Confessions from the Couch

The Willy Nilly Make Up Policy

Miss Teacha — Mon, 08 Feb 2010 18:16:21 +0000

In a previous blog post, I went off on a tangent about the makeup work policy. To further understand it, I created a commentary on my districts Make Up Work policy. The podcast went a little longer than I had planned (6 minutes), so here I basic outline of what I have discussed.

The district does not have a clear make-up work policy. It varies from school to school, teacher to teacher. However, the district has set a grading floor of 59%. This is to allow for the statistical problems of zeros, give students hope and meet the minimum requirement to attend summer school.
At my school, if a child decides they want to pass at the end of the school year, the teacher MUST give the student the opportunity “to meet the standard or acquire the skills.” Even, if it is from the first semester. Students are adopting bad habits of turning work whenever they feel like it. They copy other students work and submit it as their own. What students really want is for teachers to give some sort of make up work packet and a completion grade.
So, here is my policy:

Students may complete makeup work at any point in the year (in accordance w/district policy), however, it must be done in my presence AFTER school.
I don’t grade classwork. Students only receive a completion grade for it.
I do grade tests, which may be taken open note & open book after school in my presence or at Saturday school.

My thoughts:

I am torn b/c in college, there is no make up work or latework policy—it just isn’t accepted by most professors. I failed a class in college b/c of this. We need to better prepare them for life after high school.

Classroom Management pt 2

Miss Teacha — Sat, 25 Apr 2009 00:32:44 +0000

A discussion of classroom management brought a lot of readers out of lurkdom! It was a great discussion of strategies to curb chattiness among student. I wanted to take some of what others said in the comments and turn them into a post because these are definitely strategies that work. I’ve also turned this discussion into a podcast that includes a couple of personal stories. (I was playing with amplify and it’s a little loud so turn down your speakers)

Proximity, Proximity, Proximity! Thanks Mrs. H, for introducing that into the discussion. Standing beside the perpetrators always changes things. If there is a chatter box, stand by them. Student’s catch hint quickly. If you are unable to get there right away, I found staring works. At that point, it becomes really awkward for them to continue their conversation. Teachers should constantly be moving about the room. Unless we are watching a video or doing independent practice, I am pacing the aisles of my classroom. Students have ASKED me to sit down b/c I get in their way. I just move to a different place. On a rare occasions, that I’ll go to the back of the room and take a place on top of the AC unit.
Participation points. I, use that too. I have a rubric that I swipped from HistoryTeacher.net. That I have changed to fit my needs. I use it at the end of term to average into other things for a total participation grade. What is key to all of this: Students self assess themselves. It is GREAT to have on hand when a parent comes for a conference. It changes the tone. Students are often harder on themselves than I am.
Engaging learning experiences and discussions as stated by Betsy, Andrew, Simon & David. My students know that every class there will be a discussion of some sort. It is their turn to express their opinions and thoughts. Additionally, students participate group work several times a week. Except for 7^th period. Group work with them was code for lose your mind.

I wanted to thank everyone for their comments. I especially loved Beth’s comments about having the students walk. And Ms. H take on a “touch of crazy.” She’s right about have the coach help in cases of athletes. However, that backfired on me, once. The coach put the kid in a headlock in the middle of my class. I didn’t like that. I never got THAT coach involved again.

Is there any one else who’d like to add tidbits to the conversation?

How I created my podcast

Miss Teacha — Thu, 09 Apr 2009 03:23:16 +0000

I responded with a podcast, but if you don’t want listen, I’ve included links that helped me

How did I do my podcast?

Inspiration: Leading from the Heart byTracy and phone call from Miss CF’s school.

How did I learn? YouTube videos on podcasting.

What tools did I use: Audacity and Blubrry Plugin for Wordpress

Tutorial for Audacity: Lisa Hartwell

Podcast Test

Miss Teacha — Sat, 04 Apr 2009 23:31:04 +0000

I am learning to Podcast. Here is my first episode. It’s about 2 minutes long. If it takes as long as this one did I don’t think I’ll do it very often.