Parents – JC Bowman

Men Who Helped Shape Our Lives

January 31, 2020 by JC Bowman, posted in JC Bowman, Parents

Francis Bowman JC Bowman

My dad would have been 87 today. Strange how dates become milestones. They say memories fade. Some should never fade. Over time I have learned to reflect on the good in people. My dad and I had a tough relationship, to say the least, but one thing I know because of him I literally have no fear of facing tough situations in life or difficulties. He was a self-made, often stubborn man, who died too soon. That stubborn trait was passed on to his sons. I fear no challenge in life, not even death itself, because I watched my dad take on life’s difficulties with a laugh. Here is to the men who helped shape our lives, imperfect as they may be, may we always remember them and be grateful for their influence. Thank you, Francis Bowman, Happy Birthday in heaven. —- JC Bowman

Successful Education Leaders Communicate Effectively

January 10, 2020 by JC Bowman, posted in JC Bowman, Leadership, Legislation, Parents, Professional Educators of Tennessee, Resources, Students

Crossing out problems and writing solutions on a blackboard.

I am very sympathetic to parents who make claims that the school district in their community is tone-deaf, and will not listen. I have called and emailed school superintendents myself across the state and, on occasion, failed to receive a courtesy response.

I will often just pick up a phone and call them or their Board Chair when they failed to respond. I think persistence is key in some cases. However, some superintendents fail to understand their lack of response is harmful to the image of a district.

Parents are in a different position. Many are young parents, and do not know how government works, or is supposed to work. In many cases, this leads to a lack of parent engagement. In public education, we must solicit more, not less, community involvement.

We must all work to hold our superintendents accountable in regard to educational, financial, and administrative performance. There is a growing debate on whether districts should return to electing these school management leaders; we have generally opposed such legislation, believing school boards can make good choices and hold superintendents accountable. We acknowledge that many school districts do a better job of this than other school districts. Notably, urban districts have consistently had much turnover in their leadership versus rural districts across the state. Constant turnover also hurts the elected versus appointed superintendent debate. School boards must elect good candidates with community input.

School boards must embody the beliefs and values of their community. School board members should be as diverse as the citizens they serve. We should thank the men and women who are serving our communities as school board members more often. They are too often unappreciated, and it is often a thankless but needed job. We need more people with management and education backgrounds to consider running for the school board in their community. The pay isn’t great, but the rewards are immeasurable. The Tennessee School Boards Association has some great information on their website for those interested in this critical role.

School boards should provide superintendents latitude in regards to leadership, vision, and strategic thinking on how to address the performance in those areas. And we must expect them to communicate effectively to all stakeholders. There is no doubt we have some excellent leaders across our state. Superintendents like Melanie Miller, Jerry Boyd, Linda Cash, Johnny McDaniel, Bill Heath, Cathy Beck, Freddy Curtis, Richard Rawlings, and Mark Winningham just to name a few.

These exceptional leaders share many characteristics. Perhaps the most important duty of a superintendent is to make sure district students are learning and achieving at the highest level possible. A superintendent must understand effective academic practices and be supportive of the teachers and administrators in the district. Leadership, vision, and strategic thinking are critical skills for every superintendent. A successful superintendent will also be an effective and excellent communicator. The communication part starts with returning emails and phone calls.

I have been critical over the years of many things in public education. From lack of focus or poorly defined goals to disagreement with curriculum or self-serving unions. However, I have always tried to do what my mother advised, “If you are going to criticize, offer a solution.” Teddy Roosevelt blatantly made it clear, “It is not the critic who counts; but rather the man who is actually in the arena.”

For education leaders to be successful they must communicate effectively. As a practitioner of my craft, I love reading what is going on in other schools and districts across the state. Every Monday in my email inbox appears a weekly Marczak Monday Memo from Chris Marczak, the superintendent of Maury County Schools. It is a great example of effective communication and a model that some districts should adopt. However, school updates are not a substitute for responding to direct emails or telephone calls. Something I am sure Dr. Marczak would agree, as he also excels in returning calls and emails.

At Gettysburg, Abraham Lincoln stated that our government was “for the people.” Cynics take that a step further and tell us government is for those who make themselves effectively heard. That is why it is most critical for elected and appointed officials to communicate clearly, concisely, timely, and effectively. For school leaders, it is even more critical.

JC Bowman is the Executive Director of Professional Educators of Tennessee, a non-partisan teacher association headquartered in Nashville, Tennessee. Permission to reprint in whole or in part is hereby granted, provided that the author and the association are properly cited.

Critics Should Offer Solutions

October 23, 2019 by JC Bowman, posted in Advocacy, Bullying, Educators, JC Bowman, Leadership, Legislation, Parents, Professional Educators of Tennessee, Reading, Students, Unions, Workforce

save the earth

Need a quick headline in the media? Attack public education. Want to gripe about something in government? Attack public education. Have a business venture that needs cash influx? Attack public education. Attacking public education is becoming a hobby to some, and a profession to several others.

I have been critical over the years of many things in public education. From lack of focus or poorly defined goals, disagreement with curriculum, to self-serving unions. However, I have always tried to do what my mother always advised, “If you are going to criticize, offer a solution.” Teddy Roosevelt blatantly made it clear, “It is not the critic who counts,” but rather “the man who is actually in the arena.”

Too many people want to simply condemn ideas, people, or society and offer nothing realistic in return. Let’s be clear, there will never be a one size fits all model for public education and no single academic model can work in a diversified population in a state or nation. That is why it is critical to have collaboration among educators, parents, citizens, and businesses to transform education at local levels based on the needs of each community. That is real local control.

Students will always need to learn basic skills such as reading and writing, and education stakeholders and policymakers must help students understand the changing world around them. That will mean many different things from the community to community, and state to state. There is no debate that evolving technology is changing how we teach and learn.

No single method can accommodate all student learning needs. Through technology, we can enable educators to provide to the unique needs of individual learners based on their readiness levels and student ability, which simply expands direct instruction to a more flexible and personalized approach to content delivery. All instruction, including differentiated instruction, must be structured, sequenced, and led by teachers “directing” the instructional process.

A broader student-centered strategy built around personalization should increase the learning growth of all students. The one-size-fits-all or teach-to-the-middle approach, expecting all students to do the same activity, work at the same pace, do the same homework, and take the same test hurts a significant portion of our students, especially when students lack the prerequisite skills. In addition, personalization better serves the best and brightest students in our classrooms. Technology must be an ally for modern educators in classroom instruction.

A degree in education should never be the basis for deliberating public education or offering an opinion. However, common sense must prevail. Too many critics of public education are focusing on the wrong things, using faulty information or do not have complete information. More importantly, many critics are treading into areas in which they know little to nothing about, except by hearsay. This is dangerous.

That does not mean that public education is free from faults, or should not continue to transform and change. We must avoid the condition described by Alexander Pope about being “too vain to mend.” All citizens should root for the success of public education if for no other reason than 90% of the children in our nation are educated by public schools. We want our children to succeed and our economy to flourish in this changing world. That message would make for much better headlines.

JC Bowman is the Executive Director of Professional Educators of Tennessee, a non-partisan teacher association headquartered in Nashville, Tennessee. Permission to reprint in whole or in part is hereby granted, provided that the author and the association are properly cited. For more information on this subject or any education issue please contact Professional Educators of Tennessee.

Reflecting on Fatherhood

June 16, 2019 by JC Bowman, posted in Holidays, JC Bowman, Parents

Children do not come with an instruction guide. It would be much easier if they did. So much time and effort go into child rearing. It is beyond a full-time job. Let’s be honest, being a dad is actual work—and it is difficult yet rewarding work.

Too many men in society today want the title of Father, but they want to put in the work of a part-time casual observer. Men who fail to invest in their children miss the wonder of life. The men will likely reap the results of that part-time status. If not in their lifetime, then in the lives of their children. It is a vicious and unnecessary cycle, that we perpetuate from generation to generation.

Too often, children are subjected to fathers who do not know how to love them, or who are just not there. The absent fathers and the emotionally distant fathers create more lasting problems, much more than physical abuse. Not that physical abuse is ever acceptable. Wounds heal, emotional scarring could last a lifetime—if you let it.

We know that childhood abuse and neglect, cause so many people to embark on lives of drugs or prostitution, sometimes even worse. The absent and emotionally distant father helps create adults full of bitterness and anger. A man who takes the title of Father seriously, helps create children that are confident and secure as adults—they break the generational curse of men who fail to father their children.

The writer and missionary, Floyd McClung, Jr., suggested that as people consider their past, that they “forgive their parents for their faults.” That is a deep thought. As I came to grips with my own strained relationship with my Dad, it made me realize that I, too, had my own short comings as a parent. Self-reflection is bittersweet, but necessary. Reflection benefits our souls.

You wake up one day and twenty years have gone by. I wish I had spent more time with my own daughters, listened more to what was going on in their lives, and been slower to criticize their youthful expressions of their generation. I wish I had held my children closer and longer. They were in a hurry to grow up, and truth be told, it was what I assumed was the natural passage of life. To take them into my arms as children again and sing to them in my off-key voice is a dream that can never be fulfilled. My children are what mattered most in the world, and while I was out making a living, I missed parts of their life—and deprived myself of enjoyment that was Fatherhood.

This Father’s Day, embrace your children for as long as they will let you. For those with a Father, forgive them for their shortcomings. The grace you give will return in your own children. For those without a Father, recall the good times, and work toward moving past the hurt and pain. You will not regret investing in your relationships, and few are more important than the image a child has of a Father.

Some of us still need emotional and spiritual healing, breaking out of judgmental cycles, and dealing with the inevitable disappointments of life. When we go through life with a distorted image of what a father is or what it means to be a father, it means we miss one of the most critical parts of our lives. We can grieve and fail to recognize our internal pain, or that of others.

We must acknowledge our life experiences for what they were, and recognize what should have been. Yes, life is unfair. All men may be created equal, but not all fathers are up for the difficult challenge of fatherhood. The good news is that if you are a Father or have a Father who is still alive, you still have time to rebuild together.

JC Bowman is the Executive Director of Professional Educators of Tennessee. Permission to reprint in whole or in part is hereby granted, provided that the author and the association are properly cited. For more information on this subject or any education issue please contact Professional Educators of Tennessee.

Parent Dress & Unintended Consequences

January 31, 2019April 22, 2021 by JC Bowman, posted in Advocacy, Educators, JC Bowman, Leadership, Legislation, Parents, Professional Educators of Tennessee, Tennessee Education

Consistently in polling, educators refer to the heavy workload as being a major factor to why they leave the education profession. Today educators must also exercise a higher duty of care than most other professionals. Teachers face exposure to liability much greater than does the average citizen. Teacher burnout is actually an international epidemic.

Nearly every day, teachers must deal with diverse laws related to issues such as child abuse, student discipline, negligence, defamation, student records and copyright infringement. And still they must teach. So, every time we see legislation that adds to the teacher workload, we look very cautiously at it.

If we created a parent dress code, it will only add more work to our already overburdened educators, as well as increase their liability. That does not mean adults should not dress appropriately on school grounds. However, educators should not be the enforcement part of any proposed law. Do we expect teachers to issue speeding tickets in school zones? Should they enforce seatbelt laws or arrest those who violate cell phone usage in a school zone? Of course not. So why is this issue more important or any different?

As Professional Educators of Tennessee has pointed out, most of what Representative Parkinson seeks to address is already in state law. It happens to be in a different code than laws that strictly are on education. Adults should dress properly. And of course, adults should conduct themselves properly in public. Previous legislators understood that indecency laws and behavior problems, which impacts all of society, are criminal offenses. It has simply been unenforced in most cases.

Now because of a few isolated instances that were never reported to police who have proper jurisdiction, we are rushing to pass legislation and add to the burden of our public schools. Are educators now to act as law enforcement agents on matters of dress by adults? We should discuss the issue and perhaps study the issue further. But changes should be made in Title 39 of the Tennessee Code Annotated (T.C.A.): general offenses, offenses against the person, offenses against property, offenses against the family, offenses against the administration of government, and offenses against the public health, safety and welfare not Title 49 Education.

The problem that legislation like this seeks to solve with student dress code policies alone have resulted in many court cases over the years. This type of legislation will compound the problem for teachers, schools, and districts. In general, public schools are allowed to have student dress codes and uniform policies which cannot be discriminatory or censor expression. And most of the policies are targeted at females. In St. Louis area, the Mehlville School District dealt with multiple complaints in August 2018. This will prove extremely problematic when enforcing policies with adults. So, if legislation is to be passed on this matter, include immunity for teachers, schools and districts. And prepare for the litigation that is sure to follow.

The law of unintended consequences, often cited but rarely defined, is that actions always have effects that are unanticipated or unintended. It is common sense that adults should dress appropriately in public. However, to make this cultural matter one that places public education as the gatekeepers of public indecency for adults makes little sense. We hope this matter can be resolved without increasing, unnecessarily, the workload of our educators. The intended and unintended consequences of any legislation of this matter might not be what you want.

Dress Codes and Bad Behavior

January 25, 2019April 22, 2021 by JC Bowman, posted in Advocacy, JC Bowman, Parents

I have been fascinated by a piece of legislation being suggested by Tennessee Representative Antonio Parkinson on a parental dress code. We should welcome the discussion. The legislation is probably not necessary. It offers nothing that law enforcement could not already do.

Apparently, in Memphis-Shelby County parents are going on school grounds dressed in inappropriate attire, or as Rep. Parkinson describes one case: “a parent coming in with lingerie on and body parts still visible to everyone.” We can all agree that is inappropriate. Here is the problem: we already have laws on the books designed to address public indecency for adults. In Tennessee, individuals commit “indecent exposure” when he or she, in a public place or on the private premises of another, intentionally exposes his or her genitals or buttocks or engages in sexual acts and reasonably expects the acts to be viewed by others. The acts offend an ordinary viewer, and are for the arousal and gratification of the individual. (Tennessee Code Annotated §39-13-511).

The punishment for public indecency or indecent exposure includes fines and/or jail time. For the first or second offense, public indecency is a Class B misdemeanor punishable by a fine of $500. If you are convicted of three or more indecent exposure charges, you will have to register as a sex offender. If you are a school employee or an adult on school grounds and witness another adult engaged in indecent exposure please notify school administration, the appropriate law enforcement agency, including the school resource officer, immediately. Passing legislation is probably not necessary if we simply enforce the indecent exposure laws already on the books.

Engaged parents are critical partners in student success. But we must expect adults to follow local, state and federal laws. This would also include appropriate behavior. Tennessee law already prohibits a variety of behaviors that annoy or disrupt other people in public. These categories of offenses found in Title 39 of the Tennessee Code Annotated (T.C.A.): general offenses, offenses against the person, offenses against property, offenses against the family, offenses against the administration of government, and offenses against the public health, safety and welfare were revised and modernized in 1989. Perhaps they should be updated?

Violations of public peace and safety in Tennessee include: 1) Public intoxication: Appearing under the influence of alcohol or drugs, causing unreasonable annoyance or endangerment; 2) Disorderly conduct: Threatening behavior, creating hazardous conditions, being unreasonably noisy or fighting; 3) Civil rights intimidation: Threatening or injuring someone to prevent him or her from exercising rights or privileges; and, 4) Obstructing a passageway: Obstructing a sidewalk, highway, hallway or elevator. If parents are engaged in any of these behaviors, then it is a matter for law enforcement. Our schools have a difficult enough time managing the behavior issues of students. Managing the criminal behavior of adults is the primary role and responsibility of law enforcement, not educators.

The 111^th General Assembly must address real issues facing all of our public schools. We should focus on three major priorities: 1) Strengthening the foundations of a quality system; 2) Getting our students ready to enter the workforce; and 3) Embracing innovation. I applaud Representative Parkinson for speaking up on an issue that is impacting the schools in his district. I hope he will encourage school officials in his district to work with law enforcement and address criminal behavior. We must have high moral standards in our schools. So, let’s simply enforce the law that already exists. On that we can all agree.

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Education in the Age of the Underdog

October 4, 2018 by JC Bowman, posted in Advocacy, Educators, JC Bowman, Leadership, Parents, Professional Development, Professional Educators of Tennessee, Resources, Students

Dr. Ryan Jackson from Mt. Pleasant High School in Maury County, TN, “The Mount,” shares real life examples as he talks about educators being advocates for the “underdog.”

No More Broken Crayons

September 19, 2018 by JC Bowman, posted in Bullying, JC Bowman, Mental Health, Parents, Professional Educators of Tennessee, School Safety, Students, Tennessee Education

Signs of child abuse are all around us. We need to know where to look. #TNEdu

Dream On

July 27, 2018 by JC Bowman, posted in Advocacy, Educators, JC Bowman, Leadership, Legislation, Parents, Professional Educators of Tennessee, Students, Tennessee Education

Every child should have a dream for their future. Not knowing who or what we want will lead us to becoming someone and something we never wanted to be. As parent or as an educator the greatest gift we give children the belief that if they work hard they can be anything they want to be in life. Of course, we all struggle at times to figure out just what it is we want out of life.

A brighter future starts with a quality education and giving children everywhere the tools and support they need to find success in school and in life. America is understood to be the home of possibility. The World Economic Forum estimates that 65 per cent of children today will end up in careers that don’t even exist yet and for which schools are not preparing them. Unfortunately, our school system is built on a model more linked to the industrial age, than the digital/technological age.

Two education entrepreneurs Kanya Balakrishna and Andrew Mangino launched a website called the Future Project to reach 50 million students across the country they say are at risk of never discovering their full potential. Their focus is to encourage kids to dream. They believe that dreams inspire learning – “not the sort of rote, superficial learning that will help students pass state standardized tests” but rather “real learning that inspires deep, meaningful, life-changing mastery and purpose.” This kind of learning, they believe, will inspire “positive change both for the individual and their community.” It is an intriguing idea that deserves discussion.

Educator Sean Hampton-Cole offered up that he had a “dream that within our lifetimes, personal enrichment, critical analysis, creative output and purposeful problem-solving will be considered at least as important as factual recall in education.” We need art and music in our culture. Unfortunately, we are neglecting those subjects in our schools. President Ronald Reagan struck a similar note in speaking about the humanities in 1987: “The humanities teach us who we are and what we can be,” he said. “They lie at the very core of the culture of which we’re a part, and they provide the foundation from which we may reach out to other cultures. The arts are among our nation’s finest creations and the reflection of freedom’s light.”

Art and music programs are likely to be among the first victims of budget cuts in financially-stretched school districts already fighting to meet other academic demands, and they are rarely restored. The College Board, found that students who take four years of arts and music classes while in high school score 95 points better on their SAT exams than students who took only a half year or less (scores averaged 1061 among students in arts educations compared to 966 for students without arts education). It is important for policymakers to understand that art, music, and literature improve problem-solving and critical-thinking skills.

This is exactly what the World Economic Forum revealed that business executives were looking for in future employees. Their number one response? Complex problem solving. Other skills on their top ten list included critical thinking, creativity, collaboration and emotional intelligence. Literacy, numeracy and scientific knowledge will always be essential. Policymakers and stakeholders alike need to understand that arts and music are vital in promoting, educating and developing our youth to excel and reach their dreams. President John F. Kennedy reminded us: “I am certain that after the dust of centuries has passed over our cities, we too, will be remembered not for victories or defeats in battle or in politics, but for our contribution to the human spirit.”

In her book, Not For Profit: Why Democracy Needs the Humanities, Martha Nussbaum argues that arts education, under threat all over the world, must be embraced because it supplies the skills needed to nurture true democratic citizens. Education must nurture the whole child, and arts are vital in this endeavor. Nussbaum contends that it is vital for our children to have critical and hands-on engagement with art, music, and literature, all of which help foster our basic humanity — creativity, critical thinking, and empathy for others. Cultivating these values, she argues, are the deeper purposes of education.

Seth Godin takes it a step further in Stop Stealing Dreams when he writes: “Have we created a trillion-dollar, multimillion-student, sixteen-year schooling cycle to take our best and our brightest and snuff out their dreams—sometimes when they’re so nascent that they haven’t even been articulated? Is the product of our massive schooling industry an endless legion of assistants? The century of dream-snuffing has to end. The real shortage we face is dreams, and the wherewithal and the will to make them come true. We’re facing a significant emergency, one that’s not just economic but cultural as well. The time to act is right now, and the person to do it is you.”

This generation of educators have to be the ones to restore the dream of our students. It isn’t just about education reform or public education reimagined. There is a coming education revolution. We must ensure each child, in every school, in all communities are healthy, safe, engaged, supported, and challenged. This will require the kind of teaching to prepare students to become creative problem solvers who can take initiative and responsibility. To paraphrase Steven Tyler: When we look in the mirror. The lines are getting clearer. The past is gone. Dream On.

My Father’s Son

June 17, 2018 by JC Bowman, posted in Holidays, JC Bowman, Parents, Professional Educators of Tennessee, Resources, Uncategorized

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I drew back my fist and tried to defend my mother after my dad had struck her numerous times. I don’t remember my exact age, but I was around 4 years of age. It is etched forever in my mind and fuels my abhorrence of injustice and deep respect of women. Sometimes I close my eyes and it is as if I am there again.

In high school, it was endless cycle of verbal battles—and I could give much better than I would take. My dad, Francis Bowman, was a tough man. He was the 11^th of 12 children of a moderately successful, yet well-respected father, who himself died way too early. It was hard for me to love him, yet other people told me stories of his constant charity and gregarious nature. He had a determined work ethic, often working two jobs, and he taught me to never expect to be handed anything in life. Certainly nothing would be handed to me under his roof. When I was 17 it escalated and he finally slapped me. I wanted to hit back at him, but somehow, I knew better. I yelled the words that I thought would hurt him the most: “I hate you.” And at that moment in my life, I did.

Hate is a motivating emotion. Fear, anger, and hatred are all painstakingly linked together. Much like love, all of them can serve to influence our behavior. My father had served his country during the Korean War in the United States Navy. So, after high school, I needed to show him that I was much tougher than him and I joined the United States Marines. I didn’t even bother to tell him until just a few days before I left for boot camp. It was the only time I ever recall seeing him cry.

It is an ancient ritual of fathers and their children. The child yearning to grow into adulthood, and a father’s tough love. Mothers can be demanding, but they have that nurturing and caring side that escapes most men. Fathers try to instill discipline in order to help their children succeed in a heartless, often uncaring, world.

When you become a father, you are reminded by memory and experience or from others and those lessons you pass along to your own children. The ritual of fatherhood continues. You will hear the words of hate spewed back at you, and it hurts. The emotional pain hurts more than any physical pain. At that moment you realize the hurt you caused your own father. It is then you start the healing process.

The Christmas before he passed away, my dad asked me to come see him. He handed me a wad of cash, and a newspaper with the price of hams circled. He then handed me a list of names and some addresses. He wanted me to deliver, in secret, hams to all those addresses, including many people I had never met. I had discovered he had been doing this much of his life for the underprivileged. I also learned from my Uncle that he had played Santa Claus at orphanages in South Korea while he was in the Navy. He said he would never play that role again, and he didn’t, because one little girl had asked him for a father. I started to understand him better.

My mother called me on that October day in 1991. You need to come home, your father is dying. I had heard that before. More to please her than to satisfy him, I went home. He was dying. But it would be a magnificent death. For once all was clear, pain seemingly gone. For just a few days he was able to apologize for all the wrongs he had committed or felt he had committed. Words were said that needed to be spoken, and a message was given that needed to be heard. He held nothing back, sharing a lifetime full of words in a few hours. His remorse was heartfelt and restorative.

Sitting there watching my father pass into his eternal reward, based on his Christian faith, I reflected on the broken man who raised me. It was years later when I was truly able to forgive. I don’t condone many of his actions, but I was able to move past them. I learned that I am much like my father in many ways. A strength, a toughness that is entrenched into my being that I inherited. I remember among his last words: “Life really is simple, we just complicate it. If I had to do it over again I would focus more on those things that are important, like faith and family.” I am my father’s son.