Morals And Values In Schools

As a teacher at a Christian Preschool and Daycare, it is my job to incorporate morals and values into the curriculum taught to our students.  Or school actively promotes values such as kindness, forgiveness, and compassion.  But what about the public school?  While efforts are made to keep religion out of the public school system, morals and values abound.  Why is this? Who's morals and values are these and how can we be sure they are shared by our students?

This topic came to my attention while reading an article regarding how morals and values are represented in schools.   The article The Moral Life of Schools (taken from the book of the same name) was written by P.W. Jackson, R.E. Boostrom, and D.T. Hansen.  The article argued that there are deliberate displays of morals and values everywhere in our schools and most of them are quite subtle.  According to the authors, morals can be found in most lessons taught in schools, but are usually not addressed  formally in the curriculum.  Many class lessons and activities may be moral in tone without overtly pushing the moral. The following are some examples:
 
Moral rituals:  Saying the pledge of Allegiance, pep rallies, MLK assemblies etc.
(these encourage loyalty, pride, etc)
 
Visual displays: "Don't use drugs" or "Respect others" posters, bulletin boards stating "To make a friend you must be one"(these encourage kindness, healthy living, etc)
 
Morals in curriculum: Using books or lessons on "The Rainbow Fish, Charlottes' Web, To Kill a Mockingbird, or lessons on heros, such as the Challenger Astronauts or Rosa Parks.  (encourage kindness, bravery, diversity, forgiveness, etc)
 
I found this idea very interesting because it is everywhere in our schools.  If our schools and classrooms are like mini societies, are we surprised at this?  The authors didn't argue for or against morals in schools, but talked mainly about their prevalence.  For me, this article brought the issue to my attention and it makes me want to be very mindful about how I promote morals and values in my future classroom, because they may not be morals and values that my students share. 
  
~ Christy

You Can't Put a Price on That!

This is a very busy season of my life.  I am currently a teacher, mother, wife, student and a volunteer.  Since I am a full time college student as well as a teacher, I try to work both schedules around each other.  This means that three days a week I go to work in the morning, then to school in afternoon.  I then leave school and return to work, only to leave work early to attend night classes back at UW.  Going back and forth several times a day is exhausting to say the least.  But, I love my job teaching and I love going to school, so I make it work.

On one of my trips leaving work and heading back to UW for the second time that day, I had a very interesting encounter with a coworker at my preschool.  I was in the main office last week clocking out for the evening when a fellow coworker commented on how tiring it must be to always have to run back to school.  I nodded in agreement but told her that while it is tiring at times, I am learning about exciting things that will help me become a better teacher. So, it is all worth it.  She then responded by saying, "I know, but it seems like such a waist of time, because you work so hard now and all you will get for it is a crappy paying job when your done." I was so offended and caught off guard by her comment, I just gave her a polite smile and excused myself from the room. What my good manner wouldn't allow me to say to her was that this future"crappy paying job" she was referring to would be paying twice what she is currently earning as a preschool teacher.  She obviously didn't know what the starting salary was for a teacher in one of our nearby school districts. 

Her comments were hurtful.   Not only was it upsetting that she was reducing a career in education down to it's salary, but she also saw higher education as a waste of time.  What was most hurtful wasn't her words or the condescending way she said them, but it was the fact that I know she isn't alone in feeling this way.   Infact, I had a similar encounter the very next day.  While attending a baby shower for a friend, I made small talk with the husband of one of the fellow guests.  I commented on his Husky shirt and told him that I was a proud UW student. He politely informed me that he was a Boeing employee and  had always loved the Huskies even though he never went to UW.  He then asked me what I was studying.  When I answered that I wanted to be a teacher, he grimaced.  "Why would you want to do that?" he said.  "There isn't any money in teaching."  Already feeling sensitive to this issue, I responded by telling him that I am more concerned with shaping minds and encouraging kids  than how much money I will make.  I left the shower feeling excited for my friends new baby, but hurt that yet another person chose to reduce teaching to a paycheck.  This encounter left me wondering where people are getting this idea that our local teachers make embarrassingly small incomes?

A few days later, while I was in the check out line at Michaels Craft Store, I was stuck behind a woman who was making a large purchase.  When the cashier rang up her items and announced her total, she became alarmed.  She asked if that amount included her teacher discount of 15%.  The cashier asked her to supply some sort of id identifying herself as a teacher to receive the discount.  The woman became furious.  In her loudest voice possible she began to lecture the poor cashier about how little she is paid as a public school teacher.  She said went on and on about how important the discount was because she has to buy everything for her classroom with her own money and she makes barely enough money teaching to scrape by.  After several minutes of rummaging in her purse, she finally produced some form of id that the cashier accepted.  As she left the store still complaining about her salary and about the general lack of customer service "these days" I looked around to see looks of relief on the faces of the remaining customers.  While she clearly annoyed those around her with her loud voice and bad manners, she succeeded in creating an audience who all knew that she was a highly underpaid teacher.  She was desperate for her little discount, but what she ended up doing, was discounting her profession. 

These three encounters made me wonder what gave teaching a bad name?  Who in society is proclaiming that teaching is a penniless profession?  Is it the media, politicians, or is it teachers themselves that perpetuate these stereotypes?  We as teachers can't have it both ways.  We can't stand on one side shouting to anyone who will listen that we are poor, underpaid teachers, yet get upset when people don't take our profession seriously.  There is so much more to teaching than money, and sadly, that is what gets forgotten.  While I agree that teachers are underpaid for the amount of work they do and for the difficulty of the work, I have to admit that our local public school teachers make a respectable salary.  While clearly this is an opinion and it is subjective, I know many teachers that make a very good income and are thrilled that it is supplemented with wonderful benefits and a pension.  Better yet, it comes with the satisfaction of knowing that you were instrumental in the life of children.  And...you just can't put a price on that!

~ Christy

Bullying ~ There Are No Easy Answers!

              You know that you encountered a challenging and thought provoking topic in class when you are up past 3AM mulling over the class readings and discussion from earlier that day.  This was my experience last week.  In my Life and Learning in the Middle School class, we covered the important topic of bullying in schools.  Before that night, I had an idea about the definition of bullying, who was being bullied, and how often students were bullied.  I was wrong.  The issue is so much bigger and broader than I could have ever imagined. 

            For example, I was surprised to learn that there are so many types of bullying. I knew about physical and verbal aggression, but I had never given much thought to the direct and indirect, social and relational aspects of verbal bullying.  I naively thought that bullying typically happened in a direct manner.  What I found interesting was that starting rumors or excluding others was actually a form of indirect verbal bullying.  As a preschool teacher, I have seen bullying occur many times at our school and whenever we see it, we quickly put an end to the behavior.  Because it is definitely easier to identify bullying that is overtly aggressive physically or verbally, I imagine instances of indirect bullying are occurring unnoticed.  This reminded me of last week’s Paley reading from our  Becoming a Professional Educator course.  In the book You Can’t Say You Can’t Play, Paley shares how some children exclude other children and how hurtful this can be to the child who is being left out. (81,82) “They won’t let me play!” and “But I don’t want to play with him/her!” are unfortunately phrases that I am used to hearing as a teacher. I now understand that this exclusion is a form of bullying too, and it needs to be treated as such.

          What is frustrating about bullying in schools is that it is so prevalent and hard to control.  Many schools have policies on bullying, but what is being done to prevent this aggression from taking place? How is this being addressed in our local schools, and which methods are most and least effective?  Since bullying can begin as young as preschool age, what can I do as a current preschool teacher to combat this and to help both the bully and the child being bullied?  What I do know is that this is an urgent, nation wide problem and there are no easy answers.  While it has caused some sleeplessness, it has ignited an interest in me to delve much deeper into this topic.

 

Let's Let Kids Choose Their Own Adventure!

     When I was a child (growing up in the late seventies and early eighties) I never felt the pressure to beat my classmates at learning to read, write, and do math.  I was just a kid, having fun and exploring my exciting word and learning at my own pace.  I did struggle a bit with reading, but I enjoyed it.  My parents love to read and instead of insisting that I practice and "try harder," they took me to the local Library every other week, almost religiously.  I bloomed in the library and spent hours in the children's reading section.  I remember their brightly colored chairs that were tiny and just my size.  What I loved best was my parents flexibility with my book choices.  I always gravitated toward what felt like the "older boys book section" which held rows and rows of Choose Your Own Adventure books.  My older brother devoured them and I wanted to do the same! My parents, knowing that these books were out of my league, just smiled and redirected me toward the Dr. Seuss and the selection of Frog and Toads. 

     I always felt sad leaving the Library, because I felt that I was leaving treasures behind.  I always wanted to check out more books that I could carry, but was consistently limited to seven books.  To my parent's credit, I always left with my own Choose Your Own Adventure book tucked in between my pile of Amelia Bedelias.  These books were thrilling to me as a child, and I couldn't wait to read them.  I would read them over and over, changing my choices so that I could see what new fate I would meet.  I may not have been a great reader back then, but I sure enjoyed a good adventure! Now, my son reads these books, and when I take his little sister (who is 8 and struggles a bit with reading like I did) to our local library, I take her right over to the "Adventure section" and she leaves with an Amelia Bedelia tucked in between her piles of  Choose Your Own Adventure books!


http://naturallydowntoearth.com/

Poem "Where I'm From"

Where I'm From

By: Christy

 

I am from folded newspapers

and nosy neighbors to get the news,

I am from stained glass, it is well with my soul,

and old wooden church pews.

I am from corduroy pants, the A-Team van

and Star Wars lunch boxes, made of metal.

I am from playing outside till the street lights come on,

huffy bikes and “keep your feet on the pedal!”

 

I am from laundry dried in the sun

where “practice what you preach” is understood.

I am from daydreaming in the tall grass

and the coolest tree house in the neighborhood.

 

I am from big dreams, where anything is within reach.

I am from old Ford trucks, and golden retrievers

and the sand at Copalis Beach.

 

I am from mosquitoes and campfires,

and John Denver singing sunshine in my eyes.

I am from hiking Bowman Bay,

and sleeping late, never the first to rise.

 

I am from exploring old graveyards,

and my Father’s love of history.

I am from green tanks and glue pots,

who never tires of a good mystery

 

I am from the Civilian Conservation Corp,

hard work and bright blue eyes.

I am from perseverance, never give up,

always give it one more try.

I am from a small old suspension bridge

near Grand Coulee Dam.

I am from lazy Sunday picnics with tasty

sandwiches of pickles and ham.

 

Above all, I am from my Mother’s hospitality

and my Auntie’s parties of tea.

I am from brave Seattle pioneers,

and my sweet Grandfather’s generosity.

Picture Perfect!

Here are five images
representing why I want to become a teacher:

(No explanations needed....I am going to let these images speak for themselves.)

~ Christy

Images from: morguefile.com

 

 

 

Why Stop With One?

I love being a volunteer at Treehouse, which is a nonprofit Seattle organization that supports youth in foster care.  Treehouse helps foster children in King County by providing education support, memorable childhood experiences, and basic needs such as toiletry items and clothing.  They are truly amazing and I am so blessed to be a small part of their mission.  When I was working my shift in their warehouse yesterday, I had the pleasure of chatting with a friendly fellow volunteer while sorting and tagging clothing.  When she finished asking me questions about my new teaching program at UW, she stated "If you just reach one child.....it will all be worth it!"  Her statement instantly reminded me of some wise words one of my UW professors said this past week.  She said that we as teachers shouldn't set our sights so low.  Why should we say that we want to just "reach one child" when our goal should be to reach every one of our students? She wisely compared this statement to being a doctor.  "Would a doctor say..."If I could just save one life..?  How right she was! I responded to my fellow volunteer by telling her that I plan on becoming a teacher so that I can support and encourage each and every student that God places in my classroom.

I am reminded of a wonderful quote by Ralph Waldo Emerson:

To laugh often and much; to win the respect of intelligent people and the affection of children…

to leave the world a better place…to know even one life has breathed easier because you have lived.

This is to have succeeded.” 

 

Why stop with one life? I want to be a teacher who can look back and say, "I made a difference in the lives of many children, and YES, it was worth it!"

~ Christy