Many non-teachers, including myself until last year, probably do not know what teachers do on the last day of school. It's nothing exciting, but I am here not just to entertain, but to educate. So, allow me to give you the inside scoop.
Let me start by saying that, obviously, I do not know what every school everywhere is like. I have worked in two schools, so I will assume that what is true of those two schools is true of most schools. If I'm wrong... well I'm not that concerned.
On the last day of school, each teacher is given a checklist of items that need to be completed. The list includes such things as turning in hard copies of grades and attendance, cleaning the classroom and inventorying computers and other "technology" in the classroom. After each item is completed, a specfic person (e.g. principal, custodian, counselor) will intitial the page.
Most of the items can be done or begun in advance and do not take that much time to complete. The more frustrating part is getting the required personnel to initial. They are often unwilling to check anything off before the designated time, even though there are twenty-plus teachers who need their attention. Then they become difficult to track down. If the head custodian needs to check rooms for cleanliness, he could be in any classroom. And if he comes by five minutes before I'm ready, he won't wait, and he may not be back for an hour.
Maybe it's not that bad, but it seems like an interminable waste of time, because it's the last day, and, just like the students, teachers can hardly wait for summer vacation to begin.
Thursday, June 25, 2009
Thursday, June 18, 2009
What Can Brown Do For Me?
I haven't been very good about keeping up with my posting. And now that it's summer, there's not much going on to write about. So, I've decided to relay a few anecdotes that occured previously in the year, but that I was too lazy to write about.
I had read online about a lesson plan for book report sandwiches. Towad the end of the semester, I read a short novel with my RI class. I wanted some project to review what they had learned that they might find interesting. I thought about the book report sandwich and went back online to get the directions.
The way it works is students get several pieces of construction paper: white, red, green, yellow, pink and two brown. Each piece is cut to look like a different part of the sandwich. They need two browns to look like the two slices of bread. On each piece, the students write specific information such as character descriptions, a plot map or evaluation.
A few days before I actually tried this activity with the class, I was preparing all the necessary materials. I looked through my piles of construction paper and found every color I needed except pink and brown. That was no big deal; I stopped at Target on my way home that afternoon and bought a pack of assorted colors. The next morning during my prep, I pulled out the colors I needed and counted enough for my students. Then, I remembered that I would need twice as much brown. I pulled the rest of the browns out of the pack and counted them. I was about six pieces short.
I could have just made do with another color, but I wanted my students to have brown bread if possible. So, I sent out an email to the whole site, asking if anyone could spare six pieces of brown construction paper. I didn't think anyone would reply to me the same day, and I wasn't sure if anyone would even have brown construction paper, much less if they would be willing to share. The response I got was overwhelming.
That same day I recieved three emails in the affirmative and one phone call. Plus four teachers sent students over with some brown. None of them sent just six pieces. They sent full stacks and packages. One of them wasn't sure exactly what I needed, so she sent two packages: one light brown and one dark brown.
I asked if anyone wanted theirs back, but no one did. So, I took out as much as I needed (plus a little extra) and sent the rest to the art teacher.
I had read online about a lesson plan for book report sandwiches. Towad the end of the semester, I read a short novel with my RI class. I wanted some project to review what they had learned that they might find interesting. I thought about the book report sandwich and went back online to get the directions.
The way it works is students get several pieces of construction paper: white, red, green, yellow, pink and two brown. Each piece is cut to look like a different part of the sandwich. They need two browns to look like the two slices of bread. On each piece, the students write specific information such as character descriptions, a plot map or evaluation.
A few days before I actually tried this activity with the class, I was preparing all the necessary materials. I looked through my piles of construction paper and found every color I needed except pink and brown. That was no big deal; I stopped at Target on my way home that afternoon and bought a pack of assorted colors. The next morning during my prep, I pulled out the colors I needed and counted enough for my students. Then, I remembered that I would need twice as much brown. I pulled the rest of the browns out of the pack and counted them. I was about six pieces short.
I could have just made do with another color, but I wanted my students to have brown bread if possible. So, I sent out an email to the whole site, asking if anyone could spare six pieces of brown construction paper. I didn't think anyone would reply to me the same day, and I wasn't sure if anyone would even have brown construction paper, much less if they would be willing to share. The response I got was overwhelming.
That same day I recieved three emails in the affirmative and one phone call. Plus four teachers sent students over with some brown. None of them sent just six pieces. They sent full stacks and packages. One of them wasn't sure exactly what I needed, so she sent two packages: one light brown and one dark brown.
I asked if anyone wanted theirs back, but no one did. So, I took out as much as I needed (plus a little extra) and sent the rest to the art teacher.
Thursday, June 11, 2009
Graduation
Last night was the graduation ceremony for the eighth graders at my school. I presented an award to one of my students for academic achievment. I would have attended anyway, because this was the first group of students that I've had for a whole year to graduate. Most of my students did graduate. From my regular Language Arts classes, about 80% walked in the ceremony. From my Reading Improvement class, it was only one out of four.
The ceremony was nice, and it was probably the shortest graduation ceremony I've ever been to. It was an hour and five minutes, which is pretty good for a class of 150+ students. There were many awards to give out, but each presenter spoke for less than a minute. There were four speeches, and they were fairly short also. The students were really well behaved too.
This morning, we had a minimum day of school. The actual diplomas were passed out today, so the students all showed up. But we had to submit grades yesterday to verify who had met graduation requirements. So, I had all my students with nothing to teach. I brought a couple of videos and let them pick. It felt like a wasted day, but I had some entertainment.
The ceremony was nice, and it was probably the shortest graduation ceremony I've ever been to. It was an hour and five minutes, which is pretty good for a class of 150+ students. There were many awards to give out, but each presenter spoke for less than a minute. There were four speeches, and they were fairly short also. The students were really well behaved too.
This morning, we had a minimum day of school. The actual diplomas were passed out today, so the students all showed up. But we had to submit grades yesterday to verify who had met graduation requirements. So, I had all my students with nothing to teach. I brought a couple of videos and let them pick. It felt like a wasted day, but I had some entertainment.
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