Dear Brothers,
I hope this letter finds everyone well. As many of you know, during my time as an undergraduate brother I was deeply committed to community service. This passion led me to serve students in the Bronx this past year as a history teacher to students classified as “Special Ed” and as the Special Education Coordinator at the Bronx High School for Law and Community Service. This experience was truly unforgettable.
I could write for days about my experiences as an inner city teacher, ranging from students telling other students that “snitches get stitches” to teachers quitting after being assaulted and further threatened by students with no administrative action. Even my job training is a story in its own right; I gained all my teaching experience on the job with the exception of a six week intensive camp designed for New York City Teaching Fellows. Nevertheless, what I learned during my time in the Bronx could never be revealed through the text of a traditional novel. Instead, I will share with you two abbreviated incidents that I found especially moving out of the many experiences that I had at my school, the school with the third highest dropout rate in the Bronx.
Because many of the students in my school needed to recover previously lost credits towards graduation, I taught "promoting college readiness" six days per week for most of the year. One of my seniors had extreme test anxiety that was preventing him from graduating, but after intensive tutoring and intervention services from my colleagues and me, he managed to graduate. He told me many times, “Yo, Mr. Cooper this ain’t college … you need to relax before I relax you.” Another one of my seniors dropped out first semester, then came back second semester before Spring Break willing to do the makeup work to get the credit. He even asked me to meet him at the public library during Spring Break to help him get it done – which policy required me to decline as a colleague also would have to be present for legal reasons. Unfortunately, this student never returned to school because he was killed in a gang-related incident. While I had a diversity of experiences during my year in the classroom, I believe they all point to a need for more widespread and coordinated accountability encompassing counselors, social workers, paraprofessionals, parents, foster-parents, etc.
In order to affect the complex education system at the macro level while simultaneously making room for a widespread impact throughout society, I have decided to return to graduate school this fall. I am looking forward to my new journey at the University of Pittsburgh, where I will pursue a PhD in Learning Sciences and Policy with a minor in Quantitative Research Methodology as a K. Leroy Irvis Doctoral Fellow. I am also excited about fellowshipping with you all soon at Homecoming as we seek to strengthen our eternal bond. Until then, feel free to stop by my blog (iccooper.blogspot.com) to read more about my teaching experiences this past year and my upcoming experiences.
In ZAX,
Benny Cooper, ΘT 1036
COOPBL5@GMAIL.COM
Tuesday, September 29, 2009
Tuesday, August 11, 2009
Disadvantaged Students Can Earn 4-Year Degrees With Key Supports, Study FindsChronicle:
August 9, 2009
Disadvantaged Students Can Earn 4-Year Degrees With Key Supports, Study Finds
By Elyse Ashburn
First-generation college students who start at four-year institutions are at a high risk of leaving without bachelor's degrees, particularly if they are lower-income and minority students. But some of them do stay and earn their degrees. And a new paper illuminates what sets them apart from those disadvantaged students who do not.
The paper focuses on the complexities of why certain students "reverse transfer" from four-year to two-year colleges. The likeliest reason, the authors suggest, is that students who stay enrolled at four-year institutions had four important resources: guidance in developing their college plans, clear goals, an ability to find academic and financial help, and advocates pushing them to earn bachelor's degrees.
The paper, "Institutional Transfer and the Management of Risk in Higher Education," was presented this weekend at a national meeting of the American Sociological Association by its authors, Regina Deil-Amen, an assistant professor of higher education at the University of Arizona, and Sara Goldrick-Rab, an assistant professor of educational-policy studies and sociology at the University of Wisconsin at Madison. Understanding reverse transfer is important, the two researchers say, because students who make such a move are much less likely to ever earn bachelor's degrees.
"You've got kids who look like they've made it," says Ms. Goldrick-Rab, "and then we've lost them."
The authors' findings are based on interviews conducted over three years with 44 students who graduated from the Chicago Public Schools and enrolled immediately in four-year colleges. All of the students interviewed were black or Hispanic, and most were low-income and first-generation college students. Information from the interviews was coupled with longitudinal data that tracked those students' outcomes as part of a larger project, conducted through the Consortium on Chicago School Research at the University of Chicago.
Seeking Out Support
According to the new paper, some students manage to find all four of the key supports, even though they come from neighborhoods and high schools with high rates of poverty. For example, two students, referred to as Monique and Olivia in the report, struggled academically in their first year at a four-year college. Olivia reached out to professors and began regularly using the academic-help center, but Monique was afraid to ask for help. She told the interviewers, "For some reason I felt that if I got help, I'd be failing still."
Monique ended up transferring to a two-year college, while Olivia steadily raised her grade-point average to a 3.2 and graduated in four years.
Many students in the study found themselves underperforming in the first place because they were encouraged to go to college but received little help in understanding the demands of college-level work or in developing clear and realistic goals about what college to attend, what to major in, and what career to pursue.
"This go, go, go message—just go to college, go anywhere—is very vague," says Ms. Goldrick-Rab, who is a contributor to The Chronicle's Brainstorm blog. It's not enough to create a college-going culture, she says, if schools are not giving students specific information on what to expect
The authors say high-school teachers and advisers should develop better processes for helping students set goals. Colleges also should consider "intrusive" advising systems, the researchers say, such as early-alert programs that identify struggling students and reach out to them, rather than wait for students to ask for help.
http://chronicle.com/article/Disadvantaged-Students-Can/47972/
Disadvantaged Students Can Earn 4-Year Degrees With Key Supports, Study Finds
By Elyse Ashburn
First-generation college students who start at four-year institutions are at a high risk of leaving without bachelor's degrees, particularly if they are lower-income and minority students. But some of them do stay and earn their degrees. And a new paper illuminates what sets them apart from those disadvantaged students who do not.
The paper focuses on the complexities of why certain students "reverse transfer" from four-year to two-year colleges. The likeliest reason, the authors suggest, is that students who stay enrolled at four-year institutions had four important resources: guidance in developing their college plans, clear goals, an ability to find academic and financial help, and advocates pushing them to earn bachelor's degrees.
The paper, "Institutional Transfer and the Management of Risk in Higher Education," was presented this weekend at a national meeting of the American Sociological Association by its authors, Regina Deil-Amen, an assistant professor of higher education at the University of Arizona, and Sara Goldrick-Rab, an assistant professor of educational-policy studies and sociology at the University of Wisconsin at Madison. Understanding reverse transfer is important, the two researchers say, because students who make such a move are much less likely to ever earn bachelor's degrees.
"You've got kids who look like they've made it," says Ms. Goldrick-Rab, "and then we've lost them."
The authors' findings are based on interviews conducted over three years with 44 students who graduated from the Chicago Public Schools and enrolled immediately in four-year colleges. All of the students interviewed were black or Hispanic, and most were low-income and first-generation college students. Information from the interviews was coupled with longitudinal data that tracked those students' outcomes as part of a larger project, conducted through the Consortium on Chicago School Research at the University of Chicago.
Seeking Out Support
According to the new paper, some students manage to find all four of the key supports, even though they come from neighborhoods and high schools with high rates of poverty. For example, two students, referred to as Monique and Olivia in the report, struggled academically in their first year at a four-year college. Olivia reached out to professors and began regularly using the academic-help center, but Monique was afraid to ask for help. She told the interviewers, "For some reason I felt that if I got help, I'd be failing still."
Monique ended up transferring to a two-year college, while Olivia steadily raised her grade-point average to a 3.2 and graduated in four years.
Many students in the study found themselves underperforming in the first place because they were encouraged to go to college but received little help in understanding the demands of college-level work or in developing clear and realistic goals about what college to attend, what to major in, and what career to pursue.
"This go, go, go message—just go to college, go anywhere—is very vague," says Ms. Goldrick-Rab, who is a contributor to The Chronicle's Brainstorm blog. It's not enough to create a college-going culture, she says, if schools are not giving students specific information on what to expect
The authors say high-school teachers and advisers should develop better processes for helping students set goals. Colleges also should consider "intrusive" advising systems, the researchers say, such as early-alert programs that identify struggling students and reach out to them, rather than wait for students to ask for help.
http://chronicle.com/article/Disadvantaged-Students-Can/47972/
Wednesday, June 24, 2009
My School in the News
My school is referenced in this article .... Bronx High School for Law and Community Service .....
Hard work earns Bronx High School of Science borough's best graduation rate
BY Tanyanika Samuels
DAILY NEWS STAFF WRITER
Wednesday, June 24th 2009, 4:00 AM
Monaster/News
Principal Valerie Reidy and students from the Bronx H.S. of Science, known nationwide for producing Nobel prize-winning scientists and other notable graduates.
Related News
Articles
* Colangelo: Strongest rush to rescue
* Perfect grade is small East Side school's big pride
* Crackdown on fare-beaters riding free on Bronx buses
* Diaz to seek tests of schools' caulking for PCBs
It's one of the highest-ranking schools in the city, so it's no surprise the Bronx High School of Science had the best graduation rate in the borough.
Still, it's not a distinction school officials take lightly.
"We take our mission very seriously," said Principal Valerie Reidy Tuesday. "We're a college preparatory school, so we impress on our students the need to graduate and realize their dreams."
With a 98.3% graduation rate, Bronx Science leads in the Bronx after city officials announced on Monday the greatest percentage of city high school graduates in 22 years.
Officials boasted a 56.4% graduation rate for June 2008, up 3.6% from the previous year, according to Education Department statistics.
Bronx Science is known nationwide for producing Nobel prize-winning scientists and other notable graduates.
In continuing that tradition, Reidy credited teachers who "break their backs" to make sure students are learning.
"While we're focused on our teaching, we also ask, 'Was it learned?' It all pays out in the end when we see the graduation and college acceptance rates."
At the High School of American Studies at Lehman College, school officials can boast a 94.3% graduation rate.
"Our graduation rate is a testament to the hard work of our talented teachers, our talented students and our parents, who care tremendously about the progress their children make," said Principal Alessandro Weiss.
The school partners with Lehman College, which gives students a taste of college life, and with the nonprofit Gilder Lehrman Institute of American History, which sponsors school trips to study American history.
"It takes all the links in the educational chain to result in this level of success," said Weiss.
At the other end of the scale were schools with the borough's highest dropout rates: Alfred E. Smith Career and Technical Education High School in the South Bronx (35.3%); Bronx High School for Law and Community Service in Belmont (31.6%), and Jane Addams High School for Academic Careers, a vocational school in the South Bronx (29.3%). Principals at those schools did not return calls for comment.
Also on the list were Evander Childs High School (41.4% dropout rate), which the city shuttered in June 2008, and the Adlai E. Stevenson High School in Soundview (34.2%), which will close this month.
Both institutions suffered from absenteeism, safety issues and low graduation rates.
In each case, the city Education Department replaced the large school with several smaller schools to help improve student performance.
tsamuels@nydailynews.com
Hard work earns Bronx High School of Science borough's best graduation rate
BY Tanyanika Samuels
DAILY NEWS STAFF WRITER
Wednesday, June 24th 2009, 4:00 AM
Monaster/News
Principal Valerie Reidy and students from the Bronx H.S. of Science, known nationwide for producing Nobel prize-winning scientists and other notable graduates.
Related News
Articles
* Colangelo: Strongest rush to rescue
* Perfect grade is small East Side school's big pride
* Crackdown on fare-beaters riding free on Bronx buses
* Diaz to seek tests of schools' caulking for PCBs
It's one of the highest-ranking schools in the city, so it's no surprise the Bronx High School of Science had the best graduation rate in the borough.
Still, it's not a distinction school officials take lightly.
"We take our mission very seriously," said Principal Valerie Reidy Tuesday. "We're a college preparatory school, so we impress on our students the need to graduate and realize their dreams."
With a 98.3% graduation rate, Bronx Science leads in the Bronx after city officials announced on Monday the greatest percentage of city high school graduates in 22 years.
Officials boasted a 56.4% graduation rate for June 2008, up 3.6% from the previous year, according to Education Department statistics.
Bronx Science is known nationwide for producing Nobel prize-winning scientists and other notable graduates.
In continuing that tradition, Reidy credited teachers who "break their backs" to make sure students are learning.
"While we're focused on our teaching, we also ask, 'Was it learned?' It all pays out in the end when we see the graduation and college acceptance rates."
At the High School of American Studies at Lehman College, school officials can boast a 94.3% graduation rate.
"Our graduation rate is a testament to the hard work of our talented teachers, our talented students and our parents, who care tremendously about the progress their children make," said Principal Alessandro Weiss.
The school partners with Lehman College, which gives students a taste of college life, and with the nonprofit Gilder Lehrman Institute of American History, which sponsors school trips to study American history.
"It takes all the links in the educational chain to result in this level of success," said Weiss.
At the other end of the scale were schools with the borough's highest dropout rates: Alfred E. Smith Career and Technical Education High School in the South Bronx (35.3%); Bronx High School for Law and Community Service in Belmont (31.6%), and Jane Addams High School for Academic Careers, a vocational school in the South Bronx (29.3%). Principals at those schools did not return calls for comment.
Also on the list were Evander Childs High School (41.4% dropout rate), which the city shuttered in June 2008, and the Adlai E. Stevenson High School in Soundview (34.2%), which will close this month.
Both institutions suffered from absenteeism, safety issues and low graduation rates.
In each case, the city Education Department replaced the large school with several smaller schools to help improve student performance.
tsamuels@nydailynews.com
Saturday, June 13, 2009
The Teacher Lens
I am filled with emotions ranging from fear and sorrow to great anticipation and joy. Today I am wrapping up my Saturday school courses with evaluations and an reflective activity built around Rosa Parks.
Yesterday, one of my freshmen asked me once more if I was really leaving. He said he thought I was joking. It provoked thousands of tears inside. While I know that I will help my students from another level... I also feel that I’m letting down students who have been let down their own life….. But I do find relief by thinking that they also probably have not known anyone personally to embark upon this journey who also shares their experiences in many regards ….. Though this is true … I’m still in a period of great grief!
Thursday, I was counseling one of my students who recently left a gang …. They already retaliated by breaking his noise …. And will not stop until they have his life …. He is scared …. He already has to stay confined to certain parts of the Bronx and strategically plan his arrival and departure from school ….Yet he can not reconcile the idea of being “manly and masculine” alongside the idea of being safe …. However, I believe I at least got him to begin considering exiting the Bronx to go to Florida to finish high school and start a fresh life …. I told him I can not stomach attending the funeral of another student. Then he said something to the effect … I’m a role model here …. To which I informed him he needed to give that up until he was stable and had something bright to pass on … his main focus today should be improving his life.
I look at my students and I see so much potential, hope, and pain. But I also can picture the roads that some of their current decisions lead. I am forever changed after seeing my students in a casket.
excuse grammer and spelling .... I wrote this in the interim of a presentation
Yesterday, one of my freshmen asked me once more if I was really leaving. He said he thought I was joking. It provoked thousands of tears inside. While I know that I will help my students from another level... I also feel that I’m letting down students who have been let down their own life….. But I do find relief by thinking that they also probably have not known anyone personally to embark upon this journey who also shares their experiences in many regards ….. Though this is true … I’m still in a period of great grief!
Thursday, I was counseling one of my students who recently left a gang …. They already retaliated by breaking his noise …. And will not stop until they have his life …. He is scared …. He already has to stay confined to certain parts of the Bronx and strategically plan his arrival and departure from school ….Yet he can not reconcile the idea of being “manly and masculine” alongside the idea of being safe …. However, I believe I at least got him to begin considering exiting the Bronx to go to Florida to finish high school and start a fresh life …. I told him I can not stomach attending the funeral of another student. Then he said something to the effect … I’m a role model here …. To which I informed him he needed to give that up until he was stable and had something bright to pass on … his main focus today should be improving his life.
I look at my students and I see so much potential, hope, and pain. But I also can picture the roads that some of their current decisions lead. I am forever changed after seeing my students in a casket.
excuse grammer and spelling .... I wrote this in the interim of a presentation
Thursday, May 7, 2009
LOOOOOOOOOOOONG DAY
OK ... this will be a stream of consciousness posting without regard to spelling or grammar ...excuse in advance.
Today was a long emotional day. Today one of my students came in to drop out. I am devastated!! I made him inform the class why and answer any questions. His logic was simply he was tired of school and preferred the street life. I asked what his plan was ... and he said he plans to continue stealing GPS systems and other accessories from cars .... I ended by telling him to make wise decisions for me if he did not desire to make them for himself.
Then, I had a DOE EMPLOYEE recommend to one of my students, who is married and has a child, that she discontinue school until her problems were worked out -- despite the fact she is already 19. I told her to ensure she made a sound decision ... keeping in mind her problems would probably not go away ... she must cope with them and better herself simultaneously. She expressed deep gratitude toward me for taking time to talk about it.
Next my fifth period asked me if I was leaving. I tried to dodge the question emotionally and literally. Then they hit me with the classic inner city reality that most teachers come and go. This hit me hard -- as many leave because of poor ability to manage students -- where as I love my kids and have few behavior problems in my classroom.
Then tonight at graduate school we reviewed our research proposals -- and I was appalled at some of the misconceptions/ unrealistic expectations that teachers have about this dwindling concept of family alongside student achievement. Also, I was reminded of why I decided to teach -- in that most of these teachers have no clue what these students go through at "home."
Also, why would you conduct research with no control groups or with no desire to add any additional information to the current body of scholarly research??
Nevertheless, I know I must move away from the "emergency room"/front lines to have the far-stretching impact that I desire to make.
Today was a long emotional day. Today one of my students came in to drop out. I am devastated!! I made him inform the class why and answer any questions. His logic was simply he was tired of school and preferred the street life. I asked what his plan was ... and he said he plans to continue stealing GPS systems and other accessories from cars .... I ended by telling him to make wise decisions for me if he did not desire to make them for himself.
Then, I had a DOE EMPLOYEE recommend to one of my students, who is married and has a child, that she discontinue school until her problems were worked out -- despite the fact she is already 19. I told her to ensure she made a sound decision ... keeping in mind her problems would probably not go away ... she must cope with them and better herself simultaneously. She expressed deep gratitude toward me for taking time to talk about it.
Next my fifth period asked me if I was leaving. I tried to dodge the question emotionally and literally. Then they hit me with the classic inner city reality that most teachers come and go. This hit me hard -- as many leave because of poor ability to manage students -- where as I love my kids and have few behavior problems in my classroom.
Then tonight at graduate school we reviewed our research proposals -- and I was appalled at some of the misconceptions/ unrealistic expectations that teachers have about this dwindling concept of family alongside student achievement. Also, I was reminded of why I decided to teach -- in that most of these teachers have no clue what these students go through at "home."
Also, why would you conduct research with no control groups or with no desire to add any additional information to the current body of scholarly research??
Nevertheless, I know I must move away from the "emergency room"/front lines to have the far-stretching impact that I desire to make.
Tuesday, May 5, 2009
In the Heights -- Broadway Show
Tonight we took students to see a Broadway Show!!! It was amazing :)
Friday, May 1, 2009
Juan Acevedo Wake/Funeral
I just finished viewing the body of my late student Juan Acevedo. {Typically, I would consider this a wake but everyone insist it's synonymous to a funeral here.} It was the most emotional moment thus far this school year .... as I observed countless students and few school officials pay respects and sob endlessly. I then looked into the casket to see a big kid who had not lived his life yet, but had likely seen more than most 60 year old adults.
It still pains me to know that he sat in my classroom; yet I was unable to save him from the streets. His sister informed me at the funeral that he talked about me and my class alot.... However, I know in the end, my time with my kids each day is limited ... and during that time I give "infinities" of effort to foster a life-long love of learning. It is also becoming more difficult as the year come closer to a close, knowing I will not return in September. Yet, I know in the long-term future my impact will have been vast. In closing, please ask yourself am I making a difference -- kids (young and old) are dying each day emotionally and physically)
It still pains me to know that he sat in my classroom; yet I was unable to save him from the streets. His sister informed me at the funeral that he talked about me and my class alot.... However, I know in the end, my time with my kids each day is limited ... and during that time I give "infinities" of effort to foster a life-long love of learning. It is also becoming more difficult as the year come closer to a close, knowing I will not return in September. Yet, I know in the long-term future my impact will have been vast. In closing, please ask yourself am I making a difference -- kids (young and old) are dying each day emotionally and physically)
Monday, April 27, 2009
One of My Students is Killed
As I begin to review my lesson before my first period class today, I learned that one of my Economics students had been killed over the summer. It really took me "down" as the last conversation I had with Juan before spring break consisted of me telling him I was happy to help prepare for testing when we returned from Spring Break -- however I did not feel comfortable meeting students outside of the school due to how close I was to their age. He really seemed like he was ready to buckle down and work .....
http://www.nydailynews.com/news/ny_crime/2009/04/27/2009-04-27_shows_off_gun_pal_shot_dead.html
-----------------
Bronx man shot dead by accident as friend shows off gun
BY Phil Molnar and Jonathan Lemire
DAILY NEWS WRITERS
Monday, April 27th 2009, 4:00 AM
Investigators believe a 19-year-old Bronx man was accidentally shot to death Sunday by a friend who was showing off his handgun, police sources said.
Juan Acevedo took a bullet to the chest as he was hanging out with pals in an apartment just two blocks from the new Yankee Stadium, police said.
Paramedics reached the mortally wounded teenager at the E. 164th St. home just after 1:30 a.m. and took him to Bronx-Lebanon Hospital, but Acevedo died an hour later, police said.
A tipster told investigators that Acevedo had been drinking with friends when one man decided to show off his gun, a police source said.
The man fumbled with the weapon and inadvertently let loose a round that felled Acevedo.
http://www.nydailynews.com/news/ny_crime/2009/04/27/2009-04-27_shows_off_gun_pal_shot_dead.html
-----------------
Bronx man shot dead by accident as friend shows off gun
BY Phil Molnar and Jonathan Lemire
DAILY NEWS WRITERS
Monday, April 27th 2009, 4:00 AM
Investigators believe a 19-year-old Bronx man was accidentally shot to death Sunday by a friend who was showing off his handgun, police sources said.
Juan Acevedo took a bullet to the chest as he was hanging out with pals in an apartment just two blocks from the new Yankee Stadium, police said.
Paramedics reached the mortally wounded teenager at the E. 164th St. home just after 1:30 a.m. and took him to Bronx-Lebanon Hospital, but Acevedo died an hour later, police said.
A tipster told investigators that Acevedo had been drinking with friends when one man decided to show off his gun, a police source said.
The man fumbled with the weapon and inadvertently let loose a round that felled Acevedo.
Thursday, April 23, 2009
Foster Care Webinar (Tune In)
http://aacte.org/index.php?/component/option,com_events/Itemid,28/agid,31/catids,9|35/day,31/month,12/task,view_detail/year,1969/
Closing the Educational Achievement Gap for Children in Foster Care
AACTE FREE Webinar
April 23, 2009
Tutor Connection has provided 1,240 student teachers from California State San Marcos to work directly with children in foster care to improve academic performance. Hear about the results for over 1,500 foster care youth who have participated in this program and learn more about the roles that Departments of Education can play in positively impacting this unique and often invisible population.
Presenters include:
* John Halcón, Ph.D
Professor, College of Education
California State University, San Marcos
* Michelle Lustig, MSW, Ed.D
Coordinator, Foster Youth Services
San Diego County Office of Education
* Mark Baldwin, Ed.D
Dean, College of Education
California State University, San Marcos
Register today
Special Audio Commentary by Victoria Rowell, former foster child, and national spokesperson for the Annie Casey Foundation.
Click Here to listen.
For information and to Register visit www.aacte.org or click here
Closing the Educational Achievement Gap for Children in Foster Care
AACTE FREE Webinar
April 23, 2009
Tutor Connection has provided 1,240 student teachers from California State San Marcos to work directly with children in foster care to improve academic performance. Hear about the results for over 1,500 foster care youth who have participated in this program and learn more about the roles that Departments of Education can play in positively impacting this unique and often invisible population.
Presenters include:
* John Halcón, Ph.D
Professor, College of Education
California State University, San Marcos
* Michelle Lustig, MSW, Ed.D
Coordinator, Foster Youth Services
San Diego County Office of Education
* Mark Baldwin, Ed.D
Dean, College of Education
California State University, San Marcos
Register today
Special Audio Commentary by Victoria Rowell, former foster child, and national spokesperson for the Annie Casey Foundation.
Click Here to listen.
For information and to Register visit www.aacte.org or click here
Monday, April 13, 2009
Slang Terms
I will be providing detailed updates very soon, as to my current "status." However, I wanted to provide you with this word list that was compiled by one of my colleagues. These are words that are used in most sentences uttered by students in my school. Please note a lot of time in the beginning of the semester is spent developing an appropriate language contract ... it is give an take sometimes
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