Why OKC Schools Lack Academic Progress

I wrote this letter to Oklahoma City councilman Skip Kelly after I read an article in the Oklahoman about the frustration the city council expressed over a lack of academic progress in the Oklahoma City public schools.

Dear Councilman Kelly:

I read the article in the paper concerning the frustration the city has with the lack of progress you have seen in the Oklahoma City Public School district. The reasons for this are many and complex, but if you ask most teachers, we will tell you that a big contributing factor is that we have to spend enormous amounts of time and energy managing our students as opposed to educating them. Every day, teachers, and I speak mainly about those teaching middle schools and high schools, have to try to keep their students in line, keep them from disrupting the class, keep them from talking to their friends, keep them from getting into fights, keep them on task, or simply keep them awake, so that we can do our primary job: educate them for their futures.

We have very limited resources to deal with these problems. We can contact parents, who are often absent from their children’s lives, and enlist their help. When this does not bring a change in our students’ behavior, we can assign detention, which few are inclined to serve. Our last resort is to refer the student, commonly known as “writing a referral”, to an administrator who typically can only suspend the student, taking the student out of classes, for a period of time. When I assign detention, frequently I have to fall back on writing a referral because the student does not show up for detention.

The result of all this is that administrators find themselves overwhelmed with student referrals, which they cannot process in a timely manner. Thus teachers must put up with disruptive students in their classes who rob their fellow students of their right to an education in a safe and orderly environment. Thus the education of all students suffer. Thus parents feel they cannot send their students to our schools and opt to leave the district, especially after their children’s elementary school years are finished and the students are ready for middle school and high school.

I can say with a fair amount of confidence that nothing will change in the OKC school district until some type of alternative arrangement can be made for students unable to perform in a traditional academic setting. I feel confident in saying this because this is my 16th year in the Oklahoma City district, and I have yet to see much improvement in student behavior. Year after year, I and my colleagues wear ourselves sick in trying to maintain order in our class so that a modicum of learning can take place.

The city and the district may build all the outstanding buildings they wish, but if the teachers in those buildings have to focus primarily on managing their classes as opposed to educating their students, it will be all for naught.

I appreciate your frustration with our schools. It is more than matched by the frustration of their teachers.News Article: Oklahoma City Council Frustrated With Academics in City Schools

Back to School Today

The ice has melted finally. The streets are better. So off to school we go!

The NBA coming to OKC

NBA Now in OKC
Well, as anyone following the Sonics saga knows, Oklahoma City will be getting the "Franchise Formerly Known as the SuperSonics" in time for the 2008 season.

I am glad for my city, but I understand the pain and anger of basketball fans in the city of Seattle. I have always said that I wish we were getting the Los Angeles Clippers instead. Not only does LA already have an NBA franchise, I really don't care much for the city (what I've seen of it). On the other hand, Seattle is where 3 members of my family; my father, mother, and sister; live. I also consider it the most beautiful city in America that I have visited (even better than San Francisco).

However, I am happy for the city that has been my home for all but 9 years of my life. The NBA box score will now have "Oklahoma City" or OKC in the standings.

The Sonics (or whatever they will be named) Are Coming to OKC

Matter of When?
I feel very ambigous about this. I have family who live in Seattle. I think that Seattle is the most beautiful city in the USA. I really wish the team we are getting was from some place like Los Angeles. At least that way we would be paying back the Californians for the way they treated Oklahomans during the Great Depression and the Dust Bowl migration.

On the other hand, this is a step forward for the city where I have spent all but 9 years of the 56 God has granted me. We will have our own major league franchise.
Oklahoman article "The NBA says yes to OKC

In this Zero Sum Game, however, we must remember that our joy comes at someone else's pain. Here is a video put up by a Sonics fan. You Tube: Save Our Sonics

Spring Comes to Oklahoma City

One of the earliest signs of spring in Oklahoma City is when the pear trees start to flower. In fact, these trees will flower at the first sign of warm weather. Of course, we are still capable of having a cold front run in from the north, but right now we are having a spate of warm weather which signals that winter is loosing its grip on the Southern Plains.

The pear trees, like all the other trees in the state, have taken a bit of a beating from the winter ice storms we had. But I think they look lovely still the same.

Dr. Porter Suspended by the School Board

The Oklahoman has reported that Dr. Porter has been "suspended" by the board. I don't know if this is simply a first step to firing him. I hope not.

Our Chef Carrie in the news

Chef Carrie

Chef Carrie is our culinary arts teacher at Oklahoma Centennial High School where I teach. She is a real dynamo. She was interviewed as a part of a program launched by our mayor to try to rid Oklahoma City of it's "America's Fattest City" label.

OKC Mayor puts city on a diet

"Stealing" the Sonics?

Will They Be Moving?

In my previous post endorsing the extension of the sales tax to do improvements to the Ford Center, I deliberately left out my thoughts on the prospect of moving the Seattle Supersonics to Oklahoma City. This is even more problematic than voting to fund an NBA team in the first place.

First, let me say that I really, really like the city of Seattle. Forget the fact that part of my family lives there. Seattle, for me, is the most beautiful city in America. I love the region's politics. If I could live anywhere else in America, I would probably choose to live there.

Second, like most of my fellow citizens, if we get a team from another city, I wish it would the Hornets. We all fell in love with Chris Paul. New Orleans doesn't seem to be able to support the team, and didn't really do so before Katrina. That's not likely to happen for a variety of reasons though.

So how do I feel about taking a franchise away from its original home, away from a city that has supported it for over 40 years because it's home arena has been deemed inadequate? I feel about it probably the same way someone might have felt about Los Angeles stealing the Brooklyn Dodgers: bad for them, good for us. If Oklahoma City is ever to get a major league franchise, then we will certainly get it at the expense of another city. The NBA, NHL, MLB or anyone this side of Arena Football will not expand their league just to get at the coveted Southern Plains market. The US market is pretty much at the saturation point, and if any new teams are created, they are going to be placed outside the US. This is particularly true of the NBA which openly covets an opportunity to establish itself in South America, Europe and Asia.

Prior to Katrina, Oklahoma City had already been turned down by the NBA and the NHL. We became a player in the NBA because we had prepared ourselves for the opportunity which is the best definition of luck I know. [Senaca's Definition of Luck] Baring any new change of events in the present situation, I feel that Oklahoma City will probably get the Sonics. For us, this will be the culmination of a long time of planning, work and patience. For Seattle and others, we are mere opportunists, but that only looks at one side of the formula.

However, when I go to visit Seattle, I probably will tell anyone who asks that I live in The Village.