them are wont to do on occasion. One young brotha, who also was 5th grader in my class years earlier, asked if I had heard that the NBA canceled the previous night's game and subsequently the season. I had. The conversation was normal, like we'd have it again tomorrow.

During that same block of time, my prep/lunch, a colleague asked if I thought the schools would shut down in Philadelphia. I remember smirking and saying "no" because I didn't feel like they cared enough about us in the inner city. Anyway, I'd see her tomorrow and we'd chit chat again.

Then 4th period came and went. Some students worked. Others chose to engage in tasks they deemed much more important than anything I could ever assign. *cough* phones *cough*

The day ended uneventfully. I'd see them tomorrow. I left for the day. Shoot. My coffee was on my desk. I didn't feel like getting rid of it. It's cool. It ain't hurting nobody. I'd dispose of it tomorrow.

Friday, March 12, 2021

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Welcome, Mr. Butler!

The brother featured in this pic is one of Philadelphia’s newest public school teachers, representing a class of teachers who make up less than 2% (~4% in Philly) of the nation’s public school educators, a Black man. His name? Eric Butler. His journey? Well, let’s go…

Hailing from Southwest Philly, Mr. Butler graduated from the city’s public schools. As with many 18-year-olds, he was unsure of the direction his life would take in college. His love of sports led him to declare himself a kinesiology major at Penn State in his sophomore year. As a student, he had the opportunity to work with Penn State’s famed basketball and football programs. This clarified his future a bit. With that, he pictured himself working in physical therapy, setting for himself a new goal, going for that DPT, that Doctor of Physical Therapy.

The more he spoke of his goals, the more people got excited about the money he’d make. Reflecting on this, he recalled no one ever asking, “Oh you gone be happy doing that? You must love that! No one ever said that to me!” Now, brewing within himself was a growing discontent. Sure, he’d make money, but would he be happy? Satisfied? The more he spoke, the more he found the destination unappealing, even with the potential financial benefits. Still, onward he pushed, graduating with his Bachelor of Science in Kinesiology and landing a job in the physical therapy world.

So how did this journey lead him to become one of Philly’s newest biology teachers? Good question. Follow me. 3 words…

People

Prayer

Positions

A couple of years ago, he and I were chatting. He had 4 things to share. One, one of his patients kept encouraging him to “Do what you love!” Was it random or could she sense that this wasn’t it? *shrugs* Two, one of his coaches shared with him how he made a U-turn from law school to the gymnasium as a physical education teacher and coach. He also shared with him a box of items, each with a story related to particular students down through the years. Three, this “Unk” person kept urging him to consider teaching, saying “We need you in the classroom!” Four, “Unk, I decided to become a teacher!”

Link those accounts with him working as a camp counselor with the YMCA for a few summers and loving it! Connect those experiences with the head of the Sunday School department at our church nudging him into teaching Sunday School. Pile onto that the fact that he felt the Lord leading him to restart our church’s Children’s Church ministry. Whew! So, the people in his life, his being prayerful, and the positions he’s held, together led him to commit to becoming one of Philly’s newest Black male educators.

Which brings us back to the picture. There he sits at Cabrini in his education class for his Master’s in Education. His name? Eric Butler. His position? Biology teacher. His journey? Not. Over. Yet.

The End Beginning.

New Friends at Maplewood Manor Nursing Home

When I get the chance to sit and think, that can be dangerous....in a good way!

Yesterday, a few of my students and I, along with a few of my colleagues, went to Maplewood Manor Nursing Home to read to the residents there. We went to read and came out smiling!!

The facility is about a 15-minute walk from our school, right there in our community. It began as a thought about a month or so ago. I called Maplewood, left a message, received a call back and we set up a tentative date. We spoke of the possibility of making this a once a month thing as well. I sent out a survey to parents to gauge the interest level. There was interest.  Permission slips were sent out, I spoke with the principal, and boom!

The idea hit me like a ton of bricks that it would be better to go after school. Why? Just because. That little blurb was in the survey too. Still, there was great interest on behalf of the 5th grade families. (There were some kinks on my end that I'll have to fix for next time.  Long story short, me being too hype, I got unorganized and quickly)

We left the school around 3:15pm. But before doing so, the kids and I had a little chat. "This is the first time your teacher has done anything like this. We'll see how it goes. No matter what, just go with the flow. We'll speak, be polite, introduce ourselves and why we're there and enjoy ourselves."

On the way I allowed them to snap pics, and to snap, as in....this. Why? They're "snapping chatting" (lol) about going to read! Why not?!?

The staff was very warm, gracious, and welcoming! We entered the recreation area and immediately we all got to work introducing ourselves to the our reading buddies and the kids got to reading. My colleagues and I would only step in for a sec to move a kid closer or to slide the book between the two reading buddies. #SmilesAllAround

The kids loved it! They'd read to their new friend and in a couple of cases their new friends took the book and read back to the much younger buddies!! I even got the chance to read to a couple of the residents, "Mother to Son" by Langston Hughes and "Green Eggs and Ham". Both were a hit!!

We stayed for about a half hour before heading back to school to the waiting arms and cars of parents! Wow! That's all I can muster right now. Wow!! It was one great experience for us all!

Today, during one of the classes we had a panel discussion. The students ran it. The panel (the students who went to Maplewood) took questions from their classmates about the event and they responded well.

The student panel

More than 24 hours later, I'm still sitting here reflecting in rapture! There isn't a test in the WORLD, no benchmark, no Pearson, no PSSA, no PARCC, nothing, that can capture the essence of that and myriad other experiences!!

"There is such a thing as 'free lunch'"

When people casually or irreverently speak of or address certain subjects, it will offend me. A lover of words and language, I tend to listen carefully. So when a local reporter, when reporting on the Wawa Welcome America celebrations, particularly today's Free Hoagie Day here in Philly said, "it turns out there is a such thing as free lunch", I got perturbed.

Excuse me Miss, you're a reporter. In Philly. On TV.

You don't have to tell the kids in this city that "there is a such thing as free lunch." WE know it!

YOU may speak of free lunch lightly while reporting on the free hoagies that Wawa gave out today, and you may even take a joking tone. However, free lunch for many children in our public schools is a serious thing. Many depend on the free breakfast and lunch that their neighborhood public school provides. For many households, these are the only meals they receive.

$40M Plymouth Whitemarsh High School face-lift

I chose not to play around with the "Whitemarsh" part of the school's name....ahem...

Schools deserve facade-lifts, renovations, improvements and the like! ALL schools deserve that!

No shade thrown at Plymouth-Whitemarsh High School out in the Philly 'burbs, but why can't kids who look like me also have buildings that are modernized, comfortable, clean, bright, and welcoming!! There are some buildings I vowed never to teach in because they were so dark and ominous. If I as an undergrad felt that way, I can only imagine how the children and staff who must walk into those buildings feel. (But here comes Charter Man to the rescue, taking money away from said schools. Money that could be used for improvements.)

Folks in Harrisburg, City Hall, and 440 love to put the onus on teachers and our union and love to lay a world of problems at our feet as if we're the cause for all of this city's educational woes. We're not.

Let's try something different, BILLION dollar investments in public education and our schools (modern buildings, technology, real PD by teachers/colleges profs, modern libraries, clean & green spaces to read, study, eat and whatever, etc. etc. etc.)

Here's the thing. All we're asking for at this moment here in Philly, a nurse in every school every day, librarians and counselors in our schools, keeping our guest teachers, and music/art teachers in every school. Of course we have a longer list, but at the moment, these are just some of the basic ticket items that every school should have....now.

I have a feeling Plymouth-Whitemarsh (which I happened to drive by this past Saturday) has all of these items and having them isn't considered a luxury.

Certified School Nurses

Today, the entire 3rd grade class took a trip to a local park, our last big "thing" for the school year as an entire class. One of my students was bitten by some insect and starting having a reaction that was "irritating and hurting", according to her.

I literally had to pause and think about what day it was and whether or not our school nurse was at our school on this particular day! Wednesday? YES!! "Baby girl, let's walk back to the school and get you some help." As we were walking, I called ahead to let our certified school nurse know what had transpired, how the patient...I mean student was feeling/reacting (I got carried away), and that we were on the way. ETA? 20 minutes. All was calm, but her mark was reddening.

I stayed with the child as our certified school nurse worked to ease her discomfort and treat the area that was giving my student trouble.

I took the time to again express my gratitude to her, our certified school nurse, for being at our school and that I believe in the idea of a (at least one) certified school nurse at every school, every day of the school week, no matter the size of the building or student population!

The School District of Philadelphia wants to outsource school health services.
Why not? Here are just four quick answers and reasons!

1.  We know that our certified school nurses are well trained and prepared to provide highly skilled services to students in public school populations, which often times means not only meeting the students' heath needs but also working closely with the counselor (if there is one, smh) to service the child's emotional, mental, and academic needs.

2.  Most, if not all of the school nurses we have left in the School District of Philadelphia, have the qualifications that could land them better paying and highly respected positions elsewhere! They choose to stay! That says a lot.

3.  You get what you pay for! The school district want to go cheap! Cheap almost always ends up costing! Contracting out health services? Suppose for whatever reason, they want out? Then what? Suppose for whatever reason, the company tanks? Then what? Suppose building principals have issues with these outside contractors and the level of care they provide? Then what?

4. The district approved 5 new charter schools!

#ReclaimMLKPHL

Today I chose to rally and march with a few thousand other Philadelphians and Pennsylvanians on this Martin Luther King Jr. Holiday. This march for many social justice agenda items brought together many groups, faiths, creeds, cultures...people!

The pictures and tweets under the hashtag #ReclaimMLKPHL tell many of the countless stories and experiences.

While there are quite a few causes that I support, two of the main reasons that I walked, #BlackLivesMatter and public education, particularly in Philadelphia.

While I'm too young to have experienced the marches and fights of the 1960s, I'm old enough to appreciate the victories as a result! Unfortunately, I'm also old enough to see, experience, and fight against regression! To that end, here's to the marches and fights of the 21st century!!

"What do we want?"
"Justice!!"
"When do we want it?"
"NOW!!"
"IF. WE. DON'T. GET. IT."
"SHUT. IT. DOWN!!!!"

Photo Credit (below): Philadelphia Student Union

My "Arts" Beliefs...

My belief in the arts being a component of children's learning experiences is not anything new.
As I was looking through old facebook pictures, I came across one when I was the Youth Program Director at the YMCA in West Philly! (Yup, I was born and raised in West Philly---and Southwest---52nd Street corridor)

I was responsible for nearly all youth programming at the branch and was always looking to improve upon the quality of our programs. I loved my team of youth program staff and volunteers and the majority of them loved "Mr. Steve" right back!

You'll notice the book I circled in the picture. With our leadership and with a great core of young arts teachers (high school students who I hired from CAPA in South Philly) we put together a PHENOMENAL dance program and a budding drama program!! At one point we had more than 100 girls enrolled in any one or more of our dance classes in two studios at the Y!

We had big productions throughout the year that would coincide with hat/glove drives and would also bring news crews. One year, we chose to take our end of the year performance at one of theaters at the Annenberg Center on Penn's campus!!!

The School District of Philadelphia, City Hall, and Harrisburg must do more increase the arts experiences of the students in Philadelphia, something that is as basic and expected in many of our wealthier suburban school districts. Many of our students have creative minds and abilities and are stifled because of the dearth of arts programs in our schools. Many teachers try to fill the void as best we can, but I will humbly admit my limitations!!

Click the link to find out what I did this past week for a kid who is always drawing in class!

We have GOT to do better!

Looks like my kids and I will be writing letters and sending some emails! It's not enough to just complain. Stay tuned!

P.S. I remember one critique from one of my principals was that I do too much "arts stuff" for Social Studies and not enough reading, lol (I actually did do quite a bit of reading with them--and it was good too, but every time there was a visit it seemed to be during our singing/rapping segments)

That "Public/Private" article...

I could sit here analyze the content of Jeremy Nowak's piece, What Do We Mean By Public and Private Today in the Philadelphia Citizen. I could type endlessly about the comparison of our schools where actual children are taught and cared for, to a few of the city's parks....downtown. But I won't.

I could discuss the major contrasts that exist between parks and people, but I won't.

I could discuss what I think a productive public/private partnership would look like. But again...I won't.

I want to do a little word count exercise instead.
The word "public" was mentioned approximately 16x.
The word "schools" was mentioned about 18x.
The word "fund(ed)" was mentioned about 1x (and referred to charter schools when mentioned).
"Children" was mentioned about 2x.
"Students" about 1x.
"Young people" about 1x.
"Teachers" about 1x

Flemming, you're being silly. You're missing the point!! Just stop! You're making yourself look dumb! The "author's purpose" wasn't to discuss students and teachers and the funding of public schools!

The "author's purpose" was...

We don't get books for homework...

As I sit and await the arrival of parents for report card conferences, I'm taking a look at the similarities and differences my students found between a one-room schoolhouse they read about and our school.

One difference a child listed, "They get books/We don't get books for homework."

40 New Charter apps??? Really!!??!!

So, it's my lunch break and I happened upon my twitter account. One of the first stories I see is the fact that the School Reform Commission (SRC) will be reviewing 40 new charter school applications! Under the newly passed cigarette tax, which I was apprehensive about to begin with and even more so when provisions were added, allows this criminal act!

Philadelphia faces financial shortfalls every year! If 40 new charter schools open in Philadelphia, we have all but seen the end of true public education in Philadelphia as we know it. If the SRC rejects the applicants, the charter operators can appeal directly to the state.

#Corrupt and #Bankrupt

smh

Barbershop PhDs

Anyone who has ever frequented a barbershop knows that there are very interesting conversations that can be had there! Sports, religion, politics, women, the news, and myriad other topics! Guy code says, what is said in the barbershop, stays in the barbershop! (Or did I just make that up? lol)

Anyone who has ever frequented the shops knows also that EVERYTHING is a conspiracy!!

Many brothers are passionate about their beliefs, whether fact or conjecture! Sometimes the foolish thoughts and topics on which we opine are annoying and at other times, hilarious!

But barbershop conversations, debates, and arguments definitely have their place in the overall movement of black men into civic, family, academic, and other forms of constructive engagement! Since I'm black and I frequent black shops, I speak from that perspective! In the shops are voters and tax payers! In the shops are fathers and sons, mentors and mentees, youth sports coaches, teachers (YES SIR!!), Pastors, clerics, politicians, and very attentive young boys and teens who are listening!

While I jokingly attach PhD to barbershop to poke fun at some of our sermons that are based on unfounded facts and upon which some of us will swear, I don't mean to belittle the opinions of our barbershop comrades. (Although some of us do speak with such authority (feigned)---as if we, ourselves, advised the President and foreign leaders or conducted the scientific research that proves the government conspired)

When public schools in Philly are brought up, I ALWAYS insert myself into the conversation! Some are on my side, others are not! When we're on opposite sides of the aisle, it can be.....ahem.....interesting! I do not stand down! Because I teach in the same community where I get trimmed up for the weekend, I have a whole slew of students and parents who can vouch for this young, black, male teacher who speaks from the core of his soul!!

I may not be a true Barberhop PhD, but I'm a teacher! And doggone it, a good one!

"...charter schools' right of due process."

7:27am. Walk to Wawa. Get coffee and the Philadelphia Inquirer.
4:30pm, finally pick up the paper and read the two main Philadelphia education reports.
(((((DROPS PAPER AND JAW in disbelief)))))

An excerpt:

"Robert Fayfich, executive director of the Pennsylvania Coalition of Public Charter Schools, called the amendment {to the cigarette tax for Philly that gives Philly charter start ups the right to appeal to the state Charter Appeals Board if the SRC ignores/rejects their proposals} a 'clear statement by the House that the School District of Philadelphia and the School Reform Commission overstepped their authority in suspending the charter schools' right of due process.'"

Would this be the same well-funded, politically connected, media-beloved arm of the education reform debate that pushes for policies and laws that would deny teachers their right to due process by lobbying for the elimination of tenure and seniority? Do I have that about right?

Reply to State Rep Milne

An excerpt from ~~> http://www.newsworks.org/index.php/homepage-feature/item/69972-cigarette-tax-for-philly-schools-clears-major-hurdle-in-pa-house?linktype=hp_impact

"Milne falls into a camp that remains skeptical of the Philadelphia School District's ability to appropriately manage its finances – despite all the austerity measures the district has undertaken during Superintendent William Hite's tenure."

It is important to note that the School District has been under STATE control and monitoring since 2000/2001. Under their watchful eye our deficit has ballooned!

Reply to State Rep Saylor

An excerpt from ~~> http://www.newsworks.org/index.php/homepage-feature/item/69972-cigarette-tax-for-philly-schools-clears-major-hurdle-in-pa-house?linktype=hp_impact

"Rep. Stan Saylor, R-York, majority whip in the House, fell into the former category.

Members of the House simply want Philadelphia to come forward and help solve some of the problems of the commonwealth, instead of sitting there thinking that Philadelphia gets to have a pass, and everybody else will put up the votes to help Philly," he said in an interview before the vote."

Representative Saylor, how do you think Philadelphia will be a problem solver if you and other members of the Pennsylvania Legislature refuse to adequately fund the state's public schools, including those in Philadelphia? The stability of Philadelphia means the stability of Pennsylvania.

How do I know? Your Governor asked the President of the United States of America to step in when SEPTA's Regional Rail engineers and electricians went on strike. Approximately 400 people went on strike and the President intervened.

Why not?

I'm sitting here reading a section of a chapter in Stephanie Harvey and Anne Goudvis's Strategies that Work: Teaching Comprehension for Understanding and Engagement (2007). This particular section, in a nutshell, speaks of the "researcher's" workshop and as a part, the professional relationship of classroom teacher and librarian.

NOW I'm steamed!!! Not because of anything the authors wrote, but because I'm a teacher in the city of Philadelphia. I'm a public school teacher in the largest school district in Pennsylvania and among the largest 10 or so in the entire nation. I'm HEATED because of the ostentatious lack of interest, respect, foresight, and investment of MY and others' tax dollars into what could be a first rate school district.

Our public schools have the potential to be so much more than what they are. It's not for a lack of qualified staff. It's not for a lack of interested and competent teachers and paraprofessionals. It's not for a lack of the commitment of many well meaning neighborhood coalitions of groups, parents, and meaningful stakeholders!

It's because of the lack of true and dedicated public servants! Many sit in plush offices, with a full staff of workers spewing their bombastic rhetoric and vitriolic diatribes bemoaning the hard work of committed, selfless, hardworking, dedicated, competent, experienced, and WILLING teachers and school staff here in Philadelphia and around the nation!

Our public schools should be more than what they are! Why not have a librarian in every school every day? We have students come every day! Why not have a certified school nurse in every school every day? We have students come every day! Why not have a certified reading specialist, who is not following the roster of a prep teacher (sorry, specialist teacher) in every school every day? We have students come every day! Why not an art, music, and instrumental music teacher in every school every day? We have students come every day! Why not a gym teacher in every school every day? We have students come every day! Why not a first rate library either adjacent to or in addition to a first rate computer lab in every school with the staff to work it in every school every day? We have students come every day! Why not a foreign language teacher in every school every day? We have students come every day! Why not certified school counselors in every school every day? We have students come every day! Why not social workers, truancy officers, nutritionists, specialized nontraditional curriculum tracts like chess, robotics, dance, drama, voice, computer animation, gardening, home economics and more in every school every day? We have students come every day!

I'm sick of this nonsense! I'm sick of this bafoonery! You defund us then blame us! You want some of our paychecks back while holding us to higher standards! You're insane! You've sown to the wind and rest assure, you will reap the whirlwind!

How many??

Dear Mayor Nutter and Governor Corbett,
How many students do you have in your class?
How many tissue boxes do you buy for your class?
How many bottles of hand sanitizer do you buy for your class?
How many snack bars or pots of oatmeal do you cook for your hungry students?
How many shirts did you hurry to get from the corner store because of the red juice your student spilled on him?
How many pairs of socks do you buy for your little kindergarteners whose feet NEED socks with the sneakers they have on?
How many reams of paper do you buy to do your job?
How many class sets of books do your bid on via ebay so that your class can have a class set?
How many of your students' trips do you pay for at the last minute for a wide variety of reasons?
How many of your students come to you because they just need to cry and let it all out?
How many of your students come back years later to just say "thank you"?
How many pizzas have you purchased for your class because they all came to school that entire week or month?
How many pens, pencils, boxes of crayons, boxes of markers, and packages of lined paper have you purchased for your students?
How many times have you given your students $2.00....oh wait, it's gone UP....$2.25 to get home because they lost their money?
How many subscriptions to kid's educational magazines have you purchased so that your students can read real, authentic literary nonfiction?
How many subscriptions to internet educational software games/companies have you purchased to make learning come alive for your students?
How many computers have you spent money on to refurbish so that your classroom can at least have ONE in the class?
How much money have you spent to paint your classroom because it hadn't seen a coat of paint for at least a decade?
How many bookshelves and magazine racks have your purchased for your classroom so that reading can be inviting?
How many hats, gloves, and scarves have you bought for your 2nd graders?
How many gift cards have you purchased for your seniors in high school who are headed off to college?
How many fans have you bought so that your classroom can have SOME air flow?
Huh? How many? Answer me that!!

Wait, I have one more...

How many more "how many"s do you think I can come up with?
Don't wrack your brain, let me answer that for you!
A WHOLE LOT MORE!!!

You speak of shared pain? You berate us for not "sharing in sacrifice"? You want us to take a 13% pay cut? You say that we need to "step up"? You want us to pay to come to work? You want us to buy $45 million at a price tag of $133 million?

You, sirs, are clearly out of touch with the reality of our profession!

Sincerely
~Stephen R. Flemming and all the rest of us!!!

Silly Me! The arts were CUT!!

As I was excitedly posting tweets and posts about the high school kid, Sean, who is talented beyond his years playing his violin, a colleague reminded me of something. Instrumental music was cut in Philadelphia!!!!

The School Reform Commission recently took a chain saw to the school district budget, cutting personnel and programs to balance the budget. This included instrumental music teachers, thus cutting the instrumental music programs that exist(ed) in many of our schools!

More than 3800 teachers, counselors, secretaries, librarians, et al were laid off. This, in addition to the nearly 130 assistant principals that were also let go!

Unless Pennsylvania and this nation are serious about funding its public schools, we'll see an entire generation of robots, capable of filling in bubbles and choosing "c" (click the link).

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=dY2mRM4i6tY&feature=youtube_gdata_player

Young, black, male, and plays classical!!

Anyone who frequents SEPTA's Suburban Station in downtown Philadelphia would undoubtedly happen upon a young man who plays his violin with such skill and finesse, that you could easily miss your train listening to him go!!

There are many performers stationed throughout SEPTA's underground market place and main regional rail train station which spans several city blocks, but this kid takes the cake!
I briefly engaged him in a short conversation once in between performances. He goes to the High School for Creative and Performing Arts (CAPA) in South Philly. Note: CAPA is a PUBLIC high school!!!!

Though he goes to CAPA, he doesn't necessarily attribute his love of classical music and violin playing to CAPA. The environment, however, nurtures and promotes arts love with majors such as: Creative Writing, Instrumental Music, Visual Arts, Theater, Dance, and Vocal Music.

When I asked him what his gaols were, where he sees himself in the future, he responded that he definitely saw himself with a career in classical music.
Every single opportunity I get, including the one I had this past weekend, I drop a few dollars in the violin case that he has out.

There are times when he is accompanied by other youth who are also skillful with their instruments. But he is the constant.

What I really like is that this is an alternative image that hundreds, if not thousands, are getting of a young black male. His presence at Suburban Station is strategic! White collars pass through the station in droves and hear him play!! His pants don't sag, he doesn't wear a snap back and he is well spoken. The inverse of the aforementioned have their place somewhere, but the image that he portrays, gives many a reason to pause and reassess the first thing that comes to mind when "young black male" is mentioned!

I forget his name, unfortunately, but I'm sure a google or youtube search would assist with that. If I see it, it'll strike a "chord" and I'll post a follow-up!