I need a bottle of fine whine...

Let's open this bottle of fine whine:

• Parents are crazy. From the "outside" looking in, perfectly reasonable (I'm assuming) people go absolutely nuts over their kids, whether it's necessary or not. Time to reevaluate the sanity of mine. Surely, they weren't this kooky? Right?

• Field trips are crazy. And tiring. And time consuming. 



At least, I got to come back with this. 

• Testing sucks. Developing a test or compiling test questions is the most soul-sucking task I've had yet as a teacher. Test days themselves suck. It takes all I have to not say after 10 minutes, "All right! 100s for participation. Let's talk about the energy transformation in explosions!"

• Graduate school and being a first-year teacher is the one of the worst situations I've ever put myself into. Seriously. 

Honestly, it would all be easier without this "Theory and Pedagogy in Middle Childhood Science and Math" class in my life. Or maybe it is the self-congratulating professor I could do without. Normally, I don't like calling specifics out in my life, so I don't. However, this class will be an exception. Excuse me for a moment while I go all "Inception" on my fine whines.

• Assigned readings that are 30 pages are a waste of time, especially when we don't discuss it or we discuss it at a superficial level. Why the hell are we wasting time figuring out how cells can relate to students? Let's talk about the variety of research on inquiry-based teaching methods. No? We're seriously going to talk about dude in the back and his adventure with an unruly student (which is the same "adventure" every teacher deals with at some point in time)? Yup. Wasted afternoon. 

• By the way, discussing the definition of the word does not a deep conversation make. No joke, an entire session was dedicated to what does the word "inquiry" mean. Did this lead to a conversation on what makes a good inquiry-based lesson or lab versus a bad one? No, it did not. Yet another Tuesday afternoon wasted. 

• Oh. I take the last bullet back (partially). We did discuss what some other dude who reported on another dude's research said made a good inquiry-based lab. However, I've got a question. When exactly do we let the students come up with their own instructions on how to do the lab (open-question inquiry lab, BTW)? I know we are all "constructivist" and stuff, but should I really let them "construct" their own labs without anything else beforehand? How reasonable is this? When in the "learning cycle" should we try to implement this? No discussion? No. Okay. And we're back to another wasted Tuesday afternoon. 

• Please stop telling us how awesome your lesson was unless we are about to deconstruct it to figure out why it was good, especially if you are not going to share what you did. You're wasting class time. 

My bottle of fine whine is empty, so I'll end on positive notes about my original three bullets. 

• If I were a parent, I would go just as hard for my kid. While it is annoying sometimes juggling parents, I try to keep in mind that (a) these crazy parents kept the doors of my school open, and (b) these parents actually respect me and my word enough that they ask me the 1,987,378,432 questions that they do. 

• Field trips are crazy. And tiring. And time consuming. But hell of a lot of fun. I had a good time experiencing the wonders of life with them, and more importantly, they had a good time and learned a lot!

•  Testing is still a drag, but it's a necessary evil that I'll learn to live with. Besides, it is a good feeling when they do well. 

If it is not obvious, let me state it: I love teaching. I love my school and my kids (though I don't say it enough to them). I hate graduate school :)

"...I [can't]...tell you [are] a first-year teacher."

Today, I had an individual meeting with the principal. (Yes, I still have a job.) It was basically just a check-in session to make sure I'm not of the brink of self-destruction (which I'm not fully sure of my status now).

Not to toot my own horn, but apparently, I'm rockin' it! This is not to say that I fully believe this, but according to my principal, for whom I have the utmost respect, I am. While I was secretly pleased at this bit of head-patting, it all makes sense  now.

Definition of "it":

• Covering class
• Locker assignments
• And now, field trip planner lead on my team. 

This was further confirmed by the following statement, "If I didn't know you, I wouldn't be able to tell you were a first-year teacher."

What?

Now, I'll admit to stepping into some of "it" all on my own ("I'll cover her class. Just give me a second to grab a Diet Pepsi"). I'll also allow for the possibility that I may be too harsh a critic of myself, but heck, no. I exhibit all the signs of a new teacher: inefficiency, a general aura of I-do-not-know-how-to-teach-this, a constant feeling mix of fatigue and energy, and a look of "I'm in over my head" on my face everyday (or is this just me? Probably. Definitely.)

At the end of the day, though, whatever I'm doing, I need to do it better, so I can feel the swagger that apparently everyone else can see. I'll take it. Let's put this in the "win" category :)

Five Minutes of Reflection #1

Nothing with be titled "...of the week" anymore, as it makes me a liar. My last post was on the 31st of last month, and it is now the 13th. Boo.

I'm feeling reflective between the 900 visitors in my classroom throughout the week and grad class this evening, so here's 5 minutes' worth of thoughts.

• The Director of our network/district visited my classroom. With a visitor. While I was standing on a desk. Shoeless. I didn't get fired, so yay? In all seriousness, it's how I roll in my classroom. I leave hoarse everyday and tired as crap, but they can't help but be engaged in the insanity of "Insane" teacher's class. I think I'm that teacher. Similar to that kid, except in adult form and much more appropriate. 
• First official evaluation this week from two sides: Principal and University Supervisor. On the same day. At the same time. Both went well! I'm happy to saw the the principal actually commented me on my tables (these pictures of my room will happen one day) and boards. The US said my lesson was "wonderful". Though I never thought of myself as a person who needs praise, it felt freaking great to hear the positive feedback on my teaching. While I get this from the kids through assignments and assessments, it's nice to hear knowledgeable and respectable superiors say that I'm doing a pretty good job. This is especially important in light of the days where I ask myself if they are actually learning. 

I've gone over 5 minutes. It's been 7 minutes, so here's where I stop. Until next time. 

Hobbies: Education

I'm two weeks into this gig now, with this week being the first week of instruction. After getting the administrative nonsense out of the way, I pleased to say that my first day of actual teaching went awesomely. Little did I know that seventh-graders would react to this

and 

as awesomely as they did. The discussion completely blew my lesson plans, but who cares when they totally understood the thorny nature of inferences in science from what was meant to be five-minute aside? 

Teaching is Insanity has been neglected as a result of my job, because teaching is busy. If I wasn't giving a pre-test tomorrow, I would be lesson planning and fretting for sure. As it happens, I will have a time on my hands, so I have the opportunity to have leisure time. How am I spending my leisure time? Writing here (about education), and reading my syllabi for this upcoming semester's class, particularly the one for my Teaching Practicum class.

Teaching/Education has apparently taken over my life. I'm tired. I've spent the last hour chatting with friends while responding to school emails. Even now, my mind is wandering towards my lesson on Thursday and the unit plan I need to finish within the next week. Apparently, I have no hobbies beyond education now, so here's to getting a new one: Sleep. 

Pre-Game Thoughts

I'm going to (try to) make this brief, as I have still have some preparations to do for this week, but I can't do much more without stopping and reflecting over the past week and the upcoming week.

Last week was professional development with the entire staff. As with all other things that happen at this school, the schedule given to us on Monday was not what exactly occurred over the week. Yet, this was okay. In fact, more than okay; it was great! It allowed some of us (i.e. the newbies) time to ask questions and get them answered by the school veterans in an honest manner. It also allowed us to take everything in without the inconvenience of having to edit our thoughts when in the presence of everyone.

 The details of PD would be boring to most people, but I'll say this. After getting my classroom finished (pics to come soon), meeting with my team, getting our hallway together, and meeting with some of our students, I'm less nervous and more pumped. I feel as if I have no time to be nervous, as I'm just too busy to feel it!

However, I'm not too busy to feel the anticipation of kids coming in on Monday and to feel the urgency to get the items on my never-ending "to-do" list checked off. And there you have it. This is where my mind currently is.

It's also on the "Mad Men" Season 1 episodes I want to finish sometime soon.

The two most common questions asked of me this week were "How are you feeling [about your class] [about the school] [about everything teaching-and-learning related]?" and "Are you ready [for your class] [for the students] [for who-the-heck knows]?" I haven't been able to properly articulate myself when responding to these questions. Because I've been BS-ing my responses to these questions all week, I'll answer them honestly now. 

Answer: If I have to assign a feeling right now, it's an unlabeled zen-feeling. I'm calm, yet I have this underlying sense of urgency. I'm not rushing, yet I'm ready to go into "grinding" mode things get settled. I'm nervous, yet I'm more focused on things, so I can't really feel it. The same goes for my excitement. 

[The BS answer: "I feel great!"]

Answer #2: As ready as a young, recent college grad can be to teach and take on a good deal of responsibility for 130+ seventh and eighth-grade students. Actually, is anyone ever really "ready" to do this? Yup. That's what I thought.  

[The BS answer: This one is closer to my real answer than the previous answer, "Yeah, I'm as good as I can be."]

I feel better (and more prepared for tomorrow!) now that I've taken a brain-dump (one of the teaching strategies I learned this week was "Dump and Clump"). Bring on game day!

Charter School Turnover

This article from the LA Times (it's in the feed as well) as popped up twice today in my personal sphere, in my Facebook feed and via email from a friend.

In short, the article discusses high teacher turnover in charters in Los Angeles. I suspect, though, that turnover in other charters across the nation are comparable...including mine. In fact, the principal mentioned the turnover during the interview. 

Of course, turnover is high here!

Yet, I still accepted the job knowing well that a nice percentage of my colleagues this year will not be back next year. I chalk the turnover to two things: the numbers of "hats" teachers in charters must wear and that teaching in a charter is more demanding than in a traditional public school. 

1. Because most charters operate with no input from the local school system, everyone in a charter school building has to do multiple things.* For example, one of our teachers is a teacher/website-updater-guy. Multitasking varies from charter to charter, and this may even occur at some traditional public schools. I'll venture an educated guess, though, and say that traditional public schools are likely to have a people dedicated to simply, say, website development or to data analysis. 

That brings up another point. With little to no non-financial resource input from local school systems and limited local funding, charters can't afford to hire people dedicated to a single, non-teaching job. As a result, everyone, including teachers, is likely to have some sort of "slash" in their official job title. 

* Some charters do have input both financially and otherwise, to a good extent,  from the local school system. To see what I'm talking, about, click here. 

2. Teaching anywhere is pressure-filled, especially during this current age of "accountability". Yet, after talking with non-charter teacher friends and some of my colleagues, I'm convinced that teaching in a charter is a bit more demanding (at least where I live). From the longer hours expected, the number of "hats" we wear to the fact that there is a contract hanging over our heads that basically says "Teach or else...", it's a lot to contend with, especially over a long period of time. 

Apologies for letting my freak flag fly.

With full knowledge of  the insanity, both perceived and real, that occur in charters and that comes with teaching in one, I took the job, because I believe in the mission of school. I believe in the people working there. Last, but not least, I believe in the leader that we have. The mix of these three factors convinced me that even throughout the madness of the school, we are all going to do great things. 

I'm extremely loyal to a fault (six years at a daycare as a part-time job through the end of high school through undergrad!). Probably a bit insane as well, so I'm good with my "crazy" charter teaching spot. 

My teaching hero?

Some people are not good with it, which is okay too. I believe that every good teacher has a school, where they can become excellent teacher. My charter is where I think I can become excellent, so while the odds are against anyone staying long-term , the odds have never phased me before. Besides, wouldn't want to work at Hogwarts the place where they can become excellent?

Six weeks...

...is all it took for me to get to attached to these kids from the summer program. Granted, I have one more day with some of them, today was the last day for the "man of the group". I was truly sad to say goodbye today. While I'm sad, this summer experience just makes to more eager and excited to take on my own class in less than a month.

Bring it on.

"How much homework is just right?"

It certainly isn't three hours for a 3rd grader.


Nor is it the amount that puts a student in bed late.


Then again, I don't think that a mandated limit is good either.


What's the right amount then? For a sensible take, I'll turn it over to KJ Dell'Antonia from Slate.com:


"Granted, not all the homework ... [seems] like it's worth it, but that's not about having less homework; it's about having the right homework. I'd like to read more about that."

Me too, KJ.

Racial prejudice/tension between teachers: Two cents from my "life baggage"

           This weekend, a professor had us discussing readings on a forum with our cohort-mates. Because this is a class on diversity in the middle school, we discuss many hot-button topics. In the context of one such discussion, a comment was made concerning the media's attention to school violence and violence in society in general. Without getting into too many details, the comment has struck up hurt feelings around a sweeping statement on the history of white people in America.

          After speaking with a two white colleagues and friends in this class this morning, I was a bit shocked and saddened to see how deeply the remark cut them. It cut them deeply enough to make them feel alienated from the rest of the class, as other remarks along the same vein were made in the online discussion. The whole cohort concept relies on the fact that we will feel like a "team" of new teachers, a support system meant to make everyone better. If any one is left feeling alienated, I don't believe the cohort, as individuals and as a whole, can be successful, so I'm look forward to a civil and honest discussion soon, so everyone can come to a new understanding, and possibly acceptance, of the other side, in the interests of personal growth and growth as new teachers. However, as this is still fresh, I want to discuss this now, as I don't think this phenomena of deeply set racial tension and even prejudice among teachers is uncommon, especially in schools where the racial balance tips largely in favor of one group over others. First, let me say that I can only speculate on the underlying causes of this tension and prejudice between teachers. I have no hard facts or evidence. Only personal experiences to inform me here.

     With that disclaimer out of the way, I think teachers bring "life baggage" into the school and classroom. This doesn't necessarily mean that teachers are automatically prejudiced against some students and teachers or that when it does happen, it is malicious. It simply means that their experiences in life sum up into their values, thoughts, words, and actions. A major part of most "life baggage" is cultural experiences, including race. Thinking back on my experiences with race issues, I probably have a relatively rosier experience than most other people of my race.  I went to school with a diverse set of kids, and keep the company of a diverse set of people. Diverse races, religions, values, et cetera. On the occasions that I did experience racial prejudice and tension, I could isolate the experiences. It didn't make the experience less hurtful when living through it, but it did make continuing to live past it easier knowing that the experience of prejudice and tension was largely an isolated one.

          No sweeping generalization of one group of people could come from my experiences, because I could thinking of several counterexamples to the bad experiences. From this I learned that a person's genealogy does not necessarily reflect within the person standing in front me. While my "life baggage" has a diverse set of experiences and views, others don't, especially when they come from places (both literal and figurative) and families that carry a heavy historical burden. For example, slavery is an issue that burns to the core of some black people here in America. The recorded mistreatment of black people (by various groups of people, including other black people) through time has carried over into this generation. For some people, it is easier to put historical baggage where it belongs. For others, they continue to deal with it, especially when their own circumstances and experiences recall those that happened in past times. Mind you, this doesn't just occur with members of a "wronged" race/ethnicity. I know of white friends who were shocked and horrified to discover that some of their ancestors were slave owners. Some of these friends feel the need to "make up" for what their ancestors did, just like some ancestors of slaves feel it is their place to make the ancestors of the slave owners "pay" for what they (the ancestors) did.

           Part of the racial tension/prejudice in schools comes from these types of attitudes on history. Some people are trying to make amends for history, while others are trying to exact revenge. However, the people who revenge "should" be exacted upon are long dead and gone, as are the people who "should" get amends. The other thing is that our generation was not involved in historical events, and as a result, making amends/exacting revenge is not our place anyway. It is okay for a person's history to make up a part of life baggage; in fact, I encourage this practice, as it makes us all more aware people of what's going on in the world. It also helps us to become more open to diversity. However,  historical events shouldn't make up the bulk of it. This is especially important for teachers, as our students get to see some of our life baggage. If most of your baggage consists of racial mistrust and fear, your students see it and take it into themselves. In largely homogeneous schools, the students are not exposed to diverse experiences. They vicariously experience a bit of what their teachers did.

          While I won't dare to presume to know what either the commenter or my other colleagues have going on their heads, I will say that I think what I've discussed comes into play in the larger phenomena going on here. This is not to be taken as an excuse or justification for racial prejudice. This is a posting that aims at understanding what lies beneath racial prejudice, so that we can begin healing the wounds caused by the baggage some of us carry. I'm interested in hearing other perspectives of this issue. While it is not talked about often, racial tension/prejudice between teachers is important enough to merit serious, civil, and honest conversations. The more we as teachers are aware and active of what we bring, baggage-wise, into the classroom, the better we serve all our students, but especially those without access to diverse viewpoints.

'A' for Effort?

Just got wind of an LA Times story: Los Angeles Unified School District is putting a ceiling on the percentage that homework can count towards a grade. Teachers can no longer count homework as no more than 10% of a student's grade. 

Due to time constraints (the siren song of grad work beckons), I won't get into this debate now (though I'm curious to hear where other teachers stand on this policy). However, I do want to pull something out of article that popped out and deserves a quick note:

"Critics — mostly teachers — worry that the policy will encourage students to slack off assigned work and even reward those who already disregard assignments. And they say it could penalize hardworking students who receive higher marks for effort."

If you read a paragraph prior, you will clearly understand that some students not doing their homework aren't ignoring it for the heck of it. They have other more pressing things to do, like, supporting their families by working at night. If I had to choose between making money for my family and doing a coloring sheet or 50 practice problems when I understood well after, say, 10 problems, I'm choosing the money too. Or if I'm having to go to school all day and then go home to cramped and loud apartment, I'm not really caring about the Ms. So-and-So's paragraph asking me to regurgitate the notes from today. 

Don't get me wrong; I'm not anti-homework. In fact, I very much like it when it is relevant, reasonable, and most importantly, purposeful. Nothing irked me more in school than having to do again, something that we already did or something that really didn't help me to understand the concept. Indeed, engagement and practice with material being taught is essential for understanding. Endless amounts of irrelevant, unreasonable, redundant, and just plain dumb homework is not. 

Because my homework is meaningful and is meant for practice and engagement, I don't mind counting it for around 5-10% of the grade. A professor of mine likened the grading percentage makeups to sports: homework is the practice, quizzes are the scrimmage, and tests are game days. If you can understand this, you know why homework is worth so little. Off practice days will hurt a bit, but the grading on it allows room to make mistakes and grow from them. With that said, I'm not going to give As for effort on homework. Sure, if your homework consists of coloring sheets, what else is there to grade other than how pretty the picture is? However, if you are like me and  are actually putting thought and effort into creating homework assignments, then heck no! I'm not taking an "effort grade" for homework. That's what that other 5% is for (if you subscribe to this): participation. 

Would you give this a good effort grade? He did it after all....

We, as teachers, don't want our time wasted Why waste our students' time? It's only more work on us anyway. Give it when it counts. (Just realized I gave my input on homework after saying not now. Procrastination and wordiness at its finest!)

Schools and Illegal Immigrants: Since when is declining enrollment a good thing?

"____________ of Stone Mountain is glad the new law is encouraging illegal immigrants to pull their children out of DeKalb’s cash-strapped school system.

'I don’t see a downside to that because — especially here in DeKalb County — we are talking now about having to close schools and go in different directions to try to give the children the best education,' said _____, a member of the Dustin Inman Society, which advocates enforcement of U.S. immigration and employment laws.

'Smaller class sizes are certainly going to be a benefit in an environment like we have here in DeKalb County.'"

- AJC, June 18, 2011 [Note: I retracted the name, because...well, you'll figure out why.]

          Last week, the AJC published an article on the potential effects of a potential decline in student enrollment due to the coming enforcement of an anti-illegal immigrant law here in Georgia. Illegal immigration is a hot-button issue here in Georgia, so I'm used to reading articles on it and reading/hearing nonsensical commentary. However, every once in a while, you read something so stupid, you must comment on it BECAUSE YOU MAY BLOW IF YOU DON'T RESPOND!!! See what this person has made me do? I'm yelling on a computer. 

Because there is so much wrong with the statement I pulled out, I'm going to go line-by-line with this. 

- "'I don’t see a downside to [illegal immigrants pulling their children out of school] because — especially here in DeKalb County — we are talking now about having to close schools and go in different directions to try to give the children the best education,'"

           Declining enrollment won't keep schools open. In fact, just the opposite will happen. Want proof? 11Alive reports that, "The DeKalb County School Board voted...to close eight underpopulated schools in order to save money, and redraw school district lines to accommodate other shifts in population over the years that have filled other schools beyond their capacity." Underpopulated schools waste money, and district lines will get redrawn to save money. This would happen with or without the children of illegal immigrants in the equation. To account for the other side of the coin (i.e. the relief of overpopulated schools), consider this: even with the overpopulated schools, they are still closing schools because they still have too much space. Seems to me like the children of illegal immigrants have a small effect, if any, on the space/school closure issue in DeKalb. 

           By the way, what does it mean to "go in different directions" to give our kids the best education possible and why it is implied to be a bad idea? Clearly in the person's county, a different direction is not a bad idea. Unless the person wants to continue the trends seen here and here. 

"When words fail to describe the dismay..."

- "'Smaller class sizes are certainly going to be a benefit in an environment like we have here in DeKalb County.'"

          Make no mistake, I'll never say that class size doesn't matter, because in my own experience, it does. It affects the types of activities that can be reasonable done, how much time I have with individuals, my workload, et cetera. I'll even admit that it affects achievement, which is the larger purpose behind smaller classes; we want to boost our students' achievement! However, consider a few questions. How do we define achievement? Are there other effects on achievement other than class size? What are the other effects of class size? I'll give you a jumping point to explore these issues if you choose: Type in "what affects achievement" into Google Scholar and see what you get. Pick your three favorites and read them. Then respond to following:

1. State the definition of achievement that you found from the articles. List the similarities and differences between the definitions. 

2. What were the researchers examining in the articles you read? What effect did the variable have on achievement?

          Without giving the gory details (as I've been reading on the issue of achievement for a while now), I'll say that I've been hard-pressed to find a singular definition of "achievement". Some define it as some test score, and others define it as some possession of skills or abilities. "Achievement" is a bit of a moving target. As it turns out, so is the issue of class size. Some studies say low is the way to go. Some say that it doesn't matter. Others say it's good for x grade level but not for y grade level. The consensus behind class size effects is...drumroll.... There is no consensus! How anti-climatic! We don't know the real effects of class size, so one can't make the argument for it.  

"For when one facepalm doesn't cut it."

        If I may further put salt on the wound, let me go back for a second. I think it's cute that this person thinks that class sizes will be reduced if/when illegal immigrants pull their kids out of school, especially because DeKalb is consolidating schools due to underpopulation. 

Get it? It's a cute polar bear!

        To be fair, this person is not the only one who is off-base, to put it nicely. As much as I like the AJC Get Schooled Blog for allowing for spirited discussion on education issues and questions, this same discussion can bring out a lot of ugly. The blog post discussing how the decline in student enrollment might affect teaching jobs brought out the ugly in full effect. 

        Illegal immigration is a big deal in country that comes with a lot of political and social "baggage", so to speak. However, when it comes to talking about children and their education, the nonsense needs to go. Whether or not my position of illegal immigration is clear here, we all should agree that it is never a good idea to have uneducated children living in our society, simply because of who their parents are and where their parents come from. In every classroom, every kid should be taught. I hope that's what everyone wants out of their kid's teacher. If not, some should steer clear of my classroom. 

That's sums it up!