Its High School Football Time in Tennessee
“A heroic society is almost a contradiction in terms.”
― Jane Ellen Harrison, Ancient Art and Ritual
This weekend marks the kickoff of high school football season in Tennessee, As such, it also marks my son's first start as a HS varsity QB.
He worked hard all summer. That work coupled, with a tragic injury to the senior QB, makes him the next man up. A challenge he relishes.
The promotion brings pride and trepidation.
I believe that he is ready to play, but I wish he weighed another 40lbs.
I tell him to be smart out there, to be cautious, but I can't make him to cautious because then he won't be true to himself. To succeed, he has to be himself. He can't play scared.
I know he's good, but will he be good enough?
If he's not how will he handle it? How will he handle success if it comes?
These thoughts are not dissimilar to those on the minds of parents in every town, in every state. It is not just about football either,
Some parents may be sending their kids off to the first year of college, or their first job.
Some have children competing for scholarships, chairs in the band, or a preferred role in the school play,
Some may be starting an academic course just outside of their comfort zone.
Whatever the undertaking, pride and trepidation are consistent partners.
Whatever the challenge, parental fears are universal. You never know if your children are ready to fly until they actually attempt to fly.
As an adult, you are familiar with the pain of failure. Despite knowing that there is no growth without pain, it remains intrinsic to try and spare our offspring that pain.
As I dropped Peter off at school this morning, I told him I was proud, but to keep in mind that this is just the next step.
No matter how well he plays tonight - three touchdowns or three interceptions, win or lose - it's not going to be the best he's ever going to play,
Win or lose, come Monday, it's back to the practice field in pursuit of continuous improvement. That remains the ever-fixed mark.
Tonight though, the coaches have the team well-prepared. They've done everything in their power to ensure that everyone is ready for tonight's undertaking.
His teammates have worked equally hard, and the upperclassmen look at this season as a culmination of a lifetime of work, while the younger players see it as the foundation for years to come. This team has a plethora of potential stars and tonight they may begin their ascent. As one senior told him, "Don't think that anyone is expecting you to do everything. We've all got this." Important words.
Now it's time to have some fun.
I hope he takes a moment to breathe in the decades of history represented by the people in attendance.
I hope he hears the yells of encouragement from the cheerleaders, augmented by the school's marching band.
I hope he appreciates the camaraderie of his teammates and the unique bond that will unite them for eternity.
Today they are young men taking the field to compete, but someday they will be older men, far removed from the football field, swapping lies of gridiron glory. So it has been, and so it will be. There is something special about that.
I hope he takes a moment to appreciate the fact that he has assumed a role in a uniquely American tradition.
Tonight, Friday Night Lights become more than just a compelling television show.
Good luck to all the teams opening their season, may it be safe and competitive.
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It's been nearly a decade since I first started this blog. Over my years of covering education policy, I feel like I've seen just about everything,
But, every time I start to feel that way, a new wrinkle reveals itself. One that has me shaking my head in disbelief.
The latest entry in the misguided fools sweepstakes comes out of nearby Wison County where a newly elected school board member has fired an ethics complaint against a teacher who has been recognized as a teacher of the Year.
According to the complaint, the teacher posted online about an interaction between that school board member and another teacher during a parent-teacher conference. Per the complaint, she claimed online that the school board member was yelling at the teacher.
The plaintiff, school board member Greg Hohman, maintains that the story was a complete fabrication. He is now asking the teacher to be held accountable and is asking for a public apology from the school.
Not quite sure what Hohman is looking for as far as accountability. As a general rule, public apologies are worthless
Ironically, the Board of Ethics was created to address the behaviors of board members. Not the other way around.
As Executive Director for Professional Educators of Tennessee JC Bowman points out, "“I don’t know of any other incident in the state of Tennessee where anyone has done this.”
“I don’t know of any other case in the state of Tennessee where they basically put a teacher on trial for a code of ethics violation,” Bowman continued.
At the heart of the matter is an incident were the board member hypothetically at a teacher.
In his filed complaint, newly elected school board member, Hohman, wrote that during a parent-teacher conference with his son’s teacher, another teacher claimed to have overheard him yelling. During his campaign for school board, he claimed the teacher who overheard the alleged interaction posted about it online. He called it a “fabricated story.”
I'm a bit puzzled about what ethical standard is being violated.
I wonder if anybody has run a risk/reward analysis on this nonsense.
Should Hohman win, the teacher will likely only incur a slap on the wrist and a stern talking-to. The cost of that win could include increased difficulty in recruiting and retaining teachers.
Per Bowman, “If they convict her for this and hold this as a real ethics complaint, I think you’ll see a serious problem and see teachers leave…you’re going to create something where teachers will not want to teach in that school system because they are afraid to say something that later they could get held accountable fo."
Obviously, people shouldn't be able to say whatever they want, whenever they want, but let's employ a little common sense here.
There is plenty of real work that needs to be done.
- - -
Are you a Nashville principal or coach who's feeling a little down because you missed out on the multitude of AVID training offered by the district?
Cheer up, in November there is another opportunity for you to get trained on AVID's model of Leadership, Culture, and Instruction.
November will mark the third convening by AVID at the Martin Center MNP. The first occurred in May and the second is set for September.
Attendees of the previous convening were fortunate to hear from the esteemed Dr. Bellamy. Since Bellamy is no longer employed by the district, he's been replaced on the agenda by his successor Dr. Renita Perry.
I would argue, that since Bellamy no longer has professional obligations to fill, he should still be the one presenting at this private function. Alas, the district doesn't see it this way. They insist on using a salaried employee.
One caveat before you rush to sign up. There is a tuition fee involved in this training opportunity. It's $4500 unless you enroll early, then it is only $4K.
That's a tidy sum you say?
It is for AVID, who per the contract keeps all tuition fees. They are also given free access to the Martin Center, a taxpayer-funded building designed to facilitate training for educator training.
Let's see if I follow the logic at play. We give the private entity the taxpayer-funded venue for principal training, then use additional taxpayer money to take principals and support hub folks out of town for annual training while repeatedly claiming the district is underfunded.
Am I missing anything?
- - -
In case you were wondering about the multi-million dollar lawsuit between several MNPS educators and the District, here's an update.
Both sides took a stab at arbitration, but it went nowhere. I'm assuming that one side overvalued the settlement and one undervalued. I have no way of knowing, but that's how these things usually roll.
As a result, a trial date has been set for next summer.
If you are in need of some salacious reading material, give the lawsuit a read. It is quite entertaining and enlightening.
- - -
Remember back in the Spring, when everybody was all worked up about the bill allowing teachers to pack heat in school?
Remember how I told you that everybody was getting way overworked up, and because of the way the law was written, few districts would be participating?
This week ChalkbeaTN confirmed my predictions.
"Indeed, for all the protests and discord over the legislation, before it passed, there’s little talk among school districts or educators about using the option to arm teachers or staff as the new academic year begins. Not a single school system has indicated that it’s planning or working to train employees to carry a gun voluntarily under the new law, according to dozens of school and law enforcement officials contacted by Chalkbeat"
The law was designed so that smaller, poorer districts had a way to secure their schools. So far, it's opposition with no participants.
But it sure was a good distraction.
- - -
Still trying to dig into this one, but let's put it on the radar.
For over a decade, Tennessee has used WIDA testing as a means to measure the academic growth of it's English Learner students. It is a well-respected test and I seldom hear complaints about it.
By most accounts, Tennessee was doing a pretty solid job on EL education. EL instruction has long been a sense of pride for MNPS.
Last year, for some reason, Tennessee's contract with WIDA came up for review. The state chose to go with a new assessment, ELPA21. Included is a dynamic screener that allows districts to identify students in need of EL services.
The screener tests students in three domains - reading, writing, listening, and speaking. This is the first time that kindergarten students are being tested for reading and writing. Reports are that there has been increased identification of students requiring EL services,
This is a good thing, except that the state is under-resourced when it comes to supplying those services.
Students with disabilities can apply for an alternative test, Those with IEPs can apply to omit domains. For example, a deaf child can omit the hearing domain.
Here's another interesting wrinkle, Tennessee's newly enacted "parental rights" law requires parents' consent before students are recorded. The ELPA21 screener requires student recordings.
This translates to students not receiving required instruction because districts have not received parental consent forms.
An article in today's Tennessean points out that only 40% of parents have returned parental consent forms required to administer basic health care treatment to students.
Of the 40% returned, 90% have given permission.
The Tennessean reports that in Rutherford County, parents who declined to give consent are asked to arrive at the school within 30 minutes of notification from the school that their child has a minor illness or injury, according to their consent form. Otherwise, the school may call EMS. Other Tennessee counties are enacting similar policies.
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Now it’s time to rattle the cup a little bit before I head out the door.
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