The Screwing of Education

Attention Span of a Gnat

2010-04-20T18:26:00.001-07:00

We're a month away from the end of school, and while I know senioritis has set in, I have freshmen, and we still have a lot to cover before finals. And therein lie a few contradictions present in the educational system.

One, how do we assess the year, especially in mathematics?

Two, how do we maintain engagement (the new buzzword, it seems) with new - and old - material? Therein is my comment about attention span of a gnat....

Three, and who says we have to be at a certain point in the curriculum by the end of an artificial time?

All of these are on my mind right now as I try to be sure my students are ready for geometry next year. They need to understand linear equations, be able to work with integers, and solve equations. Yet there is so much more to algebra to build the foundation for additional math classes.

One of my issues this year has been that of rigor. While I have students whose mathematical skills are very weak, I still need to increase the rigor of algebra with them, as well as discover whatever else I can do to increase their "staying power" with the math. I can tell you exactly where each one of my students is mathematically; I don't need a final to tell me that, and I feel pretty certain that a lot of the kids know pretty well where they are.

As I build this blog back up, these are just some of the questions I want to ponder. I can see myself still writing about these issues long after I retire from the classroom. Any comments?

Back into the Fray

2010-04-18T07:56:00.000-07:00

I'm back. It's different this time around - I'm happy with my job, but absolutely fed up with the state of education in Arizona. I've got to have a place to rant about the stupid, INCREDIBLY stupid, things Arizona is doing to education. Plus, this gives me a chance to be more active writing about something that will always be dear to me, even when I retire (which is 13 more report cards from now, not that I'm counting).

I need to get myself organized for this go-round with the blog...I'll be back.

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.

I need a brain cell.....

2008-03-01T18:53:00.006-07:00

So yes, you really can have enjoyable days in the classroom. They come around just enough to keep you committed to teaching. I had such a 30 minutes in my GATE (gifted and talented education) class on Friday.

I was helping two of the girls work through reading some of their research on infectious diseases. Some of this reading is very complex for the seventh graders, and I like to help with the reading comprehension part when possible. I am going through this to find a photo of an "ebola plush toy." An actual stuffed animal of a deadly virus. Nothing like being hit square in the face with an oxymoron.

We were laughing about this, and then I said, we need to look on the web and see if we can find something like this. Lo and behold, check out this site: Giant Microbes. They have pictures of the bacterium or virus, with a stuffed toy that looks pretty much like it. We must have looked at almost everything on the site - I really want a brain cell - looks so much like a dendrite! These are so cute - while some of them are actually pretty gross - we had the best time just laughing over all these - with my comment to the kids that they would never again have to worry about a present for their little obnoxious brothers and sisters again!

More from the Funny Farm

2008-02-26T18:24:00.003-07:00

So those of us who always get to school early so we can get ready are learning that we shouldn't bother, because in most cases there is no paper in the copy machines (or one of them is out of service). Now wonderful John, who had top secret clearance in the Air Force in the missile silos, volunteered to take care of the machines and make sure they are filled every morning, since he is one of our true early birds. The admin will not trust him with a key.

One of the teachers standing with us while John is telling us this had, at her last school, a retired captain in the Navy who used to command a submarine. The admin wouldn't let him near the copy machines to fix them if there was a problem.

And we wonder why education seems not to be working....

Then I read my email to find the weekly memo, with a note from Tom Horne, our illustrious (sarcasm intended) Superintendent for education for the state. And I quote...

1)The US Department of Education has completed their review of the Department of Education’s request to change the use of calculators by special education students to a standard accommodation. They have denied our request. They will not permit the use of calculators as a standard accommodation. Therefore, the use of a calculator will not be allowed as an accommodation on AIMS Mathematics.

2)(District) has received a letter from ADE indicating that there will be no tutoring funds available to students in need of passing AIMS at the high school level due to state budget constraints and short falls. We are very concerned about this lack of tutoring funds for our schools.

Now Arizona does not allow calculators on major tests, like so many other states - and the College Board - do. Because...drum roll, please...it would cost money. That's the reason - to allow calculators and consequently more meaningful problems, would mean the state would need to be sure every student in the state had access to a calculator, and they would need to front the money. Just another example of short-sighted thinking in this state.

As for the tutoring - NCLB evaluates us every year and assigns failing labels to schools based on the AIMS test. So let's just forget about tutoring, and put more money into prisons.

I sure went into the wrong growth industry years ago.....

$(&($%&(W$(%&@%$^$&$*

2008-02-25T16:22:00.003-07:00

Welcome to Monday...I really tried to go in positive, but...I had emails in response to the analysis I had completed of the last benchmark test my students took. The principal wanted to know if I felt my kids were making adequate progress. Uh, no.....they don't want to do the work. So I invited him to come in and hear the discussion I was planning on having with the math class today - but he is so overwhelmed with work he can't make it. Guess it's not that important....

And then another email saying I no doubt would have to reteach some skills, based on the results. Uh, ya think? Forget the fact that the skills are being taught out of any consistent context, of course I need to reteach.

So by the end of the day I was pretty pissed, and so I emailed the principal and said if AIMS are so important, then I need to get some extra time away from the art classes to do more preparation. We'll see just how important this is.

Then when I was working with the kids in math class, I asked them what we needed to do to change their progress, and they took the opportunity to dump on me. We need more worksheets to practice" - uh, well, you don't work on the ones I give you, and so on. The thing I found most interesting is that they think the stuff I give them is too easy, and the AIMS stuff is harder. Well, I give them open-ended problems that they need to bring forward information and use it practically - not multiple choice. According to brain research, this is a more difficult task. But they want all multiple choice so they can guess.

Just can't win....

But the best part was in the computer with the 8th grade art class (what an obnoxious group of children) - computers are deadly slow, can load the sites, kids are messing around with YouTube, after they have been specifically told they can't go there - if the district is so concerned with making this failing school better, then at least we should be able to hhave more up-to-date computers, servers, and so on. It was an extremely LOOONNNNGGGGG 90 minutes.

Sunday Depression

2008-02-24T16:43:00.004-07:00

I would venture to say that any good teachers out there get depressed come Sundays. We end up spending the day doing lesson plans and marking papers, just so we can get a start on the coming week. But it never seems enough - funny how many of us, as we approach the end of the school year, have already turned our focus to planning for the next school year.

We work and work, but we never get caught up with everything - there's always cleaning the room, getting papers sorted, updating the grades, planning for the next units, calling parents. On Sunday we make the lists for the week - for me, the list is usually just what has to happen on Monday so I can get through the day. Sometimes I end up spending all the prep period, at what I call fifth gear, trying to get ready for the first class. I hate it when I have to spend all the prep periods doing meetings and getting ready for the class, just the physical stuff. It is so nice when I can actually sit at my desk and work on some papers and record grades.

Last year I was able to get progress reports out to my kids at least every two weeks. This year, not a chance for that, as most of the time I can't even get the papers marked, let alone the grades entered. So here it is Sunday afternoon - a lot of the time I put things off till Monday, especially since I have first period planning. But for today the structure is done - just need to run copies tomorrow and get the computer sites set up for art. It makes a huge difference having three different classes to prepare for - I know how much easier things would have been without having the art classes to plan for. I could have spent more time on the math, and more time planning activities. But I need to have a life...so enough is done to get set for tomorrow, and now I can continue with what's left of Sunday - for me.

Despair Squared...

2008-02-18T17:24:00.005-07:00

It's Monday, and only a three-day week, since we take Rodeo break off as a mid-winter vacation. Yet today seemed like forever. My eighth graders do not want to do art - they want to cook. Can't help them there - it's all about scheduling. Trying to do meaningful activities, but I gotta tell ya, giving them compasses with sharp points isn't always a great idea.

My math class has reverted to old behaviors - they just don't want to do anything. I tried breaking the time up in some practice, and turns out none of them can do double digit multiplication - well, let me rephrase that - they have trouble doing single digit multiplication. Now I gotta say, how much is actual missing the concept, actual laziness, and maybe some other educational problem. In seventh grade they should be able to multiply. I should be able to expect that. And when I give them problems to practice, I expect them to take the opportunity to do so.

But no, socializing is so much more important. I finally stopped with about 20 minutes left in the period and started to do other things. I am so tired of trying to fight them. I call home - nothing. I send them out - that's what they want/ I assign detention - they don't show, and no one forces them or makes them accept responsibility.

Things will get really interesting after AIMS is over - then they won't want to work for anything. Forget trying to make meaning - they just don't want to work. And this is the first time I have really confronted this in all my years of teaching.

Then we sat through another interesting meeting (sarcasm intended) on language registers - like I need to understand that the kids drop into casual and intimate ranges when they shouldn't. So upshot of that meeting is we need to "train" our kids on how to speak properly and when to use correct English....like we need more to do - and of course, this would lend itself to making meaning really well. Can you see them yawning now?

Welcome to the Funny Farm

2008-02-17T13:56:00.005-07:00

So I got selected today to contribute a regular weekly column for Eric Maisel's creativity blog. Yea, me! I love writing, and this will get me to focus in on making meaning in education. I see the work moving between both blogs, but what I like about this is hopefully it will keep me more centered on looking at what is happening in education, especially from the perspective of a failing school.

I still need to do lesson plans for today - I am actually ahead for the next few days - managed to get a lot done during my planning periods this past week, so I might be able to head into Rodeo break with very little to do. Fingers crossed....

Finally - Friday...

2008-02-15T16:47:00.003-07:00

So it's finally Friday, after a very long week. Lots of tired teachers floating around, just waiting for 3 PM. The grind is amazing, and I continue to lose sleep, worrying about the upcoming AIMS. How do you get kids to actually do the math - how hard is it to add a series of numbers - not even fractions or decimals? The kids just don't want to do it.

That is probably the most eye-opening issue this year - the kids will not do the work. I have never been in that situation before. Usually I am pretty good at getting kids to do the work, but not this year. Even walking around trying to assure that they are trying the math doesn't work. This is not a language issue - the kids understand fine what I am asking - they will be the first ones to say they don't want to do the work.

The lack of any light of learning at this school is making me nuts. Not only am I having to constantly work with a "laser-like focus" on the math standards, but I am constantly trying to work on ways to make a 98-minute period more exciting. And I have to take additional classes for the English-language learner, learn more about inclusion, try to develop an art program, score papers, and plan. For two weeks I haven't gotten my lesson plans in.

Seventy school days - time to begin looking for something else, but if the district closes schools, there will be four schools of elementary teachers looking for work. Just give me a classroom where no one will bother me and perhaps we can enjoy some learning for the pure enjoyment of chasing an idea. What a novel thought....

I am so depressed....

2008-02-04T16:23:00.000-07:00

...and it's got nothing to do with the Patriots losing. Notice I didn't say Giants winning. Isn't it interesting this game that all the talk will be about the Patriots losing, not the Giants winning.

School sucks. I have ten special ed kids in my art class, all of whom are wonderful except for one. People keep saying don't I have an aide? Uh, no - brought that up five weeks ago at the beginning of the new semester. This one kid has to go - he pokes others, he is obnoxious - and all I was told for accommodations is "treat him like any other kid." Well, any other kid would have been written up by now. The counselor tells one story - gosh, she can't understand why I have so many kids in that class - well, bozo, you did the scheduling.

Enrichment went well - time went quickly, and all the kids commented on it - for a change they weren't saying they were bored...working on solving equations, and the Connected Math program has a great activity to introduce it. So that was a good class.

Fourth period was its usual - five absent, no one really wants to learn anything. And then I went to our content meeting after school to listen to two other teachers explain these incredible activities they are doing. I feel so stupid and worthless. One thing for me about teaching, my self-esteem is really tied in to how I do in the classroom.

12 days till rodeo beak. I hate my job. Soul-sucking incompetence....

Non Illegitimati Carborundum (thanks, Dad)

2008-02-01T15:47:00.000-07:00

Don't let the bastards grind you down. My dad always kept that in his various offices. I've often thought I should make that into a needlepoint/cross stitch for framing in my classrooms. Probably not enough educated people around who would get the Latin.

The grinding down of spirit in this district - and school - is pretty amazing. Computer dude gets reamed for keeping all the teachers up and running, but not working within the district parameters for one of the programs. Well, hell, Windows crap was not meant to run on a Mac, and I have refused to use it, because I know what will happen. Not so many of the other teachers. So CD (compute dude) has been making it all work. Thanks? Not in this joint....

I don't get my grades uploaded in time and I get an email saying I am not meeting the district standard in uploading grades every week. So, remembering that I am working to contract (and certainly not on mental health days, especially since I don't have access to the grading program from home because I am on a Mac), it is a case of planning a good lesson, with all the components they want (three lessons, mind you, because of all the preps) or uploading grades.

That's why I took two days of mental health - at least I was able to go back today in a better frame of mind and enjoy the kids - and actually have some learning happen - and then spent my prep period uploading at least one set of grades for each of my classes so I am in compliance for this week....now I get to do all the planning over the weekend.....

Teaching to the Test, Redux

2008-02-01T15:38:00.000-07:00

So I finished analyzing the test results from the benchmark posttest that I taught to. Hmmm...not as great as I would have liked.....I was anticipating kids scoring in one class around 14-15 right, and it was 12. In the other class I was thinking 16-17, and it was fifteen. Still - a huge jump (200%) from the pretest in both classes.

Analysis - the vertex-edge graphs the kids either got all right or all wrong - if they didn't work them out, they didn't get them right through guessing. I can only do so much with that. It has taken three weeks, but we finally now do not have to have the kids do the benchmark testing on anything other than the MACs, so they can have some room on their desks to do the math work. Hurray.

Still problems with vocabulary, but we just have to keep working on that. To help with this, I have been doing "foldables," which are folded pieces of paper, usually colored so kids can find them easier, and help the kids organize material. I did the first one on Tuesday - working with all the different types of angles and estimating angle measurements. Kids felt really comfortable with the information after we finished (sarcasm intended - I went over the objectives during closure, and all the kids felt they had attained the information, just like I'm supposed to....).

Yet the worksheet that I left, that they could use their foldable with, wasn't as great as I wanted - a lot of kids still are guessing and not using the materials they have made.

So now part of me is trying to figure out how to get this specific information across even better - yet the understanding piece is seriously missing. Kids still do not understand some of the concepts at all - they are just trying to do some rote work, when it isn't a rote concept. Sheesh.

Mental Health

2008-01-30T09:52:00.001-07:00

We have, in the profession, a unique (well, maybe not...) phrase to represent some days taken off - a mental health day. Sometimes it is what maintains any semblance of sanity. For me, without an occasional mental health day, I start taking my frustrations out on the kids - which I absolutely hate doing and avoid at all costs. I tell my kids if I'm in a bad mood, I will always let them know, and then if the anger gets the better of me, I will always apologize - it's important for kids to know that adults can - and should - apologize when necessary.

The problem with mental health days is preparing for the substitute. At least it is a problem is you are a good, capable teacher. Getting the lesson plans ready - beyond a worksheet and the attendance book - can take several hours. I always want the kids to be able to continue what they are working on. So I have art instructions and materials set, math activities and worksheets run to support them, and enrichment quizzes. All of which for these two days took close to 5 hours to get ready.

I have a set of sub plans that I start with, based on the years that I subbed and what I missed from teachers. My generic plans have all my policies, what to do for evacuations, fire drills, and the like. I just realized I forgot to leave a note as to where those plans are in the art room....oh, well, hopefully nothing weird will happen today or tomorrow.

At least back east we could hope for snow days....

On Presenting at Conferences

2008-01-27T16:00:00.000-07:00

Yesterday I presented at a math conference. I have had the opportunity to present at state and national conferences since the first one in 1982 in Portland, Oregon - National Association of Gifted and Talented, and I got to sit in on a panel for the College Board. I love doing these, even when it takes time away from school work and art. What I really want to do when I grow up is be able to train other teachers, but for some reason, I can't seem to get school districts to look at my credentials and have me do this.

My presentation was on the algebra concepts that are to be found in the Connected Math program,and the presentation was very strong. Unfortunately the audience needing to see this stuff - high school algebra teachers - wasn't there. Mostly I had teachers who are currently teaching Connected Math and having issues with it.

But the day was not a total waste - I may have found a few ways to be my subversive self when it comes to continuing the math program. A friend of mine, whom I haven't seen in several years, is working on the new state math standards - and her feelings are that we don't do any adoptions until we see what the new standards are like. So maybe I have a way of working around the system....

Looking for a good speaker? My credits:
1982 NAGT conference on providing an academically-based gifted classroom;
1984 conference at Arizona State University on programs for gifted students;
1987 American Learning Corporation yearly conference on tutoring mathematics (too bad they're not still around...);
1988 radio show in Baltimore about writing skills for adolescents;
1993 School Partnership with the Kennedy Center for the Performing Arts on professional development credits and experiences for teachers incorporating the arts in their classrooms;
1994 School Partnership with the Kennedy Center again on professional development for teachers;
1997 Arizona Association of Gifted and Talented on study skills and the gifted student;
1997 speaker on Quality Learning and Systems for local school district;
2000 International Dyslexia Association Conference substitute speaker (2 days' notice) on grammar for dyslexics (nothing like being in DC the night of the 2000 election, drinking in the bar, hearing Florida called for Gore, and waking up the next morning to tragedy...);
2001 state chapter of International Dyslexia Association on evaluating reading programs;
2005 Math Educator Appreciation Day for Southern Arizona on creating polynomial quilts;
2007 Math Educator Appreciation Day on creating a Connected Math classroom.

And I'm sure I forgot a few....

The Fate of a Great Math Program

2008-01-24T19:22:00.000-07:00

It looks like we aren't going to have Connected Math around next year. We are in the process of a math adoption for the middle school, and there are committees, and people having input - even though last year the decision should have already been made, and there is even a report about the scientific research that was done last year. But there are only four middle schools using this program, and there are most of the math teachers in other schools who want no part of this. So it seems like ONE program will be adopted, regardless of meeting the needs of kids.

On top of that, I am getting ready to do a post-test on the last three weeks of work. I was talking to a teammate about her new questions - and once again it is all about taking the test. My kids are so confused on volume because we haven't had the chance to really develop the concept of volume with a cylinder - radius, diameter, squared, height, and all the other vocabulary.

I have opted not to do the post test on line for a number of reasons. One, I like to see errors, to see just where the kids made their mistakes. Two, the computer labs don't allow room for actually working the problems out, so the kids are even more tempted to guess. I am so trying to avoid that!

The despair around the school in the staff was palpable today. The monitors were busy from the very beginning with fights - kids making lots of bad choices. Most of the administrators were gone, so we are running on skeleton - keeping our assistant principal and discipline person very busy. And we still are having trouble getting copy paper.

Just Another SNAFU

2008-01-23T16:51:00.001-07:00

So another day goes by, with another wonderful start to the day...with a meeting...about English Language Learners...all the stuff I am taking in my "required by the state superintendent" class in order to keep teaching. We have a new "walk-through" observation sheet - more for us to worry about, as well as a whole bunch of contradictions - like we've been told several times of how we should do our objectives, and now we have another way. We're told we have to have a current agenda for the day on the board, even if we have it on a Promethean slide - so we're told now just have a "generic" agenda up, since I questioned not having the room to put up three different agendas.....

And it goes on. We had to evaluate a sample lesson for ELLs to see how it was done, and my thought was "Oh my God, the poor gifted kids, whether they speak English or not." Talk about boring, about dumbing down a curriculum for these kids - especially since Education Week had an article today about how NCLB is crippling our gifted kids.

I commented on this and was told "Oh, everyone knows how YOU feel about things." Well, dammit, yes, I am going to make noise. This is a percentage of our student population that needs appropriate services, not more sitting around and not being challenged. So if the solution is being told to differentiate for these kids within the classroom, why can't we just have more classes for these kids?

I had to put four kids out of class for messing around before the class realized we were in business. And my eighth grade art class - we stood in the hallway for 20 minutes until they were quiet enough to go in appropriately and go to work. A could of girls who speak very little English were quite rude and turned away from me and continued talking. Okay - so I understand it is going to take a while to learn English, but dammit, we should be able to expect some politeness and acceptance of school customs....

Six and a half years..........

Dear John,

2008-01-22T17:41:00.000-07:00

So you want to know what really happened today? Where do I begin.....We get here this morning and there's no paper in the copier and the network is down. That means no attendance, no getting copies run before the classes start, no email, no attendance - and I can't get grades in.

Minor problems, really.....

I have a great day with the kids, even though I lose half of my math period to an assembly, and I have to give a required "mini-benchmark post-test" on Friday, and I have less than two class periods to get information about the volume of cylinders so the kids understand it. Oh, excuse me - not to worry about understanding - we're practicing to take a test.....

So seventh period I had promised to have my grades entered - well, no system is working, but then I discover that the computer lab will actually work, so I can log on and do my grades that way. Have you worked with those mice? They are enough to drive a person to serious drink - they never go where you want them to. But I got my grades in.

Now comes the fun part - the mandatory meeting, where in a mere 36 minutes we will fold, stuff and label envelopes for mailing, and we have to sort through the labels, then decide who's doing what in what room, and who the kids will be. You know the good stuff - the labels are not address labels, they are birthday labels.

This kind of thing needs to be seriously organized - we can't be standing around deciding who is going to do what. We need to have someone (like me) say do this, do this, now this. So by the end of the time (three minutes over...) I had my lists, and the lists of the others on my team working with math, envelopes stuffed, labels marked so they're easier to find tomorrow, and rooms assigned. Pick a few people and just do it!

Education and Depression

2008-01-20T10:50:00.000-07:00

I am hosting Eric Maisel on a virtual book tour on my other blog, Marbled Musings because creative types tend to suffer from lack of meaning and depression on a regular basis. While I was working out doing lots of cardio today I kept thinking about how good I have been feeling and how I have been able to cope better with the day-to-day stresses of teaching. Of course in order to cope I am taking some serious meds (as we say, better living through chemistry). Most of the teachers I work with are seriously depressed, and few of us are on medication to do something about it.

Which is interesting - someone should do a survey on how many teachers take antidepressants in order to function on a daily basis teaching. Is the field making us so nuts that this is the only thing we can do? And is there a difference with those of us who have been teaching twenty years or more with the new teachers?

Maisel writes in The Van Gogh Blues about the need to make meaning. I plan on a few questions about depression in teaching, which isn't normally considered a creative field. But I gotta tell ya, it is one of the most creative things you do - finding ways to get across information in a meaningful way, while coping with changing technology and lowered attention spans.

Coping...

2008-01-19T19:49:00.000-07:00

I still am floored by the unwillingness of my kids to do work. I gave the same quiz on computer on Friday - since things hadn't worked on Wednesday. They did better, and most were willing to actually do the math for the quiz. But they didn't want to do the work on the actual classwork of finding surface area and volume.

There is a definite difference between my two math classes. I don't want to lower my expectations for my fourth period class - they so need the math skills. But I don't know how else to overcome their lack of wanting to learn.

That said, I finished an article on Funds of Knowledge Teaching, as part of my SEI class, and this would be much more valuable for my school than some of the stuff we are doing now. We are expected to do so many different things - 30 critical vocabulary words practiced every week, new techniques in the classroom, learning more technology (there are s many things I could be doing with my Promethean Board if I had the time to practice it) - there are so many.... This Funds of Knowledge Teaching looks at getting into the community through parent visits and learning about what the kids bring to school. Most of the times when we do home visits, it's to deal with problems - it isn't really to learn about kids and their families and what the family brings to the community. It seems to me that there is a huge untapped resource that could potentially eliminate many of our problems if the community were truly involved in raising our children.

&**&^&^%%$$%^&&

2008-01-17T16:13:00.000-07:00

So it wasn't a good day - this time it was the kids - the kids and society. I am very tired of entitlement! Before school I try to get the Promethean board working for the art room, as well as get the computer cart with the laptops. So we can't find any place to plug the cart in so it is near the internet plug. We jury-rig that. Then that blows the fuse on the Promethean board - which will need a work order to be fixed, and we know how long that will take.......

Now I am expecting that when the kids log on to the laptops (can you guess how many of them haven't remembered their own log-in number?) they should be taken directly to the school web page. Not. They go to the district page, and by now I am extremely frustrated, and no dry erase markers to put anything on the white board (which, remember, isn't really white) so I go around and manually enter all the URLs - and the kids are going crazy, my IEP kids are looking lost, I have a couple of obnoxious boys - finally settled down looking at the optical illusions - getting them to do that assignment will be interesting, to say the least....

So then I push the cart to the next class after I am done, to find the substitute doesn't want to use it. I am late to my enrichment class and don't have anything set up. Finally lunch - and I am so far behind in organizing. In comes the class from hell- they haven't been that since November, but they have seriously regressed since the holiday break.

I really planned the lesson so that we could do a variety of activities all focused on benchmark tests, as well as a transition from surface area to volume. They just didn't want to listen - or do the basic math. We went over the problems of the vertex edge graphs - they very simply did not want to add 6 plus 7 plus 3 plus 4. They actually said they didn't want to do it.

This really pisses me off. I understand if they are poor, I understand if they are hungry, I understand if the family is dysfunctional - but dammit, this is their ticket out of all of this stuff. So from this we move to building a rectangular prism of specific dimensions - and I give them blocks, because I know this can be very abstract. It takes them a minimum of 10 minutes to build the prism. It isn't as if we haven't done this several times.

Understand I never blame the kids. My job is to figure out how to reach them. But given the graph paper and the blocks, they literally didn't even want to trace the blocks to make one of the faces of the prism. "I'm tired." It's too hard." "I don't have a pencil." "I don't get it."

Sheesh. They literally didn't want to work. They had all these excuses. I am tired of giving my best and getting this, with all the understanding and work I put in. It is just this group of kids - and I know they have a hard time with academics - but they need to do at least a little bit in all of this.

And it's only Thursday.....83 days left till summer vacation..........

On Being Observed...

2008-01-11T16:25:00.000-07:00

I was observed today. Rarely have I been observed to this extent over my 30 years of teaching. Because of being at a failing school we have people in all the time - in fact, this Monday is a visit from the state - should be fun - need to be sure the kids are using the technology.

One of the people observing is the instructional coach - who doesn't know math. One of the comments left to me was where was my agenda for the class. Now, I have my agenda and my objectives for every single class on the PowerPoint I show on the Promethean board. That was not enough - I had to have the objectives written out on the board - and I hate using chalk. So I ended up putting them on poster paper and have them taped to the board. My new white board (which ain't white, by a long shot, but was probably cheap...) holds the assignments for the kids who have been absent. So there is no room for an agenda. But - I have it for every class and I go over it with the kids - and the IC has seen me do this in the past. Go figure. What I couldn't believe was the fact that the PE teacher has to have her objective on the white board - which she then has to carry out onto the field so the kids are always aware of the learning objective.

My evaluator was in observing today. He actually stayed for almost all the art class. And it was a good class - lots of motivation about seeing other types of art, and he walked around, helping the kids do their doodle frames. At one point I related everything right back to one of the math objectives - heh heh - but now I can't remember which one it was. Quite a calm class, I had time to just walk around. And the kids were thrilled with the doodles - he got to hear them say they didn't think it would be so cool - they were all out in the class admiring everyone else's work.

I remember having my interview when I moved to Arizona with one particular school district - I knew they used Madeline Hunter's method for evaluation, and I had to teach a practice class. Well, I had never been formally evaluated - ever, at all. So I had to do some quick reading up, to make sure my practice lesson had all the components.

My vertex edge graphs all worked very well. All in all a good week - I'm thinking it's because my blood pressure is down and I am feeling more calm. I really enjoyed being with the kids.

I am Brilliant

2008-01-10T19:13:00.000-07:00

I hate teaching to the test - any test, but particularly the gems that have arisen as a result of NCLB. I have to teach the PO (performance objective) on vertex-edge graphs -which I NEVER saw until I had to start teaching to the AIMS. Who is it who feels this is a critical skill?

That said, I spent a lot of time determining the activity. I added pictures to the PowerPoint of UPS so kids would see there is a real-world application to these graphs. I followed with some information from The World is Flat by Thomas Friedman about how much money UPS pays for mathematicians. Then the kids broke into groups to design their own vertex-edge graph - and we put all the finished posters up.

The kids were so ecstatic about the activity - kept asking when they could get started. Despite the noise level, they were superb! They know this and I won't have to teach it again - but the teachers next year will know that the kids have a very good foundation for these.

Another day at the Funny Farm....

2008-01-10T18:53:00.000-07:00

So we start our staff meeting in the library at 7 AM - it's still dark outside! What we didn't know was the the roofers would decide to start putting on a new roof while we were meeting - made for an extremely insane time - but, then again, since we started the meeting with the video about building an airplane in flight, somehow it all worked.......

High expectations, connections to the real world, 100 percent student engagement - oh, and yes, we are supposed to teach the actual test....no contradictions there.....So it is fourth period, and we are working on the nets for geometric solds - well, what I didn't know was that the net for a cylinder, the way these were set up by the publisher, looked very much like a male organ in full bloom....two circles, a rectangle....you get the picture.

Needless to say, once they started laughing (and I didn't get it at first) I certainly had 100 percent engagement with a definite connection to the real world. Ah yes, the best-laid plans....