Day 14

Do you know know that there are some folks in this great nation of ours that will try and convince you that the achievement gap doesn't exist? Yup. Well, my friends - here it is. Exhibit A and B below were presented at a recent professional development session where the staff was challenged to give a little more attention to the writing practices of our students. Take a look at the examples below. Take as much time as you need to carefully compare and contrast the responses of students to a pair of writings by Langston Hughes and Dr. Martin Luther King, Jr. 

Read them yet? Check them again.

Both of these samples were written by 6th graders in NYC. Sample #1 came to us by way of a middle school in Chelsea, whose student population is 89% Caucasian. This sample was meant to reflect their mid-range performers. Sample #2 includes samples of our own students, in a school where 90% are Black and Hispanic.

The staff was then treated to some compelling data relating writing performance on the SAT to a scholar's grade point average in college. Studies showed that if you score a minimum of 500 on the SAT Writing then you'll likely sustain a 3.0 average. Currently the Black and Hispanic population in America is averaging just about 400 - meaning their GPA is likely near the 2.0 line. Why does the correlation matter? If our kids aren't making it through college successfully what good is all the effort we placed in getting them there in the first place? Our students deserve better regardless of their race, class or circumstances. It behooves me as a school teacher to do something about this. 

What does that mean for me as a math teacher? It means a couple of things. I'll be demanding slightly more elaborate oral responses that focus on clarity of thought. I'll model how to thoughtfully use evidence in a question to prove my answer. Perhaps I may find myself tutoring a small group of writers in the afternoon. After all, I do like to write.  But don't tell the kids - they know me as Mathquez.

Today's bow tie was purchased at a vintage shop over ten years ago. I really can't remember where I bought it, but it was originally a solid navy tie. Recently I added the fingerprints of our sons - each size and color represented their difference in age. I was hoping to give it a little polkadot effect, but I'm not sure I accomplished that.