The Screwing of Education

How I Did It... I Think....

2008-06-23T06:54:00.003-07:00

I've been reflecting on this past year and all the preparation for the AIMS. Yes, no question I taught to the test - was told to, had no choice. But I think I did some things that other teachers don't - and don't know how to do. It all comes down to study skills. When I put together a quiz of questions from the Galileo system, what also went along with all of that was a very close look at how questions were structured, as well as the type of answers presented.

Example - scientific notation. Questions were of only two types - go from standard notation to scientific notation, and then the reverse. There were enough hints within the question - and the answers - to help kids determine what the correct answer was. So we looked at everything within each of the questions. What I noticed was that kids would ask concept-type questions as we reviewed, so I felt they were getting some of the underlying understanding to the material.

We also drilled - something that has taken me a while to learn to do, after so many years of working with gifted students. Bright mathematics students do not need the practice that other math student do. I had to really amp that up for my kids.

Debriefing of all assessments, including how students did on each question, what was tricky about the questions, how the scores looked, and their own improvements, or lack thereof. I truly don't believe teachers use assessments as best they can - give it, record it, turn it back, maybe make a few comments. We did all the statistical analysis (mean, median, mode, etc), so the kids were reviewing those concepts in the light of their own work.

Last, but probably the most important - I constantly told my students they could do this test. And I was always throwing in tougher questions from the eighth grade AIMS that I knew they could do, so that helped their self-concept about doing well. If I were to do it again, I would include examples from the high school AIMS, since I just went through that. The kids know this stuff, but they need to believe they know it, and they need to know you believe for them.

Keep in mind, at no point was I just telling them they could do this test. It was always coupled with work they had done already and succeeded with. The praise was coupled with their hard work. Too often we just tell kids they can "do it," but we never show them their own proof.

Good teaching, plus a healthy dose of personal support, lots of practice, and never giving up - or letting the kids give up on themselves.

AIMS Scores Are In....

2008-06-22T08:41:00.005-07:00

...and I am one happy camper! Aside from the fact that I absolutely HATE teaching to a test, let's take a look at what the scores tell us.

Gee, I am a really good teacher....and even though I despise the test and everything it stands for, right now I could use a little validation on my teaching skills. So....the seventh grade math and reading scores at my middle school, and the eighth grade math scores were the ONLY ONES to see an increase. Let's focus in on math - 51.9 (let's call it 52) percent of our seventh graders met or exceeded the standards for math - a considerably large change overall, keeping in mind that this has been an underperforming school.

Now, about my two classes - my one math class (fondly referred to as my "class from hell") had 59.6 percent (rounded to 60) meet or exceed. Yea me!!!! This class was a challenge all year! I had two students fall far below - one is a language barrier, coupled with the fact she changed schools and was absent a lot. The other was a student who again was absent a lot and did nothing in class - literally nothing. Four of my students who were listing as Approaching the standard were only about 4 points from Meets the standard. One of my special ed students made another HUGE jump to Meets - I'm really proud of her! Two students who are pretty bright blew off math in favor of fooling around this year, and so were listed as Approaching the standard. My ELL students did pretty well all across the board - none in the failing area.

My second class (gee, imagine what I could have done if I had two more math classes and no art to take away my planning...) did even better - a 68.4 percent (68) who met or exceeded that standards, with four of the kids exceeding. Again only two who fell far below, and both of those were only a few points away from Approaching. One student did very well in math class all year, because so much of it was oral, so I think it was a reading issue, since he is a second-language learner. The other person was absent with ditching most of first marking period, and then used every excuse she could think of to be out of class.
Two of my students who failed all year, were absent a lot, and did little if any work made it on the Approaches level - so something stuck with them. My English language learners were all at Approaches or higher.

So I am thrilled. Now the next thing to do is compare my scores to the seventh grade average. 60 and 68 Percent, compared to a 52 percent for the whole grade. Hmmm - guess I really did my job this year. Good thing I was there....

More on how I think I did it later.

Let's Talk....

2008-06-04T08:18:00.004-07:00

When you analyze the talk about education in this country, it seems to fall into two categories: teachers whining about what is wrong (witness this blog) and state and federal "leaders" who have never set foot in a classroom to actually teach. We need to change that. If the very fabric of our society is to survive and develop an educational system that will create thinkers and creatives to work on the world's problems, then we need to change the rhetoric.

NO MORE WHINING!! This blog will remain a place to vent our frustrations at what is wrong with the day-to-day job of teaching, BUT...

Welcome to The Education Dreamers - a place to start a national dialogue about REDESIGNING education. Not fixing it. Not throwing more money at it. Not reforming it.

REDESIGNING IT!!

What is it the American people want and believe their education should be?

We need a national dialogue - we need to move our leaders into action on education. It can't be a "throw-away" election issue. It needs to be from the ground up. We need the swell of support and new ideas. Bobby Kennedy said in 1968:

People look at things as they are and say "why?" I look at things as they could be and say "why not?"

Interviews

2008-06-02T17:45:00.003-07:00

I got calls today for two interviews. I am continuing to apply for history positions, as I think it is time to get out of math. I need to prepare a couple of lessons to teach, and it so happens when I was cleaning out my classroom files, I found my journal from China, so I am going to do a lesson on primary and secondary sources in world history.

I am kicking around a new idea for a book on education with Michelle. No one listens to the ideas of teachers- we are always considered the whiners. This could be extremely interesting, especially coupled with Eckard Tolle's ideas in The New Earth. We shall see.....

On Getting Screwed

2008-05-31T16:46:00.002-07:00

I've had a week to process this, and it still stinks. Picture this - the last day of school, 8 AM in the hallway by the office, trying to get stuff set for the 7th graders for their day, eighth grade parents coming in for promotion, and the principal says, "we have to talk." Did I have the high school job yet? Well, no, I had to reapply, and I said I would let you know by June 15, and you said that would be fine. "Well, I'm DIT'ing you anyway."

Say what? This is how you tell me you want me transferred? I understand wanting to get rid of me, and since I did the moral, ethical thing by letting you know I was looking, you use it against me. Okay, I can live with that.

But what a shit-ass way to do it. No class, no cojones.

'Nough said.

Goodbye Museum...

2008-05-29T20:07:00.003-07:00

So I had to return the panels to the school district for "inventory." I emailed the principal almost 2 weeks ago about taking the museum to the district office, as he had indicated. No answer ("I have over 200 emails every day - I can't read them all."), so today I went in to strip the panels. Pretty bitter-sweet. The kids did such a great job, and we had no publicity - the media can't be bothered with covering something worthwhile and good at their favorite failing school. We stripped the panels in about half an hour. I am so glad I have a photographic record of the kids' work for the year, but realistically I know that most of them would have just stripped their panels and thrown the stuff away - without any regrets. So I will have the regrets for them and know they did an awesome job.

A Nation Still At Risk....

2008-05-28T17:47:00.003-07:00

I am going through emails I didn't have time to read during the hectic days at the end of the school year (more on that in another post), when I came upon this quote from an article in the New York Times:

NYTimes
April 25, 2008
Op-Ed Contributor
"
A Nation at a Loss

By EDWARD B. FISKE

"To put it bluntly, American students may not know as much as their counterparts around the Pacific Rim, but our society allows them to make better use of what they do know. The question now is whether this historic advantage will suffice at a time when knowledge of math, science and technology is becoming increasingly critical. Maybe we need both the enabling environment and more rigor in these areas."

"Most troubling now are the numbers on educational attainment. One reason that the American economy was so dominant throughout the 20th century is that we provided more education to more citizens than other industrialized countries. “A Nation at Risk” noted with pride that American schools “now graduate 75 percent of our young people from high school.”

"That figure has now dropped to less than 70 percent, and the United States, which used to lead the world in sending high school graduates on to higher education, has declined to fifth in the proportion of young adults who participate in higher education and is 16th out of 27 industrialized countries in the proportion who complete college, according to the National Center for Public Policy and Higher Education."

This should be on the agenda of every superintendent, governor, and presidential candidate. How do we get this across, that it is our problem-solving and thinking, our creativity, that makes us so strong as a nation? I think part of what I will look to do this summer is start my own educational coup, with questions that need answers, and hopefully people reading this will want to contribute.

More Museum....

2008-05-17T15:30:00.006-07:00

This is the panel that caused quite a stir, and that was before he put up his homemade barbed wire and camera!

THe landfills girls just did an amazing job!

The Rainforest information was amazing. I had no idea there were that many plants with cancer-reducing properties - and we are losing them at an alarming rate.

Billy worked long and hard to get the facts, but he also included an opinion essay that was very well-received.

Great writing on this one -and she gave away low-flow shower heads during the reception!

I am waiting to hear if the museum will move to the district office....lots said, but no follow-through as yet....

And Now - The Museum...

2008-05-13T18:52:00.007-07:00

Here they are - shots of the museum and a few of my students.

Koko worked on learning about AIDS, and in the process she discovered a great survey on line for people to indicate when they've taken an AIDS test. Pretty sophisticated stuff for 13.

This student missed most of the first semester and part of the third marking period, so there was a lot of catching up to do with research - and did a great job on the final product on a history of immigration.

Di worked on endangered animals, primarily fish and birds. His artistic talents showed here and in other panels, as he helped out his peers.

Check out the ebola and black death "stuff plush toys" in the background - from the site Giant Microbes.

Nice look at causes of endangerment around the world.

The student who worked on graffiti had an artist friend create some paintings just for the museum.

With all the different complex issues in global warming, the girls pick ice melt - and had great information about rising seas.

More coming....

Project-Based Learning

2008-05-13T17:21:00.004-07:00

The museum opened on May 1 to rave reviews. I was so proud of my kids! They came through and were able to talk about their topics quite well. Now while project-based learning seems to be fairly new, I have been doing this for years - probably since I started teaching. The second year teaching my students sponsored a World Peace Day that they worked on all year, and the third year we sponsored a Model UN, with schools around the islands representing various countries. Both were fabulous events.

Probably the only difference, albeit an important one, is the direct instruction and structure that goes with project-based learning. I had to do a huge amount of work at the beginning of this, in September, in order for the students to have the skills to accomplish their panels. After all the prep, I basically didn't do much else except help with reading, note taking, citations, and the like, until the last month when we did the design and construction of the panels. Peace Day and the UN just happened, without a lot of direction at the beginning except a vision of what we wanted at the end. With the museum all the steps were very deliberate, and yet I don't feel like anything was taken away from the experience with the direction they got. Maybe part is also the difference between high school students and middle school students. Either way, it was a great experience and worth every lost minute of sleep!

My Principal's New Best Friend

2008-05-05T17:52:00.003-07:00

So the museum opened last Thursday evening - we worked right up to the ribbon cutting getting everything ready. With the move I have been off line, and I have really missed the writing. Lots of stuff with the kids, applying for new jobs, and so on. But the museum was spectacular. My principal's boss spent an hour talking with the kids - it was pretty obvious that they knew what they were talking about, and everything looked wonderful. I will post pictures as I get them set. I've made the school look really good....

Lighting a Fire Under Kids

2008-04-22T05:37:00.004-07:00

So the museum opens a week from Thursday. There are 7 class periods left to get things ready. I am freakin' out because the kids are moving so slowly. The press notices are out, all the invitations are out - we're just waiting....

I have to tell myself that for most of these kids it is the first time doing project-based learning, and that alone is a major accomplishment for them. I took it a step further and decided to take a page from museum learning and structure the projects in a totally different way. Maybe I bit off too much, but what I have learned over the years is that you shoot for the stars, and you will end up with a better product than if you made simpler demands. Well, I am aiming for Saturn - hopefully we get to Mars....(if you follow the analogy....)

Several of the kids are in fabulous shape, and you can tell by listening to them just how much they have learned. And...some of them are still plugging away on the computers, still thinking this is a typical research project.

I am proud of these guys - we have all gone into uncharted waters, and the payoffs all around look to be great. Kids can do amazing things - we need to give them the structure, the faith, and the opportunities. Now if it will just stop keeping me awake at night....

Data-Driven....

2008-04-21T17:42:00.003-07:00

Ah, the new terminology with NCLB...I had a meeting this morning to look at the data from my math classes for the third benchmark - keeping in mind the third benchmark was the third week in March, and AIMS finished last week. The question for me? How will I continue to move these kids a few percentage points ahead between now and the end of the school year (a mere 24 days away, but who's counting)?

Shouldn't we have done this earlier?

At the risk of always seeming like a whiner, let me say this - I have learned so much being able to access data about the kids and how they are doing. I am a better teacher for this access, BUT I draw the line at determining who the two or three kids are that would give the school "the most bang for the buck" in focusing just on them.

And people think gifted education is elitist????

Part of me says, "Are you kidding about doing this now?" and the other part of me says, "Hmmm, I can really use this with the kids and help them see their progress."

So I ask why I am teaching 6th grade intervention next year, as I don't feel I am good with basic computation. The teaching assignments were made based on "data," and since my test scores for my kids are so good, the decision was made based on that data to make me the "power teacher" in sixth grade with intervention. Whoopee.

Part of me says, "Lucky me," and the other part says, "Hmmm, why don't we make more decisions like this based on how we do with the kids?"

Data, data, data - should be interesting to see how next year works out......

It's Official....

2008-04-09T17:48:00.003-07:00

I'm a dinosaur. I've thought that for a number of years, but today there was absolutely no question. I combined my art class with the music class for a "down" day between AIMS testing. The kids looked at a video game called Guitar Hero. OMG.......

This was so interactive and full of so many potential skills for the kids: eye-hand coordination, working with rhythms, practicing, listening and discriminating sounds, use of digital art to set up each song, motivation. I could go on. About mid-way through my 5th period, all I could think about was "how can math possibly hope to compete with something like this?" A couple of the boys were outstanding, and we had two girls with the highest string of correct notes. I can see where some kids would stay glued to this game to practice for hours.

There's nothing like it that I'm aware of for math. And therein lies a huge opportunity - develop some educational games that excite and instill like this music one. Could you imagine how math scores would go up?

The technology is obviously there. The technology is beyond me - I'm from the black and white TV generation. While I like to think I am more computer savvy than the average person my age, this video is so beyond my understanding.

In redesigning the whole educational system, we need something like this....And redesigning - not bandaging - the system is the way we MUST go.

More Testing

2008-04-08T16:00:00.004-07:00

So is it good news when the kids say the test was easy? I asked each of my math classes what they thought about the day's math test. Mostly two-thirds said they thought it was easy. Some kids said they took the time to reread questions. Some said they wrote and worked stuff out all over the booklets. No specific questions - I don't want to know, and I refused to let the kids give me any specifics.

It took most of them about 40 minutes for the math section, and they seemed really pooped at the end. I guess they are taking this seriously - which is a very good thing. Most of the kids even said they didn't need to guess on any of them. Yea!!

Tomorrow is a normal day as a break between tests - I want to start some new material on similarity, and then really get into it next week. If I can get through this unit, the kids will be well-prepared for next year. And one of the teachers is going to give me an activity for building an icosahedron, so that should be cool.

On the museum front, kids are starting to panic - which isn't necessarily a bad thing - they are starting to move toward finishing their panels, and they realize just how much time they have left. Spent some time planning for a graphics design lesson tomorrow so they have a few artistic principles for setting up their panels.

Lots of deadlines, very busy next three weeks!

And So It Begins......

2008-04-07T15:30:00.003-07:00

Oh, the insanity of it all, the inhumanity (loud wailing and gnashing of teeth...). AIMS testing started today, with a full morning of writing. From what the kids said, the prompt was reasonable - no idea what it was because I signed a paper saying I wouldn't look at anything to do with the test, and I didn't want to kids telling me specifics.

The set-up was actually fairly smooth, but I gotta tell ya, all classes for 30 minutes makes for a really tiring day. And - all of the staff were trying to convince the kids that the principal really didn't mean for them to guess C on all their work (see previous post).

So who knows? Will the school fail again? Are the kids ready? Will they take it seriously? About half of my kids (and I have a good group) finished the rough copy and final draft in 45 minutes - that in itself doesn't bode well, although there was a rush for dictionaries.

And I'm scheduled to teach 6th grade math intervention next year - bleech. Turns out that's my assignment because I'm the strongest person. Great - I'm a victim of my own success........

How to Screw Up High-Stakes Testing

2008-04-06T15:35:00.003-07:00

You'll love this. I spend since January working with the kids in math, getting them to work problems, show their work, use strategies to help work through test questions. In one fell swoop the principal destroys all that work.

Honor Roll assembly on Friday - one of the many unfortunate things - the principal and the counselors couldn't pronounce most of the kids' names. And then, in a "pep" talk about AIMS, the principal says, "if you have no idea of the answer, put C. If you can't figure the problem out, just mark C."

Say what? Or, as they say on line, WTF? Not "Do your best." Not "Work through all the problems," but "Pick C."

So all the kids walked out of the assembly and into class prepared to choose C - one boy actually said, "The principal says to pick C."

So do you think we'll lose the failing label this year??????

"This Isn't a Democracy"

2008-03-31T16:26:00.004-07:00

Quote unquote. Okay, so in education, there isn't a whole lot of decision-making on the classroom level - and there should be lots more - kids have good things to say. On the school level - definitely.....which brings me to our mandatory meeting after school -

About testing - still can't get a schedule that's workable - it will be a real mess next week. One teacher volunteered a couple of us to "get it right," and that's when we were told no - No water bottles in the classroom - who cares about keeping kids hydrated - they can't have anything that could get on the test books. And definitely no food - has no one read brain research? And no gum - these kids would be way more relaxed if they could chew.

All the makings of a really terrific week ahead. We are supposed to walk around the full two hours to make sure kids aren't just making designs on their bubble sheets. Yet we have signed a paper saying at no time will we look at the test to see the kinds of questions the kids have to do.

We're missing prep periods next week - and we still have classes to try and teach after each day's testing. The one reward - no meetings after school next week.

Please let me hear from the high school that they'll hire me....please.....

A Must-See

2008-03-30T08:53:00.003-07:00

From the folks at Edin08 - see link at the right....

Watch this video!!

This says it all - so why aren't the candidates talking????

Living in a Leadersip Vacuum

2008-03-30T08:31:00.003-07:00

One thing about any organization - you need leadership. You need an individual who can make decisions as needed, can think ahead, and can delegate decision-making power to other competent individuals.

We have none of that. It was extremely obvious on Wednesday's professional development time when we were looking at the testing schedule for the state tests. Two hours were allotted for testing each day. Two hours. Then most of us missed class periods with kids throughout the week.

Now the instructional coach (don't get me started...) explained how the leadership team had come up with the schedule - and therein lies another tale. The "leadership team" consisted of the coach and the principal, none of the people on the team who have actually been testing coordinators. The state "suggests" two hours for the testing - the ACTUAL testing - not the set-up, not the necessary breaks, not the signing in and out of test booklets. This person never allowed for any of that.

Now, we are a failing school, and all the pressure this year has been to try and get us out of that label. Given how we are getting set up by district and other officials, we are going to fail again - so most of us left the meeting wondering why we should even open the boxes at all - why go through all that grief when conditions are not optimum for the kids.

I was livid- setting up a testing schedule is not rocket science - you list what you MUST have, add in extra time for unexpected things, listen to teacher input for schedule suggestions, and then make the schedule. When four people on your staff have been testing coordinators at previous schools and have experience, you listen to them.

But no, let's do what education does so well - reinvent a wheel that doesn't work well to begin with......

For the Parents......

2008-03-29T10:54:00.005-07:00

It's been a tough two weeks, what with only one week left before AIMS. One of my wonderful lists has some parents talking about the pressure on high-states testing and the effects on their kids. So here goes....

Sorry to offend anyone, but sometimes the truth hurts - you can thank the Bush administration for No Child Left Behind. Did (does) education need a rehauling to make it better? Of course, but emphasis on testing to the exclusion of ANYTHING ELSE is just wrong. EVERYONE suffers, especially the kids. I can't count the number of times since January I wake up worried about will I cover everything in time for the kids to do well.

This is Republican ethos to destroy and/or dismantle public education in favor of vouchers and private schools. We are turning out children who learn solely for the sake of testing and never have a chance to THINK, because we as teachers (most of us, anyway) are not allowed to actually teach thinking. Case in point - I was TOLD in December that I would teach 4 objectives every three weeks, with pre- and post-testing so the administrators could check and see how the kids (and obviously me) were doing. I countered with something to the effect of how can we help these children break the cycle of poverty through their education if we aren't allowed to teach for understanding. I was told by the assistant principal for "school improvement" (do you sense an oxymoron coming on?) that I could teach for understanding when the testing was over.

EXCUSE ME??????? You want me to deliberately help to keep kids in a state of non-thinking cannon-fodder being? So then I had to start thinking about how I could subvert this. And I think I've done well - for example, we spent 60 minutes yesterday in math class looking at pictures and video (including the last sequence from Men in Black 1) to understand the powers of ten and what it means to do scientific notation. Then we took the last 30 minutes and actually worked on how to do the math problems. Ta-Da! The kids could do it and understand it and it wasn't all just worksheet-based.

But I keep working with my kids about how they are smarter than the test makers and they know this stuff. To prove it to them I showed them 8th grade (they are 7th) test questions and they could do it. Really improved their confidence. Beyond that, I try not to put and pressure on them, except to eat right and get a good night's sleep (hard to do for our homeless kids) the nights before the test. These kids do not need to be worrying about whether they fail, get promoted, or whatever. I tell the kids that's for me to worry about.

Administrators at the local school level have no business putting their pressures on to kids. This is not of their doing. Kids need to know that their teachers will do everything they can to prepare them, but the test is simply a few days out of their whole education.

I gotta tell ya, though, this is an extremely fine line to walk, with encouraging the kids to do their best, and not freaking them out at the same time. I ended up having a stronger discussion with one of my classes, because they were just saying they would stay home. Unfortunately, thanks again to NCLB, if we don't test 95% of our kids, we automatically will fail our annual yearly progress. AUTOMATICALLY. NO QUESTION. THAT'S IT.

Does that suck, or what?

Sorry for the caps, but this just burns my a**.

Errata....

2008-03-16T18:19:00.004-07:00

So I survived the week, and now it's Sunday, and as usual I am spending the bulk of the day doing work for school. At least it is only a two-day week, with spring break starting Wednesday. But the week was not without its incompetence....

The worst part about this school year (and there is a VERY large list) is the lack of communication. Our team had planned in January to do some really big things for the kids who earned it at the end of the marking period. Then in January we were told there would be a reward dance for the kids on Tuesday, their last day. There go our plans.

But...we are told this past Wednesday that there will be no dance and we are expected as a team to prepare a great reward for 7th period on Tuesday. So much for notice - because on top of everything else I am expected to get my grades in by 5 PM on Tuesday. Seventh period is my prep period - I need it to get grades in, as I have to spend after school on Monday and Tuesday helping to grade writing assessments. Plus, I object on general principle to having to spend my own money to provide a reward. So I sound like even more of a bitch.

When I get treats for the kids, it's because I made that decision, not because I have been told I have to do this. Once again the administration is blowing off their responsibilities. We've sent lots of emails, but as of Friday afternoon no one had responded. Rewards for the kids are two days away......

We are a failing school, and I am anticipating we will remain a failing school. I gave a post-test on what we have covered for the last two weeks, to find the results were not great, and on the district benchmark, both classes dropped a few points. Nothing like more pressure concerning testing. What does the school do? Takes the special education teachers, the ATLAS teachers, and the principal and instructional coach away from school for three days for a literacy conference. Not that they can (or would - principal doesn't show up in class to work with kids) do anything for teaching literacy this close to a high-stakes test.

The whole picture for next year is very uncertain. New superintendent, serious budget concerns (almost bankrupt), four schools potentially closing, and no idea where I will be for teaching, and this school is so incompetent they haven't even begun to consider what will happen next year - there certainly won't be the students to justify 6 math teachers - so who will be let go (transferred within the district) and who will stay? That's assuming the administration can think that far ahead......

Where to even begin...

2008-03-12T19:56:00.003-07:00

I am so tired...it's amazing how anger increases your tiredness. All of us are dragging at school. There's quite the sense of despair, and of running out of time, with AIMS a mere three weeks away. I am tired of waking up at night, worrying about what we haven't covered.

The day went down the tubes by 7:05 - in the AM. Another typical meeting, but this one culminated with "announcements," such as we all have to plan our own student parties for next Tuesday. This after I have been coerced into getting my grades in a full day early (what's the point, then, of grading day?). I raised my hand, and I know people were thinking, here comes the bitch . So I ranted briefly about lack of communication and it was't fair to not give us fair notice about changes - turns out all of us were counting on a dance, which we had been told about a month ago, and now we have to make alternate plans.

So what does the assistant principal tell me? There is an "up side" to my anger - it shows just how concerned and caring I am for my students. Except all I am is angry at the stupidity and incompetence around me.

Then two of my Somali girls wasted my good glitter by "refusing" (yup) to follow instructions. At six dollars a jar of my own stuff, you can bet I was angry. And One of the girls just wanted to argue - refused to sit down - generally a mess.

And the topper - I get a call for an interview in math at another middle school -and they want me Monday at 11:30 - well, it just so happens I am teaching.

Why can't I take the time off?

Well, it's three weeks to AIMS and I can't be out of the classroom. Why can't they schedule me for after school?

They've already had their make-up times, and this is what they can do.

So why are they interviewing currently contracted teachers during the school day?

That's a question for the principal. I would need to come in when the committee can get together.

At which point I said that I wouldn't want to hire a teacher who was willing to leave her class for an interview before a major exam. It obviously wasn't going to be a good fit with me and this school, so they should take me out of consideration. I was not nice.

Stupidity.

No wonder I am so tired and angry I can't see straight......

Fried....

2008-03-04T18:13:00.004-07:00

I survived today. I had mostly a good day with the kids - as usual, it was lots of other stuff. I'm also too tired to think straight - or to write, but this is therapeutic.

Art class was marvelous - I moved for the whole 98 minutes, helping kids with color, some technique (who knew I could actually teach something on water color?), and suggestions. Everyone was involved. Got to math class and that also went well. We are working on probability and tree diagrams, so we used MasterMind from the National Library of Virtual Manipulatives site - we have played that game as an exercise in logic since the beginning of the year. Today we looked at the math piece of it - how many ways can you get combinations of six different colors in four different spots?

Needless to say, we started on a much smaller level until they got the idea of doing some multiplication. One of the kids suggested a great combination at the beginning, and I said that would be homework - 6 colors in 5 spots. This after we had done one simple tree diagram - two colors in four spots. So they were freaking until the end of the lesson when they realized just how easy this was. Good class.

Enrichment - trying to get the kids to work on citations for their research, and this has been difficult.

So a good day, and I sit down at my desk to start on papers and that's when the brain starts getting fried. A memo from the assistant principal that we need to call the parents of the kids who aren't coming to tutoring by Thursday, and give her the list by Thursday. So I wrote back and said that was someone else's job (like we were told) and that I didn't have time. Had to do referrals and call parents about detention for next week. Need to call parents to finish setting up our 10 (yup - told that on Friday - afternoon at 4, no less) conferences for tomorrow. Arrange for tutoring 9 kids, with the other two teachers out. I didn't get any papers scored or entered - and have to do plans for 26-minute periods tomorrow, including a teacher/student soccer game, so we will lose those periods for instruction.

The public really has no idea of what we go through on a daily basis.....sheesh.

Teaching Means Never Having to Say You're Sorry...

2008-03-03T17:57:00.003-07:00

Not. If anything, we as teachers should never be afraid to say "I'm sorry." We make so many decisions in the course of a day that every now and then we're bound to make a mistake. And I did on Thursday. I wrote up a student for being very disruptive in my art class - not a great day all around.

When I met with the assistant principal and the student on Friday, he broke down in tears about what he had been trying to do in the art class with getting kids to follow directions, and I had totally misunderstood everything. Felt like s***.I totally misread his actions.

And on top of that, he tells the assistant principal that he didn't want to be in art, but once he got caught up and started completing his assignments, he is really starting to like art. Which is of course what I want, so I made a public apology in the class today, and I tried to give him a few extra responsibilities in class with the substitute.

Now for some more stupidity from the front lines - lesson plans need to be emailed to administrators by end of Monday morning - so most of us can get them done over the weekend. So what is waiting for us by noon time? An email from the principal saying we had to give our "school-wide vocabulary words" test on Tuesday and get results to him ASAP. Well, my plans are already done, and to allow time for a thirty-word short answer test, that would take more of my class time than I can give, especially with benchmark testing being next week. So he'll get the test when he gets the test.