What High School Teachers Want Parents to Know, and Other Miscellany
My sister Linda sent me a copy of this article: "What High School Teachers Want Parents to Know." I recommend it. The writer is Alice Wellborn (Now there's a last name to be coveted.), who is a school psychologist and the author of a new book, No More Parents Left Behind. Not all the parents I know need Wellborn's advice, but parents probably should not automatically assume that only other parents need it. At the bottom of the article are links to articles for parents of students in other age groups.
If anyone knows of a book that parents wish teachers would read--something like No More Teachers Left Behind--be sure to list it in the comments.
Wellborn emphasizes that high school teachers will practice tough love and hold students accountable. This includes allowing students to fail rather than rushing in to prevent life lessons from taking effect. Wellborn's favorite high school teacher says "Let kids screw it up, get advice from parents and teachers, and try again. Don't swoop in and fix everything." She also identifies the high school years as being the last best chance for students to take realistic stock of their strengths and weaknesses, and to make wise career and lifestyle plans accordingly. She says you can't really be anything you want to be, and people who say you can are lying.
I don't blame parents for not always knowing when helping is actually hindering, because I don't always know either. I'm sure, however, that every student should be expected to put forth reasonable effort to accomplish reasonable goals, and failure, though unpleasant, is usually not fatal.
I don't always know either when it's better to warn a student away from tackling something that seems beyond their capability, or when encouragement and extra help might make accomplishment possible. I do know that I love it when students and parents ask for help in figuring out the right answer to such puzzles.
Parents should not capitulate to a persuasive student who also might have a streak of laziness. Students are quite capable of convincing their parents that a certain course would be "too much work" and sometimes parents allow their student's judgement to stand, without further consultation with teachers, or any effort to challenge the student to rise to the occasion and put forth extra effort to accomplish what is needed.
If a student seems inordinately preoccupied with finishing school fast or finishing without too much work--that's a signal for all responsible adults to beware and be brave. What I see happen more often than I would like is for students and parents to assume that low-credit courses are low-value courses. That seems wrong to me on many levels.
A sole emphasis on piling up academic credit in high school course selection is misplaced, especially for students who are unlikely to go to school beyond high school. While it is also true that non-academic skills can be acquired more readily outside of school than academic ones, for a lot of students, most of life beyond high school will be ordinary home and family life, and work. High school may be the last best chance to gain a systematic, broad, and thoughtful perspective on how to be most effective and find the most pleasure in those ordinary roles. Parental instruction and experience is valuable, but any student who has spent most of their time in school away from home till approximately age 18 has already missed many parental instruction opportunities--partly because they were absent from home during the majority of the time, occupied with homework at home, or gone from home in other activities.
What about taking classes elsewhere while enrolled in high school? I'm all for it, if it offers an opportunity we are not providing at school, and if it doesn't interfere with what we need from our students. I'm very wary, however, of taking a college comp class, for example, instead of taking the high school comp class we offer. For a student who is extraordinarily gifted or skilled in writing, this may make some sense. For most students, however, the high-school comp class experience is not only much more manageable, but is actually a necessary prerequisite for being successful in a college class. Passing the college class may be possible without it, but doing well in it will almost certainly be impossible, absent the aforementioned extraordinary gifts or skills. Here's another place where I would love for parents to ask teachers for advice instead of assuming that the student has a good feel for what should happen.
I'd like to see our classes at school be more inclusive of people who want training in a certain area of study, but are beyond high school age. Some adult enrollment in high school classes has happened in the past, but much more would be possible, from my perspective. Sherilyn took Bible, Beverly and Carol took typing, Tonya took speech, and Martha took Spanish in my memory. Limited classroom space might be an issue sometimes, but usually not. I'm not sure if it's written policy, but, in general, specific high school classes are always open to students who are enrolled in a high school course of study somewhere--not to high school age people who are not enrolled in school at all elsewhere.
I see the value in this, in that it can be tempting to skim the rich cream off the top of our course offerings, without also consuming the muscle-building "milk" of other course offerings. Another concern is the nuisance of having students who come in for a certain class and then hang around a long time to play or socialize, without the limitations placed on enrolled students. This can be distracting for those who need to make good use of their study time. Nevertheless, I'm glad exceptions to the policy are sometimes possible. As far as I know, these problems are never a concern for adults who take a specific class at the high school.
*********************
One aspect of our lives these past weeks will serve to illustrate my conviction that low-credit classes can be high-value classes. Hiromi has been struggling to get our riding mower in shape again, after it quit working soon after we moved here and had most of three acres to mow. This sequence of events happened repeatedly: First, he figured out what was wrong, then ordered a part to fix it, then installed the part, and discovered another problem. Then he called Grant. Three times Grant came to the rescue, and promptly spotted the problem or did a quick fix.
Somewhere along the line Hiromi asked, "Who taught Grant's small engines class [at Pilgrim High]?"
"I'm sure it was Harry," I answered. "Also, LaVerne was the small engines project leader when he took it in 4H."
Cue here a pause to give thanks for those teachers and those classes and that one well-trained student. A very present help in trouble.
*********************
Having two fewer students this year at the high school, compared to last year, enables us to come in under the wire without having to provide bottled water or treated well water for the students. That's a huge relief. This is one place where government regulation seems intrusive.
*********************
School starts on Thursday of this week. Whenever people ask me if I'm ready, I say "No, but I will be by Thursday." That's how it is. I do not dread the start of school, but I still have lots of things to finish up at home, and, especially this summer, school preparations have had to wait their turn. Most of the preparing for school I've done has happened at home.
One feature of the school year that will require some concerted effort is that my classes happen as early in the day as possible--right after Bible/chapel. That will necessitate earlier arrival at school than is my usual custom. If I don't leave before the school day is over, or very early in the evening, I will end up being there more than is expected of a 3/4 time teacher. It's one of the scheduling pains of trying to run multiple language classes this year, as well as accommodating the wishes of other part time teachers.
*********************
A column by Jim Schinstock in last Wednesday's Hutchinson News told about the final months of Glen Nisly's life. He died at the age of 21, in 1975. He was almost two years younger than I, and was two days older than my sister Carol, and in her class at school. You can read the column here. I had read the column, not having any idea that I knew the philosophy class student who Mr. Schinstock was talking about. His last name was not given in the column.
Mr. Schinstock has written some good columns, and no doubt taught some good classes at Hutchinson Community College (HCC). I appreciate his regular contributions as a community columnist.
*********************
My sister Dorcas is a good Words with Friends player, at least if beating me makes her a good player. Let's just say I'm ready to beat her again for a change.
She's quite patient, willingly playing the game the way I want to play it. It's just like everyone else plays it, with the exception that all words used must be in the abridged online Merriam-Webster dictionary and not be capitalized or be an abbreviation or be listed as slang. Good English words only. As you know if you play Words with Friends and use any word the game accepts, you end up randomly trying all sorts of combinations to see if one of them will be acceptable. I don't like how this makes it a game of chance.
*********************
My friend Marian is feeling better since she's getting IV nutrition. She called me one day last week and I was greatly encouraged to hear how hearty she sounded. I'm really happy that this is working out.
Recently I had read an article written by a doctor who believes that IV nutrition should be routinely offered to cancer patients. He recommends a particular nutritional regimen. Because my dad is wishing to regain some of the weight he lost during the past year, and because I'm taking my turn to cook for their household, I was looking for ideas on how to maximize nutrition for people like him. When I found the article on nutritional IVs, I forwarded it to my family, and then, as an afterthought, to Susanna, who is Marian's sister-in-law, and who often accompanies her to Tulsa, where Marian is being treated. Susanna later asked someone there about the possibility of IVs, and a listener who is also a medical professional commended her for being a good advocate for Marian. It was promptly arranged and is also being administered here since she returned home. That kind of responsiveness to patient needs is truly what sets apart a stellar treatment approach from a less responsive or less inclusive approach.
It was very hard to see Marian being infused with "poisons" and almost completely unable to take in good nutrition. Killing the bad stuff is important, but nourishing, defending, and maintaining the good stuff happens mostly through good nutrition if it happens at all, and is certainly necessary also for recovery.
My dad is able to eat well and does not need nutritional IVs. I'm mentally filing away the information, however, in case it could later benefit him or anyone else I love.
*******************
Daniel (Danny) Yoder and Kathy Miller are engaged. Their parents are Joe and Twila Yoder and John and Frieda Miller. They're planning a November 9 wedding and will be moving into the home vacated by Lyle and Maria Stutzman.
*******************
My cousin Marvin Beachy and his family have recently returned from having spent most of the past two decades in Ethiopia in an effort to translate the Bible into the Diizi language. Their oldest son is 18 now, and will be starting school at EBI this fall. Marvin will continue to do some translation work from this distance.
The portions of Scripture that are now complete and published are Genesis 1-11, Gospel of Mark, and Epistle of James. I loved hearing from Suzanne some of the back story for how these came to be the first Scriptures made available. Most of the rest of the Bible is in some stage of translation and preparation.
I also liked hearing how the Latin script was chosen instead of the Amharic script. Amharic is one of the official languages of Ethiopia, and the Latin script is very similar to what is used in English. The choice was made by a group of around 200 Diizi people who gathered and discussed the matter for two days. At the end of that time they made the decision.
Included in Marvin's presentation were some high-drama tales. One of them was about a lioness, which Marvin took a picture of through the window glass of the vehicle he was riding in. This became a clear necessity after he had first lowered the window and aimed the camera, and then the female lion made a threatening approach. Later, they heard that in the same area a lioness (probably the same one) had once leaped to the top of a passenger bus and stayed there for about a half hour while the driver waited to move on. If he had not done so, and the lion had stayed, she might have disembarked in an area where people routinely walk along the road. That would likely have turned out very badly, as demonstrated by the other story.
In that incident, a truck driver with a helper was passing through the "lion" area when he felt that there might be a problem with his load having shifted, so the helper got out to check. He was attacked by a lion which dragged him into the jungle along the road. The driver had no weapon, and could not think of any way to save his helper without also being killed. The helper's body was found later.
In another story, Marvin told of a doctor in one of the pictures of the presentation. He was a passenger on a plane when it was hijacked and subsequently forced to crash land in the ocean on the West Africa coast after it ran out of fuel. The doctor and the two pilots were among the 50 who survived the crash. The three hijackers perished, along with scores of other passengers. The doctor seriously rethought his direction in life after that event and would have been willing to give up his medical practice to take up preaching. Others, however, advised him to continue as a doctor, and work also in Christian ministries as he has opportunity. I can't remember exactly the role he is playing in the work of Bible translation, but somehow his path has crossed Marvin's in translation work. The story of the hijacked aircraft appeared in the Reader's Digest, perhaps in about 1995. Marvin had a copy on display at his presentation, and I regretted not being able to take time to read the whole story.
*******************
Marvin and Suzanne's only daughter strongly resembles my niece Diana. On this visit to Kansas, they finally got to meet each other. Suzanne and Rhoda are presumably not related, but Marvin and Myron being double first cousins no doubt makes a resemblance more likely than otherwise.
If anyone knows of a book that parents wish teachers would read--something like No More Teachers Left Behind--be sure to list it in the comments.
Wellborn emphasizes that high school teachers will practice tough love and hold students accountable. This includes allowing students to fail rather than rushing in to prevent life lessons from taking effect. Wellborn's favorite high school teacher says "Let kids screw it up, get advice from parents and teachers, and try again. Don't swoop in and fix everything." She also identifies the high school years as being the last best chance for students to take realistic stock of their strengths and weaknesses, and to make wise career and lifestyle plans accordingly. She says you can't really be anything you want to be, and people who say you can are lying.
I don't blame parents for not always knowing when helping is actually hindering, because I don't always know either. I'm sure, however, that every student should be expected to put forth reasonable effort to accomplish reasonable goals, and failure, though unpleasant, is usually not fatal.
I don't always know either when it's better to warn a student away from tackling something that seems beyond their capability, or when encouragement and extra help might make accomplishment possible. I do know that I love it when students and parents ask for help in figuring out the right answer to such puzzles.
Parents should not capitulate to a persuasive student who also might have a streak of laziness. Students are quite capable of convincing their parents that a certain course would be "too much work" and sometimes parents allow their student's judgement to stand, without further consultation with teachers, or any effort to challenge the student to rise to the occasion and put forth extra effort to accomplish what is needed.
If a student seems inordinately preoccupied with finishing school fast or finishing without too much work--that's a signal for all responsible adults to beware and be brave. What I see happen more often than I would like is for students and parents to assume that low-credit courses are low-value courses. That seems wrong to me on many levels.
A sole emphasis on piling up academic credit in high school course selection is misplaced, especially for students who are unlikely to go to school beyond high school. While it is also true that non-academic skills can be acquired more readily outside of school than academic ones, for a lot of students, most of life beyond high school will be ordinary home and family life, and work. High school may be the last best chance to gain a systematic, broad, and thoughtful perspective on how to be most effective and find the most pleasure in those ordinary roles. Parental instruction and experience is valuable, but any student who has spent most of their time in school away from home till approximately age 18 has already missed many parental instruction opportunities--partly because they were absent from home during the majority of the time, occupied with homework at home, or gone from home in other activities.
What about taking classes elsewhere while enrolled in high school? I'm all for it, if it offers an opportunity we are not providing at school, and if it doesn't interfere with what we need from our students. I'm very wary, however, of taking a college comp class, for example, instead of taking the high school comp class we offer. For a student who is extraordinarily gifted or skilled in writing, this may make some sense. For most students, however, the high-school comp class experience is not only much more manageable, but is actually a necessary prerequisite for being successful in a college class. Passing the college class may be possible without it, but doing well in it will almost certainly be impossible, absent the aforementioned extraordinary gifts or skills. Here's another place where I would love for parents to ask teachers for advice instead of assuming that the student has a good feel for what should happen.
I'd like to see our classes at school be more inclusive of people who want training in a certain area of study, but are beyond high school age. Some adult enrollment in high school classes has happened in the past, but much more would be possible, from my perspective. Sherilyn took Bible, Beverly and Carol took typing, Tonya took speech, and Martha took Spanish in my memory. Limited classroom space might be an issue sometimes, but usually not. I'm not sure if it's written policy, but, in general, specific high school classes are always open to students who are enrolled in a high school course of study somewhere--not to high school age people who are not enrolled in school at all elsewhere.
I see the value in this, in that it can be tempting to skim the rich cream off the top of our course offerings, without also consuming the muscle-building "milk" of other course offerings. Another concern is the nuisance of having students who come in for a certain class and then hang around a long time to play or socialize, without the limitations placed on enrolled students. This can be distracting for those who need to make good use of their study time. Nevertheless, I'm glad exceptions to the policy are sometimes possible. As far as I know, these problems are never a concern for adults who take a specific class at the high school.
*********************
One aspect of our lives these past weeks will serve to illustrate my conviction that low-credit classes can be high-value classes. Hiromi has been struggling to get our riding mower in shape again, after it quit working soon after we moved here and had most of three acres to mow. This sequence of events happened repeatedly: First, he figured out what was wrong, then ordered a part to fix it, then installed the part, and discovered another problem. Then he called Grant. Three times Grant came to the rescue, and promptly spotted the problem or did a quick fix.
Somewhere along the line Hiromi asked, "Who taught Grant's small engines class [at Pilgrim High]?"
"I'm sure it was Harry," I answered. "Also, LaVerne was the small engines project leader when he took it in 4H."
Cue here a pause to give thanks for those teachers and those classes and that one well-trained student. A very present help in trouble.
*********************
Having two fewer students this year at the high school, compared to last year, enables us to come in under the wire without having to provide bottled water or treated well water for the students. That's a huge relief. This is one place where government regulation seems intrusive.
*********************
School starts on Thursday of this week. Whenever people ask me if I'm ready, I say "No, but I will be by Thursday." That's how it is. I do not dread the start of school, but I still have lots of things to finish up at home, and, especially this summer, school preparations have had to wait their turn. Most of the preparing for school I've done has happened at home.
One feature of the school year that will require some concerted effort is that my classes happen as early in the day as possible--right after Bible/chapel. That will necessitate earlier arrival at school than is my usual custom. If I don't leave before the school day is over, or very early in the evening, I will end up being there more than is expected of a 3/4 time teacher. It's one of the scheduling pains of trying to run multiple language classes this year, as well as accommodating the wishes of other part time teachers.
*********************
A column by Jim Schinstock in last Wednesday's Hutchinson News told about the final months of Glen Nisly's life. He died at the age of 21, in 1975. He was almost two years younger than I, and was two days older than my sister Carol, and in her class at school. You can read the column here. I had read the column, not having any idea that I knew the philosophy class student who Mr. Schinstock was talking about. His last name was not given in the column.
Mr. Schinstock has written some good columns, and no doubt taught some good classes at Hutchinson Community College (HCC). I appreciate his regular contributions as a community columnist.
*********************
My sister Dorcas is a good Words with Friends player, at least if beating me makes her a good player. Let's just say I'm ready to beat her again for a change.
She's quite patient, willingly playing the game the way I want to play it. It's just like everyone else plays it, with the exception that all words used must be in the abridged online Merriam-Webster dictionary and not be capitalized or be an abbreviation or be listed as slang. Good English words only. As you know if you play Words with Friends and use any word the game accepts, you end up randomly trying all sorts of combinations to see if one of them will be acceptable. I don't like how this makes it a game of chance.
*********************
My friend Marian is feeling better since she's getting IV nutrition. She called me one day last week and I was greatly encouraged to hear how hearty she sounded. I'm really happy that this is working out.
Recently I had read an article written by a doctor who believes that IV nutrition should be routinely offered to cancer patients. He recommends a particular nutritional regimen. Because my dad is wishing to regain some of the weight he lost during the past year, and because I'm taking my turn to cook for their household, I was looking for ideas on how to maximize nutrition for people like him. When I found the article on nutritional IVs, I forwarded it to my family, and then, as an afterthought, to Susanna, who is Marian's sister-in-law, and who often accompanies her to Tulsa, where Marian is being treated. Susanna later asked someone there about the possibility of IVs, and a listener who is also a medical professional commended her for being a good advocate for Marian. It was promptly arranged and is also being administered here since she returned home. That kind of responsiveness to patient needs is truly what sets apart a stellar treatment approach from a less responsive or less inclusive approach.
It was very hard to see Marian being infused with "poisons" and almost completely unable to take in good nutrition. Killing the bad stuff is important, but nourishing, defending, and maintaining the good stuff happens mostly through good nutrition if it happens at all, and is certainly necessary also for recovery.
My dad is able to eat well and does not need nutritional IVs. I'm mentally filing away the information, however, in case it could later benefit him or anyone else I love.
*******************
Daniel (Danny) Yoder and Kathy Miller are engaged. Their parents are Joe and Twila Yoder and John and Frieda Miller. They're planning a November 9 wedding and will be moving into the home vacated by Lyle and Maria Stutzman.
*******************
My cousin Marvin Beachy and his family have recently returned from having spent most of the past two decades in Ethiopia in an effort to translate the Bible into the Diizi language. Their oldest son is 18 now, and will be starting school at EBI this fall. Marvin will continue to do some translation work from this distance.
The portions of Scripture that are now complete and published are Genesis 1-11, Gospel of Mark, and Epistle of James. I loved hearing from Suzanne some of the back story for how these came to be the first Scriptures made available. Most of the rest of the Bible is in some stage of translation and preparation.
I also liked hearing how the Latin script was chosen instead of the Amharic script. Amharic is one of the official languages of Ethiopia, and the Latin script is very similar to what is used in English. The choice was made by a group of around 200 Diizi people who gathered and discussed the matter for two days. At the end of that time they made the decision.
Included in Marvin's presentation were some high-drama tales. One of them was about a lioness, which Marvin took a picture of through the window glass of the vehicle he was riding in. This became a clear necessity after he had first lowered the window and aimed the camera, and then the female lion made a threatening approach. Later, they heard that in the same area a lioness (probably the same one) had once leaped to the top of a passenger bus and stayed there for about a half hour while the driver waited to move on. If he had not done so, and the lion had stayed, she might have disembarked in an area where people routinely walk along the road. That would likely have turned out very badly, as demonstrated by the other story.
In that incident, a truck driver with a helper was passing through the "lion" area when he felt that there might be a problem with his load having shifted, so the helper got out to check. He was attacked by a lion which dragged him into the jungle along the road. The driver had no weapon, and could not think of any way to save his helper without also being killed. The helper's body was found later.
In another story, Marvin told of a doctor in one of the pictures of the presentation. He was a passenger on a plane when it was hijacked and subsequently forced to crash land in the ocean on the West Africa coast after it ran out of fuel. The doctor and the two pilots were among the 50 who survived the crash. The three hijackers perished, along with scores of other passengers. The doctor seriously rethought his direction in life after that event and would have been willing to give up his medical practice to take up preaching. Others, however, advised him to continue as a doctor, and work also in Christian ministries as he has opportunity. I can't remember exactly the role he is playing in the work of Bible translation, but somehow his path has crossed Marvin's in translation work. The story of the hijacked aircraft appeared in the Reader's Digest, perhaps in about 1995. Marvin had a copy on display at his presentation, and I regretted not being able to take time to read the whole story.
*******************
Marvin and Suzanne's only daughter strongly resembles my niece Diana. On this visit to Kansas, they finally got to meet each other. Suzanne and Rhoda are presumably not related, but Marvin and Myron being double first cousins no doubt makes a resemblance more likely than otherwise.
posted by Mrs. I (Miriam Iwashige) at
9:25 PM
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