TV

Batman, the Animated Series was my childhood show.  Anyone who reflects on their childhood show knows the emotions it causes.  It's thrilling!  Knowing how I felt during these moments makes me not want to rob my kids of the exhilarating feelings that come from engaging in a surreal TV show.  Those shows made life fascinating and there was so much to be discovered--feelings I cherish.  When I was in 4th grade I remember that immediately after school I would hurry home to make it just in time for Batman to start.  I was captivated.  Every kid needs a hero that becomes someone that they want to be like--a symbol for strength and something that can signify their potential.  This is what Batman was for me.

As I got older my all-time favorite TV show was (and still is) The Wonder Years.  Kevin Arnold just has it together.  This kid is so composed and hilarious.  His best friend, Paul, and he are just trying to figure life out.  The values in the show are totally family-oriented.  Watching the Wonder Years is so fun because I get to re-experience my Jr. high years.  I have regularly watched reruns of the Wonder Years with my family and my friends.  One wonderful thing about the Wonder Years is that it is character-building.  One episode Kevin's mom and dad are arguing the whole episode.  The very end the tension has built up around Kevin's house with all his family, that we're all waiting for some type of resolution has to occur.  It is hard to explain how touching the ending is as Kevin's mom burns her hand and Kevin's dad comes up to her and breaking all the tension and tenderly asks, "did you burn yourself?" and he continues to hug her with all the kids sitting there watching the whole scene.  Kevin says, "I've never seen my parents alone together," (even though the whole family was right there watching). 

The TV played a huge role in my survival of my first year of my career.  In 2011 I graduated college and immediately started my very first career job as a 5th grade teacher.  Anyone who has been a first year teacher knows how highly stressful that can be.  I was very ambitious that year and spent lots of time thinking about anything and everything that would make my classroom better for my students.  One of the central things that kept me alive during that year was TV.  I've never been a believer in watching TV hours on end.  It can really drain all your life out of you.  But TV can be very good for someone who needs to relax.  This is exactly what can be done if a person watches with moderation.  For me, getting out of teacher-mode was vital.  Teaching was a heavy load for me to carry and sitting down for one to two episodes of a happy TV show was very helpful in keeping my spirits high.  TV alone wasn't what kept me strong-- helping coach the high school tennis team, eating well, and getting exercise all contributed to me surviving and being highly successful my first year of teaching.  TV no doubt had a powerful, positive impact on keeping me laughing and being able to get back to work the next day. 

For anyone TV can be beneficial in some way.  My brother-in-law loves baseball.  One of my closest friends and mentors watches the news every day.  There is much good that can be found in it if you find what is just right for you.  

Jesus Christ is the light...He is the way, the truth, and the life.

My problems...
 

As the "month of gratitude" has come to an end, I've considered how I would like to share my feelings of gratitude for Jesus Christ.  My problems.  Three major problems have been resolved or are being resolved in my life through Christ:
 

1.      Sometimes I feel blind and lost--I sometimes don't know what to do, how to do things, and why I'm doing them.

2.      Sometimes I don't feel I am myself--I don't feel like I am who I really am inside. I'm less capable of connecting to people around me, unable to express myself the same way I love to express myself; I don't have the same degree of life in me.

3.      Sometimes I feel distracted--giving into bad habits, lacking wisdom and discipline, and I am without motivation.

I'm grateful for Jesus Christ. As it says in John 8:12, "[Christ is] the light of the world," and in John 14:6 "He is the way, the truth, and the life." Simply said, He is the solution to all of my problems.

 

The Light
 

I like to think of light in a room and how even a little bit of light can change so much. In my "workplace psychology" class one of the points we discussed was how the right degree of light has a profound effect on productivity in the workplace. The same has been for me in my spiritual and personal day to day life. When I'm blind and lost or if I just need some more light, Christ is the light and the truth.  Christ illuminates my mind, enabling me to see specific things "in the true light." My day to day roles and responsibilities, my relationships, and the view of myself have each been morphed as I've gained this light little by little. I'm certain that everyone has experienced it at some point. In psychology some might consider "a light going on" as a "paradigm shift;" though, what I am speaking about is more than a paradigm shift. It is when your eyes are opened and you feel stronger, happier, and more free. Another way to look at it is: a moment when you come to know truth better. Truth is the source of light. The moments I have been given light and truth from Christ, the blindness from my eyes has been removed, causing me to not be lost. Christ is the light and the truth.

 

The Life

 

One of the worst feelings in the world is feeling like you aren't the real you. Somehow, somewhere down the line, you've become disconnected from yourself.  This happened to me. It absolutely stinks, no lie. In my past, it was different. In Jr. High, at Skyline high school, and just before I left on my mission I always felt like me. On my mission to Puerto Rico and even a couple years after returning home from my full-time mission it was the same, I felt like me. During all this maturing and getting older, I became more aware of 3 core values in my life: relationships, service, and righteousness.  As I became more aware of these values and developed more of an ability to pursue them and maintain my personal integrity to them, I experienced great satisfaction, fulfillment, and joy.  Looking back, throughout my life growing up I had never felt like I was "disconnected" from myself. About 2 1/2 years or so after my mission, I reached a point where I wasn't myself. I had become disconnected from myself and felt my integrity was moved to the back burner.  My 3 core values weren't as important to me and were too overwhelming to even consider pursuing.

 

The first place I noticed my problem of not being myself was in my interactions with people.  I noticed that I started to become less confident and more insecure. As time went on I didn't feel this way with just a few individuals, but started to feel it at varying degrees with everyone. As I became less comfortable talking to people I had this battle inside of me saying, "what is my problem?!  I've always enjoyed talking to people and have always felt confident and completely secure!"  At first I coped with it just fine but it did wear on my self-esteem a bit. This only made me think of myself more which only magnified the problem; although, amidst all this, I never completely lost my sense of personal security and confidence.  There are so many internal and external factors that kept me afloat including family, friends, and my strengths and pastimes. Happily and thankfully, I never reached a point where I felt hopeless or too ensnared and unable to escape my problem.  I think one of the strengths I've had all my life is my enduring hope, no matter what the circumstances. With my hope, I always felt like I could get myself out (or find someone to get me out) of my problems, including this horrible dilemma.

 

Even though I had what felt like chains on me, I was able to do a lot of the same things as I had always done.  I was able to make casual conversations, fulfill my responsibilities (at least at a base-line standard), and not to commit any grave sin. As I've pondered about the sources of my problem I have drawn a couple conclusions:

 

    1- I became selfish and more focused on and more worried about myself.

    2- I lacked faith in Christ and as I tried to carry my burdens alone, I lost.

 

This is what caused me to feeling that my most fundamental values of relationships, service, and righteousness, were not as important to me anymore.  I lost motivation and lost the blessings associated with living in accordance to my personal values: happiness, fulfillment, and joy.  I persisted like this until either I humbled myself or I was compelled to be humble.

 

Christ is the life. I don't know the exact moments that were pivotal for my change, but this downward cycle that was happening in my life stopped. There was an unseen power that reversed the cycle and has been pulling me upwards ever since. This power is the atonement, the saving power Christ works in our lives. Through my faith in Christ and repentance, two simple yet profound principles, Christ has worked in me and is still working this miracle in my life. Even though I do acknowledge that I did exercise my faith and I did repent, I take no glory or credit for actually being the one to get myself out of the snare. I give all credit to the great power of the Savior’s atonement and I give glory to God the Father and the Savior for bringing it to pass.  With this miracle working in me, the “disconnect from myself” finally started to diminish.

 

In the past 2 1/2 years battling with this problem, I've learned about myself and about Christ and have witnessed a change occur in me. I'm secure again. I'm confident again. And the thing that I am most happy about is: I am myself again.  Now, relationships have again become more important to me.  I want to serve the same way I did before.  Along with this renewed desire and the Christ’s love in me, I feel like I have more knowledge and skills to be successful in my relationships, service, and work.  In my problem, I'm grateful because I know that Christ has also provided opportunities through which He was going heal me.  I'm now preparing to start a master's degree in what's known as Industrial-Organization Psychology.  I love it.  Before I chose to pursue that master's degree, I was worked as a 5th grade teacher for a school year and was also able to work at District #93's Pine Basin summer camp. I know that both of these tremendous opportunities were both a godsend and allowed me to serve and forget myself. God also sent individuals into my life who played key roles in helping me through this inner battle.

 

In this whole process where I was being changed, I have been able to carry my burdens.  I have kept myself more organized and clean.  I have again been able to interact positively and more easily with people.  I have caught a new and thrilling vision of service in my church responsibilities.  As I found myself reflecting about these moments where I realized the change for good happening in me, I joyfully concluded, "I'm becoming myself again!" This thought has happened multiple times.  Christ plants life in us. As we remove the egotistical love for ourselves and turn our love towards others, we are filled with security, expression and life.  As we build our faith in Christ, we can carry our burdens, live according to our personal values, maintain our integrity, and receive the associated blessings.  It feels so good.  Christ is the life.

 

The Way

 

Sometimes I feel distracted-- giving into bad habits of idleness or laziness, lacking wisdom and discipline, and without motivation.  Compared to the other problems, the problem of personal distraction happens most often in my life. Christ is the way that I am empowered to overcome my distractions each day.

 

I've had days where I failed at being disciplined and being motivated, falling into bad habits and becoming unproductive.  I often find myself doing good things, but not the best things. Other days, though, Christ has enabled me to be disciplined and feel motivated to carry out my priorities.  Christ grants to us moments where we feel free and we are able to accomplish anything.  I think anyone can relate to this feeling.  When we feel this way, we feel in control and so clear-minded that nothing can stop us.  I have been surprised to find myself accomplish tremendous tasks during a day not really knowing where my motivation and discipline has come from.  Simply said, this discipline and motivation comes from a balanced life which is centered on Christ.  At the core of a balanced life is a healthy and strong spirit. And, the only way to have a healthy, strong spirit is by and through Christ.

 

I know that as I have sought him in the morning and in the night and throughout the day, I have been able to overcome the my weak flesh and carry my burdens.  He has led the way.  He is the way.

 

I'm Grateful For...

 

I love Christ for these great mercies.  I feel indebted to Him and I feel helplessly grateful. My life is so much better because of the light and the life I've received and the way that has been given. Thinking how bad my life could be and how my only true progress in life has come from Christ, my personal conviction that Christ is the Savior of mankind deepens.  Christ is the light of our lives.  He is the way, the truth, and the life.  I'm grateful for Him.

Baptism

I was baptized 17 years ago from yesterday.  After having made that decision I've received multiple confirmations in my life that it was the right choice. 

I firmly believe in God and know that He has led my life as I have been humble enough to allow Him to lead it.  Whenever I have chosen to follow His promptings and follow His plan for me, it has resulted in happiness, peace, and direction.  I've grown in ways that I could have never and would have never planned for.  What does this have to do with baptism?

As a missionary in Puerto Rico I invited many Puerto Rican people to be prepare and eventually be baptized.  We taught them about baptism and what it meant.  "Baptism is something sacred that is between you and God," we'd tell them.  "When you are baptized, you make a covenant, or a two-way promise with God.  Your part of the promise is that you will strive to be a disciple of Christ through obedience and service.  God promises to forgive you of your sins and to bless you with the Holy Ghost."

Since I was baptized I've seriously reflected on covenant I made with God.  I have sincerely sought to serve by showing love for people, by helping others learn about the Savior Jesus Christ, and by striving to be an example of service in my family, church, and society; as I've done this, God has kept His part of the two-way promise.  I know that the Holy Ghost has been a part of my decisions when it came to my schooling, career choice, and when overcoming personal trials.  It has been a tremendous blessing to me by teaching me principles to act with morals in the things I do.  As I've been faithful to God, I have never been happier.  Because I made and kept that covenant with Him 17 years ago, He has been guiding my life.

Everyone who wants to be baptized, can prepare and be baptized, no matter where the person is at in life.  Did you know that Christ was baptized?  Being baptized is the way a person can exercise faith in Jesus Christ by following His example and also making a covenant with God.  I've never regretted it.

Tom Luna's Defense

Are Idaho Parents and Teachers Really Together?

Below are talking points being distributed by the Idaho Parents and Teachers Together group that organized yesterday’s rally.  Please see the State Department of Education’s response after each point.

• The plan would eliminate almost 800 public-school teachers across the state, even though Mr. Luna has himself stated that no educational tool is more effective than a good classroom teacher. Boise School District would lose 102 teachers and more than 40 other staff.

Our state is facing an economic crisis.  The K-12 public schools budget alone is facing a funding cliff of between $35 million to $80 million or more.  We cannot sustain more cuts to the public education system.  Instead, we must spend what we currently have differently.  By increasing our student-teacher ratio by roughly 1 to 2 students, we will save $500 million over the next five years.  This money will be immediately reinvested back into the classroom to fill the budget gap, increase teacher pay, invest in technology for classroom teachers, and pay for dual credit courses for high school seniors.  We will not just increase class sizes, but we will give classroom teachers the tools they need to manage more students.  Increasing the class size will reduce the number of teaching positions needed in grades 4-12 over the next two years by about 770 fewer positions statewide.  However, most, if not all, of these positions can be absorbed through attrition.  Every year, about 1,600 teachers leave the public education system.  Over the next 2 years, about 3,200 teachers will leave the Idaho public school system, and we will not replace 770 of those positions.  Beginning in Fiscal Year 2014, some of these positions will begin to be refilled because of the anticipated growth in student enrollment.  Therefore, over a five-year period, the net loss of teaching positions is estimated to be around 320 in total statewide. 

• Luna's plan would increase class sizes across the state from fourth grade up, ignoring powerful evidence that smaller class sizes benefit children (see https://outlook.com/owa/redir.aspx?C=e67848d133274eca8ccb1d00ace0e8e5&URL=https%3a%2f%2fexmail.sde.idaho.gov%2fowa%2fredir.aspx%3fC%3dfa9daaf154414f39b509c7a5bcf4aa3b%26URL%3dhttp%253a%252f%252fcreatesend.membershipmailer.com%252ft%252fr%252fl%252fyhjthtl%252fodhzhhil%252fr). While he claims that average class size statewide would be 19.8 students, his numbers are smoke and mirrors. The Boise School District’s analysis states that class sizes would increase from between 24.3 and 26.8 students currently to between 28.7 and 30.5 students, varying across grades. Read that very thorough analysis at https://outlook.com/owa/redir.aspx?C=e67848d133274eca8ccb1d00ace0e8e5&URL=https%3a%2f%2fexmail.sde.idaho.gov%2fowa%2fredir.aspx%3fC%3dfa9daaf154414f39b509c7a5bcf4aa3b%26URL%3dhttp%253a%252f%252fcreatesend.membershipmailer.com%252ft%252fr%252fl%252fyhjthtl%252fodhzhhil%252fy. It is alarming.

Every year, school districts report to the state the number of classroom teachers on staff and the number of students enrolled.  From this data, we calculate the student-teacher ratio for the state and each district.  We understand this will vary from actual class sizes, which are determined at the local level.  The student-teacher ratio in the Boise School District currently is 17.4, as reported to the state. This figure only accounts for classroom teachers.  It does not include other certified staff, such as counselors, school psychologists, or administrators.  Research overwhelmingly supports that the most important factor in a student’s academic success is the quality of the teacher in the classroom, not class size or textbooks or a student’s socioeconomic background.  In his book What Works in Schools, Dr. Robert Marzano researched this issue thoroughly, finding that a teacher’s impact in just one academic year is significant.  An average student with an effective teacher can climb academically from the 50^th percentile to the 96^th percentile.  An average student with an ineffective teacher for a single academic year will drop from the 50^th percentile to the 3^rd percentile.  The fact is a great teacher can handle one or two more students in the classroom; a poor-performing teacher should not be in the classroom.

While there are many within the education community, that support class size reduction as a methodology for improving student performance, there is little support from other sectors, especially economists.  The most vocal critic of class size is Eric Hanusek of the Hoover Institute at Stanford.  Dr. Hanusek is cited in almost every dialog dealing with class size reduction.   Hanusek was joined most recently by Matthew Chingos of Harvard who studied Florida’s class size reduction program and found no correlation between smaller class size and increased student achievement.  Interestingly a report prepared by an economist (Russell Chuderwicz) was located by this researcher and submitted to the Council of Economic Advisor Meeting at the Florida legislature that clearly states there was no conclusive evidence to support class size reduction and yet the movement went forward in Florida. Spyros Konstantopoulos, an assistant professor of education and social policy at Northwestern University, in Evanston, Ill., is quoted as saying “it’s ‘tempting’ to think that having fewer students assigned to a teacher will reduce the achievement gaps between students…manipulating class size doesn’t appear to narrow those gaps. In fact, the range from the lowest achievers to the highest achiever was greater in the smaller classes of 13 to 17 children than it was in larger classes of 22 to 26 students.”

• The plan mandates that ALL high-school students take some courses on-line rather than in the classroom, a method of teaching that does not work for all kids.

The fact is, our students must know how to learn and work in a digital environment in order to succeed in the 21^st century. More and more colleges and universities and workplaces across the United States now expect this of high school graduates.  We have to prepare Idaho students for this world that awaits them.  To do this, the state will require every student to take 6 credits online over the course of their high school career in order to graduate, beginning with the Class of 2016.  Districts will determine the best delivery model for online courses, whether it is through the Idaho Education Network, an online provider such as Idaho Digital Learning Academy, or a blended model developed at the local level.  The legislation also allows the districts to put students on an alternate graduation route if it is determined they cannot complete online courses for graduation.

• Instead of keeping teachers, the plan would spend money on providing laptop computers to all high-school freshmen statewide—with no consideration of parents' concerns about whether their teenagers are prepared for that responsibility and associated risks. The plan offers virtually no details on how the state would cover this continuing cost, which is certain to increase every year.

The classroom technology does not replace the teacher.  In fact, the Students Come First plan focuses on highly effective teachers in every classroom and principals in every building, not replacing them.  To do this, the state is giving Idaho teachers more technology to help create the 21^st Century Classroom and to manage more students.  When the state invests $6,000 per classroom in technology, 20 percent of that funding will go toward professional development for teachers.  In addition, the laptops specifically will be used to enhance a student’s education experience while in the classroom with the teacher.  The funding for the laptops includes money for professional development for teachers on how to incorporate the laptops into the curriculum and daily lesson plans.  It is true that the investments in technology, teacher pay and dual credit will be paid for by increasing class size by 1 or 2 students, but the technology will in no way replace teachers in our classrooms.  The ongoing funding for all technology, including tech support, maintenance and security, is in the proposed budget for Students Come First.

For the mobile computing devices, local districts will develop local usage policies that will decide whether the students can take the devices home or only use them in the classroom.  To ensure these devices are secure, the state will embed requirements in the contract to provide Child Internet Protection Act (CIPA) compliant filtering software on all devices that will be enabled from any location. These devices will also follow the internet usage policies that every district is required to have in place under Idaho Code.

•  Mr. Luna argues that this "reform" plan is necessary because of decreasing state revenues, and yet it does not save any money.

The Students Come First plan does save money.  Instead of further cutting the state budget without reducing district expenditures, the state will spend the money the state currently has differently and reduce expenditures at the local level by increasing class size by 1 or 2 students, on average. This ensures districts are not left footing the bill, nor does the state have to continue cutting critical classroom programs.  Instead of cutting the current system, we can invest in the current system.  What are our other options?  Idahoans have made it clear in public opinion polls and at the ballot box that they do not want increased taxes, nor do they want to see further cuts to education.  Therefore, we must change the system to spend what we currently have in a different way that will put our students’ education first.

• This plan was put together by Luna's office with no input from school administrators, who first heard about it only the day before Mr. Luna submitted it to state legislators. It is now being rushed through the state Legislature without, we fear, appropriate consideration of the impacts on the quality of public-school education in Idaho.

As State Superintendent, I have worked closely with all stakeholder groups since I have been in office to move education forward in the state of Idaho.  I worked with the educational stakeholder groups, including school administrators and the Idaho Education Association, on the Education Alliance of Idaho, to develop recommendations for transforming our education system. The Students Come First plan is built on these recommendations.  In addition, I worked with the leaders of the IEA and other stakeholder groups for more than a year to develop and reach agreement on the pay-for-performance plan that is now part of the Students Come First legislation.  I have worked with Idaho teachers in many other ways since I have been State Superintendent and will continue to do so in the future.  The fact is, we are now facing an economic crisis in the State of Idaho.  We cannot cut our public schools any further.  The time for action is now.  No other stakeholder group has put forward another option or solution to the budgetary problems we face.  Instead, they have only suggested more of the same – further cuts to the current system.  That is unacceptable.  Therefore, based on the recommendations of the Education Alliance of Idaho, I developed the Students Come First plan to put students first in our public education system.  If we do nothing, schools will face further cuts to teacher pay, more furlough days, and more cuts to critical classroom programs for students.  We cannot continue down this path.

•  Luna's proposals would radically overhaul public education as we know it in Idaho, implementing changes that are not only untested, but have many school administrators and parents seriously concerned that the results could be disastrous.

This plan is not “radical.”  It’s not radical to put more technology in our classrooms; teachers have been asking for it for years.   It's not “radical” for students to take online courses; more than 15,000 Idaho students currently choose to take online courses and have done so for more than 10 years.  It’s not “radical” to increase teacher pay or work to improve the way teachers are paid in Idaho; we have all been working toward this for years.  The only thing that is really “radical” about this plan is that it puts students first.  Somewhere along the way we forgot that public education is supposed to be about the students – not about propping up the current system and funding the ongoing bureaucracy.  This plan is based on research.  From the mobile computing devices to phasing out tenure, research shows these are effective ways to raise student achievement.

A summary of the research pertaining to each portion of the Students Come First plan can be found on our website.

• Perhaps most troubling, this plan usurps local control of education from school-district administrators and teachers and hands it over to state bureaucrats far removed from the classroom.

The Students Come First plan returns local control to local school boards. Students Come First empowers local school boards – those people elected to make decisions about education in each local community.  The plan gives local school boards more flexibility to manage the local workforce by phasing out tenure and eliminating seniority.  The plan gives local school boards the authority to make decisions about school calendars, bell schedules, employee evaluations and other district-level matters by limiting collective bargaining and addressing the evergreen clause in master agreements.  The plan empowers school board trustees to determine the best technology for their classrooms and students and to determine how to best deliver online learning.