Perspective

One thing that really grinds my gears is when students claim that they "didn't have enough time" to finish an assignment.

Our school system policy is to allow students to turn in late work with no penalty to their grade, which, okay, I can accept because according to the standards we are supposed to be evaluating demonstrated academic ability, not behavior. It also helps that we are given (some) flexibility to set harder deadlines, so that we don't receive a metric ton of work at the end of the term from students who are scrambling to pull up their grades.

I think I want my policy to be "once I return an assignment, I will no longer accept it for credit." Ideally I'd post a running tally of how many had originally been turned in and how many I've evaluated so far. Generally, the more work an assignment takes from the student, the more complex it is to evaluate. That would give me more of a sliding scale so that my deadline is both clear and flexible.

Additionally, we allow students to re-assess, so long as they complete a contract identifying problems they encountered and make a plan (usually including additional work for practice) so that when they complete the assessment the second (or third...) time, hopefully they'll do better. But when I see "I didn't have enough time" listed as one of their problems it sends my blood pressure skyrocketing.  Because, see, there was additional time available - I am here before school starts and after it ends. I allow students to come in from any of their other classes to work, so long as they have permission from their other teachers. The library is open before and after school and during the lunch periods.

Did you use any of those opportunities? Did you even ask about them? No? Then don't you dare claim that you "didn't have enough time."

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How Long Can You Tread Water?

Right now, I hate teaching.

Specifically, I hate teaching under the constraints that administration has placed on me for journalism, and it has spread out to "I just don't want to do this" in a more general sense. I said last year that I was ready to give up journalism so that I could focus on teaching English (and also, in a huge-but-unspoken reason, because I hate these constraints) and was asked "well, if we can't find another journalism teacher, will you do it for one more year?" and I said yes, but that's it.

And now I feel like Bill Cosby's Noah talking to God, asking how long it's going to rain, and being asked in return, "How long can you tread water?"

It hasn't helped that, with a new administration, the rules that have straightjacketed me have gone from "ridiculous" to "cacking insane." I am full-on in survival mode, and it's awful. I hate being That Kind of Teacher.

I can't think of anything positive to say. Nothing. But there's enough poison out on the internet that I don't really want to add to it. So that's why I haven't posted anything in quite awhile. You know, Thumper's Law: "If you can't say something nice, don't say anything at all."

(Not to be confused with Thumper's Secondary Law: "Eating greens is a special treat; it makes long ears and great big feet.")

Hopefully I can still get the Stupid Publications done from survival mode. The problem is that thinking about it makes me start to freak out... so I'm trying not to think about it. But I'm not sure that avoidance is the best strategy.

Fortunately, I have been very clear that this is to be the Last Year No Matter What.

Hm. Who knows. In a couple of weeks here, I am planning to go down to Disney World to try out for a summer position as a performer. And if in June/July I am informed that my administration has said "screw what she wants; stick her in Journalism again!" I may just stay down there instead of resigning & returning to teach.

Image thanks to http://mariovittone.com/2010/05/154/

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Falling short

Why is it so hard for me to keep in touch with parents? I usually don't have any trouble speaking with them, and it doesn't take that long to call and touch base... I just don't get it. What's wrong with me? I had a schedule set out for myself this past semester, but I didn't stick to it. And I really don't know why.

I also need to be more consistent in cueing students as to the type of behavior I want. You know, "raise your hand and tell me XYZ." I need to refer more often to both the standards and my classroom expectations, too. I do pretty well with that in Journalism, but I think I could do better. Maybe I could develop some kind of ritual where we all recite them at the beginning of class. I dunno, that sounds kind of babyish, but beyond that, I'm not sure what to do.

So right now I'm just kind of bummed. And self-critical. (Obviously.)

I sat down with my younger brother way back during Winter Break and we compared standards. He teaches middle school social studies in Indiana. His standards are WAY more specific than mine. I have to admit, I like mine better - I think they're a good balance between too vague and nebulous on one hand, and then on the other, so specific that you have too many to keep them all straight! He's only got... four? standards... I think ... for each grade, IIRC: history, something, geography, and economics. Of course I probably got them wrong. But each standard has like TWENTY STRANDS! Crikeys!

I was observed a few weeks ago, and I made sure to have my standards and essential question on the board and refer to them. But mostly it's something of an afterthought. There's still such a gap between my standards (skills) and my curriculum (literature/writing units). I'm not sure how to get everything to mesh seamlessly. I'm supposed to teach the standards using the curriculum. But the curriculum is challenging enough that I have to spend a good bit of time introducing, explaining, exploring, and reviewing IT instead. Like with Reading and Literature 3 - drawing connections between a work and the culture in which it was created - how are you supposed to do that until you understand who the characters are and what they're doing? So on a day when I'm supporting basic comprehension... it's like, officially, I'm not doing my job. But I have to do THAT in order to DO my job.

I think one of my goals for this summer - I hope to goodness I know my class assignments by then - is to go over my units and make the day-to-day connections with the standards clearer, so that I know what I need to have on the board and review with the students.

Time to find that goal list...

Image thanks to www.essexstudios.com/contact.htm

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