My complaining TA

So, I have a TA that comes in everyday at lunch and 6th period.  She is a good kid, a senior who is frustrated with school this year.  She is taking a couple of AP classes that are kicking her butt.  And feels like everything she’s doing to pass them is not working.  In one class, she says that because she didn’t have the prerequisite skills, she’s not succeeding. (and the counselors won’t take her out of the classes).  In the other class, she blames the teacher.  She said, all he does is talk the whole period and she gets nothing out of it.  She doesn’t feel like he “teaches.”  She said that he sits at the desk and just talks and then its time for a test and it feels like the test doesn’t represent what he talked about.  In addition, she said there is never any homework.  ”How am I supposed to be prepared for the tests when there is no homework?” She asked me.

I responded, “its a college level class.  what do you expect?”  I explained to her that in college, many of my professors simply talked the whole hour, didn’t use powerpoints and the only homework we had was the reading and an essay.   The tests covered both the lectures and the reading.  So if you didn’t do  the reading  or understand it, you were screwed.

“But we are in high school,” she said.  I kind of agree with her.  They ARE in high school and there still need a little hand holding, but somewhere we need to teach them to work independently on their studies.  My college experience tells me that they need to learn how sit and listen and take notes and read the text on their own.  But I know, what its like for teenagers and their 30 second attention span.  Somehow, we at the high school level we need to prep them for college, but meet their developmental and social needs.  And honestly, I don’t know HOW to do this . . .

Nevertheless, I asked her, “what does a good teacher do?  What is good teaching?”

“The teacher should explain stuff simply.  Give us some graphic organizers to help us understand the information, visuals, hands-on, a documentary.  We need some visuals.  Anything, but talk to us the whole period.”

My response, “You know you won’t get any of that in college.  You’ll be lucky if the professor uses powerpoint.  You’ve got to learn to make graphic organizers for yourself.  To be honest, for me college was a lot of self teaching.  When I really got into my major, I spent a lot of time looking up vocabulary or concepts I didn’t understand to make sense of the stuff I was supposed to be studying.”

I didn’t get a college prep education, so I had  to work extra hard to get things in college.  Reading that should have taken me an hour took be a couple b/c of the work that I had to do to get the prerequisite knowledge.  I know my kids are not getting a college prep education, we do spend a lot of time babying them and  teaching the tests instead of skills (partly the district’s fault because  the focus is RTT and NCLB and the reality is in college especially after freshman year, I rarely bubbled in a scantron.)  I don’t want my students to struggle through the first years of college like I did. . . and I keep wondering how do we bridge this gap. . .giving students enough support, but teaching them to work for their education and self research.

Chicken Soup . . .

Things don’t always go as I plan them.  Last week, I passed out readings to my students to jigsaw.  They were asked to read a short passages from the Nuremberg Laws.   I gave out about 6 different readings, no more than 2 or 3 paragraphs or a paragraph with about 4 bullets detailing the law.  Students were supposed to read and answer TWO questions.  I gave students about 10 minutes to read and answer their two questions.  And then, I pointed them to an area of the room based on their number.  In their collaborative groups, they were to discuss the reading and confirm their understanding of the reading.  I knew that there were some kids who struggled in reading, so I thought that meeting groups to clarify and make sure they understood the reading would work.  I gave them an additional 4 questions to answer as they discussed the reading in groups.  As I walked around it became apparent that some people didn’t read or they didn’t comprehend.  So, I reiterated to the class that they should make sure everyone in the group understood the passage.  I continued to monitor the groups and helping groups that didn’t seem to get their reading.

The plan was that every group would send a representative up to briefly discuss their reading.  So, I started calling up groups to tell the class what their law and significance.  The class would be filling in a graphic organizer of the different laws, who it applied to, etc.  As the first group got up, no one wanted to present.  Then when someone finally got up, they didn’t present the law well.  They left out important parts like defining how it defined the “aryan” race, etc.  I got madder and madder.  It wasn’t just the first group  that did this.  Finally, I called a stop to presentations and literally went off!  I saw red!  I demanded to know what they had done in their groups.    I heard some giggling and that made me angrier.   How is it that I give you a simple task and you can’t do it?  Why didn’t ya’ll read?  I told them to put their work away and I refused to give them their reward stamp at the end of class.  These stinking high schoolers,  mostly 11th & 12 graders, started to whine they were not getting their stamp.  Saying, “its not fair, it wasn’t the whole class.”  I can’t believe they whined that I wouldn’t stamp their page. . .the bell rings and they leave.  The next class enters.

On my clip board, where I keep the interactive seating chart was a note.  It said, “Flip Me.”  I turned it over, one of my student TAs had written me a note of encouragement, “Miss Teacha,  Just wanted to let you know that despite your students, you are an effective teacher.  You bring history to life and excite students who want to learn. Thank you for caring.”   The note meant so much to me as I went into the last hour of the day.  It really calmed me down.   It was really needed in that moment.

This year, my struggle has been student apathy toward learning.  It is hard to get them engaged.  It feels like they have much more on their minds than school.  But she reminded me, that the work that I do is important and that I should keep trying.  Definitely chicken soup for my soul.  Lately, I’ve been feeling like teaching may not be the profession for me and was thinking of looking into other things.  But this was just the encouragement I need to make it until Christmas!  ;)

Post Evaluation

So, I don’t know what to think of this evaluation process.  I know many teachers are not happy with it.  I do not think it is designed to recognize effective teachers.  Teachers all have different styles and those styles work for them. It doesn’t make them less effective.  Just different.  Today, a colleague told me that he was pretty upset about his evaluation scores. He was evaluated over a month ago and did not get the scores until today.  On a scale of 1 to 5, he had several 2s.  Needless to say he was very upset.  His students have been very successful on AP exams, but his teaching style does not fall in line with the rubric.  He is a lecturer/direct instruction type of teacher, but he also teaches seniors.  That is a big difference from teaching freshmen, like I do.  I felt so bad for this teacher b/c I love him dearly and I know he works hard to bring out the best in his students.

So the results of my first evaluation:  I got mostly 3s and 4s.  Not one 5.  I knew this would happen.  The rubric/scoring is designed to keep us all in the 3 range.  They have told the admins that when the score us, in order to get a 3 we must meet all of the criteria in the 3 column or we fall down to a 2.  If we meet all of the criteria in the 3 column, then they should look to the 4 column.  If we meet 2 or more in the 4 column they must give us a 4.    The rubric is designed so that most teacher appear mediocre. . . I guess the goal is that we reform our teaching habits.   A 3 is “meeting expectations” and a 4 is “above expectations.”

Above is the matrix for my evaluation.  According to this, I am doing well engaging students and getting them to think.  What I agree with, I need to work better on on explaining content.  I know that I don’t do that well.  I’m not a lecturer and I hate standing and talking.  I’d prefer giving the students something to do with content.   I think if I go back to the model of teaching in 3s, 4s & 5s, I’d be more successful at explaining content.

Here is the problem I have with this whole process:  I didn’t get good feedback.  I don’t know what I can SPECIFICALLY do to improve.  Here is part of the narrative from the AP:

The teacher should continue to check students pace of note taking but maintain the higher expectations of the students staying on task. The students need to know they have to rise to Ms. A’s expectations.

All this told me was that I move too fast.  And I told him this when I went into my post evaluation conference.  I know I move fast.   He said that it was good that move fast, b/c it keeps students on their toes.  Here is what this all boils down to:  I’m not exactly happy with my scores but I don’t know how to improve.

The ironic part of all this:  I went to his office to tell him I was sick today and he was “finalizing” evaluations.  The office was filled with people waiting to sign off.  And somewhere in all this he mentions to someone, “you need to be like Ms. A and do more hands-on stuff.”  That’s bad business. . . kids don’t want us comparing them to others and we shouldn’t do it to adults.  I don’t like being put out there like that.

My principal did a drop in last week and I haven’t received those scores, yet.  Now, those score I am nervous about!  He left giving me the thumbs up, so it should be okay.  I wasn’t happy with the lesson at all.  It was one of those last minute lessons.  I had the students reading about different events in the 1930s Germany and they had to create a poster that explained that event.  And the plan was they’d present their event.  It was a lesson plan that was meant to summarize 10 years of history so that I could move forward.  I wasn’t happy with the lesson, it was not a dog and pony show. So we shall see, what comes of this. . . I guess I’ll find out after thanksgiving.

Rant: Tenured Teachers (PG-13)

I’m tenured.  I believe I deserve it. I work hard.   But this week (and last) I have been experiencing “WHY” policymakers and legislators  want to reevaluate tenure.    I mad and irritable and frustrated (maybe its b/c I’m having sugar withdrawls or something).

The short and simple:  My district elected to lay off teachers in the middle of the school year because they needed to place tenured teachers who didn’t get positions in all of the reshuffling.  All I’ma say is:  THERE IS A REASON THESE SAME PEOPLE KEEP GETTING SHUFFLED!  You’ve been shuffled for the last 4 or 5 years?  We lost a fairly decent teacher in all of this madness.  And inherited… (words a good southern woman doesn’t say out loud).  I’m pissed  because now we have 2 ridicoulsly incompetent people in my department.

How is it that these folks have been teaching much LONGER than I have and they . . .

• have no discipline strategies that work.   You should have a system down besides insulting your class.  Why do you need my discipline letters? I shouldn’t be giving you advice.
•  want to borrow all of my work.  I know it should be  compliment, but dawgonnit, I only get paid one salary.  You sit on your buttocks at the house (and at school) and do nothing and I give several hours of my personal time to make sure that my job runs smoothly and you want to take my work!  Hell, no!
• don’t even use the  durn curriculum that offers the durn ancillaries and lesson ideas.
• can’t  get their lazy assets up and use GOOGLE  to find what they are too lazy to create.

My Mexican Friend . . .

Last night, he told me that I should know what I want by now.  ”You’re 34,” he said. “Its different when you’re in your 20s, but you are 34.”  He was trying to convince me to be more than friends with him.  There are so many issues to having a relationship with him and my brain automatically says no.  He’s convinced that companionship is really important and that we could do that for one another.  He wants a relationship.  I don’t because I see huge problems from jump (religious differences, language issues that happens, different values).   In the back of my mind, I worry about his motives.

In my head, I’m still wanting the perfect guy.  The  guy I can talk to about anything, who is my friend, the guy who encourages me spiritually and goes to church with me, the guys who makes my side hurt because we laugh so hard.  My Mexican doesn’t fit this bill, that’s what I think, right now.  I don’t know if we can have true companionship because there hasn’t been any laughter. We spend to much time trying to understand each other.  Laughter is important to me.  Maybe, I’m expecting too much from a relationship…I should take what I can get.  Lord, knows I’m not perfect.

A Product?

My state has come up with a new observation/evaluation rubric.  My district insists that it is not designed to fire teachers, but to improve teaching and learning.  My first OFFICIAL observation of the year is in one week.  I’m nervous, but excited.  This will be my first formal evaluation since receiving tenure four years ago.    So, for me this evaluation means a lot . . .I’m taking it very seriously.  It is my opportunity to really earn the award given to me in the spring, to show I was really deserving.  All of that said, I’m a nervous wreck.

I spent some time “chatting” with the AP doing the evaluation.  Really, I was trying to get an idea of what he’s looking for.  In the conversation, AP said, “if your lesson is like the walk-through, then you’ll be fine.  That was a really good lesson, it was relevant and the kids seemed to know what they were  doing and they were producing a product.”   Here are the key things required by the rubric. . . things that AP is looking for:

1. Clear communication of the objective.  If he questions students, they should KNOW the objective.  They should know what they are learning.  Apparently, our principal questions students from time to time, asking them what they are learning in so-and-so’s class.  If a kid can’t answer that question, it means that he needs to stop by that teacher’s class and see whats going on.  I worry that kids are not always a reliable source of info about what they are learning.  I can ask them what they are learning and often I hear “nothing.”  At any rate, the rubric calls that we repeat the objective several times each lesson.  Students should be clear on what they are learning.  I don’t necessarily agree with this philosophy, but I’m making sure to WRITE reminders into my plan.
2. He wants to see the students engaged and on task and doing something kinesthetic.
3. The teacher as a facilitator . . AP doesn’t want to see the teacher talking the entire time.   The teacher should give some instructions and then allow the students to work through an assignment . . .cooperative learning. . .teaching should be monitoring and facilitating learning.  I’m not really worried about this piece of the rubric.  I think that I do this well.  I don’t like to lecture, anyway.  Anytime I spend entire class periods talking, I end up horse and exhausted at the end of the day.
4. “Higher Order” thinking activities and questioning by the teacher should be apart of the lesson.
5. A product.  According to the rubric, anytime instruction is provided students should be producing quality work from that instruction.  I have mixed feelings about this point in our rubric.  I agree that students should be taking their learning and producing relevant & real world products from it.  BUT EVERY SINGLE LESSON?  Is that even possible?  I make sure that my students create a product with each unit, but EVERY SINGLE LESSON? (usually a unit takes about a 1-3 weeks, so my kids are producing something every 2 to 3 weeks) I think its almost impossible to teach the way that rubric demands in every single lesson.  According to the rubric, everyday, kids are producing an artifact of learning.  If someone is doing this, please let me know how you do it in 45 minute class periods!  (sidenote:  the local paper had an article about the rubric and evaluation and a teacher said it took him approximately 9 hours to prepare a 50 minute lesson for his high school students.  He went onto say that it would be impossible to teach to the rubric every single day if that kind of planning was involved. I would link the article, but that would give away my location *wink*)

• Here is the clincher:  The teacher MUST show students a sample product before they begin working.  I usually do this.  But, in my experience, students lose creativity when I show them other kids work.  They attempt to duplicate the sample.  Example:  A few weeks ago, my students were working on a foldable for the Atlantic Slave Trade.  I used the document camera to show students foldables produced from previous years.  I showed “A” student work.  Passed it around let students take a look.  As I’m walking around monitoring, the students from one table had hijacked the sample from my desk and began to copy the “A” students’ information.  More than once, I was asked by various groups, “can we hold that one at our table.”  I have found that I get better results from students and they learn the content when I create a template with NO INFORMATION.  I get extremely creative and detailed information from my students and they don’t cheat!!!

Walkthroughs & Collaboration & a little Venting

I had TWO walkthroughs this week.  What is interesting about the walkthroughs it that they both occurred after lunch.  During the last 2 periods of the day.  Usually, they occur in the morning during 2nd & 3rd period.  The first visit:  Principal brought a district level person through.  When the principal left he gave me a pat on the back.  So, I think everything went okay.  We never get any feedback when the district personnel comes through unless something was really off.  (ex:  I heard that others were told they had to develop a comprehensive classroom management plan).

The second time was my AP. . .the one that will do the Social Studies evaluations.  At first I thought AP was angry because I was playing Beyonce’s Irreplaceable  (the section that says to the left) and AP came in with an attitude of demanding to know what was going on.  However, AP was impressed with the activity.  The lesson was a graffiti of Hammurabi’s Code, after we were going to use the Soappstone to break down the piece and discuss the impact on society and history.  AP specifically said, “Your kids are collaborating, they are engaged, you are making the content relevant, you are using your interactive white board.  Why isn’t everyone in history doing this?” AP began a rant  . . .even went on to call a specific teachers name out.  AP  insisted that we AS A DEPARTMENT needed to do more collaborating and common planning.

Yesterday, we got an email from Principal about lesson plans and I had a conversation with a colleague.  One  thing that was said in a earlier meeting is that if we are teaching the same thing,  we should be collaborating and have uniform planning.  As we discussed the cellphone began to break up.  So, when I got settled, I sent her the following email b/c I needed to get my thoughts out about everything, the lesson planning and stuff.    Honestly, it was just a VENT!

1. The district has NOT allotted time for common planning. They haven’t even given us the same planning time. So, when is this common planning supposed to occur?
2. We don’t all have the same teaching style. Our lessons should be designed with each our unique styles. Education and teaching should not be scripted. I would despise following someone else’s lesson plan, if it doesn’t allow for creativity and uniqueness.
3. The levels of our students are VASTLY different. You have honors students this year, you move more quickly with them. I have standard and a immense # of special needs kids and over 17 kids with reading levels BELOW the 4th grade according to the reports. My students need constant scaffolding and repetition.  I can not move as quickly through the material.
4. My issue sharing with work (especially, work that I have done outside of SCHOOL HOURS, at home, on my own, unpaid time) is that it is not reciprocal among all teachers. At some point, I feel like my work has become a proprietary thing and my intellectual property, especially, if I am doing it on my private time.  I am not going to just keep giving my stuff away to someone who does NOT share valuable tools and collaborate with me. I get paid the least amount in our department b/c I DON”T have a Masters degree. There are people with 2 and 3 degrees who get paid much more and I REFUSE to do their work for them. (THIS POINT IS SIMPLY A VENT)

Make up work?

How do you handle make up work?  According to a know-it-all, I “need to reconsider” my plan b/c it doesn’t appear that its working. . .  I require that students come after school to complete make up work or to discuss missed work.  I can not do it during class time, its too distracting and having several things going on at  one time makes me lose focus.   If I have to give directions about a late assignment, I prefer to work one on one with students.

According to this teacher, when a student fails a test, she pulls them out of the large group and places them in small group to retake the test or redo an assignment.  While working with the students that have failed or that need to acquire skills,  she has the rest of the class working on another assignment or in collaboratives.  I don’t understand how she can manage 35 students with all of that action. . .(actually doesn’t her standard classes are 25 or less) and last year she didn’t have more than 60 students total. (She was a specialty teacher and had been lauded for her low failure rate).

This teacher never has anyone fail her class as a result of this.  She makes them get the assignments done in class.   She said she realizes she babying students by pulling them out of the larger group to make sure they take care of their responsibilities.  She never records Ds or Fs in gradebook; again, she pulls them out and works with them individually during class time to make sure they meet mastery levels.   If I did this, I’d never have time to get through my curriculum or introduce new material.   I think students should come to after school tutoring or homework clinic to get individual attention, especially when I make work available online.

I’d like to hear thoughts on how others handle makeup work or failing students. . . .

Other tidbits from Week 4

Other tidbits from the week. . .

1. I’m mentoring a TFAer. In someways, I almost feel sorry for her. TFA requires a lot of them and in addition to her duties as a first year teacher, she is co-coaching cheer. The moment she mentioned cheer, I told her not to do it. She did it anyway. Why don’t folks listen to me? Cheer is a beast and I don’t care how much fun competition is, its not worth it: the games, the attitudes (maybe I just don’t like teenage girls), the money. Personally, I think she should spend her first year working on the teaching part and cheer will distract her.

The other day, she said “I don’t feel like I’ll ever get caught up.”

I said, “Hooooney,” in my best southern drawl “No teacher is ever caught up!”

Her co-coach was standing nearby and I asked, “Do you ever get caught up on work?”

He said, “Nope. I always have something else to do.”

“But do you write tests the night before the kids take them? Thats what I’m doing right now.”

I responded heartily, “Girrrl, yes! How about a couple of years ago when I had 4 preps, I would put on a movie in AAH which was third period, to write the quiz for the 4th period, World History class. You can not do everything. You do what you can, when you can.” I don’t think she felt encouraged, even after I gave her my “bad teacher” moment. TFA wants them to work like superheroes. And people aren’t. I’m not superman and won’t pretend to be. Someday’s kids won’t get my A game, but they will 99% of the time.

I tell the TFAers all the time to make sure they are sleeping/resting and having a little fun. But I don’t think, they are following my advice, because I hear her talk the late hours she stays up planning lessons and grading and doing the required TFA goal plans and work. Teaching is obsessive work. I know this b/c I’m obsessed. I think about it all times of the day and night. However, we are human and we must have a life outside of work.

2. So the teacher across the hall has about 40 of my 53 freshmen. Of the kids she’s tested, 17 of them have reading levels below the 4th grade. FOURTH GRADE my friends. Only about 6 of them are reading at the 9th grade level. I haven’t gotten the scores on the other students, yet. As a result, I’m revisiting Miss CFs ideas about making the class very basic and about facts. I’ve noticed that the kids are VERY needy. They like/want individual attention during lessons, but its one of me and 35 of them. I’ll be calling parents about having students do after school work/tutoring.

3. I set up a facebook fan page for my blog. The page is: http://www.facebook.com/pages/Miss-Teacha/101783686581155

4.  I am considering using the layered curriculum approach to accomplish my principal’s approach toward SBG.  In the last chair meeting, he said the goal is that students demonstrate that they’ve mastered the objectives.

Work of Historians Simulation

I had planned a simulation for my World History classes to demonstrate the work of historians.  It was a fail for several reasons. . .

1. Students moved so slowly through the process, it became a two day activity and it really should have been a one day and that lead to confusion on the second day.
2. All of the students who were absent were trying to make up the pieces from day one and so, I had 2 different things going on at one time.  I despise our absenteeism, its too high. . . students want to use class time to make up work from days when they were absent and I can’t.  I have to move ahead otherwise I can’t make headway in the curriculum.  I had a student get “pissed” and frustrated in class after he raised his hand to get the assignment from the previous day.  I explained, “Make up work is not done in class.  You must see me after school.”  Needless to say, he didn’t see me after school.
3. Students didn’t follow directions.

You’re not teaching right

This week . . .

• I gave the “you don’t know me” speech to 3rd period.  I explained that because they were freshmen, they didn’t know me or what to expect from my class.  I explained that students earned their grades by completing the work, studying, and participating in class.  ”You get you the grade you earned on your report card.   I don’t give extra points because you are cute or well behaved in class.”

At this point, a student said, “Well, you aren’t teaching history right.  We’re supposed to talk about history, not read books.”  She did not like that we had theater read a book called “The Bear.” (here is the youtube video)  I do this book with the students at the beginning of the school year.  The themes of the book are:  Identity, Culture, Society, Social Pressure.

I responded to the student, “Honey, that’s what history is:  READING!  What do you expect from a history class?”

“We should be doing maps and studying history, not reading books. This ain’t reading.”

I politely said, “if you expect to do come to class, chat with your neighbors while doing bookwork, it won’t happen in this class.”

She looked at me and sucked her teeth. I went on with my lesson.  She will be a difficult student this year.  I’ve already called her guardian 3 times.

Later when talking with my colleagues, they said “You should have said, I have a billboard that says I AM teaching right, I have a teacher of  the year award that says I am teaching right.  Now, what do you have?”  I explained to my colleagues, I don’t feel the need to justify or qualify my teaching.  Especially, to a child!

• On the other hand, I have had several of the yearbook staff come to my classroom at all points of the day asking to photograph my class. When I asked why they keep coming by, one said, “Your class was fun. We were always doing something.”  They are hoping to catch some class activity shots.   They just come at wrong times of the day AND its the beginning of the year.  I don’t do fun stuff at the beginning of the school year.  I have to set the appropriate climate for the class/expectations, etc.  I asked them to come back next week, we’ll be doing a foldable next week in my AAH classes.

• I went to an interest meeting for National Board Certification at the district offices.  They talked about all of the incentives and help.  But I left feeling discouraged and  wanting to give up on the dream.  I felt like it would take too long and I’ve got the seven-year itch, the costs are more than I can afford right now and I’m not optimistic about the testing part.  I thought the test would be a content area test. Its not, they guy said it would be 6 timed 30 minute essays.  At that point I freaked.  I don’t know if I can write and answer questions under pressure like that.  Each time I write a blog post, it takes about an hour b/c I have to stop and think (I guess I also get distracted in that time. As I’ve been on working on this post, I’ve sent an email, looked at student grades, been on twitter & facebook).    I went to dinner with a friend yesterday that wants to do it, too.  He said that he thought I could totally do it.  I told him, “I’m okay with the portfolio entries, the  video taping and everything else–but that timed writing.” He was like, “MT, you could practice that.”  Sure, I could practice it, but could I do it under pressure?  He’s considering it for the spring.  I was hoping to start now and be finished in the spring, but with tests, I just don’t think its possible.  I’m still undecided.

• I was going to include a lesson that bombed in this post, but its already too long.  Yep, its year seven and I still have lessons that crash and burn.

A New Year, A New Challenge

A weekly update:

• I did a rough count of my SPED students this week, approx 20 sped kids (final lists will be available in the next few weeks). . . what prompted it?  I ran into one the SPED teachers in the hall and she said, I’ve been meaning to make it to your room. You have 11 of my kids this year.    It totally explains why I feel like I’m not accomplishing much…almost like spinning my wheels.  I have several students (MR-3rd & 4th grade level) who have been in a contained class for all of their schooling and their SPED case managers and parents are trying inclusion. I hurt myself with a stapler this week after one of the new inclusion students “broke” it during our hands-on time.  After giving them all the supplies to work with, he came to me with it and asked me to repair it. As I attempted the repair, I stapled myself-from the palm side and the staple hit the nail on the reverse side. The student was standing there when it happened.  I left class after some choice language. When the school nurse removed it, I cried like a baby.  It hurt sooo badly.  She said when she started pulling it out  it was lodged much more deeply than she thought, at least 1/2 inch.  So, I went to the SPED teacher for the MR students, we compromised because there are NO classroom assistants for inclusion.  One of them would attend class whenever we were doing hands on because I can’t manage and lead them step by step and the 30 other kids,  too!  I was careless and the stapler thing happened because I was being pulled in too many directions & not to watching what I was doing.  The SPED teacher says this student tells her EVERYTHING that happens in all of his outside classes.  This stapler thing, he never mentioned b/c he thought he was at fault.  He was scared and embarrassed.  She said another student was the one who told her all about it later in the day. I think SPED teacher talked to him and let him know it was okay and not his fault.  I suppose I should have, but I forgot all about it later in the day.

• My tally doesn’t include the ADDs, ESLs504 plans and poor reading levels.  English teacher across the hall says she has several of my kids with reading levels below the 4th grade.   Organization is horrendous among the students.   I’m revamping how I do everything.  Adjusting to this new crop of kids has been a challenge for everyone.  And when we had department chair meetings this week, Principal  finally realized the impact this will have on test scores.  He’s basically told us we better make it happen.  I’m tired of the mantra, “No Excuses.”  But that is for another day and time.

Here are my plans for the revamp:

1. Slowing it down a BUNCH.  I know  that I moved fast and switch gears a lot.  I will need to be more patient and repeat things a lot.
2.  I am going to increase my “Cold Call” and Choral Response.  I’m finding that I teach/say something and the kids don’t know whats been taught.  I’ve been cold calling and its like they tune things out.  My lectures have been short, but still they don’t know whats going on.  Its like their body is their but the brain is checked out.  Also, I am going to tell them everytime a cold call is missed it will be marked down on the chart.  I’ll probably lie and say it counts against them, so that they will take it more seriously, but I really won’t hold it against them.  I’ll just question them again.
3. I have been teaching in 3s this past week and it worked.  So, I’m definitely going to keep trying to divide concepts into 3s, 4s and 5s for easy recalls.
4. I will be using GRAPES for themes, discussing time period &  civilizations
5. No guided notes.  I think they need to write their notes.  But I will be keeping them really really simple.  I believe sparks fly when you read, write and discuss.  They need to write it for themselves.  In my honors classes, I gave guided notes so that I could cover more material quickly.  Ex:  I could cover 20+ slides during a lecture session versus the 5, I’ll be doing with these students.
6. Spending more time teaching organization skills and having an effective notebook to use as a study tool.  And I need to slip in some study skills.
7. Find more stories. . . the stories of history are what hook people.  The juicy stuff is what keeps folks interested.  I’ve just got to find some books to help me do it.
8. I will eventually integrate historical writing for our class, but it’ll be postponed until the second quarter.
9. @HappyTeacherLA suggested that I use their likes for my “hook.”  I’m pretty dumb about doing this.  I don’t know HOW to do this. I’m a little stumped about connecting today’s music with Ancient World History.  I make connections to the present. . .but hip hop present, not so well.
10. Of course, I’ll being doing lots of collaborative activities and projects as I’ve done in the past as suggested by @Becky_Ellis.  However, I’ll probably have to simplify the assignments or break them into several pieces/stages before the final product is developed.  I’m considering doing much SMALLER groups this year.  Never ever above 4 . .. I have some project where student groups were at a 5  b/c of what was needed and time slotted.  I’ll give more time instead of more people this year.  I’ll have slow down and weed out the superfluous.

Week 2 of Year 7

The switch happened with the other teacher this week.  I now have 3 sections of World History and she has 3 sections of my elective.  I don’t think kids have enjoyed the change.  They are rebelling.  The new 7th period is a really rowdy and rambunctious group.  My old 7th period was really large, but I had them “trained.”  Training this new group is a little more difficult than I expected.  They are having a hard time staying on task and I have to repeat myself again and again.  I think I’m going to stop repeating myself and start having them repeat.  It is really getting old. . . and its only been 3 days with this new bunch of kids.   (Please know that my old 6th period are giving the other teacher hell, too.)  The switch hasn’t been good for them.

1. SPED:  I have more SPED kids this year than I’ve had in all of my years of teaching.  I think I have about 20 SPED kids this year.  I know how  to make accommodations and the SPED chair has said that she feels good when her kids are in my class because they are learning and I work with them.  But this means I’ve got to make some SERIOUS reforms to my teaching b/c the numbers are so great.
2. 9th graders:  The 9th graders are the weakest bunch I’ve worked with in years (I’ll admit, I’ve been doing honors for a while and I’ve forgotten what standard classes are like.)  But the diagnostic tests by the English teacher across the hall said the average reading level of her/my students is about 4th grade.  I can tell that the levels are pretty low b/c of responses I get from students during questioning.  Ex:  I always have quotes (TWEDYs) for bellwork.  The students are misinterpreting the quotes completely.   I  just don’t understand how they could misread some of the quotes we’ve have this week.  (Here are two of them:  ”History, despite its wrenching pain, cannot be unlived, however, if faced with courage, need not be lived again.”  ”For men and women are not only themselves; they are also the region in which they are born, the city apartment or farm in which they learnt to walk, the games they played as children, the old wives tales they overheard, the food they ate, the schools they attended, the sports they followed, the poets they read, and the God they believed in.”)  I had a student say, “I think it means we don’t change and we are all the same.”  Other students didn’t seem to “get it” either.  So they quit reading it.  I think they felt like it was too complicated and so they gave up!
3.  In one class a student told me, “This is a history class.  Why are we reading?” I politely explained to her that that is what history is . . . it was about reading documents and books to understand the past.  Has she never read anything in a history class before?  What are these kids coming from?

I started whined  about this to Miss CF earlier today.  Miss CF told me to end discussions and  instead, have them write the quote and I should summarize it for them and have them write my summary until they can do it themselves.  She said that I should also make the year about teaching basic facts and having them memorize basic facts instead of trying to teach broad concepts like I did with my honors classes.  I don’t like the idea of this. . . this is the problem, no  one is challenging them, working them and that is why they levels in standard classes are so low.     Miss CF and I really discussed how is it that they get this far along and are such poor readers, etc.  I told her that I didn’t want to believe that the teachers in my district were that bad.  She said its not the teachers, it is the district policy.  We are limited in the number of students that can be retained and students in certain grades can’t be retained at all (elementary level).  Miss CF believes that sometimes a student needs to repeat to gain the skills.  And my district moves students along despite the fact that they haven’t mastered the grade level.  Thus, they get to high school and read at a 4th grade level.  Retention is like an EVIL word here.  And I think parents have to agree when a student is retained in elementary school.

I don’t know how I’m going to approach teaching these classes.  I just don’t know.  Discussions are difficult because they understand so little.  I don’t want to talk and lecture the entire period.  What I do has worked with my kids for years . . .can it work this year?  I’ve really got to start modifying my lessons. . .I really don’t want to dumb it down, but how do I teach and force great things out of these kids?  They can do more and I know they can . . . *sigh*

11-12 School Year

Its off with a strong, strong start!  Here are the things, I’m really trying to do differently this year:

1. Work students from bell to bell.  That means there is an exit ticket for almost every period.  Now, I need more exit ticket ideas.  Also, I’ve been working on my transitions and they are tighter.
2. Help students become better writers.   In AAH, I will require them to write more about what we are discussing and contemporary issues and in World History, I will teach them how to write thesis statements and essays.
3. Use more primary sources to discuss history.
4. Lecture in 3,4,5s and have choral response and Q&A apart of the lecture
5. Vocabulary Quizzes to make the vocabulary more useful.
6. Include more Asia content, mapping and contemporary issues.
7. Use rewards & narration as apart of my classroom management plan.  I definitely want to bring more attention to students are who are doing things RIGHT!

Year 7: First Day Back

How things went down:

1. Got reprimanded by my principal for moving furniture after he was very clear that we shouldn’t move any.  I moved it b/c the building engineer has been promising to get the stuff for over a week and hadn’t done it.  I can’t get my room ready with all of that junk in the classroom.  Tomorrow, I’ll probably move a 1 more thing.  Yes, I know I’m being defiant, but we only have 2 more days to work in our room before students are there.  I still don’t have my syllabus or first week lessons ready.  Soooooo . . .
2. One of our adopters gave us a WONDERFUL lunch and goodie bags.  The goodies bags were filled with dry erase markers, erasers, kleenex, post it notes and other supplies we need throughout the year.  It was really nice. . .we told them thank you, but I think I should write a special note about how much it meant to me personally. It was the best EVER!  In all my years, no one has ever done anything like this. . . it is the simple  things!
3. My schedule is set and not changing as I had thought earlier.  I am happy with teaching electives and I plan on making my students WRITE this year.  I really want them to become better and more detailing their writing.  I’m really, really, really triple excited about my course load.
4. I’m not sure how I feel about standards based grading.  My school is implementing it this year.  Here is how it will work:   if a student masters a skill, in the gradebook the teacher will record 92 under that specific skill.  If they do additional work that shows advanced/complex understanding of that skill, they will get a 100 in the gradebook.  If the student does not master the skill, the teacher should record a 55. A student will get one or two grades for a skill.  The teacher determines mastery, it can come from homework grade, a test, work done in Saturday school . . .I don’t know if I like it or not.   It doesn’t matter the grade received on a test or assignment, we record a 100, 92, 0r 55.  And thats it   All of the grade from the skills are averaged together to determine a report card grade.  I keep thinking how do you encourage homework, outside reading, etc with this type of plan.  There will be kids who will strive for the advanced, but I’m just not sure how this will play out.  I’m not sure how to do this in history.
5. I’m presenting at PD later this week and I have not started my presentation.  I need to finish by tomorrow, so I can gather resources and make copies.  *sigh*

I’m sure this post is ridden with grammatical errors and typos.  I don’t feel like fixing them tonight, maybe I will tomorrow.  This was simply a purging of my day.

Things Keep Changing

My classroom after moving everything in on Monday.

By the time, I get my head wrapped around something–it changes.

My classroom changed and I was okay with it . . .until I saw that  it lacked the amenities of my old classroom. There are a bunch of old computers and other old stuff that needs to be removed.   I was told it couldn’t be removed (specifically, the computers) until the appropriate folks came to move it.   Which could be next week sometime?!   So, I couldn’t quite get my classroom in order.   About 2 hours after I expressed concerns about it, Principal offered me a different room.  I declined b/c I had already started moving stuff in and I didn’t want another change.  In my mind, I’d kind of already figured things out!

Last week, I had a mini-rant about the laying off of teachers in my district.  Specifically, a very good one at my school.  I was assigned to take on her electives.  I completed the training for it.  I started making lesson plans and had gathered an enthusiasm for  teaching the course.  I would have probably have been finished with the syllabus on yesterday, except I got word that they were able to get this teacher back.  I’m not sure what this all means.  Will my schedule change again?  After my rant about teaching electives, I developed a new perspective!  Especially, after readers offered their thoughts.   I’m really happy and ecstatic that this teacher is returning.  She was really awesome to work and collaborate with, so I am thoroughly excited has been rehired. But, I’d started making plans for the new course.  I’m talking to Principal today to find out what will change or not change.

What I am learning in all of this:  I don’t like change. Otherwise, I wouldn’t be bothered.  No matter what happens, I have got to learn to deal better with “change.”  *wink*

Starting Year 7

School will start for me in a couple of weeks (maybe?!) Nevertheless, this summer has been interesting. My school district has done some unexpected surplussing and layoffs. Things are perpetually changing, as with any urban district. I don’t know where things are headed, but I’m along for the ride!

Today, I logged into our attendance system to see what my scheduling is looking like . . .although, I had already talked with the master scheduler, but I didn’t believe our conversation. I guess I needed to see it in writing. I am not teaching any core classes this year. Only electives . . .no World History (I’m somewhat disappointed b/c it is one of my favorite classes). I should be really happy about this because it means, it should be a pretty easy school year. Electives . . African American History, Contemporary Issues. . . only electives. . . this is hard for me to adjust to . . .I liked teaching World History and I had so many new ideas I want to implement.  My plan was to get tough on writing & developing historical arguments this year. I’m baffled by this decision to waste my talents solely on electives this school year. . .only electives.   I know their rationale and why things ended up this way, due to layoffs and trainings. . . but, mot even 1  World History course. Electives. . .

Mini-rant:  Seriously, this is whats wrong with urban education, we spend more time navigating staffing issues instead of putting the best and most qualified in front of our students, especially those critical students.  *sigh*  This is one time, that I’m really bothered by the whole seniority business.

My thoughts about teaching a full load of electives:

• I really wanted to teach World History this year. I had plans for implementation of Edmodo & Google Docs. My students were going to be writing essays and submitting them there. Now, I’m rethinking all of that . . .Is it worth it to demand/teach writing in an elective class? I can hear the wailing and gnashing of teeth already.  I don’t even know how to begin to establish rigor without making students shut down.  The classes are supposed to be fun, but I’d like to feel like I’m working and challenging students at the same time.
• Electives are classes that students don’t take seriously.  Especially, if it is loaded with seniors. And I don’t think guidance counselors take them seriously either–they tend to be dumping grounds for a students who need an additional class.   And I’m a serious teacher.   The biggest challenge I will face is the neverending whining by students, “but this class doesn’t count” when I tell them we work without regard for whether you need class or not. I’m paid a salary to do a job and I’m going to do it!
• I worry that those teaching World History will not challenge the students, especially our honors students.

Maybe, I should thank the Lord  and enjoy my year.

all that glitters is not gold

I have decided to reject the job offer.  Here are my reasons:

• Ultimately, it really wasn’t the job I wanted:  I am not passionate about the content, it wouldn’t put me in a DIFFERENT position.
• It was a matter of wanting to leave the district and what I discovered was most districts are quite similar.  I do not have a hatred for my current students, school or admin.  Its the district level mandates that impact the school and frustrates me and my colleagues.  It is the district wide focus on test scores and stupid paperwork. .  .I am tired of completing survey after survey and nothing changes.  District level administrators do not listen to teachers.  Their concern is numbers (dollars and test scores).    And this will be a problem with any public school in America. Switching to a suburban public school won’t change district administrators’ priorities in America.
• I had an opportunity to meet a teacher who worked there in the spring. I am disregarding the things she told me about the principal and her co-workers, allowing for personality conflicts. The lady explained that she was the 3rd LA teacher on her team since the school year began, faculty meetings could be called at any time and she lost half of her planning periods this year for various reasons.  What this said to me is that the principal had little regard for teacher’s time.  Combining this with the several interruptions from the cellphone during the interview, I do not believe that this is the place for me as a result of its leadership.
• I don’t think the new school made AYP and I don’t want to take on that burden as a “new” teacher.

After weighing the options and trying to find out more about the school, I discovered the perception of the neighboring district is much different from the reality.   I will spend another year in my urban district and I can’t say it will be gripe-free, but it is the choice I am making.  I choose. to. stay.

Job Offer

I’ve wanted a new job for a LONG, LONG time, but never had any offers.  I’ve had interviews and tours, but no offers.  I left an interview thinking that I wouldn’t get the job for several reasons:

1. In my opinion, I was late.  I really wasn’t, I was right on time.  I pulled into the parking lot right at 9:29 and the interview was at 9:30.  My interviewer was standing outside waiting on the doors to be opened.  So, she saw me change into my heels, adjust my skirt and make the mad dash toward the building at 9:30 exactly.  Personally, I didn’t think it was impressive.  (I was late b/c I was still at Kinkos putting together my portfolio, which is fantastic for something created in 1 day)
2. I took a lot of time “thinking” on some of the questions.  I wish I’d better prepared and had better ideas of my lessons and student interactions to use as examples.
3. I wasn’t passionate about the job . . .its 8th grade US History.  Although, I know I can handle and like this age group, I’m just not passionate about US History . . .especially, the era covered in 8th (Colonization to 1865).  Surely, the interviewer could see my lack of passion?

Nevertheless, I was offered the job (and I know there were several candidates.  I met & talked with them as I completed the writing sample).  I had to complete a pro/con list to make a decision, which still hasn’t been made yet:

Accepting the Job Offer

***stars have been placed by things that are really important to me

I’m leaning towards staying . . .but does this mean that I can’t complain about my urban district anymore?  I just don’t know what to do.  Honestly!

Summer Goals 2011

Summer Goals:

1. Expand my swimming & athleticism —If you didn’t, I learned to swim for the first time 3 summers ago.  (video 2009-pw is: ymca, here is 2010′s vid). This summer, I also want to do more walking.  I found that I actually like walking. . .I think because its not as painful when you lose 40 lbs.  Prior to losing that weight, I’d have to sit every ten minutes or so because my back was killing me.  I don’t know how I taught when I was that heavy?  Maybe it was because I was up and down and all over.  I think one of the major reasons I enjoy walking so much is b/c of my subscription to audible.  I listen to audiobooks, sermons or podcasts as I walk.
2. Complete and edit my digital portfolio, specifically work on my vitae. I am definitely looking at a change for next year.  I got a call for an interview a couple of days ago and realized that I had no portfolio.  So, I will spend a bunch really making that happen so that I can impress at interviews.
3. Spiritual Growth–Last summer, I felt like I had grown by leaps and bounds and was able to go back to school renewed, refreshed and energized.  Only to lose it 2 months into the school year.   I’m definitely going to spend a good bit of the summer trying to strength my relationship with the Lord and build systems that will help me stay focus and connected during the school year.
4. Reorganize my World History class materials. I am thinking about changing my approach to history, moving from a content based approach to a skills approach.  I’ll be sharing my thoughts and plans in the weeks to come.
5. Rework & invigorate my blog.  I have big, big ideas.  . .new header, maybe a couple of video casts. . .a new layout.

These are goals, but the great thing about summer:  if they get done, yippeee. . .  if they don’t, I’m okay.  What are your goals/plans for the summer.