Winter's Tale: A Holiday Classic by Shakespeare; a Holiday Treat for Everyone

On Friday, December 4, and Saturday, December 5, Mount Carmel School’s Theatre Club will bring William Shakespeare’s classic holiday play, “Winter’s Tale”, to musical life at Fiesta Spa and Resort’s Hibiscus Hall.

“Winter’s Tale” takes place in the fairytale kingdoms of Sicilia and Bohemia, whose two respective kings, Leontes and Polixenes, are childhood friends who take turns visiting each other each Christmas. Tragedy ensues when King Leontes suspects King Polixenes and Queen Hermione are having an affair and accuses Hermione of carrying the child of Polixenes. Will Leontes and Polixenes be reconciled? What will happen to their kingdoms? What will happen to Hermione and her unborn child? These questions form the conflict for the remainder of the play, reaching a thrilling climax in the play’s final musical performance.

“Winter’s Tale”, the Theatre Club’s 25th production since its inception in 1996, is being directed by Theatre Club founder and advisor, Galvin Deleon Guerrero, known by the club as Mr. G. According to Mr. G, “Winter’s Tale” is his personal favorite play by Shakespeare. “In my opinion, it’s Shakespeare’s best story, and it effectively blends the best elements of both comedy and tragedy. While his comedies are too light and his tragedies are too heavy, this play strikes just the right balance.”

In addition to modernizing parts of the original Elizabethan script, the Theatre Club embedded holiday music throughout the play, most of which will be played by the award-winning Saipan Southern High School Manta Band. Despite a busy schedule as it prepare for its historical performance at Carnegie Hall in the Spring of 2009, the Manta Band found time to learn the show’s music, which ranges from classic Christmas songs such as “Silent Night” to more difficult pieces such as Thomas Newman’s theme music for the 1994 film “Little Women”.

Additional music will be performed by keyboardist Andreau “Andy” Galvez and the band, The Wise Men, which is composed of several Mount Carmel School alumni.

Complementing the music will be choreography by Theatre Club veteran and Mount Carmel School alumnus, Ignacio “Iggy” Benavente (Class of 2003), who recently graduated from Eastern Oregon University with a Bachelor of Arts in Theatre.

Choreographing the show has been a homecoming of sorts for Iggy. As he put it, “It was great to come and give back to the school of my roots. It was especially fun to put my theatrical experience to good use.” Iggy added, “With the work that everyone has put into the show, it’s going to be wonderful!”

“Winter’s Tale” will be performed on Friday, December 4, and Saturday, December 5, at 7:00 p. m. each night in Fiesta Spa and Resort’s Hibiscus Hall. Admission for Friday’s dinner show is $35.00 per person; admission for Saturday’s regular show is $5.00 per person.

Due to limited seating, advance purchase of tickets is strongly recommended. Tickets are available from cast and crew members or at the Mount Carmel School Business Office. For more information, call 234-6184 or visit http://mcstheatreclub.blogspot.com.

“Winter’s Tale” is made possible, in part, with support from IT&E.

An Apology and a Call for Dialogue

My recent statements on disciplinary practices in our public schools have stirred up some disappointment, frustration, and anger in the community. Before going any further, I should first express my unequivocal apology to all administrators, teachers, staff, and students in our public schools. I was working with some flawed data and issued some statements that were uncalled for. As a result, I undermined, disrespected, and hurt the very people that I am constitutionally mandated to help and serve as a member of the CNMI Board of Education. I apologize for any harm I may have caused.

With that, I also feel it is important to clarify a few matters.

First, while the data is flawed, I went to great lengths to verify it. As soon as I came on board in January 2008 and was tasked to chair the BOE School Reform Committee, many parents and students raised concerns that suspensions were being abused at some schools. Rather than react to hearsay and isolated incidents, I decided that the Reform Committee should hold meetings at schools and villages to learn more about this issue, among other issues, at a grassroots level. We also requested data from the Commissioner of Education on suspension rates over the past five years, starting in school year 2003-2004. To verify the data, the Reform Committee then compiled this information, sent it out to the PSS leadership and the rest of the BOE, and presented it at a meeting at Saipan Southern High School on March 4, 2009. The Commissioner further discussed both the data and the issue of discipline with the PSS leadership and at the monthly PSS principals’ meetings in March and April. In the meantime, the Reform Committee continued to gather more input at community-based meetings where parents continued to express concerns over the alleged abuses of suspensions.

However, despite going through all of this for over a year, the data still came out imperfect. I wish it had not, and while I’m not sure what else I could have done, I wish I could have done more. It is clear that we must continue studying this issue to understand it better.

Second, contrary to the claims that I am going “soft on students”, my goal was and is to promote dialogue about this important issue, not to necessarily come down hard on one side or the other. In fact, in my April 22 report to the BOE, I raised these questions:

Does an increase in the number of suspensions indicate better enforcement of PSS disciplinary policy, or a switch to a more punitive approach towards student discipline?
How does the increase in suspensions affect student attendance and graduation rates?
Why is there so much variance between schools? Does this reflect a lack of consistency between schools, or does it uphold each school’s authority to handle its own discipline problems in its own way?
Is there a need for a policy change to enforce more consistency between schools, or should each school be empowered to implement its own approach to discipline?
How much are schools doing to balance the need for a disciplined environment against the needs of students that are suspended?
Is adequate counseling and support provided to students that are suspended?
Is there a need for innovative approaches to student discipline beyond just punitive measures?

Furthermore, in my report, I recommended the following to the Commissioner:

ü Review each school’s internal disciplinary procedures to ensure that they are in compliance with BOE/PSS policy and meeting the needs of students.
ü Study and investigate further to identify the causes for increased suspension rates.
ü Provide training to teachers, staff, and administrators on behavior modification as an alternative to punitive disciplinary actions.
ü Ensure that students are accorded adequate counseling services to address addictive/compulsive behaviors such as betel nut chewing and smoking, which account for a large number of disciplinary infractions.

Again, I was not going soft on students, nor was I going hard on them. I was doing my best to make sure their needs were being met.

Third and last, I do believe that we must strike a balance between ensuring a disciplined school environment that is conducive to learning AND ensuring that even students that are disciplined are getting the help they need. That is why, with the exception of violent offenses, BEFORE a student is suspended, BOE Regulations 2602 and 2606 mandate that schools exhaust “standard day-to-day corrective disciplinary measures” including, but “not limited to, in-house detention, parent conferences, counseling sessions, campus clean up, community service, required apologies, behavioral intervention plans, and any reasonable creative disciplinary measures.”

Perhaps some members of our community would disagree with this BOE policy. I, for one, think it’s a good policy because it encourages us to exhaust every possible way to help students learn and grow from their mistakes.

Again, I apologize for causing any undue harm to our school administrators, teachers, and staff. They are working very hard under very hard circumstances, and should be applauded for all that they do for our students. I hope that we can move past this and engage in a meaningful dialogue about the role of discipline in our schools. In fact, I welcome anyone in our community to submit their thoughts and perspectives on this issue via email at galvin@itecnmi.com. I firmly believe that by engaging in this sort of dialogue, we can all work together to help each and every student succeed.

HQT, HET, HPT--Follow Up

After his discussion of malaria, Bill Gates presents compelling evidence that our focus should not be on highly qualified teachers (HQT) but on highly effective teachers (HET) and highly performing teachers (HPT). If we claim to be data-driven, then the data on student learning results should drive teacher pay, not the old-school trap of education and seniority. He also has some great ideas on how to replicate the successes of HETs and HPTs.

Check it out.

http://www.ted.com/talks/bill_gates_unplugged.html

2008 Commencement Remarks

The following are remarks I delivered at the graduation ceremony of Mount Carmel School's Class of 2008.

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Tonight, my heart breaks into 36 fragile pieces, all of them dressed in blue, sitting right here in these front row pews.

Tonight, my dear Seniors, I face the moment that I’ve feared for so long: the moment that we must say goodbye.

You know, during all my years in education, I’ve been warned so many times by so any people that I shouldn’t get too close to students. And throughout the past year, I’ve been criticized so many times by so many people that I’ve gotten too close to you.

But you know what? Despite all those warnings and all that criticism, I don’t regret a thing.

I am so glad that I had the chance to get to know each and everyone of you. You have enriched my life more than you’ll ever know. Whether in the classroom, on the stage, in court, or on the court, you have given my life meaning and purpose.

I know it is expected that these commencement speeches should inform, persuade, or even inspire students with words of advice and wisdom.

But, tonight, I choose to do neither of these things, because all I want to do is express how I feel about you, the Class of 2008.

I also know that our public speakers have been chastised for being too emotional. But I don’t care. In fact, I believe that the main problem we all have today is a lack of emotion. We make cold decisions without considering our emotions and the emotions of others. If anything, we need to inject more compassion and empathy and love into our public discourse. In other words, we need emotion.

Besides, any decent scholar of rhetoric knows that Aristotle argued that every good speech must have logos, ethos, and pathos: logic, credibility, and emotional appeal.

So, tonight, I make an emotional appeal to you, my dear Seniors, to listen to these last words I share with you. And I ask you to forgive me if I do, in fact, get a little emotional.

While tonight’s commencement speaker, Janet King, was preparing for her speech, she asked me what makes this class special.

That’s a hard question.

Is it that this class has succeeded at so much: Drama, Basketball, NFL, Mock Trial, and AG Cup? Is it that this class has a bright future: Prestigious colleges, the military, even flight school? Is it that this class always McGyver’s a win: Pep Rallies, Christmas Shows, and even your own graduation? Is it that this class brings a smile to your face with funny jokes about molasses, games like Jeopardy, and movies like Pedro’s Anthem, The Great Ratzby, The Vicente Code, and Richardstein? Is it that this class is so diverse yet so unified: nerds, geeks, jocks, and even “trouble-makers” who come together to support each other in everything from soccer to basketball to mock trial to AG Cup?

Or is it that this class takes great pride in being Mount Carmel knights?

Which one of these characteristics makes this class special?

Probably all of them.

But for me, what makes you special, and the reason I love you so much is this: You opened your hearts to me and let me in. In turn, I opened my heart to you and let you in. And there is no greater gift in the world than that trusting act of love.

For that, I thank you.

And I thank you, the parents, guardians, and families for trusting us with your children. It has been an honor and a privilege to serve them.

Now graduates, as your principal and your teacher, I have one last lesson to share with you. It is a truth that you don’t want to hear, but you know me: I have always shared the truth with you, even when it hurts.

So here it is: You will never be this close as a class again. And, no matter what you’re feeling right now, we will never be this close again either.

I love you guys so much, and it hurts me to admit this, but I’ve seen hundreds of students graduate over the years, and I know this for certain: it’s never the same after tonight.

It’s sad that only when things end, only when we realize that we are losing someone, do we truly appreciate them for all that they are: funny classmates, supportive cheerleader, sympathetic listeners, loyal friends.

I tell you this not to depress you, but to encourage you to cherish this moment, and cherish each other.

You are more beautiful and amazing than you will ever realize. And even after all the you’ve accomplished, the world has yet to see the greatness that is to come from you.
I truly wish I could be there with you when that happens. But it is time for you to set off on your own.

At times, the road ahead will get lonely. And at times, you may want to come crawling back home. But believe me when I tell you that you are ready. You’ve been ready.

And even though it breaks my heart to see you go, I feel so blessed to have been a part of your lives. I honestly hope that I have helped, in some small way, to make your lives better, more meaningful, and worth living. I hope that I have given you as much as you have given me.

And while we will never be this close again, I hope you will come by and visit sometime.I’ll be here, ready to welcome you home.

Balance

Kori Seki, an old classmate and good friend of mine who worked in the California housing market, has shared some of his thoughts on how we can revive the economy. In particular, he called for less restrictive building codes, pointing to old buildings that have lasted the test of time despite being built before the current array of strict building codes. He also argued for lowering property taxes to make it more affordable to build, buy, or own a home. These are certainly good points worth exploring in this economy.

One of the perennial challenges of a democracy and capitalism is balancing the need to protect people from unnecessary harms—including harms from themselves—through regulations like building codes, and trusting people—and the market—enough to refrain from overregulation. Similarly, on one hand we need taxes to fund important government spending, but we shouldn’t bite the hand that feeds by overtaxing a dwindling tax base.

At the risk of oversimplifying ideologies, I suppose that’s why there’s this constant tug between pro-regulation Democrats who want to fund health, education, and welfare, and fiscally conservative Republicans who want to deregulate as much as possible.

Let’s not forget, though, that a big cause of the current economic meltdown was the LACK of regulation in the financial markets.

It’s so hard to come up with a definitive answer that strikes the right balance. The new global market is making it incredibly difficult not only to be competitive, but also to understand what’s happening and where things are going. While I’m not a communist, Karl Marx certainly had it right when he predicted that capitalism run amuck would run society amuck.

Furthermore, while this quickly evolving market calls for flexible and adaptive governance, we must balance the need for swift action with the need for prudent deliberation. There’s no sense in rushing into yet another maelstrom. This need for balance between haste and prudence is also difficult to strike. But strike the balance we must.

New Year's Meanderings...

With the arrival of each new year, it seems there is never a lack of people griping about how bad last year was, and how they hope this new year will be better. Save for the occasional positive pop psychologist, who ever unequivocally celebrates the year just passed without caveats, doubt, or sarcasm? After all, despite the economic meltdown of the past year, American voters reaffirmed our faith in America by electing its first black president, we elected our first delegate to the U. S. Congress, and my daughter got hooked on Twilight-phonics.

I guess it’s a matter of perspective. While the cliché goes that “hindsight is 20/20”, usually, we either romanticize the past, or condemn it. Personally, while I don’t want to be a Pollyanna, I’d rather celebrate the blessings of the past year, learn from its mistakes, and romanticize the future.

Here's to a Happy Old Year...and an even Happier New Year!

HQT, HET, HPT

There has been quite a bit of debate about highly qualified teachers (HQT) and I want to share my thoughts on the issue. But, before I do that, some background might help us better understand the HQT debate.

When President George W. Bush entered office in 2001, he launched the No Child Left Behind Act (NCLB), an education reform initiative influenced by similar initiatives he had introduced as governor of Texas. The basic premise of NCLB is to push for more accountability in education by linking federal funding for school districts to student performance and teacher competence, both of which must be measured by quantifiable data like standardized test scores.

One key requirement of NCLB is that all teachers must be highly qualified teachers by 2010. In the CNMI, the BOE has determined that in order to be HQT, among other things, one must pass the Praxis, a standardized test of content knowledge (i. e. how much teachers know about basic subjects like math and reading). To “motivate” teachers to acquire HQT status, the BOE laid out carrots (i. e. rewards) for teachers that pass the Praxis, and sticks (i. e. penalties) for teachers that fail. In short, if you passed the Praxis, you got a pay raise. If you failed, you got a pay cut.

Critics of HQT and the Praxis have argued that this system of sticks and carrots demoralizes the profession, especially for those who fail the Praxis. These critics point to the Western cultural bias of the Praxis and note that some very smart people are just not good test takers.

Furthermore, some have argued that rather than focus on highly qualified teachers, we should focus on highly effective teachers (HET). The argument goes that just because a teacher knows her subject matter, does not mean that she can teach it well or that students can and will learn it from that teacher. The current Praxis only tests one’s mastery of subject knowledge, but does not test for one’s ability to teach that knowledge.

As one who works closely with my own teachers, I believe that the HQT-HET debate kind of misses the point. Good teaching, and, in turn, good learning, come in many shapes and forms, shapes and forms that cannot and should not be limited to just HQT or HET. Just as good teaching and learning require a multi-faceted assessment that evaluates diverse aspects of student learning, we should use a multi-faceted assessment model of teachers that evaluates the many different aspects of teaching.

To be sure, our teachers should be highly qualified. But we should not limit ourselves to just one measurement instrument, the Praxis. We should consider alternative assessments of a teacher’s qualifications. We could, perhaps, require teachers to maintain current portfolios that reflect the many dimensions of that teacher’s skills, abilities, experience, and education.

Likewise, our teachers should be highly effective. However, we must move beyond standardized tests and use a variety of measurements to determine the effectiveness of a teacher. For example, how many of a teacher’s students participate in an extra-curricular activity? Or how many of a teacher’s students graduate, go off to college, or acquire meaningful employment after graduation? Standardized tests are just one reflection of a teacher’s effectiveness. We must consider all the ways in which a teacher is effective.

Furthermore, how we measure HQT and HET is as important as what we measure. In this regard, perhaps we should balance the end-product—student learning—with the growth process—teacher learning. While I am a big proponent of student learning, I also know that unless a teacher is growing personally and professionally, student learning will not happen. To grow, though, a teacher needs coaching and feedback from supervisors, mentors, peers, and students. For that to happen, we need to make time for principals and master teachers to conduct meaningful classroom observations, and encourage constructive student evaluations of teachers. Just as good assessment is not a penalty but a tool for student learning, good assessment of a teacher should not penalize her. It should help that teacher grow.

Beyond HQT and HET, though, lies the more important benchmark of a great teacher: HPT: Highly Performing Teachers. These are teachers that go above and beyond their lessons to advise extra-curricular activities, tutor students after school, and volunteer to help the school in other ways needed. These are the teachers that honestly assess themselves and are constantly looking for ways to grow and improve in their craft. These are the teachers that make great schools. These are the teachers that we need.

(For more information, check out this great article by Bess Keller for Education Week that reports on a teacher evaluation instrument that's helping teachers improve their craft.)