Academic Entitlement

The following article was forwarded to me by a friend and fellow professor at Montclair State University where we teach as adjuncts in the graduate educational leadership program.  It struck a nerve as it hit at the heart of many discussions and actual experiences we have had over the past five years teaching more than twenty classes.  The premise behind the argument is 'Mastery of the Content vs. Entitlement'.  Gone are the days of pure measurement based on learned and displayed knowledge; at least without a fight through protest that often leads to a hearing regardless of the validity.  Often I feel college has become nothing more than an investment in time and money to receive credentials and as long as you invest both, you will succeed. 

I am happy to say this is not the case in our classes as we have both held the line against such situations and will continue to do so to ensure the integrity of the program, university and the goal of real learning. 

To insulate from such baseless claims, anyone in the profession looking to take on an adjunct opportunity should begin by structuring their class around a detailed syllabus and rubric along with a weighted system to account for attendance.  Far too often more emphasis is given to the fact that someone showed up for class instead of how they actually performed as a result of their attendance and attention to detailed instruction and participation in class discussions. 

Examples of syllabi's and rubrics can be easily found on the Internet or shared by instructors.

Are You Enabling 'Academic Entitlement' in Students?
By

Sarah D. Sparks on May 27, 2012 1:31 PM

Chicago

Does this scenario sound familiar? After test results come out, a student approaches the teacher after class, arguing, "I come to class every day; I deserve at least a B!"

Students' sense of academic entitlement can reduce their effort in class and lead to irritating (or even aggressive) confrontations with teachers, according to research by Tracey E. Zinn, a psychology associate professor at James Madison University in Harrisonburg, Va. Moreover, teachers may be unintentionally feeding that sense of entitlement, she said at the Association for Psychological Science

conference here this weekend.

Workshop Topic: “Successful Navigation of the ROD Grant Process from Project Submission to

NJASBO Annual Workshop - June 5 - 8, 2012
Borgota - Atlantic City, NJ
{This is one of many power workshop opportunities - see NJASBO website provided on my tabs for more info on the conference}

Workshop Schedule:   Thursday June 7, 2012

Clinic 19 - 1:45pm – 2:45pm
Clinic 23 – 3:00pm- 4:00pm

Michael Wozny, AIA CID, LEED AP- Mr. Wozny is a Senior Project Manager and Director of all K-12 Educational Projects at EI Associates, a full service Architectural/Engineering firm located in Cedar Knolls, NJ.   Michael received his Bachelor of Architecture from Syracuse University and has over 25 years experience in planning, school design, and project management. He has been responsible for the preparation of construction documents and project coordination for hundreds of school projects.  He is involved in all phases of EI's architectural projects, from programming through construction and the coordination of all EI's in-house disciplines.  Michael is a registered architect in NJ, NY, CO and CA, and he is a member of the following professional organizations: AIA, NJSA, NCARB, NJASA, NJASBO, Council of Educational Facilities Planners, Historical Society of NJ, and the USGBC.

Joseph Donnelly, BA, MS, M.Ed – Mr. Donnelly is the Director of K-12 Educational Programs at EI Associates and has 38 years of public education experience including thirty-two years of building and central office experience in the Cresskill School District. Joe has extensive experience in instructional planning, curriculum development, assessment procedures and facility improvement planning.  He has helped plan and design several school construction and renovation projects and is responsible for the Educational Program Assessment portion of Comprehensive Facility Assessment Projects at EI.   Joe is the recipient of the Administrative Excellence Award from the Bergen County Elementary & Middle School Administrators Association and the Golden Lamp Award from the New Jersey Principals and Supervisors Association.  In addition to several County ASBO groups, Joe is a member of NAESP, NJPSA, NJASBO, NJASA and the USGBC.

Donna L. Schneider, CPA - Ms. Schneider, Assistant Business Administrator for the City of Summit Public School District, is an experienced administrator in the field of education, and has more than 10 years of professional experience in central office management, operations and administration.  She has developed a solid base of expertise in finance, budgeting, resource allocation and auditing.  Donna has a BA in accounting from Villanova University and started her professional career as an auditor with KPMG in Short Hills, NJ.  She oversees all financial and reporting operations for the K-12 District comprised of two primary centers, five elementary schools, one middle school and one high school containing 4,000 students with a $62 million dollar budget.  She is responsible for all accounts receivables, special revenue funds and grants management for the district.  Prior to coming to Summit she worked as the Assistant BA in Hillsborough and Branchburg, NJ.  She is an active member of Union County Association of Business Official and New Jersey Association of Business Officials (NJASBO).

Kathy Alexander, CPA – Ms. Alexander is a Grant Specialist at the NJ Schools Development Authority, where she has worked for over four years. Before joining the SDA, Kathy was a Finance/Tax Manager at Janssen, a subsidiary of Johnson & Johnson, and also at a public accounting firm. She is a member of the NJ Society of CPAs and the AICPA. Kathy has a BA in Economics from Rutgers University and an MS in Taxation from Seton Hall. She also completed the Graduate Level Teacher Certification Program (GLTP) at Rider University, and has a Certificate of Eligibility with Advanced Standing (CEAS) in Elementary Education. She served as a member of her local PTA Executive Board for several years. Kathy enjoys using her background, both in Accounting and with school districts, to make the grant processes easier and to expedite payments to the school districts.

John Hopkins has released the report, The Importance of Being in School: A Report on Absenteeism in the Nation’s Public Schools.

If we are ever going to close or eliminate the achievement gap we need to start by ensuring the students are in the classroom on a consistent basis.  This requires the support and effort of parents, teachers, schools and the larger community; however, the responsibility begins at home.  Like any major issue plaguing society; student absenteeism is growing at faster rate and reaching national concern as highlighted in the John Hopkins’s report released yesterday and picked up by every large media outlet in the market. 

Chronic absenteeism is becoming an epidemic concern and focus as nearly 7.5 million students miss nearly a month of school each year according to a new national study conducted by researchers at Johns Hopkins University.  One disturbing finding in the report was the fact that only six states track chronic absenteeism in schools, New Jersey not among them.  According the data released only six states address this issue: Georgia, Florida, Maryland, Nebraska, Oregon and Rhode Island. How these states measure chronic absenteeism, however, differs by number of days and by whether or not data include transfer students.

Cost associate with lost $tate Aid in NJ

This however, is all changing in New Jersey as the Governor’s education commissioner, Christoper Cerf released the The Education Funding Report on February 23, 2012, which detailed the Christie Administrations plan to return to the former calculations prepared under SFRA (School Funding Reform Act).  Most notably is the firm language of the 83 page report which time and again focuses on the need for reform in funding levels and accountability of those funds in order to address the achievement gap.  The report focused on attendance and other aspects of the educational reforms associated with continued aid such as accountability, performance and innovation along with the departments restructuring plans to better assist districts in the field with guidance, implementation and resources.

As reported in my April 23^rd post, SFRAs Return - A Bold Step Back in NJ School Funding – “Perhaps the hardest hitting measure for low wealth districts is the move from the traditional October 15th counts capturing one day's enrollment for funding calculations to a broader year round average or (ADA) average daily attendance. Many critics cite the automatic disadvantage for low wealth districts that typically have lower attendance; however, based on the aforementioned and the At-Risk absenteeism graph in the report; it is clear apparent that the Christie Administration not only recognizes the disparity in attendance of At-Risk in low wealth compared to high wealth districts, it expects the low wealth districts to reverse this trend in order to attain full funding.

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iPad - The next big thing in classroom technology?

Lately, I find myself drawn into conversations about equipping students with iPads whenever discussions turn to technology issues.  Schools across the nation are reaching for the iPad as the next big thing in classroom technology by equipping students with an interactive way to learn by instantly accessing information through apps and interactive tools.  Students can access an entire library wherever they go as the learning is mobile and easily carried from class to class moving away from the standard bulky textbooks that require new additions vs. instantaneous updates.  While the iPad is the newest craze, it is the speed at which technology's creative destruction is advancing that forces us to be more nimble as we introduce new technologies into the classroom through planned integration vs. knee-jerk purchasing.  Absent well thoughtout application and expected educational outcomes, this purchase ends up being just a large expenditure with no real value add questioning the return on investment.

Typical Middle school backpak

In recent years we have moved away from traditional library experiences and lightend our load from hard cover to soft cover to the now light weight and portable electronic devices such as the Amazon kindle and the Nook from Barnes and Nobile.

As more districts begin to embrace the technology from coast to coast the real question is not if; but when they will become an essential part of every student’s basic issue of supplies.

The iPads costs around $750 apiece, and they can be used both in and out of the classroom making them a perfect alternative having two textbooks, one at home and one in the locker.  They allow students to connect and interact with teachers in much the same way as electronic digital dropboxs used in most college and universities.  They also provide students with the ability turn in papers and homework assignments, and preserve a record of student work in digital portfolios.

According to a January 4, 2011 article in The New York Times, “It allows us to extend the classroom beyond these four walls,” said Larry Reiff, an English teacher at Roslyn who now posts all his course materials online.[ii]

"Technological fads have come and gone in schools, and other experiments meant to rev up the educational experience for children raised on video games and YouTube have had mixed results. Educators, for instance, are still divided over whether initiatives to give every student a laptop have made a difference academically."  

"At a time when school districts are trying to get their budgets approved so they do not have to lay off teachers or cut programs, spending money on tablet computers may seem like an extravagance."

"And some parents and scholars have raised concerns that schools are rushing to invest in them before their educational value has been proved by research."

---

[i] The New York Times, Math That Moves:  Schools Embrace The iPad.  January 4, 2011  

[ii] Ibid.

[iii]Ibid.

Christie Says Vouchers Are Needed to Repair Poor Schools

According to Bloomberg, New Jersey Governor Chris Christie has plans to resurrect the push for school vouchers in an effort to allow students to escape their 'failing' neighborhood schools.  According to Terrence Dopp in an article that appeared May 3, 2012, “The first-term Republican said he will push the Democratic-controlled Legislature to pass a test program by July 1 that would offer private funding to help parents send students in failing districts to other schools.”
Vouchers remain a highly debated topic with many arguing that as these students exit the various public schools, so does the dollars associated with funding.  This further exacerbates an already dire situation.  While failing schools do need to improve; taking ‘the best and the brightest’ will only serve to erode the base and push the overall achievement rates of those schools down further. 

If successful…you might as well just close the schools.

Creative ways to pay for field trips

At a time when resources remain ever scarce, alternative funding continues to be the answer for filling the gap created by losses in State or Federal Aid.  Many view this creativity in seeking additional funding sources as a necessary step in the movement away from taxpayer over relience.  

The following article appeared in the Star-telegram

By Jessamy Brown

jessamybrown@star-telegram.com

...To save money, the 49 students from Francisco Elementary School in Haltom City took the TRE instead of a bus on a field trip to the Dallas World Aquarium. To help pay for the excursion, the school won a contest on Facebook.

"This is the first time we've tried such an ambitious field trip," said Tammy Pope, the teacher who organized the trip. "We had tried to crunch numbers before and just had a real hard time with it. The grant kind of gave us the freedom to try it."

Francisco's field trip is just one example of how school districts are finding creative ways to pay for off-campus activities as they deal with massive state budget cuts.

Schools are cutting or scaling back field trips, asking parents to chip in, or turning to grants and corporate sponsors. According to a survey released this week by the American Association of School Administrators, 30 percent of schools eliminated field trips this school year and 43 percent expect cuts next year.