JC Bowman – JC Bowman

Thanksgiving Blessings to You

November 26, 2020 by JC Bowman, posted in JC Bowman

Do we need a holiday to be thankful? Probably not. However, this year has been tough for so many people, and circumstances have been tremendously difficult. Even so, we all have much to be thankful for as individuals, as a state, and as a nation. Celebrating Thanksgiving is one manner of telling the world that God is bigger than our problems.

Since the first settlement, Americans continued the custom of establishing days of prayer, fasting, and thanksgiving. This could be annually or in response to significant events. Traditionally, educators and historians recognize the “first” Thanksgiving as occurring at the Plymouth colony in the autumn of 1621.

President George Washington issued a proclamation designating November 26 of that year as a national day of Thanksgiving in 1789. The purpose was to recognize the role of providence in creating the new United States and the new federal Constitution. Washington stated in the first Thanksgiving proclamation that “It is the duty of all nations to acknowledge the providence of Almighty God, to obey His will, to be grateful for His benefits, and humbly to implore His protection and favor.”

Later presidents, including John Adams and James Madison, also declared days of thanksgiving. Following those actions, President Abraham Lincoln took steps to designate a more permanent observance of Thanksgiving. With few exceptions, Lincoln’s example was pretty much kept by every subsequent president–until President Franklin Roosevelt. In 1941, President Roosevelt officially established the fourth Thursday in November as Thanksgiving Day.

President John F. Kennedy challenged Americans to remember the true origins and reasons for Thanksgiving. He also asked Americans to give thanks to those in our past who both fought for and gave us our ideals and values. He wrote in his Thanksgiving Day Proclamation before he was assassinated, “As we express our gratitude, we must never forget that the highest appreciation is not to utter words but to live by them.” Kennedy wanted Americans to be thankful for the intrinsic things that we have. We have gifts, like hope and love, that are can only be destroyed if we allow it. Kennedy wrote: “We recognize too that we live in a world of peril and change–and in so uncertain a time we are all the more grateful for the indestructible gifts of hope and love, which sustain us in adversity and inspire us to labor unceasingly for a more perfect community within this nation and around the earth.” Kennedy challenged us to be mindful of those who have less than us and to strive towards a better world not just for us but for all of humanity.

President Reagan gave America eight Thanksgiving Day proclamations from 1981 through 1988. His Thanksgiving themes almost always expressed our need to show gratitude for family, friends, and good fortune. It is also an opportunity to reflect on the founding of our nation, the principles and ideals it stands for, and the ongoing need for citizens to give back to the community and country to uphold that vision. In 1985, President Reagan eloquently reminded us, “My fellow Americans, let us keep this Thanksgiving Day sacred,” urging Americans to thank God for the “bounty and goodness of our nation.” He then added, “And as a measure of our gratitude, let us rededicate ourselves to the preservation of this: the land of the free and the home of the brave.”

Nobody can dispute the difficulty many Americans faced in 2020. Thanksgiving is just one day set aside that allows us to take a moment to reflect on the things for which we are the most grateful. This Thanksgiving we should be thankful for both the small and large blessings in our lives. And just as in years past, we should seek with grateful hearts the political, moral, and intellectual blessings that make self-government possible. However, we must recognize what is truly essential: faith, family, and friends. Embrace others and treat everybody with dignity and respect. If you want to touch the heart of God, take an interest in the things that interests God. Let God love others through you.

JC Bowman is the Executive Director of Professional Educators of Tennessee, a non-partisan teacher association headquartered in Nashville, Tennessee.

Keeping Student Discipline on the Legislative Agenda

February 7, 2020 by JC Bowman, posted in JC Bowman, Legislation

Misbehaving-students

Lack of student discipline, inadequate administrative support, and lack of respect are frequently cited as reasons why teachers leave the teaching profession, often as much as low salary and poor working conditions. Too many policymakers yearn for a time that no longer exists and do not understand the reality of what our teachers face daily.

Our classrooms have an abundance of students exhibiting an assortment of disruptive behaviors that take the focus off academics, and in some cases even worse make learning impossible. A teacher might have several of these students misbehaving in the same class. Yes, we need to get students supported in many cases. However, we need to re-establish the foundational support for our educators and schools because they are on the frontlines of student discipline issues.

Education stakeholders can no longer maintain their reticence on the issue of student discipline. We have to speak up and speak out. It is easy for those who are not in classrooms to have a nostalgic sensation about things they do not have to live. However, educators deal with student discipline issues every single day, and it is time we move beyond talk. It is time for the General Assembly and School Boards to finally address it. And I know some legislators will tackle this challenge.

We can have an endless debate about the root causes of student misbehavior. Researchers generally point out two primary causes: 1) The disintegration of the family. And, 2) The lack of parental involvement and support in and for the schools. Those issues are unlikely to be solved by those in the classroom. These are cultural issues, and society has to work to address them. Acknowledging them is the first step.

Former Secretary of Education William Bennett states: “Clearly many modern-day social pathologies have gotten worse. More importantly, they seem impervious to the government’s attempts to cure them. Although the Great Society and its many social programs have had some good effects, there is a vast body of evidence suggesting that these “remedies” have reached the limits of their success.” Bennett is, and was, correct.

However, Bennett did not stop there. He added: “Our social and civic institutions–families, churches, schools, neighborhoods, and civic associations–have traditionally taken on the responsibility of providing our children with love, order, and discipline–of teaching self-control, compassion, tolerance, civility, honesty, and respect for authority. Government, even at its best, can never be more than an auxiliary in the development of character.”

So why should the Tennessee General Assembly even bother to address student discipline issues? Perhaps because we still believe that in our free society, and that the ultimate responsibility still rests with the people themselves. And we must embrace the optimism Bennett shared, “The good news is that what has been self-inflicted can be self-corrected.”

Just as student discipline has been a critical issue for our educators in the last thirty years, it is time we place this behemoth issue of student discipline on every legislator’s agenda. Thus far this year we have numerous legislators’ step into the fray in an ethereal and calm manner with reasoned legislation.

We are particularly supportive of pending legislation introduced by Representative Charlie Baum and Senator Bill Powers that better defines “qualified immunity.” We are extremely supportive of pending legislation by Representative Scott Cepicky and Senator Joey Hensley that gives greater authority of the teacher over their classroom, establishes procedures following removal of a student from the classroom and establishes placement review committees. Senator Ferrell Haile and Representative William Lamberth have proposed legislation to allow a director of schools, or the director’s designee, to determine whether a suspended or expelled student should be required to attend alternative school or an alternative program, to remove a student from alternative school or an alternative program if the student is not benefitting from the placement, and to determine whether, and how, if applicable, to enforce the suspension or expulsion of a student who transfers into the LEA under suspension or expulsion from another LEA. We urge the passage of all three needed pieces of legislation. This forward-thinking legislation should be supported by all members of the Tennessee General Assembly that want to create an orderly environment where educators are free to teach, without chronic student discipline issues.

We cannot continue to lay the blame for continued societal problems at the feet of public education. It is true, public education has its issues, from design to execution, but every problem faced by society gets manifested in our schools. We need more community support and cohesive education policies statewide that enables educators, schools, and districts to address critical issues such as student discipline.

We have heard the desperation in the voices of educators across the state. There is nothing more discouraging than caring, committed teachers, who have lost hope. We need consistent, uniform guidance and enforcement of student conduct. Talk to your legislators and share your thoughts and opinions with them on student discipline. In a self-governing society, we must engage in this critical matter. Failure to do so may well mean that in the near future there will be nobody willing to teach our children.

JC Bowman is the Executive Director of Professional Educators of Tennessee. Professional Educators of Tennessee is 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.

Tennessee has Played a Seminal Role in Civil Rights

January 20, 2020 by JC Bowman, posted in JC Bowman, Leadership, Professional Educators of Tennessee, Students

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Martin Luther King Jr was assassinated in Memphis, Tennessee in 1968, almost 52 years ago. Few know of the significance that Tennessee has played in Civil Rights. First, Tennessee played a pivotal role in the passage of the 19th Amendment, which granted women the right to vote in 1920. This year marks the centennial of the ratification of the 19th Amendment. Second, Tennessee was at the forefront of Civil Rights and integrating America. We should remind ourselves of this history on Martin Luther King Jr. Day in 2020.

The groundbreaking 1954 Supreme Court case Brown v. Board of Education of Topeka was the case in which the Supreme Court Justices ruled unanimously that racial segregation of children in public schools was unconstitutional. It signaled the rightful end of the “separate but equal” principle outlined in the 1896 Plessy v. Ferguson case. The Ferguson case constitutionally allowed laws barring African Americans from sharing the same buses, schools, and other public facilities as whites — known as “Jim Crow” laws — and established the separate but equal doctrine that would stand for the next six decades.

Linda Brown, then a nine-year-old girl, became the face of the issue. Ms. Brown died at age 75 on March 25, 2018. Her national legacy in Civil Rights went far beyond public education. Brown said in a 1985 interview: “I feel that after thirty years, looking back on Brown v. The Board of Education has made an impact on all facets of life for minorities throughout the land. I really think of it in terms of what it has done for our young people, in taking away that feeling of second-class citizenship. I think it has made the dreams, hopes, and aspirations of our young people greater, today.”

Few people know the role Tennessee played in Civil Rights and public education. Avon Williams, Jr., a Knoxville, Tennessee native, became a cooperating attorney for the NAACP Legal Defense Fund in 1949 and began a long career in civil rights activism. In 1950, four years before the Supreme Court outlawed school segregation in Brown v. Board of Education, Williams filed Tennessee’s first public school desegregation suit such case when he sued to integrate the public schools in Anderson County, Tennessee. (McSwain v. Board of Anderson County).

Williams’ first cousin, Thurgood Marshall, was the chief lawyer for the Legal Defense and Educational Fund of the NAACP. Marshall later became the first African-American to serve on the U.S. Supreme Court. Williams and Marshall worked closely on racial discrimination cases. Williams went before the Supreme Court seven times to argue cases involving discrimination in public schools, public housing or other public accommodations. In 1955, Williams, Marshall and Z. Alexander Looby, a fellow African American lawyer focused on civil rights, filed suit Kelley v. Board of Education against the Nashville city schools on behalf of African American children.

Looby and Williams were without a doubt the most prominent civil rights attorneys in Tennessee during their lifetime.

The Journal of African American History stated that “Looby and Williams’s work in school desegregation cases alone encompassed every major case in the state (with the exception of Northcross v. Board of Education) and entered the highest realms of legal activity. Federal judges at the circuit, appeals, and U.S. Supreme Court levels cited and considered many of their cases as the post-Brown v. Board of Education (1954) litigation world unfolded.”

In 1968, Avon Williams, Jr. was elected to the Tennessee State Senate. He was one of the first African-Americans to serve in that body since the Civil War. As a senator, he worked to put guidance counselors in elementary schools and to establish kindergarten classes in Tennessee. The state has a proud, but often untold history in Civil Rights, which greatly enhanced education in our state.

Racism, bigotry, and vitriol hate have no place in modern culture. All children are created in the image of God. Martin Luther King, Jr. poignantly stated: “I have a dream that my four little children will one day live in a nation where they will not be judged by the color of their skin, but by the content of their character.” Does character still matter? Of course, it does.

For centuries, our country has attracted people in search of a share of “the American dream” from all corners of the world. E Pluribus Unum (From Many, One) remains the national motto, yet it appears that there is no longer a consensus about what that should mean. If you step into our public schools today, the many different cultures are on full display.

Americans like Martin Luther King Jr., Linda Brown, Avon Williams, Alexander Looby, and Thurgood Marshall helped integrate America, and move the nation past the old paradigms and backward thinking that dominated our society. We need to remember and reflect on that history. More importantly, we need to fulfill our destiny as a nation where all citizens can realize the benefits of integration and equality of opportunity regardless of the color of their skin. The dream of Martin Luther King, Jr. did not die in Memphis in 1968, it is still alive in 2020.

JC Bowman is the Executive Director of Professional Educators of Tennessee, a non-partisan teacher association headquartered in Nashville, Tennessee.

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.

2020 Vision for Education Policy

January 9, 2020 by JC Bowman, posted in JC Bowman, Leadership, Legislation, Professional Educators of Tennessee, Students

2020

Educator opinions differ on numerous issues and vary from year to year. Professional Educators of Tennessee recently surveyed its teachers and solicited educator input across the state. Nearly 750 educators took the survey sent out from Professional Educators of Tennessee in October of 2019 to our members. While the majority of respondents were classroom teachers, several administrators also took part in the survey.

Salary, school climate, and student behavior have been a constant issue during the last four years. Researchers, policymakers, and stakeholders can gain useful insight into the opinions of those on the frontlines educating children. The majority of educators are satisfied with their jobs and believe their job makes a positive difference in the lives of students. However, two-thirds (67%) of teachers stated that teacher morale was a critical issue in their district.

Student behavior remains a significant issue across the state. While there is a myriad issue that concerns educators, they consistently rank discipline issues near the top. The problem appears to be rooted in the student’s home environment and the school’s culture/climate; both must be considered when addressing the problem.

A school and district must adopt policies that support effective classroom management, as well as instruction for all students. One possible policy needs to be better tracking of time that an educator has to spend on discipline issues. Do parents have the right to know, for example, if one student disrupts their own child’s education so frequently that instruction time is lost? School districts must balance responsibilities toward the community with the responsibility to nurture students. Without discipline, students cannot learn.

Testing is an issue where educators offered some valuable insight. Not only is the amount of testing done by the district a concern, but also tying teacher evaluation scores to the testing data also remains controversial.

Salary issues provide an invaluable perception of how educators view the financial reward for their profession. Educators believe that salary compensation should be equal to other fields with the same degree. It is clear that educators either reject or do not understand what policymakers mean by a “differentiated pay system.”

Well over two thirds (70%) of teacher’s support across the board salary increases. We feel that addressing salary issues should be a primary concern for policymakers. Overall, 92% indicated that salary was an issue which concerned them, followed by retirement and healthcare. Educators were very interested in student loan forgiveness incentives.

If the teacher shortages continue to be an issue state-wide and nationwide, there must be more incentives to go into the teaching field and remain there. Obviously higher pay is the biggest enticement, but also consider giving educators the opportunity to job-share and provide more appealing benefits especially when it comes to health care and retirement. And most importantly, treat educators as professionals and trust them to do their jobs without micromanaging that is currently the norm.

Certainly, some educators have been forced to leave their school system for subjective reasons, rather than objective reasons. Actions speak louder than words. In some cases, dismissal may have been warranted, but in many cases, it appears circumstances were little more than personality conflicts and people not fitting into a certain educational or political environment. We have lost some good educators in our state because of this subjectivity, and we would argue many of these educators deserve another chance to keep their careers going. This will require policymakers to make teacher retention and recruitment a top priority.

The consistency of the same issues in the last few years means that much work remains as educators are not seeing the needed changes. Policymakers and stakeholders must continue to work to make improvements in policies that impact salary, school climate, and student behavior. Education policy must remain a high priority across the state.

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. To schedule an interview please contact Audrey Shores at 1-800-471-4867 ext.102.

Next Steps for Tennessee

January 9, 2020 by JC Bowman, posted in Advocacy, JC Bowman, Leadership, Legislation, Professional Educators of Tennessee

Running Towards Eternity.jpg

Traveling across the state in my role as Executive Director of Professional Educators of Tennessee, I talk with a lot of people interested in public education. One of the most common complaints is a lack of response from Governor Bill Lee or his team on specific education issues. It is problematic, and quite honestly has always been problematic in our state.

Better communication is always needed. I should know – I used to work for Governor Jeb Bush years ago, and communication is always a struggle for the executive branch despite best intentions.

I would still remind people to be patient with Governor Lee and his staff as we are still in year one; however, staff should now be settled into place, with processes and systems clearly established. We should expect better communication in year two.

Governor Lee laid out a fairly ambitious education agenda, and while our organization disagreed with some parts of it, he offered more specifics than his opponent in the election last November. He was clear in his support of vouchers from the day he announced his candidacy. It should have been of no surprise to policymakers or stakeholders. When surveyed, our members did not support vouchers.

His legislative victory with vouchers has yet to be implemented. This may prove challenging, as the program must be proven successful before any other future voucher program is considered. Members of the Tennessee General Assembly will demand proof of unmitigated success before any expansion or similar program is enacted. Cameron Sexton, a voucher critic, has now ascended to Speaker of the House. His track record would indicate that he is a strong supporter of public schools. This helps the governor moving forward on education policy changes needed in public education.

Other parts of the Lee campaign agenda likely won him most of his statewide support, and gave voters more specifics on which to hold him accountable. Candidate Lee suggested it was time to change the way our high schools operate. It was a bold policy suggestion, and as governor, Bill Lee should move forward on that front.

For the last 50 years, the way high schools have educated students has largely remained unchanged. Many business and community leaders believe the traditional high school is disconnected from the demands of the modern economy. They emphasize that graduates need additional skills to be successful in today’s workforce.

The State Collaborative on Reforming Education (SCORE) added: “Across Tennessee, students are learning in high schools using models developed for the needs of the 20th century rather than the workforce opportunities of the future. As a result, most Tennessee students do not graduate fully prepared to succeed in college, career, and life.”

Governor Lee stated, “It is time to embrace new, flexible school models to support new opportunities for career and technical education, work-based learning and apprenticeships, and dual-enrollment courses for students preparing for their career.”

We agree. Some of that is already in the works, through recent legislation. It is time we break down barriers that have held our teachers, school leaders, and school districts back from creative solutions necessary for the unique challenges of their communities. Increasing flexibility at the local level could lead to incredible innovations in our state.

State grants that allow local districts to fund high school redesign would be one manner in which to create change and address challenges schools would face as they transition from traditional models to a more flexible school model.

Another suggestion would be for the state to establish a pilot program for high performing districts by authorizing the State Board of Education to enter into a performance contract with school districts to grant them more flexibility. These high performing districts would be a school district in which a local school board agrees to comply with certain performance goals contained in a performance contract that is approved by the State Board of Education. In return for performance accountability, the district would be granted greater autonomy with both statutory and rule exemptions. This is an idea Governor Lee and his team should explore.

It is past time for the state to make good on its commitment to teachers. The Comptroller’s Office of Research and Education Accountability (OREA) proved that the state of Tennessee invested more than $300 million for teacher salaries in 2015-2018. Most of those dollars did not actually end up in pockets of classroom teachers. Generally, school districts employ more staff than are covered by the funding system utilized in Tennessee, known as the Basic Education Program (BEP). State and local dollars earmarked for salaries during those years were often spread over more teachers than the staff positions generated by the BEP.

The Tennessee General Assembly did address that school districts in the future must now report where salary increases are spent. Governor Lee included a $71 million increase for a “2.5 percent pay raise for teachers” for the fiscal year 2020. It is time to guarantee that teacher salaries, at the very least, match the cost of living increases faced by educators across the state.

Finally, we must update our school funding formula to reflect changing 21st century needs. We need a plan and a funding formula that reflects our modern educational mission, priorities, and strategies. The plan should support teachers, fund facilities, and facilitate innovation and technology while striving to better connect K-12 education with workforce needs.

Governor Lee has proven he will fight for what he believes in. It is time to come together to focus on the other education ideas that were discussed on the campaign trail. It is time to move forward on these issues to help all children, teachers, schools, and communities. Let the policy discussion begin. Communication is critical.

JC Bowman is executive director of Professional Educators of Tennessee, a non-partisan teacher association headquartered in Nashville.

Christmas Memories

December 23, 2019 by JC Bowman, posted in Holidays, JC Bowman

My dad was not a man of grace and refinement. He was, and I can correctly describe him this way, a bona fide tough man. I can only recall seeing him cry twice. Once when his mother died, and once when I told him I had joined the Marine Corps. He was also never afraid to share his opinion on the issues of the day that interested him.

I have written stories of my dad, as witnessed through my eyes, numerous times. Most versions are probably incomplete, but it was my perspective at that time in my life. That perception was based on my age, my knowledge at the time, and my interaction.

When someone moves out of your life, either through relocation, separation, divorce, or even death, we tend to leave that person frozen in time in our minds. For example, as a former teacher, when I interact with former students, they still come up to me and call me “Coach” or Mr. Bowman. I think back on them as they were, but now see them as they are. The challenge we have as we get older is to let our perceptions change as we often reflect on the people and the times that shaped us without complete information.

Growing up we embraced the concept of Santa Claus, yet we kept our focus that the season was about a miracle in the birth of Jesus Christ. My dad and several of his brothers had played the role of Santa Claus in holiday festivities. My Uncle Ed played Santa Claus for the city of Baltimore. My dad donned the suit for the United States Navy at an orphanage in Korea. A little girl asked Santa for a Daddy. It impacted my dad to such an extent that he never played Santa Claus again.

One Christmas, my dad decided we would be that one family in the neighborhood who had all of the holiday lights on their house. While not to Clark Griswold’s level in National Lampoon’s Christmas Vacation, it was not far from it. We lit up the neighborhood. Other neighbors also joined in with decorations that year. As my dad looked at his handiwork with the Christmas lights, he noticed the gap in the huge window in the front of our house.

My dad disappeared into our utility room and retrieved some lumber. On our carport in the cold, he started measuring, cutting and crafting something. What was it going to be? My brother and I were not certain. He painted the ends, then wrapped it in thick aluminum foil, to which he wired lights to it. He had made a perfect cross. My dad had built a giant wooden cross. The amazing thing was we were not a particularly religious family, yet he wanted an illuminated cross to shine through the darkness for all to see. It was at the center of our house. The message was not lost to me.

At Christmas, we reflect on a baby in a manager. It is the picture in our minds of a simple manger, a feeding trough out of which livestock would consume food from that the Savior of the World rested in as a newborn baby. It is an amazing story to consider. From the meekest of women, in one of the most unassuming of small towns, in modest accommodations, Jesus Christ was born. In fact, he was laid to rest each night in the most self-effacing of cradles. However, we are reminded it was His death, not just His birth that truly changed the world. That was why my dad focused on the Cross as a proclamation of our faith.

While the faith aspect of the holiday is often lost on many people, it is the central part. We should take the time and discuss the importance of faith in their lives, and share stories and traditions with their family and friends, lest the stories are lost. Yes, as children we still expected a white-bearded man to show up with gifts between Christmas Eve and Christmas morning and bring prizes as rewards for our good behavior.

From that Christmas on, at least in my house, we started placing a greater emphasis on things that were more important and had a more significant eternal value. I had discovered that my dad, unbeknownst to us, had also been purchasing hams for people every Christmas—People who had influenced him or who he knew had no money or were less fortunate. He did that in secret. The only reason my brother and I knew that fact was that he sought our help when he was no longer physically able to do the task himself.

My perception of my dad was often skewed by personal battles between us, but of this I am certain—my dad understood Christmas and celebrated its true meaning. In his own way, he sought to spread cheer to his family, friends, and neighbors. Even for non-believers, the core elements of Christmas — being good, spreading love, and kindness, as well as giving selflessly to others, are traits worth imitating. It is something we must pass on to the next generation. I learned those values as a child growing up here in Tennessee. I would never trade that memory of a Christmas Cross.

Merry Christmas to All. And God Bless Us, Everyone.
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Who’s Naughty or Nice?

December 13, 2019 by JC Bowman, posted in JC Bowman, Reading

We have all sung the line in the Christmas song Santa Claus is Coming to Town, “He’s making a list; he’s checking it twice. He’s going to find out who’s naughty or nice.” In fact, some of us believe that a list might actually exist, and a few of us keep our own.

We also remember the offensive and bad-tempered Burgermeister Meisterburger, the villain who outlawed toys in Sombertown, in the Santa Claus is Coming to Town television show. Dick Allington, a former professor at the University of Tennessee bears an uncanny resemblance to the fictional mayor. His recent disparaging comments at the Literacy Association of Tennessee Conference in Murfreesboro are enough to get Allington on the naughty list of many educators and parents across the state of Tennessee. He made my naughty list.

Let’s look at some similarities:

Burgermeister Meisterburger hates toys. He passes a law declaring toys “illegal, immoral, unlawful, and anyone found with a toy in his possession will be placed under arrest and thrown in the dungeon. The children of Sombertown are forced to do chores instead of playing.
Dick Allington “denounced dyslexia, questioning its existence and slamming advocates of the learning disorder.” Allington added that former Governor Bill Haslam was going to hell for signing the bill and said dyslexia advocates were on drugs according to the audio and media reports. (Note: Governor Haslam and his family are major donors to the University of Tennessee).
Burgermeister Meisterburger arrests Kris Kringle and others for bringing toys to the children of Sombertown.
Dick Allington said “If only [Tennessee Governor Bill Haslam] had called me, I would have said, ‘Just veto it and shoot whoever made this bill,'” Allington said, of the Say Dyslexia law, which passed in 2016.

In his presentation at the Literacy Association of Tennessee Conference, Dick Allington states his son “only learned to read because he experienced his first male teacher.” That particular comment has not garnered as much attention. In fact, roughly 82% of the teachers in Tennessee are female. Whether his son learned to read because of a male or female teacher is irrelevant, that particular comment was degrading and very unnecessary. Why would he consider the sex of a teacher relevant in a speech about literacy? Educators are more interested in figuring out what’s best for their students, not the ideological bent and insults of a retired professor in upstate New York.

Functional illiteracy has become a serious deterrent to economic development, in our communities, state, and nation. Reading is a serious issue, and Dyslexia is a scientific fact. But don’t take my word for it, look at the research being conducted at Yale University and Middle Tennessee State University. Commissioner Penny Schwinn added: “At TDOE we are proud to support the whole child and focus on the science of reading for all students.” Zack Barnes, an assistant professor of education at Austin Peay State University in Tennessee, says that “the research is clear that dyslexic students need systematic, explicit phonics instruction.”

Reading is one of the most critical skills in education. The National Reading Panel’s analysis that the best approach to reading instruction is one that incorporates: instruction in phonemic awareness, systematic phonics instruction, fluency, and comprehension. Improving reading instruction at the classroom level includes providing our teachers with relevant professional development to assist them; assessing children’s reading skills in kindergarten through third grade; and, offering assistance to schools in which kids are falling behind.

Policymakers and stakeholders now know that children who cannot read on grade level by the end of 3rd grade are more likely to be poor readers their whole lives. These children are less likely to graduate or gain meaningful employment. Children who lack these necessary prerequisite reading skills are at greater risk for drug-use and other criminal behaviors.

At the end of Santa Claus is Coming to Town we find out that the Meisterburgers eventually die out and lose their power over Sombertown. The citizens recognized that the silly law outlawing toys was unnecessary, much like Dick Allington’s insults at the Literacy Association of Tennessee.

Perhaps at one point in time, Dick Allington had significance in education and literacy. However, it is time for the University of Tennessee to remove him from their website, remove the word “Emeritus” from his title and send a letter asking him to cease and desist identifying with the University of Tennessee. Any organization that invites Allington to speak in the future needs to reconsider the invitation. Dick Allington has earned a well-deserved place on my naughty list. I hope he likes coal in his stocking.

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.

The Reading Wars Continue

December 11, 2019 by JC Bowman, posted in JC Bowman, Legislation, Reading

Kids doing homework isolated on white background

I tend to avoid the debates among people discussing reading. I think there is some truth in all sides of a debate. I learned to read early and easily. I am also unabashedly an advocate for children with dyslexia, as it has been an issue identified and championed by our members. I am encouraged by the research being conducted at the Center for Dyslexia at Middle Tennessee State University. I believe the work they do there will impact thousands of children across the state who learn to read because of their research and efforts.

For the better part of the last five decades, what has been described as “Reading Wars” has pitted “phonics-based” instruction against “whole language” instruction. Another approach in the reading wars, a hybrid of phonics-based and whole language instruction called balanced literacy has emerged in the last decade. However, the debate over reading instruction itself is centuries old. The debate will continue as long as educators are free to hold differing opinions.

All sides of the reading debate have proponents, often found in the Ivory Towers of academia. The dispute is a genuine political issue, and the opinions of policymakers drive our education policy. You may not notice the debate, but it is occurring when states approve and purchase textbooks and other materials for instruction, how we teach in our teacher preparation programs, and what is offered in our current professional development for teachers.

Emily Hanford, an advocate of phonics-based reading instruction points out, “the National Assessment of Educational Progress, more than six in 10 fourth-graders aren’t proficient readers. It has been this way since testing began. A third of kids can’t read at a basic level.” In her New York Times editorial, she states that Colleges of Education faculties simply do not teach the science of reading.

Stacy Reeves, an associate professor of literacy at the University of Southern Mississippi says “Phonics for me is not that answer.” Her former colleague Mary Ariail, past chair of the Department of Curriculum, Instruction and Special Education at the University of Southern Mississippi, remains opposed to explicit phonics instruction. Ariail states: “One of the ideas behind whole language is that when [reading] is meaningful, it’s easy,” she said. “And when it’s broken down into little parts, it makes it harder.”

Ariail left her position in 2018, because of her disappointment in changing reading instruction in Mississippi. She said she sees it as an example of lawmakers telling educators what to do, and she doesn’t like it. She now resides in North Carolina working as an independent consultant. Mississippi did an exhaustive evaluation of its early literacy programs in a recent study.

Mark Seidenberg, a University of Wisconsin cognitive neuroscientist and author of the book “Language at the Speed of Sight” argues “Balanced literacy was a way to defuse the wars over reading.” “If the whole language/balanced literacy approach is as flawed as described, many children will struggle to learn,” Seidenberg insists. For those students, in thousands of U.S. schools, there is Reading Recovery, “an expensive remediation program based on the same principles. Fewer children would need Reading Recovery if they had received appropriate instruction in the first place,” he writes. As for teachers, they are “left to discover effective classroom practices [on their own] because they haven’t been taught them.

Educators have argued about multiple approaches to reading instruction since public education began. The politics over literacy will continue to be contentious and debated. Perhaps we, as educators know less about how children actually learn to read or how they should be taught than we care to admit. Perhaps it is different for every child. The more we honestly look at the issues surrounding the reading wars, it is clear that a one-sized solution does not work for everyone.

Let Hope Rise

December 10, 2019 by JC Bowman, posted in JC Bowman, Leadership, Professional Educators of Tennessee

While discussing faith, I am reminded of a lyric from an old religious song: “Let hope rise and darkness tremble.” That is a powerful and optimistic statement for those who share a strong belief in God.

I am also convinced that our purpose in life is directly linked to the clarity of our own vision for the future. Too many people imagine a bleak and hopeless future, and it shows in choices they make in their work, their relations and in their outlook on life. The glass is half empty. Darkness and desolation will always be all they see and find.

I had an opportunity to spend a few hours with a friend of mine, Karolyn Marino, as she taught her Kindergarten class. She was bursting with enthusiasm and energy to match that of her pupils. Karolyn told me that her job was not only to reach every child in her class, no matter their level of knowledge on a subject, but to also make sure that her classroom was one of optimism and hopefulness. Her interaction with children went beyond the walls of the schools. The children knew no matter what awaited them at home, for the hours that they were in Miss Karolyn’s class, they were warmly welcomed and loved. She is also one of the top teachers in her school district. Kids learn when they are loved.

As one of her goals, Tennessee Commissioner of Education Penny Schwinn stated she wants to make sure that our schools are equipped to serve the academic and non-academic needs of all kids. That means that schools and districts will have better access to online tools, statewide partnerships and more resources for schools. That is a good and positive direction for our educators and our students. We look forward to working with her on this agenda in Tennessee.

Schwinn also has brought up a subject she wants to champion: character education. This too, should help our students make more meaningful contributions to our society. In a world where it is getting more difficult to determine right from wrong, maybe we do need to step back and look at some of those basic attributes we call character development and reinforce them at school. Loving our neighbors should be innate, but if it is not, we can show the way by practicing what we preach.

Martin Luther King said, “The function of education is to teach one to think intensively and to think critically. Intelligence plus character – that is the goal of true education. We may have all come on different ships, but we’re in the same boat now.” King’s words still ring true.

I am a believer in public education. But I also understand that what that we have gone down a few rabbit holes and lost focus at times. Change will continue and, in education at least, more change is on the way. We should welcome the debate over change in public education and continue the discussion, knowing that a one size fits all strategy does not work in any school, district or community.

Public education is at a crossroads in Tennessee. People say it is broken and beyond repair. I tell those critics that they are wrong. We succeed every single day in small victories across our classrooms and schools. Our success far outweighs our failures and we can acknowledge those failures and take on those challenges head-on.

Strength doesn’t come from what you can do. It comes from overcoming the things you once thought you couldn’t. When the light of hope comes, darkness has no place. Darkness is driven away by light. Let hope rise and darkness tremble. Public education has a bright future.