Holiday Hiatus Over

All,

Sorry I took such a long break without notice, but it was holiday time. I know that without school I don't really have much of an excuse for taking a break, but, surprisingly I've been on the computer a lot less since I've been home. So...what should I talk about? What I got for Christmas, maybe? I think not. If you're interested, e-mail me (jmbelch@ncsu.edu). I think I'll write about something I've been thinking a lot about since before Christmas.

As I said in my first post, I've worked at summer camps for the past four summers. It's been a great run, and I loved almost every minute of it (those of you who have ever worked with kids knows what I mean). During my first two summers I worked at camp Rockfish near Fayetteville. Other than the highly motivated staff, there was nothing too exceptional about this camp, except that it was a part of Operation Purple. Haven't heard about it? I can't say I'm surprised, but it's a great program. The gist of Operation Purple, is that it is a program for children who have a parent deployed in the past year, or is currently deployed. The NMFA (National Military Family Association) runs OP, and its aim is to send military kids to summer camps for free. I can't say enough about the amount of good this program does for these kids and for the staff at these camps. I won't say too much more about OP, but if you're interested in learning more about it, check out its website here.

While thinking about OP, I couldn't help but think about the kids that I've come into contact while working at an OP camp. In general, the kids don't come from the best family situations--the boys especially. And, that's not all that surprising. They don't have a father figure at home, and their dad is most likely being shot at. That could make anyone's life much more interesting. I specifically remember two situations from my two summers at that camp. First, a brother-sister pair in my middle school leadership group who confided in me that they came from an abusive home. Without going into too much detail, their dad showed signs of PTSD which manifested in physical and verbal abuse, and their older sister was verbally/emotionally abusive towards them. And, second I remember when I found an eight year old boy crying, only to be informed the reason that he was crying was because he was missing his dad. Not an uncommon sight at camp, but I came to find out that his dad had been killed in action a year ago.

So, where am I going with this? I must admit, I'm not entirely sure. But, I guess where I'm going with this is to say that this Christmas, while I was spending time with my family exchanging gifts and eating entirely too much, I couldn't help but think of the kids I'd come in contact with. I thought about all the kids that I'd come in contact with that weren't going to have their fathers home for the holidays, the kids that didn't know who their dad is, and the kids that would be lucky to have one present under the tree. And, what prompted this line of thought, you ask? Oh...just that terribly sappy Christmas song about the shoes. I'll admit that as I listened to it on the radio I couldn't bring myself to change the station, because it prompted me to think of those kids. It made me smile and shed a couple tears all at the same time. So, I know I'm not the only one who thought this this holiday season, but did I really do enough for those in need over the past year? I'd like to think so, but there are days where I'm not sure. So, yes, I guess this is just another sappy holiday themed blog entry, but I needed to write this down. I don't really know why, since no one reads this (chuckling, transitioning to "bawwwww"), but it needed to be done. Anyway, happy early New Year, and I hope everyone had a wonderful holiday season.

A Note and a Gift

I know my last post was relatively "heavy" and focused on wrestling with the problems of American education. And, I don't want to pigeonhole this blog as one devoted exclusively to dealing with tough concepts and ideas, so I figured this would be a good diversion from the (sometimes) overzealous writing of a prospective teacher.

As some of you may know, it's holiday season...again. This will be the twentieth Christmas season I've been a part of, and to be honest I can't say that I'm as enthused as I wished I was about it. Given, I now know where the cookies I left out for Santa went, and where the presents "from" Santa came from. Thanks again, Mom and Dad. The childhood wonder that makes Christmas time so special has lost its grip on me, but the events of the past couple days have gotten me thinking (who knows, maybe I shouldn't think about it too hard, but I did anyway).

It all started Friday night as I was driving to pick up my girlfriend so we could go to a friend's house for dinner. As I was driving down Hillsborough Street, I noticed a small piece of paper on the windshield wiper of my car. It had writing on it, but I couldn't read it at the time. As I was driving to my girlfriend's house, I was annoyed by the note. I figured it was a note saying something along the lines of "I dinged your car as I was backing up, my number is xxx-xxxx." Just to let those of you who haven't seen my car know, it's a piece of crap. But I say that affectionately. It's gotten me to and from Alabama twice and on other countless road trips across state lines, and for that I'm grateful. When I got to Jen's house, the first thing I did after I got out of the car was to pull the note off of my windshield wiper (how it hadn't fallen off my wiper or been completely destroyed in the bad weather this week, I'll never know) and read it. I wish I still had it, but it said something to this effect: "Your rear right tire is almost flat. You should probably put some air in it." I couldn't read the signature, but as I walked around to look at the tire, I thanked them. After that, though, I didn't think much of the note. I went to the dinner and had a good time with my girlfriend and our friends.

After the dinner I went to a party at an old Army ROTC buddy's place. While there I was able to have a good time and catch up with some guys that I don't see too often, now that I'm not a cadet. While I was talking with some of them and introducing myself to the unfamiliar people there, my friend Justin walked in. Now, Justin and I share a pretty strong bond, because not only was I in ROTC with him, but he lived in my suite freshman year. We saw a LOT of each other both freshman and sophomore years (those are the years I was a member of ROTC). Almost the first thing he said after we exchanged salutations was, "hey Belch, I have something for you." Long story short, later that night he took me up to his apartment (luckily it was in the same building) and was looking for what he wanted to give me. He couldn't find it, but what he was looking for was one of my old name tapes from my ROTC days. Apparently it had been hanging up in the supply room (or batcave as we came to know it), and he had thought to grab it for me. Again, at the time, I didn't think much of it.

Now a few days removed from the situation, I've had some time to think about these two incidents. I've determined that I'm thankful both to the unknown stranger who left that note and also to Justin for picking up that name tape. Christmas is coming up and I haven't even started shopping, but I'll think about these two events for some time to come. That act of kindness from a stranger could have saved me a blow-out, a huge pain in the ass and a huge withdrawal from my checking account, and for that I am in his or her debt. And, Justin's gesture reminded me of all the good times I had in ROTC and that even though I'm not a cadet anymore, we still see each other like brothers (I hope).

So here's where I go into PSA mode. Remember to help a stranger out this holiday season at every opportunity you can. You never know when it could save someone a heap of trouble and cash. And, when you're out getting gifts for loved ones, remember that it's sometimes the cheap gifts (yes, even ones you don't ACTUALLY give to someone) that mean the most. With that, I think it's my bed time.

Hello World

I've never been one to write a journal or a diary. I've tried it a couple times, but it has never become a habit. So...why should I expect a dabbling into the world of blogs to be any different? I hope that this excursion will be less of an attempt to make my day-to-day or even week-to-week experience more accessible and transparent to the online community and more a forum for me to post my ramblings and thoughts and give people both inside and outside my normal circle of acquaintances and friends a chance to reply and throw their two cents in. With that sentiment out of the way, let me begin.

My name is Jason Belch (for those of you who may not know me), and I'm a student at North Carolina State University in Raleigh, North Carolina. I'm a twenty year old junior studying Middle Grades Education focusing in Mathematics and Science. That means, upon completing my degree and the licensure process I will be teaching 6-9 graders. Why this age, you ask? Because, like many others, my experience during this time period kinda sucked. If it hadn't been for some great teachers, parents, and friends I would not have turned out as I have today. This time period is critical in any person's development, and to be a part of shaping future generation's development is an opportunity and challenge I can't pass up. Plus, as I have witnessed in my time in the public school system, the middle grades are the time when academic gaps are opened and widened; a time when it is crucial to have passionate teachers in the classroom.

I'm passionate about kids. Period. I've spent the last four summers working with children from ages 5-17 from widely varying socioeconomic classes, and have found the experience to be extremely rewarding. Watching faces light up as you teach someone a new skill or sing a silly song are experiences I won't ever forget, and given my career choice something I will be seeing more of. We've all heard the rhetoric extolling "children are the future," and I totally buy in to that. But, beyond the fact that the children I will be teaching are the future venture capitalists, lawyers, doctors, teachers, firemen, policemen, etc of the world is the simple truth that no matter how much you are able to teach a child, he or she will teach you just as much.

Right now it is "dead week" at NCSU and so I'm finding a good bit of extra time to catch up on watching every single episode of Star Trek: TNG, looking at funny pictures on the internet, and following friends on facebook. But, I have also had the time to use the internet for more constructive purposes as well. I've spent my fair share of time listening to iTunes U podcasts from La Trobe University in Australia and reading Bill Ferriter's (a Wake County middle school teacher's) blog entitled "The Tempered Radical," both of which I would highly recommend as they're free and extremely informative. While reading one of Mr. Ferriter's blog entries entitled "The Impact of Market Norms on Education..." (to read it, click here), I couldn't help but think about its implications, and how they squared with what one of my professors recently said.

To paraphrase what Dr. Beal (my professor for a Curriculum and Instruction class) said in our last class of the semester: "if you're not passionate about and have a generally positive view of early adolescents and are unwilling to do all of the following and more: immerse yourself in early adolescent culture, be innovative in your lesson plans, blur subject definitions by creating interdisciplinary projects, continually reflect on, improve, and adapt your teaching methods, and completely throw yourself into a challenging career, then you should leave the College of Education completely, or move to Elementary or High School education." I wholeheartedly agree with her sentiment, but it is a rather idealistic viewpoint. I don't mind idealistic viewpoints, as I hold a lot of them myself, but Mr. Ferriter's blog entry referenced above tempers a roughly equivalent viewpoint with that of the reality of teaching in America's education system.

It's no secret that the reform of America's education system is being driven by standardized assessments. It is our sense of competition that is placing new emphasis on standardized test scores in hopes of surpassing other countries' scores. As Mr. Ferriter is quick to point out, it is this new emphasis on test scores that has driven education from a profession driven by social norms to a system driven by market norms. I agree with Mr. Ferriter's opinion that because of this shift, Obama's sentiments regarding the rewards of teaching as antiquated. Teachers are expected to increase their students' test scores, not build the kind of meaningful relationships and environments that benefit students outside of test-taking environments.

As a prospective teacher, I'll be thrown into a professional environment where I'll be expected to help students master material for summative assessments and be dictated what I'm to teach and in what order. While the meaningful relationships with students will still be there, the restraints placed on curriculum will become increasingly tight. As a prospective teacher, reading Mr. Ferriter's blog entry "The Impact of Market Norms on Education..." leaves me wondering: is going into an education system being bashed over the head with accountability for test scores that much different than becoming a cubicle jockey and being beat over the head with personal sales figures? As Mr. Ferriter, a highly respected and generally optimistic teacher, said: "I'm not working for a cause anymore. I'm working for myself." With a veteran teacher with numerous warm and fuzzy stories to tell about the rewards of teaching making such a statement, then what is a prospective teacher to think?

After reading my paraphrasing of what Dr. Beal had to say and Mr. Ferriter's blog post, if you have any answers for me, please let me know. I'm still searching.