Financial Literacy Is Important, Too!

Now that we have chosen Suzi Ramos to be our Literacy Coach and Cody Case to be our Math Coach, there is another area of education we want to make sure that we address---financial literacy.

An article, "Money Matters: The Case for Teaching Financial Literacy" by Anthony S. Colucci in Education Week Teacher notes information from a Consumer Reports survey of 12-year-olds: 28% didn't understand that credit cards are a form of borrowing, 40% didn't know that banks charge interest on loans, and 34 % didn't realize that you can't tell how good a produc it by how much it is advertised. These figures are disturbing when we consider how important it is for our citizenry to have this knowledge if it is to effectively address our country's current economic woes.

Colucci went on to recommend some things we can do to improve financial literacy such as:

• Taking advantage of the financial knowledge one of our stakeholders may have to help scholars (and their parents!) with financial planning.


• Partner with Junior Achievement.


• Draw on the resources of the National Council on Economic Education.


• Make financial connections to the curriculum.

Needless to say, there are many things our Esperanza scholars need to learn in a short amount of time but this is definitely one area we will want to address.

The Board Can Make Or Break Us

Yesterday three of our founding Esperanza Board members--Carmen Thompson, Flavia McKnight, and Janet Christensen--and I went to the Charter School Symposium held at the Karl G. Maeser Academy in Lindon. I am so appreciative of the people who have traveled the road before us who are so willing to share their knowledge so we can be successful.

The final session I attended consisted of a panel to answer questions we might have. The people on the panel included people who have been in the charter school business for a number of years. One thing they stressed --particularly to me--was to make sure that we had a strong Board that was committed to our vision. They said, too, that we needed to start now to move our Board from consisting of people who plan to work at Esperanza to people who would eventually be on the Board. We need influential people on the Board who understand our vision and who will advocate for it.

The panel members stressed over and over again how important it is for the Board members to be trained as the Board is the key as to whether the school will be successful or not. We can have the best teachers and a beautiful building but that will mean nothing if the Board isn't a quality Board.

Based on this counsel from the people who know from experience we need to devote a great deal of time and energy over the next few months seeking out those people who can help make our Esperanza Board a top-notch Board.

Six Degrees of Separation

Six degrees of separation is the theory that anyone on the planet can be connected to any other person on the planet through a chain of acquaintances that has no more than five intermediaries. The theory was first proposed in 1929 by the Hungarian writer Frigyes Karinthy in a short story called "Chains."

In 1967, American sociologist Stanley Milgram devised a new way to test the theory, which he called "the small-world problem." He randomly selected people in the mid-West to send packages to a stranger located in Massachusetts. The senders knew the recipient's name, occupation, and general location. They were instructed to send the package to a person they knew on a first-name basis who they thought was most likely, out of all their friends, to know the target personally. That person would do the same, and so on, until the package was personally delivered to its target recipient.

Although the participants expected the chain to include at least a hundred intermediaries, it only took (on average) between five and seven intermediaries to get each package delivered. Milgram's findings were published in Psychology Today and inspired the phrase "six degrees of separation."

Although the following idea that Keith Ferrazzi shared isn’t exactly related to the Six Degrees of Separation Theory it does reinforce the idea that there are people who can expand our networks and help us achieve our goals. He suggested to his team a way to build the social capital of their organization—one relationship at a time.

Everyone was asked to come to a meeting with the name of one aspirational contact – someone who could make a critical difference to a current work goal. Each person shared the name of their target and then shared why – what did they hope to learn from the introduction? The group then brainstormed about how to approach the target contact with generosity. Within the next few weeks several people were ready to connect with contacts that they thought were way out of reach, and everyone else was further down the path.

We as a Esperanza stakeholders need to consistently do something similar so we can involve as many people as possible to help make Esperanza everything that it can be to make a difference for our Esperanza scholars.

Vocabulary and $100

When I was teaching at Realms of Inquiry a number of years ago I met a man who told my middle school students that every new vocabulary word they learn is worth an added $100 to their annual earnings when they start to work. Of course, there is no way he could know for sure about the $100 but nevertheless, it did stress the fact that knowledge, including vocabulary, is power. Therefore, we not only want to grow the vocabulary of our Esperanza scholars but we also want to encourage our Esperanza staff to set the example by learning and loving words.

Research studies show that reading is one of the best ways to learn vocabulary--and remember them--even more effective than just learning words from a list. Comic books can even expose students to new words. Yet, I still enjoy learning words from the vocabulary section in the Readers' Digest. I also enjoy my daily word from wordsmith.org that not only gives the definition of the word but also the background of the word which more often than not quite fascinating.

Learning another language is also a magnificent way to learn new words in one's first language. This became apparent to me as I learned Spanish. There are words in Spanish that are used in every day conversation among Latinos that only more educated monolingual English speakers use in equivalent English. Also, because Spanish is Latin based and so is academic language such as science terms knowing Spanish helps learn academic vocabulary.

Even if a new word does not mean an added $100 to one's annual income, a person is still richer in knowledge for every new word added to one's knowledge bank.

Productive and Meaningful Meetings

A talk at church today reminded me that how productive and meaningful a meeting (or a training!) is determined by what happens before and after the meeting. What happens in the meeting is important, but how prepared the attendees are will determine how much they get out of the meeting or training. In other words, have the attendees completed their individual work and assignments for the meeting? Also, what the attendees do after the meeting is important. Have new assignments been made with deadlines and who is responsible?

Moving Forward With Literacy

I have asked Suzi Ramos, one of our Esperanza founding board members, to be Esperanza's Literacy Coach. We had a three hour lunch yesterday discussing what we need to do to achieve our two big literacy goals: 1) teach our scholars to read and 2) encourage our scholars to love reading.

We are going to use the CELL/XCELL Model to teach reading using the following components: Shared reading, Read-alouds, Guided Reading, and Independent Reading. There are other things under each of these components we want to incorporate such strategies as reciprocal teaching, tutoring, PALA (our Spanish version of silent sustained reading), literature circles, etc. We also want to have a plan for addressing summer loss. We're excited for each educator who wants to work at Esperanza to choose one of these as an expertise and then teach the rest of us.

We have all kinds of ideas to achieve our second goal to encourage our Esperanza scholars to love reading such as having all kinds of book clubs made up of different Esperanza stakeholders. We want Esperanza to radiate with a love for reading so that anyone entering the school will be able to tell from a "whiff" how much we love reading.

Please--No Excuses

It was reported yesterday that Utah is among five other states including the District of Columbia to have a racial gap between white and Latino students larger than the national average. What was especially disturbing to me was the excuses that were being made as to why this is the case.

One excuse made by Mark Peterson from the State Board of Education was that Utah's Hispanic population is exploding. He said, "Over the last 20 years in Utah, our population has gotten much more diverse. We've gone from 3% Hispanic students to 15%, or from 1 in 26 students to 1 in 7 students." There are other states that have the Hispanic population growing at a faster rate that have more success with their Hispanic students.

Another excuse Peterson made was that the sort of remedies needed to address the issue are fairly expensive. Research has shown that one of the most effective methods for closing the achievement gap for Latino students is a quality dual immersion program. From my research and experience dual immersion programs are cost effective.

Another excuse made by Peterson was that many of Utah's Hispanic students don't speak English while Hispanic students in California are more likely to be born in the U.S. and therefore, grow up learning the English language. It's true that Latinos who speak English do better academically, but California is not a panacea for its education of Latino students. Plus, there are other states that have a faster growing non-English speaking Latino student population that are experiencing greater success with this student population.

An excuse made by Christina Morales, a member of the state school board's Coalition of Minorities Advisory Committee, was that we have too few minority educators in schools. It's true that more Latino educators would be wonderful for a variety of reasons including making minority parents feel more comfortable as well as being role models and mentors for Latino students. Yet, more Latino educators is not sufficient. I recently read the book Words Were All We Had by María de la Luz Reyes and in this book she notes numerous examples of where Latino students had Latino educators who did a lot of damage and wounded their souls. I have also witnessed first hand a Latino administrator who was so out of touch with the Latino parents in the school that the parents fought for his resignation. Also, the research of George Monsivais found that Latino teachers felt as unprepared as White teachers to effectively teach Latino students. In other words, they, too, needed to learn the most effective methods and strategies.

Other excuses such as poverty, parents' eduction levels and/or lack of familiarity with the school system, stereotyping in schools, etc. were given as well as to why there is this disparity. It's true that these issues are real. Yet, there are schools throughout the nation that are succeeding in spite of these real barriers. We must learn from these success stories and quit making excuses if the achievement gap is to be closed.

Beyond "Ordinary"

I have been reading a book Wounded by School by Kirsten Olson that reminded me of one of my most favorite quotes is from The Weight of Glory by C.S. Lewis:

“It is a serious thing, to live in a society of possible gods and goddesses, to remember that the dullest and most uninteresting person you talk to may one day be a creature which, if you saw it now, you would be strongly tempted to worship, or else a horror and a corruption such as you now meet, if at all, only in a nightmare. All day long we are, in some degree, helping each other to one or other of these destinations. It is in the light of these overwhelming possibilities, it is with the awe and the circumspection proper to them, that we should conduct all our dealings with one another, all friendships, all loves, all play, all politics. There are no ‘ordinary’ people. You have never talked to a mere mortal." (italics added)

It is critical that we remember as educators at Esperanza that we are constantly helping or hindering our scholars and colleagues in their journey to reach their potential. We can't be neutral. Therefore, it behooves all of us to remember to be intentionally inviting as Dr. William Purkey suggests.

Writing to Discover the Story

A THOUGHT FOR TODAY:One day I was speeding along at the typewriter, and my daughter -- who was a child at the time -- asked me, "Daddy, why are you writing so fast?" And I replied, "Because I want to see how the story turns out!" -Louis L'Amour, novelist (1908-1988)

Not too long ago I heard about a fellow who wrote a book about how he lost over 100 pounds. What made the story particularly interesting was that he wrote the book before he lost the 100+ pounds. That intrigued me. I feel that we could do the same thing for how Esperanza Elementary achieves its vision. This blog will help us do that. Writing every day helps to write the Esperanza story as writing helps to clear out the cobwebs to have a clearer picture on what Esperanza will look like---just as Louis L'Amour wrote to see how his story would turn out.

Words Were All We Had

I finished reading Words Were All We Had by María de la Luz Reyes. The narratives by eleven different Latinos touched my heart as they told how they were able to become biliterate against the odds.

Not only did the stories touch the heart but they also taught some important lessons for us as Esperanza educators and stakeholders. One lesson had to do specificially with the kind of educators our scholars need. It became apparent that a Spanish speaking teacher--even if she/he is Hispanic-- is no guarantee that that teacher will create a child-centered learning environment that is respectful and caring. Even they can exhibit deficit views.

Not only is "authentic caring" crucial for educators, but educators must also be able to challenge these young bilinguals to reach their potential. These are two characteristics an educator cannot fake. Even very young children can "read" a teacher.

The lessons learned from these narratives reinforce Dr. Haberman's STAR educator principles. This is why it is so important we have Esperanza educators who are predisposed to work well with this population whether they are Hispanic/Latino or not.

Is It Essential?

Yesterday morning I watched a BYU Devotional speech by Dr. Larry Howell. He spoke of a time he had meticulously planned for a trip to London only to find when he was ready to leave that his passport had expired. All of his planning went right down the drain because he had missed taking care of this essential item. He went on to explain how important it is not to neglect those things that are essential. Because it was a devotional speech he was obviously talking about things related to our spirituality, but the principle applies to all areas of our lives. It definitely applies as we plan for Esperanza.

I recently read a book by Michael Schmoker called Focus: Elevating the Essentials to Radically Improve Student Learning. It made me realize that rather than being all over the place trying to implement each new education fad our Esperanza scholars would be better served if we concentrated on what is essential for them to be successful.

This point was brought home to me again as I have been reading a book by Anne T. Henderson called Beyond the Bake Sale: The Essential Guide to Family-School Partnerships. There is a section in the book that talks about the need to focus parent activities on student learning rather than just have an activity for the sake of having an activity.

Talking about what is essential reminded me of a quote in the book The Little Prince: "It is only with the heart that one can see rightly; what is essential is invisible to the eye." As we sort out what it essential for our Esperanza scholars it is critical that we use our heart as well as our mind.

Fathers at Esperanza

Fathers' Day seemed to be an appropriate day to write about how we can involve fathers (biological, stepfather, adopted father, grandfather, and/or other male role model or father figure) at Esperanza.

I recently finished reading the book Principals Matter by Mavis G. Sanders and Steven B. Sheldon. There is a chapter in the book focused primarily on how to involve fathers and why it is important to do so. Research studies have shown that fathers have a unique influence on children and therefore, ignoring their place in the school and with their children would be a loss of a tremendous resource. For this reason, as we develop our School, Family, Community Partnership plan father involvement goals need to be part of the plan taking into consideration the different educational and ethnic/cultural backgrounds of the fathers.

Based on the determined vision and specific goal(s) for father involvement some of the following goals might be appropriate:

• "Donuts for Dads" biweekly or monthly held in the parent center where fathers can mingle together


• Implement FatherRead


• Implement the Hispanic Father/Son Program patterned after the program Dr. Josie Tinajero developed in Texas


• Arrange to have a night at a place such as Lowe's were fathers and children can do some project together


• Invite fathers to share their "funds of knowledge"


• Specifically ask to speak to the father when making friendly calls to the home


• Have a "fun night" at the school specifically for fathers and their children

It might take up to three years to develop a high quality program that involves fathers but the effort will be well worth it for the impact it will have on our Esperanza scholars and their families.

Inspirational Words from Mother Teresa

As we go forward to build Esperanza the following words from Mother Teresa can inspire and encourage us, reminding us that our purpose for being is for our Esperanza scholars:

People are often unreasonable, irrational, and self-centered. Forgive them
anyway.

If you are kind, people may accuse you of selfish, ulterior
motives. Be kind anyway.

If you are successful, you will win some
unfaithful friends and some genuine enemies. Succeed anyway.

If you are
honest and sincere people may deceive you. Be honest and sincere anyway.

What you spend years creating, others could destroy overnight. Create
anyway.

If you find serenity and happiness, some may be jealous. Be
happy anyway.

The good you do today, will often be forgotten. Do good
anyway.

Give the best you have, and it will never be enough. Give your
best anyway.

In the final analysis, it is between you and God. It was
never between you and them anyway.

-this version is credited to Mother Teresa

Listening to Influence

I have mentioned Kevin Eikenberry in other postings. He is truly one of my favorite mentors when it comes to leadership. I have spent a considerable amount of time reading about the power of influence and how to influence others to accomplish our Esperanza goals. Therefore, when a recent article from Kevin was titled To Listen is to Influence it caught my attention.

Kevin included in his article a Chinese proverb: To listen well is as powerful a means to influence as to talk well, and is as essential to all true conversations. Therefore, it would behoove all of us to think about the strategies we can employ to sharpen our listening skills.

Teachers who listen better to their students and their students' families will gain invaluable insights and thus, be better teachers. Esperanza administrators who listen to students, families, teachers/staff, and community members and respond accordingly will be more effective adminstrators. Esperanza Board members who listen to each other and to the school's administrators will be in a better position to meet the needs of the school to better serve the students.

It is amazing how valued a good listener is--probably because it is such a rare commodity. It is our desire to make being a good listener part of Esperanza's school culture.

Learning About Teacher Evaluations

An Esperanza Board member, Suzi Ramos, and I went to the Charter School Conference dinner last night and then Carmen Thompson, another Esperanza Board member, joined Suzi and me for the conference sessions today. All of the sessions were helpful, but my favorite session was the one titled "Conducting Effective Teacher Evaluations" presented by Dr. Joe Heywood. There were some points I especially want to remember:

• Answer the question: Why do we evaluate?



• Answer the question: What do we want the outcome of evaluation to be?



• Have the purpose of evaluation be "Wonderful growth!" rather than "Gotcha!"



• Create a Professional Development Plan with teacher evaluation: 1) Goals, 2) Conferences, 3) Trainings, 4) Peer Interactions (Projects, lessons, etc. in collaboration with other teachers) and mentoring beyond 3 years and sharing knowledge, 5) Observations



• Use multiple observation tools such as a running log with marginal notes and interview questions.



• A good administrator nurtures the growth of his/her teachers by 1) providing strong professional development opportunities, 2) work closely with teachers to improve teaching ability, and 3) care enough about each teacher as a person and a colleague.

Our attendance at the conference would have been worth it if this were the only session we attended. Many thanks to Dr. Heywood for sharing!

Branding Oneself

According to Jack Griffin, author of How to Say It: Be Indispensable at Work it is important to treat your boss like a customer. The boss holds the purse strings and expects to get excellent work and high productivity (results) from those who receive a paycheck from the organization.

Therefore, each Esperanza staff member will want to brand himself or herself as a workhorse, a problem solver, a producer, an innovator, an expert in some area, a lifelong learner, and/or anything else that will make him or her valuable to the organization.

Branding oneself means an investment in oneself in order to have assets (skills, services, experiences) that are unique and command respect and that make a person irreplaceable. A branded person is one's own unique product that no one can take away. In other words, even if one works for an organization, including Esperanza, it is important to be an entrepreneur.

Make Yourself Irreplaceable and Indispensable

One of our Esperanza Board members--Flavia McKnight-- asked me to review a resumé that she needed to write for a class assignment. It made me start thinking about what will be important to us as we hire Esperanza staff.

As we look for Esperanza staff there are certain things that will catch our attention in a resumé, in an interview, and in conversations with references. Jack Griffin, author of How to Say It: Be Indispensable at Work captures some of the qualities that will be extremely important not only to get hired but also to keep one's job and to get promoted.

Griffin says that every business speaks and thinks in the language of money. The language we want to speak and think at Esperanza is results. The bottom line for all we do is the impact it has on Esperanza scholars and their growth. Therefore, someone's position and duties in that position don't mean as much as what effect those duties had on student growth. In other words, it would be much more impressive to see that 100% of students participating in a tutoring program advanced than just stating that a tutoring program was implemented.

The Bumble Bee Symbol

"Aerodynamically, the bumble bee shouldn't be able to fly, but the bumble bee doesn't know it so it goes on flying anyway." Mary Kay Ash

We have numerous examples of people who refused to accept barriers such as Roger Bannister when he ran the mile in less than four minutes and Chuck Yeager who broke the sound barrier. One of my favorite stories is a true story about a student who solved an unsolvable math problem:

One day in 1939, George Bernard Dantzig, a doctoral candidate at the
University of California, Berkeley, arrived late for a graduate-level statistics
class and found two problems written on the board. Not knowing they were
examples of unsolved statistics problems, he mistook them for part of a homework
assignment, jotted them down, and solved them. (The equations Dantzig
tackled are more accurately described not as unsolvable problems, but as
unproved statistical theorems for which he worked out proofs.)

I agree with Jaime Escalante, "Students can learn to overcome any barrier they will ever face." Therefore, it would behoove us to use the bumble bee as one of our Esperanza Elementary symbols.

Hiraeth

As I listened this morning to the May 31, 2011 BYU Devotional Speech of Lynn Williams some thoughts came to mind that we will want to remember at Esperanza. Williams is a native Welshman who moved to the U.S. in 2000. Therefore, he has been in the U.S. 11 years, and he said that he is still continually experiencing cultural shock. In spite of the fact that his native country and the U.S. have a common language--English--there are many differences that he is still learning. Williams said that watching the many American programs on British television didn't prepare him for what he experienced when he actually came to live in the U.S.

It is important for us to remember that many of our Esperanza Hispanic families may experience the same kind of cultural shock that Williams is experiencing and maybe even to a greater degree because of a language barrier. We can't assume that because they have lived here a certain number of years that the cultural shock has disappeared.

Even as our Hispanic families become more and more comfortable with life in the U.S. they may still experience as Williams explains "hiraeth," a Welsh word meaning to yearn to find yourself once again in your own land and among your own people; to be with those who think and behave just like you, to feel completely at ease in their company because of your shared heritage. Therefore, we must not be offended when our Hispanic families and/or scholars seek for opportunities to be with other Hispanics and assume they want to shut us out and/or don't want to be part of this country. It is important to respect this longing and yearning they have.

Read, Write, and Talk

Thursday and Friday another founding Esperanza Board member, Carmen Thompson, and I had the opportunity to attend the 3rd Annual BYU (Brigham Young University) ELL (English Language Learning Symposium in Provo, Utah. The theme for the conference this year was Family, School and Community Collaboration: Assuring the Future through Student Achievement. The symposium was excellent! Not only did we learn lots but we also made some great connections for implementing a Community Learning School Model at Esperanza.

I have also been reading a book called Focus: Elevating the Essentials to Radically Improve Student Learning by Michael Schmoker. Although he is talking about improving student learning the principles apply to educators as well. He talks about the need to read, write, and talk about a topic after hearing a lecture about it. Otherwise our knowledge of the topic will be very superficial and the chance of any changes is minimal. Therefore, this morning I ordered four books on the topic of family, school, and community collaboration (including one by Mavis Sanders, one of the Symposium's keynote presenters) that we can read and study and then use as a basis for training on family and community involvement. We will then write about the topic in our Esperanza binder.

Learning this way will help us to become the school we want to be.

Increasing Each Other's Knowledge Basket

Stephen Covey recommends that when you learn something new that is meaningful share it with someone else, preferably within 24 hours. Not only will the other person have something added to his knowledge basket but the person sharing will remember the newly learned materials better and longer. I have found this to be true.

I have also discovered that the same holds true when sharing information such as an article, a book, a website, a blog posting, an organization, etc. It's best to do it asap--preferably immediately--so as not to forget to do it. Who doesn't like to receive something that includes the message, "When I saw this, I thought of you and felt you may enjoy it, too."

I so appreciate colleagues who do this as the benefits that come to both of us are unmeasureable. I recently shared a website--http://speakingintonguesfilm.info/ -- with another Esperanza Board member. He not only really liked the website but he immediately ordered the DVD Speaking in Tongues from the website because he felt it was important for Esperanza to have a copy. He sent that DVD in the mail to me. It arrived today. What a treat!!!

It is my hope that all Esperanza stakeholders will take advantage of this great way to build collegiality so all of us will have our knowledge storehouse increased and enriched.

Paradise Is Where I Am

Paradise is where I am. These words of Voltaire that Kevin Eikenberry shared yesterday spoke to me--not only for my personal life but also for Esperanza. I want everyone at Esperanza to feel that way while we are working together in the planning stages as well as once the school opens.

I like what Kevin Eikenberry said: "As leaders we have the responsibility for the environment in which those we lead operate. We can choose to make the working environment one that promotes people, their confidence and their success. We can find glimpses of what paradise looks like for others and help them find it in their work. When we do these things we are creating lower turnover, higher productivity, and greater results..."

These thoughts from Kevin complement perfectly the Dr. William Purkey "Inviting School" theory and principles that we are using as a foundation for Esperanza. Therefore, I am going to plan what I am going to do, starting today, to create an inviting environment so that all of us associated with Esperanza can say, "Paradise is where I am."

Stories Nourish the Soul

Something else I loved about the book The Greater Journey by David McCullough was the stories--stories of real people. The stories interwoven with real events helped to make everything more authentic. This is why using biographies when teaching history (and any other subject for that matter!) makes the subject that much more interesting.

People's stories are fascinating and intriguing with many beautiful lessons. That's why we want to do whatever we can at Esperanza to encourage students, families, educators, community members, etc. to share their individual and unique stories so we can all be enriched.

Dr. Patricia Gándara also talks about another way stories are important. She has shared in her books that many Hispanic families often share stories--even if they are fictional-- with their children about ancestors who were noble and great to inspire their children about their legacy. They do this no matter what the circumstances of the family may be in the present moment.

No matter how we choose to use stories at Esperanza they can help nourish the soul of our scholars and those who teach them.

The Greater Journey

This morning I finished reading David McCullough's newest book The Greater Journey. It is about Americans who went to Paris from 1830-1900 to learn. Not only was the book extremely fascinating--one that I wanted to read again as soon as I read the last page--but I also learned some valuable lessons.

The Americans in the book went to Paris to learn from another culture that had been in existence a much longer time than their own American culture. What they learned they brought home to enrich Americans. America is still a relatively new culture so it would still be wise for us to be humble and learn from cultures that have existed longer, some even for thousands of years. How we can learn from these cultures:

• Travel


• Read--fiction, nonfiction, biographies, poetry, art


• Cultivate friendships with people from different cultures


• Documentaries


• Attend cultural events


• Visit cultural restaurants and other cultural business establishments


• Learn another language


• Have pen pals


• Listen to music from different cultures and learn about the instruments

We as the educators at Esperanza need to set the example. Then we need to intentionally provide opportunities for our scholars to learn from other cultures. Even though our Hispanic scholars may share a common language--Spanish--they will probably come from different countries...and even those who come from Mexico may come from different parts of Mexico.

This cultural learning journey can be one of those most intriguing things we ever do.

More Thoughts on Teaching History

Yesterday I took the opportunity to watch the May 29th broadcast of "Music and the Spoken Word." Lloyd Newell's message was about the importance of remembering--remembering those who gave the ultimate gift for liberty and country in our behalf. He went on to say that the best way we can honor them is to build on the foundation of freedom they laid. We can only build on that foundation if we read and share their stories.

All those born in this country or who have immigrated to this country are reaping the benefits of those who came before. Therefore, we all owe a deep sense of gratitude for them. We owe it to our Esperanza scholars to share with them the stories and sacrifices of these people...and help them to learn ways to build upon that legacy.

Ganas

Yesterday I watched one of my favorite movies--Stand and Deliver. It was the umpteenth time I have seen it but once again it inspired me. Jaime Escalante is truly one of my mentors. One of my favorite quotes in the movie by Jaime Escalante: [to his students]

... There will be no free rides, no excuses. You already have two strikes against you: your name and your complexion. Because of those two strikes, there are some people in this world who will assume that you know less than you do...You're going to work harder here than you've ever worked anywhere else. And the only thing I ask from you is *ganas.* *Desire.*

It was in this movie that I first heard the word "ganas," and it is now one of my favorite words. The best translation for it is a deep desire but even that doesn't adequately describe it.
Ganas is something we want our Esperanza scholars to have so we will have that word posted everywhere in the school as a reminder that they can achieve their dreams if they have the ganas.

Sarah Palin's Paul Revere Gaffe

The former Alaska governor[Sarah Palin], who may or may not be running for the GOP presidential nomination, thought Revere was warning the British army during the Revolutionary War.
Here's the transcript, from New York magazine, of what she told reporters who were trailing her on her bus tour of historical sites:

He who warned, uh, the … the British that they weren't gonna be takin' away
our
arms, uh, by ringin' those bells and, um, by makin' sure that as he's
ridin' his
horse through town to send those warnin' shots and bells that,
uh, we were gonna
be secure and we were gonna be free … and we were gonna be
armed.

Revere was, in fact, riding from Boston to Lexington to warn John
Hancock and Samuel Adams of the approaching British army.

I feel it is a sad commentary when any current, former, or potential public official makes a gaffe such as this. This was not Palin's first and she is not the only one who has made such a gaffe. For this reason I feel it would be wise to have every political candidate pass a test on U.S. and world history, the Constitution, geography, and currect events before being able to run for office.

I am of the persuasion that it is difficult--if not impossible--to make wise decisions about the present if we don't know history, including history from different perspectives. If we want our Esperanza scholars to become involved in social action we must also be committed to doing whatever it takes for them to learn from history.

Volunteers! Volunteers! Volunteers!

Last night I watched a KSL segment on Project Tutor. As I watched the program and then read the transcript this morning I have been impressed once again with how important volunteers are for the success of our scholars.

As we look for volunteers the following are some sources:

• LDS Humanitarian Services


• AmeriCorps


• University students like the Adelante Program at Jackson Elementary in Salt Lake City School District


• Middle school students such as Latinos in Action and/or Coca Cola Valued Youth Program


• Senior Citizens


• Salt Lake Chamber Education Task Force


• Hispanic Chamber of Commerce


• Neighborhood people


• Parents

As we use volunteers it is important to train them, listen to their ideas, and show appreciation for them. It is also important to use pre and post testing when we have volunteers involved in projects such as tutoring so that they can see the fruits of their labors.

Ponderings On Math Instruction

The theme of the Leader-Spring 2011 edition of the Utah NAESP (National Assn. for Elementary School Principals) publication was math. After reading this latest edition I have spent some time pondering on how we might want to approach math instruction at Esperanza.

I tend to feel that it is extremely important to first determine what our goal(s) is concerning math and then what strategies are necessary to help all scholars achieve that goal. It is also important to keep the following points in mind:

• One program is usually not sufficient to do the job.



• Effective teachers draw upon a number of different strategies to meet the needs of their students, strategies that are often gleaned from different programs and resources.



• What works for one group of students according to research may not be appropriate or effective for another group of students.



• No matter how good a program is, it is still the teacher that makes the difference.

Only after we have our goal and know what strategies are most effective with different students will we be in a position to choose an effective program. Yet, even choosing an effective program is not an end. Professional development and coaching are necessary for the program to be implemented effectively.

With Rights Comes Duties

As we as Esperanza educators do all we can to respond to the rights our scholars have to be educated it is important that we also teach them that with rights come duties. Much of the 20th Century was devoted to the rights of others. Maybe this 21st Century could become the century of duties--civic duties, human duties, fiduciary duties, environmental duties, duties to future generations, etc.

Duty means to put other people ahead of one's own self-interests. Our minds stretch the farthest when they are pure and actively concerned about the welfare of others. To help our Esperanza scholars learn about duties, we will involve them in service learning and social action activities that are connected with what they are learning, including civics. Involvement in these type of activities will develop character and thus complement our Esperanza character education program.



NOTE: Some of the ideas in this posting come from the thoughts of Dr. John W. Welch in his acceptance speech for the 2011 BYU Maeser Award that he received in May 2011.