Last Sunday morning I found out that I am officially a National Board Certified teacher. In an ironic twist, I have been feeling particularly unsure about my teaching methodology lately, and as a result, have spent most of the last two weeks in a blue funk, questioning whether or not I should be a teacher, whether I am actually teaching my students anything, and whether or not I will ever be able to do things that normal married people do, like buy a house or travel.
Or retire.
Ugh.
Anyway...kudos to me...whooo.
Showing posts with label teaching. Show all posts
Showing posts with label teaching. Show all posts
Monday, November 28, 2011
Saturday, March 26, 2011
Reflections about the National Boards Process
I believe I have mentioned this before on the blog but just as a refresher, I have been working on getting my national boards certification over this past school year. It has been an exhausting process, to put it mildly. 
my special message on the back of my box....sent this morning
So, while it is still freshly, traumatically engraved in my brain, I wanted to write down my thoughts on this process.
Why did I do this?
One reason I completed this process was in an attempt to get a bonus given by the state of Washington to National Board certified teachers. It is a nice bonus, for a teacher, but halfway through the process the legislature proposed cutting it. It hasn't happened for sure, but most likely will. I also did this because I really do want to be a better teacher and other teachers at my school that had completed the process talked about how this was a great learning tool for them.
What is involved?
There are many different iterations of this, but in my version (Social Studies for Young Adults), there were four entries.
- Entry 1 was an analysis of student work, and my ability to teach social studies writing
- Entry 2 was a video of a whole-class lesson and demonstrated my ability to teach civic competence
- Entry 3 was a video of a small-group lesson and demonstrated my ability to teach social understanding and civic competence
- Entry 4 is a compilation of work that demonstrates my work as a leader or learner, a community partner, and as a collaborator.
I ended up writing about almost 19,000 words on 56 pages and collecting around 50 pages of documentation between all four accomplishments.
How do I feel?
I'm exhausted. My brain races all the time. I have nightmares. I've been going to bed around 11 and waking up between 2:30 and 4 am for over a week. I'm so tired that I'm shaking. I've gained weight, then lost most of it over the past week because I passed the point of stress eating and entered the land beyond, where nothing is appealing and I'm too tired to cook. I've had numerous emotional breakdowns both in public and private. My house hasn't been cleaned in months.
It doesn't help that I have also been doing the following this year:
- senior class advisor, which involves the equivalent of herding 4 ADHD cats in one common direction
- helping to organize the annual Multicultural Show (which of course, is happening this week), and which also involves the equivalent of herding 150 ADHD performing cats in one common direction
- pushing my senior advisory class to just do their senior project and presentation already...and did I mention I got a brand-new senior last week?
- working with the new district mandates (they do love their acronyms!)
- oh yeah, and teaching as best I can
No personal life, you say? Well, something had to give, and that was the thing that did.
But I'm not done yet. Still to come...
- Multicultural Week rehearsals are next week and there are 4 shows the week after that. There are three of us running things, but one is very pregnant with a high-risk pregnancy and one is in the midst of helping her Alzheimer's afflicted mother move into a group home, so I am on deck.
- the next round of standardized testing in April
- track meets once a week from now until the end of May
- prom
- the assessment center test for national boards, where I have 6 multi-part questions to answer about any subject in economics, government, US and world history, and I have only 30 minutes for each test
- graduation rehearsal and graduation itself, which normally requires no effort on my part but my presence and help has been requested this year
- not to mention all the usual school stuff - meetings, grading, planning, copying - apart from the actual teaching...
Have I mentioned I'm exhausted?
Thursday, August 12, 2010
The Book I've Been Waiting For
I love my local library. Here in King County, they have the King County Library System, which means that I can borrow a book from ANY library in the entire county....and there are a LOT of libraries. The one in my town is one of the larger ones, and I discovered the history aisle soon after moving here, and I have been reading my way through it. Today, I checked out the education section, and found the Book I Have Been Waiting For But Didn't Know It Existed.
It is called Understanding Your Refugee and Immigrant Students by Jeffra Flaitz.
This book has all the information I ever wanted about the kids I don't understand. The author talks about 18 of the largest immigrant populations in the US and explains the cultural context they are coming from.
She first gives the usual basics about the country - capital, populaton, location, climate, etc - and then explains the historical perspective of the immigration movement to the US, as well as telling the story of a person either from that country or someone who has worked for an extended period of time in that country. In short, the story of someone who has an intimate knowledge of the particular culture. She presents deep culture beliefs, including explaining the major "tribal" divisions within the country, lists some famous proverbs (the equivalent to the American sayings like "a penny saved is a penny earned" or "the early bird gets the worm") and tells a folk tale specific to that culture.
And then...she gets to the good stuff. She explains the official educational policy of the country and explains the problems that plague that particular system. For the first time, I can see the most likely background for about half the kids in my classroom. She also explains what a school in that country would actually look like, how the teachers would dress and be perceived, and what the relationships between students and students, teachers and students, teachers and parents, and teachers and the community is. She explains what classroom discipline is like and what the kids are expected to contribute. She explains how the students are expected to learn, how they are expected to dress, and has multiple pages PER GROUP on nonverbal communication and cues. She talks about how adults are addressed and what are appropriate and inappropriate topics.
AND THERE'S MORE. She has a few pages per group on the adjustment challenges students may run into in an American school system and the solution you might try to help them adjust and a table that shows basic educational information at a glance - ages of schooling, whether attendance is mandatory, the cost of an education at a particular age, what the grading system is, what kind of exams or national tests there are, the language they use at school, and the curriculum they use.
This is the information I have been desperately seeking and not finding for the eight years I have been a teacher. This is like the magical unicorn at the end of a double rainbow with twin leprechauns.
I will be making good use of this book.
Thursday, July 1, 2010
Communist Propaganda
I was looking through some of the pictures on my camera and realized I never posted these...
We spent a couple of weeks in class talking about Communism and the Cold War, and it was the first year that I think the kids kind of understood what Communism actually advocates. It is a surprisingly difficult concept to explain, especially since the kids tend to confuse economics and government. Ah Communism.....When I was putting these up in the hallway, the thought occurred to me that 40 years ago, I might have been fired for doing a project like this.
As part of their assessment, the kids had to create a Communist propaganda poster (and analyze it on the reverse) that would encourage someone to turn to Communism. I liked this assessment because they had to show an understanding of both Communism and propaganda and I am always wildly amused by their posters. 
It also shows me what the kids DIDN'T understand. As I was trying to get them to see that Communism wouldn't work, I said that Communism would be like everyone in class having one bank account and everyone gets a debit card. You can take what you need, and we all help provide for each other. Unfortunately, what I didn't realize is that some of the kids thought that having one common bank account was LITERALLY what happened. **sigh**
Some of the kids understood the concept better than others. I particularly liked the above poster. I constantly try to get the kids to use the magazines we have in class to make posters, but they are a little reluctant to do so. I think this one really illustrates the main ideas I was looking for. 
Sometimes there is just a piece of a poster that sticks out to me. In the above poster, the dictator on the building cracks me up. There is so much detail in this poster but the guy is a stick person.
This above poster was drawn by my resident Communist. We had a somewhat....tense....relationship throughout this unit. =) It was good for him, I think.
Some of the kids used much more color and were more to the point. Despite the misspellings, I really like this one.
This one cracks me up. I love the little businessman and the farmer shaking hands while a factory spews pollution out and apparently all the earth's water evaporates. =) The one below is hands down my absolute favorite. It is unintentionally ironic. The kid that did this poster did not intend to make it so funny, but I ended up showing it to my entire department and I am saving it.
We spent a couple of weeks in class talking about Communism and the Cold War, and it was the first year that I think the kids kind of understood what Communism actually advocates. It is a surprisingly difficult concept to explain, especially since the kids tend to confuse economics and government. Ah Communism.....When I was putting these up in the hallway, the thought occurred to me that 40 years ago, I might have been fired for doing a project like this.
As part of their assessment, the kids had to create a Communist propaganda poster (and analyze it on the reverse) that would encourage someone to turn to Communism. I liked this assessment because they had to show an understanding of both Communism and propaganda and I am always wildly amused by their posters. It also shows me what the kids DIDN'T understand. As I was trying to get them to see that Communism wouldn't work, I said that Communism would be like everyone in class having one bank account and everyone gets a debit card. You can take what you need, and we all help provide for each other. Unfortunately, what I didn't realize is that some of the kids thought that having one common bank account was LITERALLY what happened. **sigh**Some of the kids understood the concept better than others. I particularly liked the above poster. I constantly try to get the kids to use the magazines we have in class to make posters, but they are a little reluctant to do so. I think this one really illustrates the main ideas I was looking for. Sometimes there is just a piece of a poster that sticks out to me. In the above poster, the dictator on the building cracks me up. There is so much detail in this poster but the guy is a stick person.
This above poster was drawn by my resident Communist. We had a somewhat....tense....relationship throughout this unit. =) It was good for him, I think.Some of the kids used much more color and were more to the point. Despite the misspellings, I really like this one.
This one cracks me up. I love the little businessman and the farmer shaking hands while a factory spews pollution out and apparently all the earth's water evaporates. =) The one below is hands down my absolute favorite. It is unintentionally ironic. The kid that did this poster did not intend to make it so funny, but I ended up showing it to my entire department and I am saving it. I love that the message of the poster is so encouraging...."join the communists and join us"....but that the poster itself is so uninviting. Ironically, it is a picture of the way Communism actually ended up working out, but we never talked about that in class, so he did this under the firm belief that this would be an encouragement to join Communism. I particularly like the Stalin-esque sun in the corner glaring down on all the downtrodden stick people under a smog filled sky.
Pure Awesome.
Pure Awesome.
Tuesday, June 22, 2010
Year 8
Today was the last day of year 8 of my teaching career. This has been a good year overall (professionally, anyway). The kids I had this year were fantastic and I had very few discipline problems. They actively participated in class for the most part, and were generally friendly and polite.
However, as I contemplated grades, things started looking less rosy. I have a higher failure rate at this school than I did in Texas - and my belief is that it is at least partly due to the extremely high transient rate at my school here in Washington. I had a new student transfer in at the beginning of June. I have had 2-3 drops and 2-3 additions per period PER QUARTER, and that has been the norm for all three years I have taught at this school. It is extremely hard to pick up your classes when you are constantly moving around and I know that is part of the reason for the increase in the failure rate.
The final number of kids failing my class this year was 6 or 7 per class period, with the exception of my 6th period, with 15 failing. This is frustrating to me, especially as "failing" is 59% or lower. In Texas, it was 69% or lower. And of course, the 15 in my 6th period........sheesh. I have no words for that. Well, actually, I have quite a lot of words. None of them are appropriate, so I shall refrain.
Of course, as a teacher, I worry about why. Why did so many fail in 6th period? Why are so many failing overall? I feel that my class is structured to be really quite easy. Everything is done in class. Homework is only assigned once a week. There is little to no reading done outside of class (due to a shortage of books). So WHY is my failure rate so high?
I do know that part of it is attendance. The district I am in changed their attendance policy this year, due to a fear of possibly being sued (there was no ACTUAL lawsuit, they were just afraid that they might, at some point, possibly be sued...so they changed the policy...just in case). Previously, a student could accumulate up to 11 absences (including tardies, which counted as 1/3 of an absence) before losing credit for a particular class in a semester. If they accumulated more than 11, they had to appear before a committee and appeal to get credit. If they had a really good reason, and had worked to make up the work, and were passing their class despite the high number of absences, they might be able to get credit anyway. This year, there is no attendance policy in place, and it shows.
3-4 of the failures in each of my classes are kids that had more than 12 absences in my class (not including tardies), so I know that is part of the reason they are failing. But it still can't be the ENTIRE reason. After all, that only accounts for half of my failures, except for that pesky 6th period, where it only accounted for 1/5 of the failures.
So I went back over my grades. With the exception of 1 or 2 kids who have other issues, the biggest reason for my failures is that my kids are not doing their homework. I am certainly not going to cut back on assigning homework, since I feel that we really assign so little as it is, and we work really hard to make sure that homework is targeted towards a very specific skill or concept. We are going to be doing more reading at home next year, but how do I get them to DO their homework? Grades don't seem to be a working motivator.
So....I'll be starting my summer with this problem rolling around in my head. And of course, I would welcome any suggestions from teachers that have had this problem and have managed to improve your passing rate.
However, as I contemplated grades, things started looking less rosy. I have a higher failure rate at this school than I did in Texas - and my belief is that it is at least partly due to the extremely high transient rate at my school here in Washington. I had a new student transfer in at the beginning of June. I have had 2-3 drops and 2-3 additions per period PER QUARTER, and that has been the norm for all three years I have taught at this school. It is extremely hard to pick up your classes when you are constantly moving around and I know that is part of the reason for the increase in the failure rate.
The final number of kids failing my class this year was 6 or 7 per class period, with the exception of my 6th period, with 15 failing. This is frustrating to me, especially as "failing" is 59% or lower. In Texas, it was 69% or lower. And of course, the 15 in my 6th period........sheesh. I have no words for that. Well, actually, I have quite a lot of words. None of them are appropriate, so I shall refrain.
Of course, as a teacher, I worry about why. Why did so many fail in 6th period? Why are so many failing overall? I feel that my class is structured to be really quite easy. Everything is done in class. Homework is only assigned once a week. There is little to no reading done outside of class (due to a shortage of books). So WHY is my failure rate so high?
I do know that part of it is attendance. The district I am in changed their attendance policy this year, due to a fear of possibly being sued (there was no ACTUAL lawsuit, they were just afraid that they might, at some point, possibly be sued...so they changed the policy...just in case). Previously, a student could accumulate up to 11 absences (including tardies, which counted as 1/3 of an absence) before losing credit for a particular class in a semester. If they accumulated more than 11, they had to appear before a committee and appeal to get credit. If they had a really good reason, and had worked to make up the work, and were passing their class despite the high number of absences, they might be able to get credit anyway. This year, there is no attendance policy in place, and it shows.
3-4 of the failures in each of my classes are kids that had more than 12 absences in my class (not including tardies), so I know that is part of the reason they are failing. But it still can't be the ENTIRE reason. After all, that only accounts for half of my failures, except for that pesky 6th period, where it only accounted for 1/5 of the failures.
So I went back over my grades. With the exception of 1 or 2 kids who have other issues, the biggest reason for my failures is that my kids are not doing their homework. I am certainly not going to cut back on assigning homework, since I feel that we really assign so little as it is, and we work really hard to make sure that homework is targeted towards a very specific skill or concept. We are going to be doing more reading at home next year, but how do I get them to DO their homework? Grades don't seem to be a working motivator.
So....I'll be starting my summer with this problem rolling around in my head. And of course, I would welcome any suggestions from teachers that have had this problem and have managed to improve your passing rate.
Wednesday, June 9, 2010
Single Digits
We are down to 9 days of school!
The last few weeks of school are both exhilarating and infuriating. They are infuriating because both teachers and students are antsy and done with school, especially if the weather is nice.
But they are exhilarating as well because if you're lucky, your kids have finally gotten to the point where you can have real discussions and all of a sudden you realize just how far they have come in a few months. This past week we have been talking about globalization and consumerism (materialism) and some of the things they have said are totally awesome.
I have been using the book "Hungry Planet - What the World Eats" by Peter Menzel and Faith D'Aluisio. If you haven't had a chance to check out this book, I would highly recommend it, as well as the book photographed a few years earlier, "Material World" by the same authors.
The last few weeks of school are both exhilarating and infuriating. They are infuriating because both teachers and students are antsy and done with school, especially if the weather is nice.
But they are exhilarating as well because if you're lucky, your kids have finally gotten to the point where you can have real discussions and all of a sudden you realize just how far they have come in a few months. This past week we have been talking about globalization and consumerism (materialism) and some of the things they have said are totally awesome.
I have been using the book "Hungry Planet - What the World Eats" by Peter Menzel and Faith D'Aluisio. If you haven't had a chance to check out this book, I would highly recommend it, as well as the book photographed a few years earlier, "Material World" by the same authors.
from Material World, Kuwait
from Hungry Planet, Bhutan
In Material World, which was inspired by Madonna's song, "Material Girl," Menzel and D'Aluisio photographed families with all of their possessions outside of the family's house. Hungry Planet was written a few years later and was inspired by Menzel watching a refugee child in Somalia downing some dry Top Ramen while the refugee's younger brother ate the seasoning packet. He was struck by how a convenience food in the west is also eaten in other continents but in such a different way, and decided to do a book where a family's food consumption for a week was tracked. In both books, families that were "statistically average" were chosen to represent the various countries.
both from Hungry Planet, top- Darfur refugees, bottom- North Carolina
These books are fantastic to visually show globalization, consumerism, consumption, and materialism. The kids get those concepts after seeing these books and I love seeing how they start pulling out and identifying items that have gone global and how they start applying that knowledge to the concepts of consumerism and materialism.
Hungry Planet, Japan
I love weeks like this, when the kids actually GET a concept that I am trying to teach, and not only get it but apply it and debate about it. Not only that, they asked questions that allowed me to guide them into discussions about processed vs real food, chemical additives, and why processed food is cheaper than unprocessed food here in the US. It has been one of those weeks when I have actually felt like they are taking something away that they might actually use.
from Material World, top - Japan, bottom - Russia
Tuesday, June 1, 2010
On Grading, Specifically Essays
I spent all weekend grading essays. They weren't good essays, in any sense of the word, which made it all the more painful to spend my weekend on it. While grading them, I vacillated between hopelessness, despair, frustration, and annoyance. I blamed the kids for their shockingly bad writing skills. I blamed myself for failing to teach them how to write. And then, I started to scribble some things down.
I don't know where to draw the line between holding the kids accountable for their own learning, and allowing them some degree of leniency for things like high mobility rates, language skills, and cultural obstacles. On the one hand, they need to be pushed, they need to be challenged, and they need to learn to take responsibility for themselves and fight as underdogs on a playing field that isn't fair. On the other hand, is it fair to hold these kids to the same level of accountability as upper class kids if the challenges they face are greater than others?
I am struggling with where this line is. I have expectations, but are they high enough? And on the other hand, if I set expectations that are too high, I take away all motivation to reach for those goals. Am I crippling my students or enabling them? Am I actually teaching them any skills at all or am I just reveling in the sound of my own voice and merely assuming they are picking up skills?
I don't know how to make my kids better writers, except to practice even more, and next year start this process even earlier. And of course, that means that much less time to devote to content, which is the whole reason I love teaching history.
I don't know what any of the answers are or who to ask to get them, so until someone comes along with the answer, I'll just keep plowing through, doing the best I can, every single day, and hopefully that will help some of my kids a little bit.
I don't know where to draw the line between holding the kids accountable for their own learning, and allowing them some degree of leniency for things like high mobility rates, language skills, and cultural obstacles. On the one hand, they need to be pushed, they need to be challenged, and they need to learn to take responsibility for themselves and fight as underdogs on a playing field that isn't fair. On the other hand, is it fair to hold these kids to the same level of accountability as upper class kids if the challenges they face are greater than others?
I am struggling with where this line is. I have expectations, but are they high enough? And on the other hand, if I set expectations that are too high, I take away all motivation to reach for those goals. Am I crippling my students or enabling them? Am I actually teaching them any skills at all or am I just reveling in the sound of my own voice and merely assuming they are picking up skills?
I don't know how to make my kids better writers, except to practice even more, and next year start this process even earlier. And of course, that means that much less time to devote to content, which is the whole reason I love teaching history.
I don't know what any of the answers are or who to ask to get them, so until someone comes along with the answer, I'll just keep plowing through, doing the best I can, every single day, and hopefully that will help some of my kids a little bit.
Sunday, May 16, 2010
25 Days
For some teachers, November or March are the hardest months of the year, the downtime, the slog, the time when things are no longer new and exciting but the kids aren't really where you want them to be either. For me though, this is the hardest time of the school year.
In high school, the kids are locked fully into "completely addlepated" mode and even here in Seattle, the sun has begun to shine most days, making it almost impossible for them (or me!) to focus on anything taking place inside. The only thing that either the kids or I can focus on is the end of the school year rapidly approaching.
Adding to that, while I teach mostly sophomores, I have the few random seniors mixed in, most of whom have failed this class the first time around and are here to make up that credit in order to graduate on time. For them, there are only 20 days of school left and they aren't so much focused on school as on the fact that pretty soon no more adults will be Bossing Them Around and Telling Them What To Do All The Time and they will be treated like the Adults They Already Are (I, of course, am only wishing they would behave like the Adults They THINK They Are...). In order to prevent my least favorite spring sport - Angry Yelling From Parents Who Already Invited The Entire Family From The Philippines To Attend Graduation - I h ave to make sure that I am always caught up on the kids' grades, which means that I have been grading almost every weekend since mid-April.
I know that SOUNDS like tons of fun, but it's not as much fun as you might think. Added to that, I have been working track meets again this year, which IS fun, but time-consuming, and you may see why I have been almost totally absent from this blog for quite some time.
This is the hardest time of year for me. I feel like I have no time to do anything and I am never sure where the time goes. And for some reason, this is the time of year when the Parent Conferences come out to play; there was a two week stretch there where I had a parent meeting every single day. Not that meetings are all that unusual, I have an average of 4 per week, aside from the regularly scheduled Friday morning staff development.
This year, adding to the stress, is the fact that I truly like this particular crop of kids. I have had maybe 3 discipline incidents ALL YEAR, and I kind of want to keep them. I really truly like these kids a lot. I am not sure what the difference is, maybe I have a better attitude or something, but this year has gone so incredibly smoothly and I am a little reluctant to let go of it.
And at the same time, I can't wait for summer. Go figure. =)
Have a great week!
In high school, the kids are locked fully into "completely addlepated" mode and even here in Seattle, the sun has begun to shine most days, making it almost impossible for them (or me!) to focus on anything taking place inside. The only thing that either the kids or I can focus on is the end of the school year rapidly approaching.
Adding to that, while I teach mostly sophomores, I have the few random seniors mixed in, most of whom have failed this class the first time around and are here to make up that credit in order to graduate on time. For them, there are only 20 days of school left and they aren't so much focused on school as on the fact that pretty soon no more adults will be Bossing Them Around and Telling Them What To Do All The Time and they will be treated like the Adults They Already Are (I, of course, am only wishing they would behave like the Adults They THINK They Are...). In order to prevent my least favorite spring sport - Angry Yelling From Parents Who Already Invited The Entire Family From The Philippines To Attend Graduation - I h ave to make sure that I am always caught up on the kids' grades, which means that I have been grading almost every weekend since mid-April.
I know that SOUNDS like tons of fun, but it's not as much fun as you might think. Added to that, I have been working track meets again this year, which IS fun, but time-consuming, and you may see why I have been almost totally absent from this blog for quite some time.
This is the hardest time of year for me. I feel like I have no time to do anything and I am never sure where the time goes. And for some reason, this is the time of year when the Parent Conferences come out to play; there was a two week stretch there where I had a parent meeting every single day. Not that meetings are all that unusual, I have an average of 4 per week, aside from the regularly scheduled Friday morning staff development.
This year, adding to the stress, is the fact that I truly like this particular crop of kids. I have had maybe 3 discipline incidents ALL YEAR, and I kind of want to keep them. I really truly like these kids a lot. I am not sure what the difference is, maybe I have a better attitude or something, but this year has gone so incredibly smoothly and I am a little reluctant to let go of it.
And at the same time, I can't wait for summer. Go figure. =)
Have a great week!
Friday, May 7, 2010
Teacher Appreciation Week - Mrs. Turman & Mrs. Howard
It’s Teacher Appreciation Week! And in honor of that, let’s give something back to those awesome teachers that we’ve all had. In an era of increasing negativity towards this profession, let’s take the time to honor those teachers who have influenced us – past or present, instructors or colleagues, whoever! Post something on your blog, then link to it above. Then….go visit! Spread the love!
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I still remember the morning of my first day of school. My mom made me a blue dress with red strawberries appliquéd on it. I remember my dad carrying me out to the living room and I stopped to admire the dress. And, while I don’t remember this picture being taken, there is a picture of me on the front porch, wearing my dress, with my pink (yellow?) lunch box, straight bangs and dark hair and dimples that seem to have disappeared as I have gotten older, one of the many cats we have had weaving its way around my legs, all ready for the first day of the next 18 years of my life.
I don’t remember much about the first day, or really much about that year at all, just bits and pieces…more like 5-6 snapshots more than any one sustained memory. I learned my first phone number in kindergarten (well, the first one that wasn’t my own number anyway), the phone number of a girl I am STILL friends with 26 years later. I remember Open House, when my dad told me that he had gone to school in that same building…and I remember wondering how in the world my 6’ dad fit into those tiny chairs (oh logic, you are such a cruel mistress…). I remember lining up for recess, and the day we colored pictures showing us in our chosen careers (mine was a nurse – this would be BEFORE I discovered my hatred of all bodily fluids that emanate from other people’s bodies).
But most of all, I remember reading. I learned to read in kindergarten, and while what I remember most is my mom bribing me with a new Dr. Seuss book (Hop on Pop) which I very desperately wanted and was NOT allowed to have until I could read it out loud by myself, I also remember reading in kindergarten. We had these small books that the reading teacher Mrs. Howard made for us, and my kindergarten teacher Mrs. Turman would sit down and I would read those books to her. There were short little books that had yellow covers, and hand-made books that had cardboard covers covered with wallpaper remnants, and I’m sure there were regular books too, although I don’t remember those. I can’t remember the exact topics of those books, although I am sure they were of the “Dick and Jane” variety, but I do remember reading…constantly, endlessly, reading.
I still love to read today, and while a good part of that was due to my parents’ decision not to have a television, the fact that I had a kindergarten teacher and a reading teacher that both actively encouraged me to read obviously impacted not only my enjoyment of reading, but my long-term school achievements as well. There are countless studies that directly tie reading ability to ALL other school abilities, so I don’t need to go in to that here, but suffice it to say that those two women had a direct and MAJOR impact on my life.
So thanks! Both of you were experienced teachers (funny how that works), and being in a strong kindergarten class really laid the foundation for the following 18 years of school. I couldn’t have done it without you!
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Thanks for joining me for Teacher Appreication Week! I hope you got the chance to tell one of your teachers how much you appreciate(d) them!
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I still remember the morning of my first day of school. My mom made me a blue dress with red strawberries appliquéd on it. I remember my dad carrying me out to the living room and I stopped to admire the dress. And, while I don’t remember this picture being taken, there is a picture of me on the front porch, wearing my dress, with my pink (yellow?) lunch box, straight bangs and dark hair and dimples that seem to have disappeared as I have gotten older, one of the many cats we have had weaving its way around my legs, all ready for the first day of the next 18 years of my life.
I don’t remember much about the first day, or really much about that year at all, just bits and pieces…more like 5-6 snapshots more than any one sustained memory. I learned my first phone number in kindergarten (well, the first one that wasn’t my own number anyway), the phone number of a girl I am STILL friends with 26 years later. I remember Open House, when my dad told me that he had gone to school in that same building…and I remember wondering how in the world my 6’ dad fit into those tiny chairs (oh logic, you are such a cruel mistress…). I remember lining up for recess, and the day we colored pictures showing us in our chosen careers (mine was a nurse – this would be BEFORE I discovered my hatred of all bodily fluids that emanate from other people’s bodies).
But most of all, I remember reading. I learned to read in kindergarten, and while what I remember most is my mom bribing me with a new Dr. Seuss book (Hop on Pop) which I very desperately wanted and was NOT allowed to have until I could read it out loud by myself, I also remember reading in kindergarten. We had these small books that the reading teacher Mrs. Howard made for us, and my kindergarten teacher Mrs. Turman would sit down and I would read those books to her. There were short little books that had yellow covers, and hand-made books that had cardboard covers covered with wallpaper remnants, and I’m sure there were regular books too, although I don’t remember those. I can’t remember the exact topics of those books, although I am sure they were of the “Dick and Jane” variety, but I do remember reading…constantly, endlessly, reading.
I still love to read today, and while a good part of that was due to my parents’ decision not to have a television, the fact that I had a kindergarten teacher and a reading teacher that both actively encouraged me to read obviously impacted not only my enjoyment of reading, but my long-term school achievements as well. There are countless studies that directly tie reading ability to ALL other school abilities, so I don’t need to go in to that here, but suffice it to say that those two women had a direct and MAJOR impact on my life.
So thanks! Both of you were experienced teachers (funny how that works), and being in a strong kindergarten class really laid the foundation for the following 18 years of school. I couldn’t have done it without you!
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Thanks for joining me for Teacher Appreication Week! I hope you got the chance to tell one of your teachers how much you appreciate(d) them!
Thursday, May 6, 2010
Teacher Appreciation Week - Miss Judy
It’s Teacher Appreciation Week! And in honor of that, let’s give something back to those awesome teachers that we’ve all had. In an era of increasing negativity towards this profession, let’s take the time to honor those teachers who have influenced us – past or present, instructors or colleagues, whoever! Post something on your blog, then link to it above. Then….go visit! Spread the love!
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Miss Judy was my piano teacher for 9 years, from as early on as I can remember. And while I must confess that I can barely remember where Middle C is and can only play about 2 songs 17 years after my last lesson, she really was a good teacher. I know that teaching music must require limitless amounts of patience. I know this not only because I am a teacher who does NOT have limitless amounts of patience, but also because I have a low tolerance for annoying noises….and there is almost nothing more annoying than a piano being inexpertly played over and over and over and over (Disclaimer – the most annoying sound in the universe is the collective sound on the day that they hand out recorders to the elementary school kids – I heard one being played in an apartment as I walked by the other day and instantly had a flood of memories regarding those allegedly “musical” instruments…but I digress).
Miss Judy taught piano in the basement of her house, which had a distinctly musty, basementy smell that I still associate with good things. Once a week, we drove up the hill to the very end of a dead end road, to a house built in the midst of a forest, walked down the slope covered with ferns and trilliums, past the zipline strung between two trees, to the sliding glass door and into the basement. The carpet was mustard yellow and the walls were paneled wood and in the center of the room was a piano. Every week Miss Judy was there waiting, on a chair next to the bench in front of that piano.
First things first, start with those scales! Every week, practice, practice, practice. Start with the easy ones – thumb, finger, finger, then cross that thumb under (hard when you are only 5!) and play the next five – thumb, finger, finger, finger, finger. Then, back down the same way. Miss Judy sat next to you and with a pencil poised under your palms, reminding you to keep those hands up! No hand slouching on the keys! After some good warm-ups, it was time to “face the music.” Did you practice last week? This is where it would show. There was no hiding from Miss Judy!
She must have gotten so frustrated, saying the same things over and over – at least to me. Thinking back, she never raised her voice, never got upset, never lost her poise. She was a popular teacher, with a full schedule all day long of students of all ages. Once a year or so, there was a recital – usually on a Sunday afternoon – where all her students played music. Again, this isn’t something that registered at the time, but looking back, she had a LOT of little kids as students. Someone who can make a 5 year old kid sit at a piano for half an hour, or more than that, make FIVE 5-year-olds play the same thing at the same time (group lessons came before individual lessons) has to be an amazing teacher.
Teaching a core class like math or social studies is easier than teaching a creative class, especially one like music. Dealing with kids of varying skill levels, knowing that the chances of producing even ONE who makes a career of music are slim to none, this all tells me that Miss Judy had, quite simply, a profound love for music and teaching. Which makes her a success in my book.
So thanks, Miss Judy, for the countless lessons, the endless patience, and the level of commitment you had to doing something that you loved. And you would be happy to know that even though I no longer play the piano, I still type without hand slouching.
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Miss Judy was my piano teacher for 9 years, from as early on as I can remember. And while I must confess that I can barely remember where Middle C is and can only play about 2 songs 17 years after my last lesson, she really was a good teacher. I know that teaching music must require limitless amounts of patience. I know this not only because I am a teacher who does NOT have limitless amounts of patience, but also because I have a low tolerance for annoying noises….and there is almost nothing more annoying than a piano being inexpertly played over and over and over and over (Disclaimer – the most annoying sound in the universe is the collective sound on the day that they hand out recorders to the elementary school kids – I heard one being played in an apartment as I walked by the other day and instantly had a flood of memories regarding those allegedly “musical” instruments…but I digress).
Miss Judy taught piano in the basement of her house, which had a distinctly musty, basementy smell that I still associate with good things. Once a week, we drove up the hill to the very end of a dead end road, to a house built in the midst of a forest, walked down the slope covered with ferns and trilliums, past the zipline strung between two trees, to the sliding glass door and into the basement. The carpet was mustard yellow and the walls were paneled wood and in the center of the room was a piano. Every week Miss Judy was there waiting, on a chair next to the bench in front of that piano.
First things first, start with those scales! Every week, practice, practice, practice. Start with the easy ones – thumb, finger, finger, then cross that thumb under (hard when you are only 5!) and play the next five – thumb, finger, finger, finger, finger. Then, back down the same way. Miss Judy sat next to you and with a pencil poised under your palms, reminding you to keep those hands up! No hand slouching on the keys! After some good warm-ups, it was time to “face the music.” Did you practice last week? This is where it would show. There was no hiding from Miss Judy!
She must have gotten so frustrated, saying the same things over and over – at least to me. Thinking back, she never raised her voice, never got upset, never lost her poise. She was a popular teacher, with a full schedule all day long of students of all ages. Once a year or so, there was a recital – usually on a Sunday afternoon – where all her students played music. Again, this isn’t something that registered at the time, but looking back, she had a LOT of little kids as students. Someone who can make a 5 year old kid sit at a piano for half an hour, or more than that, make FIVE 5-year-olds play the same thing at the same time (group lessons came before individual lessons) has to be an amazing teacher.
Teaching a core class like math or social studies is easier than teaching a creative class, especially one like music. Dealing with kids of varying skill levels, knowing that the chances of producing even ONE who makes a career of music are slim to none, this all tells me that Miss Judy had, quite simply, a profound love for music and teaching. Which makes her a success in my book.
So thanks, Miss Judy, for the countless lessons, the endless patience, and the level of commitment you had to doing something that you loved. And you would be happy to know that even though I no longer play the piano, I still type without hand slouching.
Wednesday, May 5, 2010
Teacher Appreciation Week - Professor Williamson
It’s Teacher Appreciation Week! And in honor of that, let’s give something back to those awesome teachers that we’ve all had. In an era of increasing negativity towards this profession, let’s take the time to honor those teachers who have influenced us – past or present, instructors or colleagues, whoever! Post something on your blog, then link to it above. Then….go visit! Spread the love!
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During my first two years of college, I changed my major twice – from interior design to undeclared and then to education – and after I decided on secondary education, I had to decide what area to focus on. I have always loved to read, so I thought about English for a long time, but then during my sophomore year, as part of my core classes, I took a basic American History class. Some of my friends had taken this class the year before, and absolutely hated it, so I was somewhat less than enthusiastic about this class.
The first day of the class, I walked in, found a seat, and waited for the old geezer to arrive. And that’s when one of the best-looking guys I have ever met in real life walked in. He wasn’t old, he wasn’t dead inside, and he was utterly, completely relaxed. Of course, he was also married. But that didn’t change the fact that he was a fantastic professor. I was lucky enough to go to a relatively small school, so even in my core classes, all but one of my classes was small – usually no more than 25 students or so. Having those small classes meant that Professor Williamson could and did encourage discussions all the time. Generally, a basic level history class means lecture – a LOT of lecture – and while we did that too, we also had some fantastic discussions.
We also did some things that weren’t part of a traditional college level class. For example, it was for and assignment in this class that I interviewed my grandfather, a Korean War vet, and my family gained some unforgettable and hilarious stories written in my grandpa’s blocky printing. That class became one of my favorite college classes, and Mr. Williamson became my favorite college professor – but not because he was cute. Professor W loved history. Despite some pretty disheartening personal problems (his wife gave birth to a son with Down’s syndrome during that semester), he never missed class and never gave less than 100%, but at the same time, was one of the most laid-back, relaxed professors I had in 5 years of teaching.
After that semester, Professor W moved to Wisconsin or some random place where his in-laws lived so his wife could have help with the special needs baby, but that feeling of classroom “safety” is one of the strongest memories I have of Professor W. He was utterly and completely relaxed in front of his classes. Having a teacher that laid-back encourages freedom of speech in their classroom, and while I am nowhere near that relaxed (bit of a control freak, actually), I do try to remember that feeling of safety. The feeling we had in that classroom, that no matter what opinion you had (and of course, as college students, we had plenty), you could say it without fear of put-downs or mockery. And every day in my classroom, I want my kids to have that same feeling.
After that semester, I knew that history was what I wanted to teach. I wanted to teach something I loved and after that semester, I knew that I loved history. I have never looked back and never regretted my area of study (well, except on job interviews where I get asked what I coach) and one of the biggest reasons I focused on history was because of this one basic class.
So thanks, Professor W, for that one semester. It totally changed my life. You were a fantastic professor and I have never forgotten that class.
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During my first two years of college, I changed my major twice – from interior design to undeclared and then to education – and after I decided on secondary education, I had to decide what area to focus on. I have always loved to read, so I thought about English for a long time, but then during my sophomore year, as part of my core classes, I took a basic American History class. Some of my friends had taken this class the year before, and absolutely hated it, so I was somewhat less than enthusiastic about this class.
The first day of the class, I walked in, found a seat, and waited for the old geezer to arrive. And that’s when one of the best-looking guys I have ever met in real life walked in. He wasn’t old, he wasn’t dead inside, and he was utterly, completely relaxed. Of course, he was also married. But that didn’t change the fact that he was a fantastic professor. I was lucky enough to go to a relatively small school, so even in my core classes, all but one of my classes was small – usually no more than 25 students or so. Having those small classes meant that Professor Williamson could and did encourage discussions all the time. Generally, a basic level history class means lecture – a LOT of lecture – and while we did that too, we also had some fantastic discussions.
We also did some things that weren’t part of a traditional college level class. For example, it was for and assignment in this class that I interviewed my grandfather, a Korean War vet, and my family gained some unforgettable and hilarious stories written in my grandpa’s blocky printing. That class became one of my favorite college classes, and Mr. Williamson became my favorite college professor – but not because he was cute. Professor W loved history. Despite some pretty disheartening personal problems (his wife gave birth to a son with Down’s syndrome during that semester), he never missed class and never gave less than 100%, but at the same time, was one of the most laid-back, relaxed professors I had in 5 years of teaching.
After that semester, Professor W moved to Wisconsin or some random place where his in-laws lived so his wife could have help with the special needs baby, but that feeling of classroom “safety” is one of the strongest memories I have of Professor W. He was utterly and completely relaxed in front of his classes. Having a teacher that laid-back encourages freedom of speech in their classroom, and while I am nowhere near that relaxed (bit of a control freak, actually), I do try to remember that feeling of safety. The feeling we had in that classroom, that no matter what opinion you had (and of course, as college students, we had plenty), you could say it without fear of put-downs or mockery. And every day in my classroom, I want my kids to have that same feeling.
After that semester, I knew that history was what I wanted to teach. I wanted to teach something I loved and after that semester, I knew that I loved history. I have never looked back and never regretted my area of study (well, except on job interviews where I get asked what I coach) and one of the biggest reasons I focused on history was because of this one basic class.
So thanks, Professor W, for that one semester. It totally changed my life. You were a fantastic professor and I have never forgotten that class.
Tuesday, May 4, 2010
Teacher Appreciation Week - Sarah Stacy
It’s Teacher Appreciation Week! And in honor of that, let’s give something back to those awesome teachers that we’ve all had. In an era of increasing negativity towards this profession, let’s take the time to honor those teachers who have influenced us – past or present, instructors or colleagues, whoever! Post something on your blog, then link to it below this post. Just for kicks and giggles, use your teacher’s name as your link! Then….go visit! Spread the love!
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I was lucky in so many ways with my college education and the job hunt that came at the end of that education. I ended up getting a job at a large (5A) public school in a suburb of Dallas, Texas. This particular district had a week-long new teacher program that was held partially at the district, but mostly on the grounds of your home school. And one of the first things that happened as a new teacher was that you were matched up with a mentor teacher. My mentor teacher was Ms. Stacy. Sarah was a tall blond with a quick smile a down-to-earth personality, and a slightly twisted sense of humor that I was instantly drawn to. She was only a few years older than I, and we had a lot in common.
Sarah was my rock during that first year of teaching. On the days when I questioned whether or not I had wasted the previous five years of school and on the days when I cried, Sarah was there to figuratively hold my hand and get me through….and that crying thing? Yeah, that happened a lot. I'm kind of high-maintenance.
She gave me ideas, taught me about the school culture, taught me how to use (and unjam) the copier, gave me a place to eat lunch, someone to bounce ideas off of, and a shoulder to lean on. She told me how to find (and keep) a good desk chair, steered me away from the negative nellies in our department, and gave me her cell phone number. Sarah is one of the most open and friendly people I have ever met, and for the two years she was at the school with me, she was one of the most consistently hard-working teachers I have ever worked with.
Sarah taught world history and an AP world history class for the first time that year, got engaged, married, and pregnant during those first two years, took care of me and 150 high-maintenance sophomores, and still maintained her poise and grace every single day. The district I am in now does not have a particularly good mentor program and I can’t imagine how difficult it must be for those teachers without someone like Sarah there to keep them from gouging their own eyes out and running screaming from the building.
Sarah and I have stayed friends, despite the fact that she was only at my school for two years, and while I have told her before how awesome I think she is, it never hurts to hear it more than once. She has just recently returned to teaching after a break to start a family, and is doing something totally different (elementary school computers), but I am sure she is knocking it out of the park once again.
So here’s to Sarah….the model mentor!
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I was lucky in so many ways with my college education and the job hunt that came at the end of that education. I ended up getting a job at a large (5A) public school in a suburb of Dallas, Texas. This particular district had a week-long new teacher program that was held partially at the district, but mostly on the grounds of your home school. And one of the first things that happened as a new teacher was that you were matched up with a mentor teacher. My mentor teacher was Ms. Stacy. Sarah was a tall blond with a quick smile a down-to-earth personality, and a slightly twisted sense of humor that I was instantly drawn to. She was only a few years older than I, and we had a lot in common.
Sarah was my rock during that first year of teaching. On the days when I questioned whether or not I had wasted the previous five years of school and on the days when I cried, Sarah was there to figuratively hold my hand and get me through….and that crying thing? Yeah, that happened a lot. I'm kind of high-maintenance.
She gave me ideas, taught me about the school culture, taught me how to use (and unjam) the copier, gave me a place to eat lunch, someone to bounce ideas off of, and a shoulder to lean on. She told me how to find (and keep) a good desk chair, steered me away from the negative nellies in our department, and gave me her cell phone number. Sarah is one of the most open and friendly people I have ever met, and for the two years she was at the school with me, she was one of the most consistently hard-working teachers I have ever worked with.
Sarah taught world history and an AP world history class for the first time that year, got engaged, married, and pregnant during those first two years, took care of me and 150 high-maintenance sophomores, and still maintained her poise and grace every single day. The district I am in now does not have a particularly good mentor program and I can’t imagine how difficult it must be for those teachers without someone like Sarah there to keep them from gouging their own eyes out and running screaming from the building.
Sarah and I have stayed friends, despite the fact that she was only at my school for two years, and while I have told her before how awesome I think she is, it never hurts to hear it more than once. She has just recently returned to teaching after a break to start a family, and is doing something totally different (elementary school computers), but I am sure she is knocking it out of the park once again.
So here’s to Sarah….the model mentor!
Monday, May 3, 2010
Teacher Appreciation Week - Beth Hamaty
It’s Teacher Appreciation Week! And in honor of that, let’s give something back to those awesome teachers that we’ve all had. In an era of increasing negativity towards this profession, let’s take the time to honor those teachers who have influenced us – past or present, instructors or colleagues, whoever! Post something on your blog, then link to it below this post. Just for kicks and giggles, use your teacher’s name as your link! Then....go visit! Spread the love!
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Ms. Hamaty taught sophomore world history, and I learned pretty much everything I know from her. I was in a decent teaching program at my university, but like most teaching programs at any university in the world, education classes were taught by professors who hadn’t ever been in a public elementary or secondary school, or at best, hadn’t been in a non-college classroom for at least twenty years. One thing my university did well however, was to make sure you got plenty of classroom observations in. Starting two years before I graduated, I spent at least part of every semester in a classroom, multiple times a week. At first, I just did observations. Then some practice lessons, then long-term observations (in the same classroom for several hours a week), and finally, full-time student teaching for a semester in two different placements.
I was lucky enough to be matched with Ms. Hamaty on one of those early rounds, and after that point I asked to be matched with her whenever we had observations to do. I wasn’t an expert, but I recognized one when I saw one. Abilene High was a fairly large school with a pretty mixed population, although it definitely leaned towards the lower end of the income ladder. Looking back, it was a pretty average mid public school for a city of that size, but for me, it was a total immersing shock to my system. I went to a small town public school for the first three years, and a small private Christian school until I graduated, then a mid-sized Christian university after that, so I had never really gone to school with kids who were ethnically different than I, or who came from homes that weren’t stable, or whose parents didn’t always have money to put food on the table. All of a sudden, there I was, surrounded by all of these new people who weren’t like me, and it was surprisingly invigorating. From pretty much the first day I walked into that school, I knew that I had made the right decision about becoming a teacher and that this was the Thing I Wanted To Do.
Ms. Hamaty made that happen. She told me all the things they don’t tell you in teacher education classes. It was from her that I learned when to confront a student head on, and how to avert a problem with humor or teasing. She taught me how to tell stories and how to captivate a class of teenagers with a lecture and notes. She taught me that knowing a kid’s background is important, because sometimes when a kid is sleeping in class, it is because he has to work the swing shift to support his family. She taught me how to control a classroom with a look – the look of death, I like to call it – and taught me how to seize the teachable moments.
I worked with Ms. Hamaty off and on for over a year and her expertise made my first year of teaching possible. What is more, as I have been teaching, I now understand just how difficult it is to have a student teacher in your classroom and yet she was patient with me, answering all of my questions, and allowing me to teach her kids, in her classroom, my way. I wouldn’t be here without her. So thanks, Ms. Hamaty, you are still the teacher I look up to more than any other and I can never thank you enough for what you gave me.
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Ms. Hamaty taught sophomore world history, and I learned pretty much everything I know from her. I was in a decent teaching program at my university, but like most teaching programs at any university in the world, education classes were taught by professors who hadn’t ever been in a public elementary or secondary school, or at best, hadn’t been in a non-college classroom for at least twenty years. One thing my university did well however, was to make sure you got plenty of classroom observations in. Starting two years before I graduated, I spent at least part of every semester in a classroom, multiple times a week. At first, I just did observations. Then some practice lessons, then long-term observations (in the same classroom for several hours a week), and finally, full-time student teaching for a semester in two different placements.
I was lucky enough to be matched with Ms. Hamaty on one of those early rounds, and after that point I asked to be matched with her whenever we had observations to do. I wasn’t an expert, but I recognized one when I saw one. Abilene High was a fairly large school with a pretty mixed population, although it definitely leaned towards the lower end of the income ladder. Looking back, it was a pretty average mid public school for a city of that size, but for me, it was a total immersing shock to my system. I went to a small town public school for the first three years, and a small private Christian school until I graduated, then a mid-sized Christian university after that, so I had never really gone to school with kids who were ethnically different than I, or who came from homes that weren’t stable, or whose parents didn’t always have money to put food on the table. All of a sudden, there I was, surrounded by all of these new people who weren’t like me, and it was surprisingly invigorating. From pretty much the first day I walked into that school, I knew that I had made the right decision about becoming a teacher and that this was the Thing I Wanted To Do.
Ms. Hamaty made that happen. She told me all the things they don’t tell you in teacher education classes. It was from her that I learned when to confront a student head on, and how to avert a problem with humor or teasing. She taught me how to tell stories and how to captivate a class of teenagers with a lecture and notes. She taught me that knowing a kid’s background is important, because sometimes when a kid is sleeping in class, it is because he has to work the swing shift to support his family. She taught me how to control a classroom with a look – the look of death, I like to call it – and taught me how to seize the teachable moments.
I worked with Ms. Hamaty off and on for over a year and her expertise made my first year of teaching possible. What is more, as I have been teaching, I now understand just how difficult it is to have a student teacher in your classroom and yet she was patient with me, answering all of my questions, and allowing me to teach her kids, in her classroom, my way. I wouldn’t be here without her. So thanks, Ms. Hamaty, you are still the teacher I look up to more than any other and I can never thank you enough for what you gave me.
Friday, March 26, 2010
Virtual Roses
Besides the obvious fabulosity of it being Friday, I got a few virtual roses today that made me feel kind of neat.
Which brings me to the future. Teacher Appreciation Week is coming up the first week in May, and I would love to host a blog party...maybe doing something along the lines of what I did last year? If you don't read this blog regularly, or if you are new here, last year I had a week's worth of posts in which I talked about my favorite teachers from elementary to high school and thanked them. What do you think? Would anyone else be interested in doing this and all linking to each other? It gives us some time to think about it and plan for it
I'd love it if you joined!
- my principal (and some other district people) met with the Somali organization I tutor with (for a different reason - long story), and in his words, they think I'm "pretty awesome."
- I got my post-observation report from my observing principal today and it is detailed, quite complimentary, and she told me that she thinks I do a great job
- one of my students that freezes while taking tests, but is really quite smart, came in after school for the specific purpose of telling me that she likes history for the first time in her life
Which brings me to the future. Teacher Appreciation Week is coming up the first week in May, and I would love to host a blog party...maybe doing something along the lines of what I did last year? If you don't read this blog regularly, or if you are new here, last year I had a week's worth of posts in which I talked about my favorite teachers from elementary to high school and thanked them. What do you think? Would anyone else be interested in doing this and all linking to each other? It gives us some time to think about it and plan for it
I'd love it if you joined!
Wednesday, March 10, 2010
Wednesday Somalia
I have been wanting to get involved with some kind of volunteer work, and while I was initially looking for a women's shelter to volunteer with, I ended up volunteering with a Somali organization in the Seattle area. This organization has several tutoring programs that are set up with the local school district (not mine) and one of the programs is run thorugh an apartment complex that has a very large Somali population. As it turns out, this apartment is actually in MY school district, so several of the kids know me and I even have a few of them in my classes this year.
I was a little nervous going into this, since the thought of teaching AFTER a long day of teaching was a little daunting. But as it turns out, I absolutely love doing this. The kids that in my classroom are timid and demure are chatterboxes and stinkin' hilarious when you get them on their own turf. When I walked in last week, I was asked for help within 30 seconds. Unfortunately, it was with math, which is....an area of weakness for me, to put it mildly. But we figured it out together and I had so much fun that I ended up staying an extra half hour because I wasn't watching the time.
As part of my volunteer training, I learned some interesting things about Somalia. For example, did you know that the Somali language did not have a written version until 1972? And they haven't had a functional government since 1991. Education was mandatory to age 13 before 1991, but now only about 8% of kids go to elementary school and only 5% of kids go to school beyond that age. Can you imagine how hard it would be to go to school here in the US when you've never been to school at all in your own country? No wonder some of the kids we get struggle so much. In addition, 40% of the population of Somalia is dependent on external aid and Somalia is considered the worst humanitarian disaster in the world.
We aren't sure exactly how many Somalis are in this area, but Western Washington has the third largest Somali population in the United States, with an estimated population of between 40,000-70,000 in this area. Somalis are Muslim and fairly conservative, and the kids (especially the girls) are not allowed to stay after school for tutoring or whatnot, so they have a tutoring program in this apartment complex. There are 2 Somali men who run this program and they do the best they can, but there are between 40-50 kids that come and they all are there for help with their homework.
This is a population in our school that we have a tremendous amount of difficulty reaching. These are the parents we can't get hold of and the parents we literally cannot talk to because they don't speak English. Can you imagine how much of a difference it would make if those parents knew us BEFORE their kids reached high school? So right now, I am working on some fellow teachers to come with me and I am so excited to be doing this. So now you know where I'll be on Wednesday nights.....
By the way, I had to reinstall comment monitoring because I have been pretty seriously spammed over the past few weeks. I'll take it off again after a while, sorry!
I was a little nervous going into this, since the thought of teaching AFTER a long day of teaching was a little daunting. But as it turns out, I absolutely love doing this. The kids that in my classroom are timid and demure are chatterboxes and stinkin' hilarious when you get them on their own turf. When I walked in last week, I was asked for help within 30 seconds. Unfortunately, it was with math, which is....an area of weakness for me, to put it mildly. But we figured it out together and I had so much fun that I ended up staying an extra half hour because I wasn't watching the time.
As part of my volunteer training, I learned some interesting things about Somalia. For example, did you know that the Somali language did not have a written version until 1972? And they haven't had a functional government since 1991. Education was mandatory to age 13 before 1991, but now only about 8% of kids go to elementary school and only 5% of kids go to school beyond that age. Can you imagine how hard it would be to go to school here in the US when you've never been to school at all in your own country? No wonder some of the kids we get struggle so much. In addition, 40% of the population of Somalia is dependent on external aid and Somalia is considered the worst humanitarian disaster in the world.
We aren't sure exactly how many Somalis are in this area, but Western Washington has the third largest Somali population in the United States, with an estimated population of between 40,000-70,000 in this area. Somalis are Muslim and fairly conservative, and the kids (especially the girls) are not allowed to stay after school for tutoring or whatnot, so they have a tutoring program in this apartment complex. There are 2 Somali men who run this program and they do the best they can, but there are between 40-50 kids that come and they all are there for help with their homework.
This is a population in our school that we have a tremendous amount of difficulty reaching. These are the parents we can't get hold of and the parents we literally cannot talk to because they don't speak English. Can you imagine how much of a difference it would make if those parents knew us BEFORE their kids reached high school? So right now, I am working on some fellow teachers to come with me and I am so excited to be doing this. So now you know where I'll be on Wednesday nights.....
By the way, I had to reinstall comment monitoring because I have been pretty seriously spammed over the past few weeks. I'll take it off again after a while, sorry!
Tuesday, March 2, 2010
The Business of Schools
I am privileged to eat lunch daily with an amazing group of people consisting of the majority of the language arts and social studies departments at my school. There are about 10 of us that consistently eat lunch together and while lunchtime topics vary (the Bachelor is a weekly discussion - although not from me - and we've been known to have heated discussions regarding proper grammer or what was on NPR on the way to school that morning) the discussion today naturally focused on the Rhode Island Central Falls High School, where most of the teachers and administration (88 total staff) were fired quite publicly by the school board.
This topic has been discussed enough in other places online, so I will not go into it here, except to say that there is probably quite a lot that is not being reported and that this move was part of a federal program that I think has extremely negative possibilities, called the Race to the Top.
However, as part of that lunchtime discussion, one of the other lunch people mentioned an article written by a Seattle teacher named Kathy Saxon. I don't know Ms. Saxon, but after reading the article, which I've linked to below, I'd certainly like to. She seems to know what she's talking about and says it articulately and exactly the way I'd like to say it. Let me state first that I am not opposed to changing the way I teach. I want to grow as a teacher and I want to be better at my job. I am very much aware of the fact that there are bad teachers, just as there are bad employees in ANY field and I fully support getting rid of those teachers, especially in high-need districts.
However, one of the things that seems to have been a target of the federal government lately is the idea that if a student is not successful, it is totally the fault of the teachers. Let's do some math, shall we? I only see my kids for 50 minutes a day, for 181 days TOTAL, if they are at school every day. That means I directly influence them for 9,050 minutes at the most. By the time they reach me (around age 16), they have been alive for approximately 8.5 million minutes - and shockingly, most of those minutes do not take place in a school environment. It's almost as if things like hunger, poverty, abuse and dysfunction have negatively impacted them.
I know that there are many people that have managed to bring themselves out of horrendous homelives, and become successful, but there's a reason that those people make the news when they do so. It is rare. Just like out of the millions of aspiring athletes and artists, it's rare to be an professional athlete or musician. There is a reason that low-performing schools are located in low-income areas. It's not the schools creating the low income, it's the low income areas creating the schools.
I know from personal experience that working in a low-income area is hard. It's much more difficult than working in a higher income area. The easy way out is to quit. To go to a school where the kids don't cuss you out for bumping into them in the hallway, where there aren't metal detectors at the door, and where most of the kids speak English. Teachers that stay in those low-income areas are generally speaking extremely dedicated, and incredibly invested in the success of their students. The stories I hear break my heart on a regular basis. I have multiple students that have spent time in jail, and I only teach sophomores. When there is a news story about a drive-by shooting or a gang murder, I know that the chances are better than good that one of my kids knows the people involved or was personally involved themselves. These are my kids. I teach here because I want to, and not because I'm lazy.
In her article, Kathy Saxon is talking specifically about merit pay, but I feel that it applies to so many topics in education. I can't directly quote her since I don't have her permission, but I would strongly encourage you to read the article. It is short but extremely well written and perfectly sums up why so many teachers are resistant to the programs being proposed at the federal level.
Go here to read the article
This topic has been discussed enough in other places online, so I will not go into it here, except to say that there is probably quite a lot that is not being reported and that this move was part of a federal program that I think has extremely negative possibilities, called the Race to the Top.
However, as part of that lunchtime discussion, one of the other lunch people mentioned an article written by a Seattle teacher named Kathy Saxon. I don't know Ms. Saxon, but after reading the article, which I've linked to below, I'd certainly like to. She seems to know what she's talking about and says it articulately and exactly the way I'd like to say it. Let me state first that I am not opposed to changing the way I teach. I want to grow as a teacher and I want to be better at my job. I am very much aware of the fact that there are bad teachers, just as there are bad employees in ANY field and I fully support getting rid of those teachers, especially in high-need districts.
However, one of the things that seems to have been a target of the federal government lately is the idea that if a student is not successful, it is totally the fault of the teachers. Let's do some math, shall we? I only see my kids for 50 minutes a day, for 181 days TOTAL, if they are at school every day. That means I directly influence them for 9,050 minutes at the most. By the time they reach me (around age 16), they have been alive for approximately 8.5 million minutes - and shockingly, most of those minutes do not take place in a school environment. It's almost as if things like hunger, poverty, abuse and dysfunction have negatively impacted them.
I know that there are many people that have managed to bring themselves out of horrendous homelives, and become successful, but there's a reason that those people make the news when they do so. It is rare. Just like out of the millions of aspiring athletes and artists, it's rare to be an professional athlete or musician. There is a reason that low-performing schools are located in low-income areas. It's not the schools creating the low income, it's the low income areas creating the schools.
I know from personal experience that working in a low-income area is hard. It's much more difficult than working in a higher income area. The easy way out is to quit. To go to a school where the kids don't cuss you out for bumping into them in the hallway, where there aren't metal detectors at the door, and where most of the kids speak English. Teachers that stay in those low-income areas are generally speaking extremely dedicated, and incredibly invested in the success of their students. The stories I hear break my heart on a regular basis. I have multiple students that have spent time in jail, and I only teach sophomores. When there is a news story about a drive-by shooting or a gang murder, I know that the chances are better than good that one of my kids knows the people involved or was personally involved themselves. These are my kids. I teach here because I want to, and not because I'm lazy.
In her article, Kathy Saxon is talking specifically about merit pay, but I feel that it applies to so many topics in education. I can't directly quote her since I don't have her permission, but I would strongly encourage you to read the article. It is short but extremely well written and perfectly sums up why so many teachers are resistant to the programs being proposed at the federal level.
Go here to read the article
Wednesday, February 24, 2010
Diffendoofer Payoffs
While I was at home over the break, I read a book that my mom had sitting on one of many piles of books and magazines. It was called Hooray for Diffendoofer Day and was an unfinished Dr. Seuss manuscript published posthumously by his publisher, using a children's book author and illustrator she knew. I told my mom that I would love to have a copy of that book if she ever saw another copy, because it is a great book for teachers. Essentially the book is a celebration of people who teach creativity. In fact, one particular line of the book that I remember says, "you can pass this test, because we've taught you how to THINK!"
This is something that all teachers want desperately above all else. And it is the most difficult thing to do. How do you teach something so ephemeral? And is it even possible to teach this when there is no supporting cultural or home structure to build on?
Every year that I have been at this Urban Public High School, I think that I have moved a fraction closer to this goal. Every year Clark and I work hard to do things that require thinking. We have spent a lot of time this year focusing on opinion questions. Questions that ask "why" and "how," and we've put a lot of emphasis on the grade coming from explaining the thought process BEHIND the answer.
I think it might be starting to pay off.
This week we have been talking about why the Islamic Empire and China lost power in the 1800s while Japan (a country we have not previously talked about in this course) suddenly becomes very powerful. Without any previous explanations, we gave them a reading on Japan and some fairly difficult questions to answer, and not only did the kids do them, they did them without complaining and most of them got finished. This tells me that they understood these questions and were capable of synthesizing information from multiple sources to come up with a coherent answer and then explain that answer.
I know that this is the whole point of teaching. But sometimes, it's the little things, the things that don't jump out at you, the things you realize at the end of the day, that suddenly make you think that you might actually be making a little bit of a difference.
And THAT is why I teach.
This is something that all teachers want desperately above all else. And it is the most difficult thing to do. How do you teach something so ephemeral? And is it even possible to teach this when there is no supporting cultural or home structure to build on?
Every year that I have been at this Urban Public High School, I think that I have moved a fraction closer to this goal. Every year Clark and I work hard to do things that require thinking. We have spent a lot of time this year focusing on opinion questions. Questions that ask "why" and "how," and we've put a lot of emphasis on the grade coming from explaining the thought process BEHIND the answer.
I think it might be starting to pay off.
This week we have been talking about why the Islamic Empire and China lost power in the 1800s while Japan (a country we have not previously talked about in this course) suddenly becomes very powerful. Without any previous explanations, we gave them a reading on Japan and some fairly difficult questions to answer, and not only did the kids do them, they did them without complaining and most of them got finished. This tells me that they understood these questions and were capable of synthesizing information from multiple sources to come up with a coherent answer and then explain that answer.
I know that this is the whole point of teaching. But sometimes, it's the little things, the things that don't jump out at you, the things you realize at the end of the day, that suddenly make you think that you might actually be making a little bit of a difference.
And THAT is why I teach.
Wednesday, February 3, 2010
The Smell of Special College
One of the classes I have twice a week is my advisory class. It is a class of twenty kids that I have had since they were freshmen. They are now juniors and we are trying to prepare them to launch themselves on the unsuspecting universe in about 17 months. One of their projects was to research two universities to find out things like tuition, entrance requirements, etc.
Each of my students was allowed to choose whatever 2 colleges they wanted, as long as at least one college was out of state. One of the kids in my class (I'll call him Randy), asked to do his research on technical or motorcycle repair colleges. He is a student that has very low grades, but always knows better than everyone else about everything, and he has a girlfriend I call Vampira because of her habit of leaving suck marks on his neck - 3 or 4 at a time on any given day.
Randy actually worked on his college research pretty well and did his presentation today during class. His second slide was a list of classes offered at this college, called Oaksterdam University.
And that's the moment I realized that he was doing a college presentation on a college devoted to MARIJUANA.
Thaaaaat's right, folks, this is a college dedicated to the "cannabis industry," according to their byline on the website. Classes include the following (my commentary in parentheses):
I can only imagine the homework assignments.
Meanwhile, Randy is giving his presentation and I interrupted him to ask, "are you seriously doinig a presentation on a pot college???" and his response was "yes! It's a growing industry!" at which point I just lost it.
The saddest part of all......I don't think his grades are good enough to get in.
Each of my students was allowed to choose whatever 2 colleges they wanted, as long as at least one college was out of state. One of the kids in my class (I'll call him Randy), asked to do his research on technical or motorcycle repair colleges. He is a student that has very low grades, but always knows better than everyone else about everything, and he has a girlfriend I call Vampira because of her habit of leaving suck marks on his neck - 3 or 4 at a time on any given day.
Randy actually worked on his college research pretty well and did his presentation today during class. His second slide was a list of classes offered at this college, called Oaksterdam University.
And that's the moment I realized that he was doing a college presentation on a college devoted to MARIJUANA.
Thaaaaat's right, folks, this is a college dedicated to the "cannabis industry," according to their byline on the website. Classes include the following (my commentary in parentheses):
- Horticulture (how to grow marijuana)
- THREE different "methods of ingestion" classes (so.....a class on how to smoke a doobie?)
- Advanced Grow (how to grow....bigger pot plants??)
- Cannabusiness - YES that is the real name of the class!!!!! - (apparently, how to legally sell marijuana?)
I can only imagine the homework assignments.
Meanwhile, Randy is giving his presentation and I interrupted him to ask, "are you seriously doinig a presentation on a pot college???" and his response was "yes! It's a growing industry!" at which point I just lost it.
The saddest part of all......I don't think his grades are good enough to get in.
Monday, February 1, 2010
The Unwelcome and Unloved
I have been struggling to write lately...the Thing that has been happening in our family consumes my thoughts a lot and is providing a fairly solid writer's block that is proving difficult to get past. In addition, compared to last year's class, this year's sophomores are fantastic. I don't really have the caliber of stories that I did last year. And I am NOT complaining about that, just saying that I don't have as much blog fodder or angst to get rid of as I did last year.
Speaking of last year's sophomores, I have some returners...(insert very tiny and completely fake cheer here), including one of my 5 Annoyances from last year's Infamous 6th period. When I saw his name on my roll, I have to admit I got a knot in my stomach. He is enrolled in my 6th period again, and while I do like this 6th period about 87% better than last year's 6th period, it is still my most challenging class of the day. I had high hopes, since the word from his US history teacher was that he had grown up a little bit. But within 30 minutes of being in my class, he was already one warning away from being kicked out.
When I have a kid like this, I doubt my abilities as a teacher. I have a tenuous hold on that class as it is and while he deserves as good an education as the next kid, at what point does his disrupton become unfair to the rest of the class? At what point am I "justified" in having him removed? Does that point ever arrive? And why is it that some kids have the ability to make me doubt my abilities?
I will freely admit that I am carrying some baggage from last year with this particular kid, but I am trying to give him a fair chance, while still cutting him off at the pass. I want him to know that I am not going to put up with what he did in my class last year. So....we'll see.
We're halfway through the school year!
Speaking of last year's sophomores, I have some returners...(insert very tiny and completely fake cheer here), including one of my 5 Annoyances from last year's Infamous 6th period. When I saw his name on my roll, I have to admit I got a knot in my stomach. He is enrolled in my 6th period again, and while I do like this 6th period about 87% better than last year's 6th period, it is still my most challenging class of the day. I had high hopes, since the word from his US history teacher was that he had grown up a little bit. But within 30 minutes of being in my class, he was already one warning away from being kicked out.
When I have a kid like this, I doubt my abilities as a teacher. I have a tenuous hold on that class as it is and while he deserves as good an education as the next kid, at what point does his disrupton become unfair to the rest of the class? At what point am I "justified" in having him removed? Does that point ever arrive? And why is it that some kids have the ability to make me doubt my abilities?
I will freely admit that I am carrying some baggage from last year with this particular kid, but I am trying to give him a fair chance, while still cutting him off at the pass. I want him to know that I am not going to put up with what he did in my class last year. So....we'll see.
We're halfway through the school year!
Monday, January 25, 2010
Zumba Education
I have been taking a zumba class with a friend once a week. Zumba, if you aren't familiar with it, is a workout latin dance class where the point is to move constantly for a solid hour, as opposed to becoming a better dancer. I blogged about it here. It has been fun, although I am pretty uncoordinated. I can't move BOTH my feet AND my hands at the same time...I'm just sayin'.
The usual instructor is this tiny waif of a woman who appears to be dancing even when she is just walking around. She teaches something like 8 zumba classes a week, including three in a row on Saturdays. But on Monday, she had a guest instructor that stepped in for a dance or two, and as a teacher, I instantly saw a huge difference. The guest instructor was very good. She moved like a panther and her hips did things I am pretty sure mine will never do. Ever.
But she watched herself in the mirror the entire time, not the class. She didn't once tell us what to do, just did things (fast) and expected the entire class to follow along. So of course, I started thinking about teaching in my classroom.
I wonder how often I am like the guest instructor, more enamored of hearing my own voice than I am interested in making sure my students actually get the concepts and understand what is going on. It is easy to just assume that everyone gets a concept, because especially in high school, the ones who don't get it, don't speak up. They sit there quietly and hope they get it, like I stood and swayed in the back of the studio because I didn't get it.
The regular instructor is a great instructor. She models every step slowly, then the class practices them slowly for several repetitions before putting them together and going faster. She circulates throughout the classroom, correcting steps, helping students individually, and is vocal with encouragement and warnings about what is coming up.
This is the kind of teacher I want to be. I want to be more encouraging, I want to be more aware of when my students "get it" or don't get it, I want to figure out ways to help students be more successful in my class.
So thanks, mysterious zumba teacher, for making this particular lesson stick in my mind.
The usual instructor is this tiny waif of a woman who appears to be dancing even when she is just walking around. She teaches something like 8 zumba classes a week, including three in a row on Saturdays. But on Monday, she had a guest instructor that stepped in for a dance or two, and as a teacher, I instantly saw a huge difference. The guest instructor was very good. She moved like a panther and her hips did things I am pretty sure mine will never do. Ever.
But she watched herself in the mirror the entire time, not the class. She didn't once tell us what to do, just did things (fast) and expected the entire class to follow along. So of course, I started thinking about teaching in my classroom.
I wonder how often I am like the guest instructor, more enamored of hearing my own voice than I am interested in making sure my students actually get the concepts and understand what is going on. It is easy to just assume that everyone gets a concept, because especially in high school, the ones who don't get it, don't speak up. They sit there quietly and hope they get it, like I stood and swayed in the back of the studio because I didn't get it.
The regular instructor is a great instructor. She models every step slowly, then the class practices them slowly for several repetitions before putting them together and going faster. She circulates throughout the classroom, correcting steps, helping students individually, and is vocal with encouragement and warnings about what is coming up.
This is the kind of teacher I want to be. I want to be more encouraging, I want to be more aware of when my students "get it" or don't get it, I want to figure out ways to help students be more successful in my class.
So thanks, mysterious zumba teacher, for making this particular lesson stick in my mind.
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