For years summer school programs have been viewed as stopgap opportunities to narrow the achievement gap among those students who have additional needs. In rural states like North Dakota, select students are afforded an opportunity to enroll in summer programs that can help the students maintain and retain knowledge gained during the regular school year, thus ensuring they do not fall short of expectations at the beginning of the following school year. Students can feel fortunate that these opportunities are continuing in the summer of 2009.

Still, in other parts of the country, notably some large city school districts, the budgets are lean and summer school is landing on the chop block. Take Los Angeles, one of our nations larger cities and school districts; they are canceling all summer programs except those classes necessary for graduation. The Los Angeles Unified School District Superintendent reports that the district will save $34 Million Dollars by canceling summer school, which attracts nearly an average of 225,000 students per summer. In this environment, many students who already experience an achievement gap will likely see it widen; especially those students coming from low-income neighborhoods where summer school may help improve Math, Science and English scores, all areas targeted for improvement by our nations President.

If viewed in this way, California’s budget crisis is leading to educational decisions that directly conflict with Barack Obama and Joe Biden’s Plan for Lifetime Success Through Education. This plan pays particular attention to low-income families and school districts where achievement is less than acceptable. The President and Vice-President wish to see more and more dollars directed to low income districts to ensure our educational system serves the student, parent and community in meaningful ways.

Unfortunately California and other states experiencing budget deficits will likely put many more school systems and administrators in the difficult position to make tough decisions that lead to hardships for those communities. By hardships, we are not only talking about achievement gaps, but also the single mom who is working and now needs to find day care in the summer. How about the teacher, who is supplementing his/her income by filling a position as a summer instructor. And lastly, the community, that will experience increased criminal behavior and mischievous activity as a result of young people roaming the streets.

You see, many of us in North Dakota can feel fortunate that our state is not experiencing major budget problems that are impacting education in a negative way. In fact, we have been blessed to see record amounts of money flow into our school systems as a result of House Bill No. 1400. Yet, while we find ourselves relatively unaffected by budget issues this year, we must keep in mind that our educational system relies more heavily on the state now than ever. We can feel fortunate that in North Dakota summer programs go on while in other parts of the country they cease. It goes without saying that those states and school districts are waiting impatiently for more dollars so summer school can be reopened at some time in the near future.

Judging and Addressing Student Behavior

I started teaching in 1992 and found myself caught up in a world of "disciplining students." I was only a few years out of the Marine Corps and sternly believed that a learning environment was established by "keeping students in line." I was obsessed with keeping student behavior under control, nearly to the point where I felt like my classroom was more like a military setting than a learning environment.

Respective of this effort, I found myself challenging students on almost everything. I created an unsustainable standard for behavior and found myself in one stressful situation after another. I guess I just couldn't look the other direction or forgive situations that were really no hinderance to educational progress. I simply didn't do a good job of deciding which battles were important to fight and which were just "one off" incidents that were not likely to become "systemic problems" in the classroom or educational system. That was then.

Teaching now, I find myself much more relaxed and willing to let things go as long as they do not present the likelihood of derailing what I wish to accomplish in the classroom or lab. I have managed to grow as a person and realize the difference between "one off incidents" and potential "systemic problems" that could lead to classroom disruption and an unsafe learning environment.

As I see it, a "one off incident" is almost situation and time specific. The problematic behavior or action likely happened in a setting that isn't necessarily going to repeat itself often. In this case it is best to ignore or lightly address the issue unless it involved a safety violation or violent action against another student. The opposite of this, in my opinion, is a "systemic problem" that may be created by a student. In this instance, you find a situation that could likely recur as the setting and circumstances therein are common practice and will present themself at another point during the school year.

Example: "One-Off Incidents" We are building catapults and a student launches a ping pong ball without permission. Question - could this lead to a systemic problem. Not likely. Why? We work on catapults for a susinct amount of time and move on to another project. I would treat this situation with a light comment and suggest that the student reframe from this behavior. The action could be repeated by others but is not likely to harm the student or his peers.

Example: "Systemic Problem" We are working in the shop and a student is using the drill press while not wearing safety glasses. Question - could this lead to a systemic problem. Yes. Student safety is of highest importance in the shop and should this action not be addressed quickly and with a serious warning, it is likely the student will attempt to use other, more dangerous machines, without wearing safety glasses. Will an opportunity for a repeat present itself - absolutely - therefore, I believe that the student has the potential of creating a systemic problem, not only for him or herself, but for others. Should that behavior go unchecked it may be modeled by other students and lead to unsafe practices.

In summary, I believe teachers must choose their battles. In my opinion teachers have to be able to differentiate between "one-off incidents" and "systematic problems." Teachers must be tolerant in those areas where student behavior in not likely to create major distractions, lead to violence against others and/or lead to safety violations where somebody could get injured.

I realize now that the teacher I used to be could, and would not differentiate between these kinds of behaviors. Everything looked like a potential systemic problem. I believe my teaching capabilities have improved since then and my stress level managed as a result of being a better judge of student behavior and its potential impact in my classroom.