Chimaobi’s blog

Tunica River Park

nobody@vox.com(Chimaobi) — Sat, 31 Oct 2009 20:26:49 -0700

The Tunica River Park affords a host of opportunities for people who are seeking to understand the historical importance of the Mississippi River's usage from its beginnings with the Native Americans and conquistadors up through it's present-day significance as a major channel for transporting goods and individuals through the American midwest. In an ideal world my students would be able to visit the park and take advantage of the plethora of exhibits and time periods featured at the museum. However, structuring this time to maximize my students' learning must be undertaken carefully so that my students get the full effect of the academic experience of the Tunica River Park and do not simply view the excursion as pointless field trip.

Some of the before school activities that I could have my students complete are:
            1) Completing a KWL chart to document students' knowledge prior to visiting the Tunic River Park
            2) Researching the history of the Mississippi River and how it has been used in the past by disparate groups
            3) Visiting a local river (i.e. the Yazoo River) and having students read about its historic regional significance

Some of the activities I could have my students complete while they are at the Tunic River Park are:
             1) Creating a timeline to document the settling of the area around the Mississippi River
             2) Describing the work of major figures who settles or worked along the Mississippi River
             3) Formulating a schedule for other groups of students to complete a walking tour of the park on their own visit

Some of the activities I could have my students complete after their visit to the Tunica River Park include:
             1) Finishing their KWL chart by filling in five things they learned from their visit to the Tunica River Park
             2) Developing a community service project to spread the word throughout the Delta about the river's import
             3) Writing a persuasive letter to a member of Congress urging them to allot money for sharing the river's history

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"Is this what success is all about?" - Shawn Carter

nobody@vox.com(Chimaobi) — Sat, 31 Oct 2009 11:16:37 -0700

When teaching in the districts that MTC places us in, tangible success is often hard to come by. Failure seems to be what is constantly in our face as we think of all the things that our students are doing besides learning, all the places that our students will likely end up besides college, and all the classroom management issues we face that make us want to roll over and call out sick. Every. Single. Day. Still, it's in the little things that teachers anywhere but especially in "critical needs" districts must focus on to maintain drive and focus and continue doing what too many others have deemed highly improbable or flatly impossible for centuries: educating poor Blacks.

In many of these districts MTC teachers teach in standardized tests are seen as foreboding signs of eminent doom and embarrassment. In these places, teaching "to the test" is often resorted to as the means through which educational salvation is reached. Teaching to the test is one thing but when you're in a school environment where, from day one, what's communicated to teachers is that teaching to the test is the ONLY thing, well then you're at KIPP. On some level this is understandable as testing determines so much at charter schools like KIPP from our enrollment to our ability to woo private funders to the very renewal of our charter with the state of Arkansas. However, I cannot help but shake my philosophical belief that I have more important life skills to teach my students than finding equivalent fractions and answering multiple choice items using process of elimination.

In any event, our big state test in Arkansas is called the ACTAAP or the Benchmark Exam. KIPP Delta in Helena has some of the highest test scores in the state at the middle school and high school levels. Last year, 94% of our 7th graders at KIPP Delta scored proficient or advanced on the mathematics Benchmark Exam compared to 66% of 7th graders statewide and only 33% of students in Helena-West Helena's regular public school system. What makes this even more remarkable to many is that our school is 99% Black, 99% free/reduced lunch, and in the heart of dilapidated downtown Helena close by local housing projects, gang territory, drugs, and prostitution. Last year's 7th grade math teacher who got these results was so successful that she has been given the green light to found her own school which will be opening in Blytheville, Arkansas in the fall of 2010 as a new KIPP middle school. She's only a year older than me. The venerable 7th grade math slot was thus available when I applied to KIPP this past spring and who teaches this course with the districtwide spotlight on it now?: me. The Black, hood guy from Harvard with two years of (social studies) teaching experience who's a few credits away from a master's degree in education.

Anyway, to my success story. In preparation for the end-of-the-year Benchmark Exam we take practice Benchmark Exams every month. We chart the progress of our students and use the practice Benchmark Exams to target particular students and skills for remediation and re-teaching. Results are scrutinized for hours on end at the individual, school, and district levels. It is highly nerve-wrecking to see where your students are at month-by-month and to know that the results will be known almost immediately by your peers and superiors and reflect your quality as a teacher. Lovely. In any event, the first practice Benchmark Exam we took was in late September. We took a second one two weeks ago in late October and although the success or failure of my students on the September exam could largely be attributed to what my students came into 7th grade knowing, my school director was clear in communicating that the October exam's results would be all my own.

Much to my surprise and the surprise of many a colleague, I'm sure, not only did my students' scores increase from the first to the second practice Benchmark Exam but these were the only scores that increased in any grade level, in any subject area at the entire school. Fifth, sixth, and eighth grade math scores went down. Fifth, sixth, seventh, and eighth grade literacy scores went down. Fifth, sixth, seventh, and eight grade reading scores went down. Fifth and seventh grade science scores went down (we don't do sixth and eighth grade science testing). ONLY 7TH GRADE MATH SCORES WENT UP!!! I was elated when I saw the numbers displayed on the dry erase board at our faculty meeting the night we stayed at school until 10 p.m. grading exams and inputting results on our district network for more scrutiny. When looking at the individual students and their performances from the first to the second practice Benchmark Exam, I also noticed that most of the students whose scores increased were taught by me and not by the more experienced and better respected 8th grade math teacher who takes 15 of my 7th graders into his algebra class each day.

That's wassup. Right?

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"I'm from the hood, stupid, what types of facts are those?" - Shawn Carter

nobody@vox.com(Chimaobi) — Sat, 26 Sep 2009 21:11:12 -0700

To be honest, after a second perusal of Ruby Payne's A Framework for Understanding Poverty I'm not sure how I feel about it. Two years ago when I first blogged about the book I had this to say. Oh, the days when I was a fiery leftist blogger.... I still feel Payne overly generalizes a very large, exploited population whose absent voice in a book such as this speaks volumes. I still feel it is inherently absurd to think you can understand poverty, the lifestyles of many people in poverty, or other such deeply complex and malleable concepts by reading a book. I still feel that the myriad holes in Payne's argument makes it as useful as a two-dollar bill in the vending machines on the first floor of Guyton. However, I do hear more of what Payne was trying to get across after having taught for two years in one of the poorest places in the nation.

Payne rubs me the wrong way on p. 38 with her ridiculous self-assessment that she encourages readers to take to see if they could survive in poverty. Things such as knowing which churches or sides of town have the best rummage sales and living without electricity or a phone are more commonplace for our homeless population--not those in poverty. In actuality, many people in poverty try to live outside of their means through extrinsic markers of financial freedom such as name-brand clothing and sneakers or expensive and multi-faceted cell phones. What's more, Payne's list on p. 167 of the causes of poverty should have placed more emphasis on the exploitation and political/ economic structures that keep people in poverty where they are. Surely, personal choices play a part in keeping people impoverished but the personal choices one views themselves as having are largely dictated by those superstructures that may prevent an individual from seeing themselves as even having choices given the circumstances that they daily face.

I shall give credit where credit is due, however. I feel that some of the practices that Payne describes are right on the money. An example of this is the roundabout storytelling of many people in poverty. The storytelling does not go start-middle-end. It more often goes end, preceding detail, preceding detail, preceding detail, starting point. Those who have encountered this personally will know what I mean. Additionally, I think that Payne is spot on when she says that school is the only place where young people in poverty can learn to become middle class (notwithstanding television and Internet exposure though, since those are not places). Students in Mississippi generally see teachers as individuals who have "made it"--to the middle class, of course. We have salaries. We drive nice, new cars (often). We live on the good side of town. We have lots of business casual and dressy clothing. We speak properly and have college degrees. Students who seek similar lives will look to us for cues on achieving their goals. The tougher question, however, is whether or not middle class is anything to aspire to be at all.

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Research-Based Best Practice Article

nobody@vox.com(Chimaobi) — Sat, 26 Sep 2009 20:28:54 -0700

The research article that I read was "The 'Building Tasks' of Critical History: Structuring Social Studies for Social Justice" by Wayne Au. It was published in Social Studies Research and Practice in July of this year. In the article, Au looks at two case study lesson plans by social studies teachers who actively seek to raise the consciousness of their students around social justice issues. The author utilizes discourse analysis where people "use language to operationalize certain 'building tasks' in order to express meaning, ideology, values, and other aspects of our identities in a given situation." Au concluded that these lesson plans were quality classroom pedagogical devices due to their service as vehicles for students to critically question social relations historically and in the present-day context. In doing so, he dismissed the claims of some that lesson plans stifle the true learning process by assuming that the planning and executing instruction occurs in some sort of linear fashion to a "predetermined endpoint."

I am interested in exploring social justice issues and concepts with my students for a number of reasons, some of which Au suggests research finds develops a sense of students' social awareness and prompts students to become more deeply involved in social action. In addition to my personal, ultimate educational goal of teaching Black American students Africana history in order to help erode deep, long-instilled notions of racial inferiority and boost Black students' individual and group self-perception, a major goal of mine is to inspire my students to become more active in the affairs of their community, government, and local institutions. By developing social studies lesson plans that include social justice issues and concepts on a regular basis, my hope is that students become increasingly interested in these issues to the extent that (a) they look forward to and eagerly anticipate more lessons on the topics or (b) they take personal initiative in addressing some of the social justice issues raised in class in their own communities of their own volition. Doing this as a math teacher may prove somewhat difficult but this challenge is something I look forward to undertaking throughout this school year.

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Defining Social Studies

nobody@vox.com(Chimaobi) — Sat, 05 Sep 2009 21:04:20 -0700

Social studies is the academic revelaing of people and their interactions near and far, throughout time and space, from minute households to expansive continents. It encompasses a wide range of disciplines including psychology, sociology, history, and geography to name but a few. Social studies is a primary means of cultural diffusion and is perhaps the most controversial of any major academic subject areas in the U.S. or abroad today. Its ability to profoundly influence not only individuals and their perceptions of self and other but groups' perceptions as well makes it invaluable to nations, academic institutions, corporations, and other large bodies in their constant pursuit of training and re-training citizens for their specific purposes.

Very often, social studies courses from the elementary to the secondary levels of education are thought of simply as history courses. This is understandable, to an extent, as the history of economics or political science or anthropology can reflect the interactions of people and groups of people both over time and at specific moments in time. However, this intransigent understanding of social studies can be highly misleading to individuals who would like to look at human interactions over time through the lens of the distribution of goods and services or the mental processes and permutations that influence human action every minute of each day. Thus, a broader definition of social studies allows us to pursue these other angles of studying people and their interactions how individuals best see fit for themselves.

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My mom, brothers, and big sis (and me) the morning of her wedding!!!

nobody@vox.com(Chimaobi) — Fri, 07 Aug 2009 22:40:30 -0700

Coso 4 Life

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"Don't wanna close my eyes, don't wanna fall asleep 'cause I'd miss you, baby...."

nobody@vox.com(Chimaobi) — Fri, 24 Jul 2009 16:21:51 -0700

So here I sit in my kitchen in Belzoni on my last day of official residence in Mississippi.

Last Day Sad Face

Feelings, reflections, and stray thoughts abound. I'm excited about moving to my new town and school though nervous about the level of commitment that my new position entails. I am very sad to be leaving 99% of my students who I truly care for and worry about as well as many of my colleagues who are remaining here and continuing to work for those wonderful young people's betterment in a very raw and sometimes hopeless environment. I reflect on my beginnings in the state, my trials and tribulations with housing, and what I hope to accomplish with my new group of students. And to top all of this off random thoughts about my plans for after this upcoming school year, the importance (or lack thereof) of the work I'm doing, and more jump into my mind like little girls playing double dutch on a sidewalk.

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"Don't wanna close my eyes, don't wanna fall asleep 'cause I'd miss you, baby...."

nobody@vox.com(Chimaobi) — Fri, 24 Jul 2009 16:21:48 -0700

So here I sit in my kitchen in Belzoni on my last day of official residence in Mississippi.

Last Day Sad Face

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Positive Press for Trenton Courtesy of...MY LITTLE BROTHER!!!

nobody@vox.com(Chimaobi) — Sun, 07 Jun 2009 08:57:33 -0700

Our main local newspaper here in Trenton, the Trenton Times, published a piece on my little brother revolving around the fact that this year he was the only Trentonian to graduate from The Lawrenceville School located in a "nicer" part of our county. Defying stereotypes. Go get 'em, little bro.

Shoutout to my momma too.

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"If you scared, get a dog!" - Earl Simmons

nobody@vox.com(Chimaobi) — Sat, 06 Jun 2009 10:38:42 -0700

A couple days ago a man who works for the Mercer County government was stabbed multiple times in the parking lot across the street from the Mercer County Administrative Building. He'll survive. He's already out of the hospital, actually. The building, unlike most city, county, state, and federal government buildings, is not located in downtown Trenton. It's located around the corner from my house. I can actually see it from my doorway. Take a look:

Mercer County Administrative Building as Seen From my Doorway

Anywho, immediately following the stabbing county officials and law enforcement agents stepped up security in the area (the parking lot is already under surveillance from a private security firm). When I drove by yesterday on my way to get some medicine for my throat I noticed a Mercer County Sheriff's SUV parked right in front of the parking lot across from the main entrance to the county administrative building. That may deter folk. May not. People have definitely been stabbed and shot to death in front of or across the street from police headquarters, precincts, city hall, etc. in the past few years.

This article from today's Trenton Times about a hastily assembled meeting organized by county officials for county workers was bothering for me as a lifelong Trentonian (don't count college and my time in the south) and neighborhood resident. A few quotes:

"One employee said he'd worked for the county for more than 20 years and

never heard of any problems at the lot, making the attack all the more surprising.

County officials said they have searched their records and not found any record

of violent crime at the site, though in the past two days a few employees have

reported past incidents officials had not known about."

This neighborhood of South Trenton is def not the most violent part of Trenton, in my opinion. Most Trentonians would concur. Still there was a shooting last week just outside a nightclub down the street from the Mercer County Administrative Building. Also, as you go deeper into South Trenton coming towards my house the neighborhood generally gets progressively poorer and more dangerous. I continue:

"I know two people who work with me who have had something said to them (by

strangers in the lot), as have I," one woman told Sheriff Kevin Larkin during the

information session. "After 5 p.m., it's another world."

Another world? Really? Mind you, at 5 p.m. for much of the year it's not even dark yet. Even if it was I could never categorize it as "another world." Perhaps another world from the more idyllic suburbs many government workers who work in Trenton live in. Perhaps. Also, note the fact that both the county executive (essentially the mayor of this county which includes Trenton, Princeton [yes, where the University is], and office buildings or headquarters for various major firms ranging from Merrill Lynch to Bristol Myers-Squibb to Johnson & Johnson) and the county sheriff. The big dogs. One more:

"One employee asked whether the county offices could be relocated outside of

Trenton. Larkin said he believed they could not because Trenton is the county seat."

Very disappointing that that proposal is even part of the conversation. Very. Places with comparatively high levels of concentrated poverty and low-quality educational systems where violence is more culturally accepted as inevitable usually are...more violent. Want to fix it? Fix Trenton Public Schools. Hire more Trentonians for jobs in our biggest employment sector: government work. Respond intelligently, creatively, and effectively to crime in Trenton. Take a look at what the county government's response to this lone incident included:

* Placing a Mercer County sheriff vehicle in front of the parking lot.

* Patching up holes in a fence of the parking lot making it harder to access.

* Clearing brush along the back of the lot making it harder for intruders to get in or "lie in wait."

* Placement of NEW, DIGITAL CAMEREAS in the lot to replace older cameras that produced "grainy

images."

* Closure of a back entrance and pedestrian walkway to discourage pedestrians (note: mostly poor and

working class Trentonians of color) from walking through the lot.

* Potentially monitoring the use of the back entrance so people who aren't supposed to be in the lot

aren't in the lot.

* Issuance of pamphlets on personal safety to government employees.

* Issuance of HIGH-PITCHED MOBILE ALARM DEVICES to government employees.

* Reviewing conditions around the administrative building and addressing employee needs in an

adjacent building.

* Cleaning up the county-owned Millyard Park behind the administrative building (apparently, currently

government employees are scared to eat lunch in the tiny park because it has benches and a

fountain...some locals supposedly use the area as an "OUTDOOR SHOWER AND BATHROOM.")

* Assigning personnel from the sheriff's department and/or park rangers to monitor the park and having

more concerts in the park to encourage its "proper use."

Whew...did you get all that? Wonder what the response to the shooting down the street was? Oh right. NOTHING AT ALL.

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