Fahrenheit Rm. 41

Wouldn't Wish it on My Worst Enemies

2011-04-29T18:35:00.000-07:00

I know I haven't posted in forever. I've been busy reading War and Peace. Yeah, it took me that long. It's like the never-ending story, only not as good. I truly do not recommend anyone read this book.

It did have it's good parts in the "Peace." There were some good dramatic, romance storylines. However they did go on too long. After the boy gets the girl (or the old man gets the girl in this case) no one wants to read about their domestic squabbles over him taking too many business trips or her spoiling the children. I guess if you cut 95% of this book, it could have been a pleasant read.

But, unfortunately, this story is mostly "War." In fact, most of the second half of the book is not a description of the war, but Tolstoy's philosophy of war. His thesis seemed to be that Napoleon nor any other man could not be blamed for the war, and the Russian commander-in-chief nor any other man could not be given the credit for victory. His main purpose in writing appeared to be to persuade his audience of predestination. Thus it became quite tedious. And tedious becomes almost deathly mind-numbing at 360 chapters. I am not kidding: 360 chapters!

So I highly recommend that you never read this book.

Best. Excuse. Evar.

2010-10-28T20:38:00.000-07:00

Mrs. B: Stop talking.

Student: I wasn't talking. I was stretching my mouth.

Never End a Sentence with At.

2010-05-20T17:47:00.000-07:00

This incorrect usage drives me crazy. To me "Where are you at?" sounds like fingernails on a chalkboard. And it's getting worse.

You may remember an English teacher telling you never to end a sentence with a preposition. That is the general rule because a preposition needs an object, and the object should come after the preposition. However, "The door through which I walked..." sounds funny. So we just say "The door I walked through...." The object of through is door. It's still there, just in a different place.

"Where are you at?" on the other hand has no object at all. The only pronoun (no nouns) is you, but that is the subject. It is perfectly sufficient to simply say "Where are you?" The at is not necessary grammatically or semantically, because where identifies that this is a question of location.

I have been hearing people use the incorrect form with increasing frequency. I hear it all the time from students. I've heard it from teachers and newscasters. This Sunday, I even heard it from my pastor. I do not understand why this phrasing has become popular and seemingly acceptable. Many changes in language come about through laziness. For example, we no longer pronounce the k in knight. However, that cannot explain this phenomenon, because people are actually adding a word. Hopefully this indicates that the trend will not be long-lived.

Every April

2010-04-22T15:32:00.000-07:00

I am not a fan of standardized testing in its current arrangement. There are many reasons that most teachers feel unfavorably about standardized tests, but I won't take too much of your time by describing them all now. However, I want to tell you of a reason why everyone else should oppose standardized tests: cheating.

I'm not talking about students cheating. Most students don't care enough about the tests to take the elaborate measures that would be necessary for them to cheat. Students are basically locked in a room, not allowed to leave until they finish, and then, only one at a time. There are up to fourteen different versions of the test with the questions and answers in varying order. And students are never to be left alone with any testing materials. Finding a way to cheat would probably be harder for them than the test.

Actually, it is the teachers you should be worried about. Every year, tens of thousands of teachers are forced into a situation where they have both the motive and the opportunity to cheat.

Despite the well-known truth that all teachers are perfect models of morality, judgement and citizenship; the situation into which they are placed may cause some to want to take less than completely honest actions. There is a lot riding on the scores of their students. For one, there is funding. Programs like No Child Left Behind withhold money from schools who don't perform well enough, the schools who need it the most. There are additional repurcussions for schools and ditricts who score too low. This year, California's Race to the Top program will require the fifty schools which showed the least gains to undergo radical changes such as terminating at least half of the teaching staff or even closing the school completely. There are also benefits to having high scores. In some districts, teachers are given bonuses for having very good or improved test results. So some teachers will do just about anything to get their scores up.

And teachers are given all of the opportunities for cheating that students are denied. No one but the students are there to watch the teachers during the test. Then, when the students leave, the teachers are often alone with the materials until they are returned for the day. There are many ways they could cheat, such as telling students information that will help them find the answer (e.g. "Sum means addition"), directly telling a student which answer to bubble in, or doing it him or herself after the students have finished.

I certainly do not advocate cheating; I write this to inform the general public as to what is probably happening. In fact, I am quite certain that it is happening. It has happened before. Both teachers and administrators have been caught cheating on standardized tests in Chicago, New York City and Oakland. So consider for yourself if you want your state to spend large amounts of money creating, producing, distributing and scoring test for which the results can and likely are being invalidated by cheating teachers.

Hey, Watch This!

2010-01-10T13:56:00.000-08:00

One of the best things about teaching is the vacations. I have had the last three weeks off from work. So, I have been watching a lot of TV and movies lately. I have found three movies that I think every person who works in education needs to watch.

Happy Feet
One of the seemingly dozens of penguin movies that have come out recently and the best of the group. Aside from the obvious commentary on global conservation, this movie is about people with different abilities. After watching it, you will never think about a resource or special ed. student in the same way.

Stand and Deliver
Yes, this movie is quite old, but still totally relevant. It is all about how expectations can affect performance. When a group of poor, inner-city, Latino kids are given a chance to excel and supported by someone who believes in them, they do what no one else thought was possible.

Accepted
When this movie first came out, I didn't want to watch it, because I thought it would be another typical college movie about drinking. There certainly are scenes portraying alcohol consumption, but the film has more than that. It represents an outsiders view of American academic society. At the end, the main character makes a great speech about the true purposes of education.

If you have a different opinion of these movies that you want to share or other suggestions, please comment.

A Short Review

2009-12-20T22:54:00.000-08:00

I have been reading short stories by Nathaniel Hawthorne. In college, I had to read My Kinsman Major Molineux and remeber it being quite graphic. About a month ago, I found a collection of his short stories in my classroom, inherited from a previous teacher. My first thought was "This can't be appropriate reading for Jr. High students." I decided to read some of the stories and see for myself.

I still think it isn't age appropriate, but I discovered that Hawthorne was actually a decent writer. His stories deal with some pretty dark themes (satanic worship, sick scientific experiments) and are pretty densely written. They are not light reading. But the characters are unique if not a little one-sided. The themes Hawthorne explores are more complex as are his plots.

In short, while I wouldn't recommend these stories to my students, I would recommend them for readers who are looking for an unusual perspective. Now I guess I have to read The Scarlet Letter.

Playing Hookie?

2009-11-20T19:57:00.000-08:00

Everyone likes a day off of work once in a while. Teachers are allowed several sick days per year, depending on the district contract. You may think that we would take full advantage of this, especially considering how stressful our jobs can be.

But being absent is often more work than it's worth. Firstly, one needs to write out plans for the sub. Of course, teachers have lessons planned already, but usually it is just an outline of what they want to cover for that day. All the details are in their head, and it can take an hour or more to write them all out in a way that someone who is unfamilliar with the curriculum can follow.

Next is the preparation of the materials. If one knows ahead of time that they will be out on a particular day, they can take whatever time they need to prepare photocopies and set out textbooks and any other materials where the substitute can easily find them. However, if you wake up sick one morning, you may have to go in to work just to get everything ready. You may as well just stay there and save your sick day.

The most frustrating part of being absent is coming back. One can't be sure of what condition the classroom will be in, how much if any of the lesson plan was completed and what kind of note was left by the sub until returning the next day. I have returned after a substitute has covered my class to find things stolen, broken and vandalized. Recently, I found that my American flag at the front of my room had a large rip or cut in it. Most subs do attempt to follow the lesson plan, but many times they don't get it all accomplished. I have often found a note saying "...Then I let them work on homework with their friends." I wonder how much homework got done. So, the teacher ends up wasting the next day reteaching what should have been taught the day before, and the whole schedule is thrown off.

Sometimes it is neccesary to take a day off, like when attending a conference or jury duty. Other times, it's just nice, like after six weeks without holidays. But it is always a trade-off. The teacher has to decide if spending six hours away from the students is worth practically the same amount of time in preparing and recovery.

Helicopter Parents

2009-11-04T17:58:00.000-08:00

You have probably heard of the term "helicopter parent." It is used to describe a parent who is always hovering around their child, ready to take charge if the child has a problem. Teachers do complain about this kind of parents for two reasons.

Firstly, they're annoying. But more seriously, though they are trying to help their child, they can often slow their maturation. If Mommy or Daddy takes care of everything for them, they never learn to solve their own problems.

The most depressing situation is when a helicopter parent has an unmotivated, slacker child. I have one such in one of my classes now. The mother spends so much time seeking help for her son, and he takes no advantage of the opportunities she secures for him. It seems to me that she thinks he's doing poorly in school because the teachers aren't providing him enough help. In reality, his grades would be much better if he didn't sleep in class so much.

I wonder how this kid will turn out. He's headed for failure, yet his mother sticks up for him. Will he live at home for the rest of his life, getting fired from a series of minimum-wage jobs? Or will the mom eventually recognize the pattern of his failures and beign to hold him responsible?

Classics Review, Part Two

2009-10-09T16:25:00.000-07:00

I just finished Jane Austen's Mansfield Park. Even Ms. Austen said that it is not as interesting as Pride and Prejudice, and I agree. I did, however, enjoy reading it. It is a love story with a large cast of characters. All of these characters have romantic interactions and love triangles. In fact it could be described as one big love septagon. Toward the end there is a major plot twist, and some characters have a happy ending.

I feel that this would be a more enjoyable book if the main character were more likeable. Fanny is a young lady who comes from a poor home, but is raised by her rich aunt and uncle. She is perfectly grateful and well-mannered. She is moral, reliable and smart enough. But she has none of the wit or human flaws of an Elizabeth Bennet.

So, if you loved Pride and Prejudice, read Mansfield Park. You'll probably enjoy it, but don't expect to be blown away. If you didn't like P&P, you won't like this book. If you haven't read P&P, go read that!

I'm not sure which Classic novel to read next. If there are any that you recommend, or if there's something you've been interested in, but want me to find out if it's any good first, comment or email me your suggestions.

44¢ a pack

2009-10-07T17:24:00.000-07:00

In an earlier post, I described our district's push on academic vocabulary this year. When the assistant superintendant visited our site to give us the mandated list, she mentioned that any materials we would need for academic vocabulary instruction would be provided for us. We were directed to submit requests to our department chairs, who would compile a list and submit that to our principal, who would compile those into one master list for our site and forward it to the assistant superintendant.

All I really wanted were some index cads. I had already purchased a few packs to get me started and envelopes for my students to keep their cards in (with my own money). I had actually expected that I would be responsible for supplying them for all my students for the whole year. I was excited to hear that the district would provide some for me. So, I calculated how many total index cards I would need and sent my request to my department chair.

Two weeks later, I hadn't heard a thing about it from anyone. I asked my department chair if she had sent the request to the principal, and she said that she had, but had heard nothing about it either.

Two weeks after that at a department meeting, we realized that none of us had yet recieved any of the requested materials, and the department chair said that she would ask the principal about it.

Two weeks after that, I was called in for a meeting with the principal regarding my yearly evaluation. Before I left, he asked if there was anything I needed. I asked if he had heard anything about our vocabulary supplies. He said that he had sent all of the requests to the assistant superintendant but had not heard back from her about it. He offered to purchase some index cards for me as he was already sending in an order to Office Depot and said they should arrive in two to three days.

Over a week has gone by since the last discussion, and still I have heard nothing and recieved nothing. Today, I sawthe principal in the workroom, so I asked if my index cards had arrived yet. He responded, "Oh, I hope I didn't give those to another teacher." He said that he would order me some more right away, and they'll probably be here in two to three days. We will see.

In the meantime, I am comletely out of index cards. I have purchased multiple packs, three times. I borrowed two packs from another teacher the last time I ran out. I could just buy enough to last me the year and request reimbursment, but Im still waiting on a check for highlighters I bought the week before school started.

I truly believe that everyone involved in this is well meaning. They want to help us be good teachers. They are just so disorganized as to be totally ineffectual in that goal.

A & Q

2009-09-24T16:27:00.000-07:00

I have asked you to ask me anything. So here are some answers for you.

Badass Geek wants to know: I've always wondered how the classroom experience feels different when you are the one teaching, instead of the one learning. Is it different, for better or worse, than you expected?

I guess the main difference between being a student and a teacher is everyone else in the room. As a student, I was only ever responsible for myself. If I put in the effort, I learned what I needed to know and got good grades. If I didn't, I didn't. As a teacher, I am now responsible for all of my students learning: those who are trying and those who definately aren't. I need to find ways to keep my students engaged and motivated. The biggest surprise for me has probably been the total apathy of some students.

Anonymous wants to know: Do teachers really have teachers pets? Or students you are glad to have in your class?

Teachers certainly have some students that we enjoy teaching more than others. It is usually not the smartest students, but the better behaved ones. I try not to let that affect my teaching or grading style. I may let them know that I appreciate their behavior, and I certainly will discipline students who are disruptive. One thing that people may not expect is that I also really like some of my less studious pupils. Some kids are really funny, but just don't know when it is appropriate to joke around and when it's not. I try not to encourage them.

If you have any other teaching questions, comment or email me, and I will answer them here.

Q and A

2009-09-10T16:08:00.000-07:00

A couple of other bloggers whom I follow have recently had Q&A sessions with their readers. I thought it was a great idea. No one included a trademark or patent pending in their posts, so I think I will pilfer it.

So... if you have any burning questions about me, about teaching, about my blog... comment or email it to me, and I will answer them here. If you have questions about anything else, I will ponder it, do an internet search, if necessary, and try my best to answer it for you.

In Which I am Almost Too Angry to Write

2009-09-09T17:42:00.000-07:00

I am sooo ticked off. At the end of last year, we teachers were told by administration that we would need to create a list of 30 vocabulary words to use for the whole school throughout the year. Over the summer, as we met to work on benchmark tests, the Language Arts department decided that we would just go ahead and make a list and a calendar and share with everyone else. We even went above and beyond, and came up with over 70 words to give us a word a day with regular review periods, lasting until state testing.

Now, the administration has given us a list of 60 words that we must use. Why the heck did they tell us to make a list if they were going to dictate a list to us? Of course, I am sure that they originally did want us to make up a list, but then changed their minds. But that is rude and ridiculous. They are showing no respect for all the work we did or our knowledge of what our students need. It makes me so angry!

The Classics 101

2009-08-29T11:59:00.000-07:00

I love to read. My total favorite genre is sci-fi, but having been an English major and now being a Language Arts teacher, I have had to read a lot of "the Classics." And you know what? I actually like them. I mean, they are classics for a reason. But I also like to read them, because it makes me feel smart. I know that everyone wants to feel smart, educated and in the know, but not everyone has the time or inclination to read books written centuries ago. And since I am a teacher, I thought I could teach you all something about the Classics.

I have just finished reading David Copperfield by Charles Dickens. It is loooooong! As you can probably guess, it is about a man named David Copperfield. It is actually about a baby, boy, teenager and man named David Copperfield. The story starts the day he was born and continues to describe everything that hapens to him until (by my best estimate) his late twenties. Aside from being long, it is a good read. It has a lot of drama, some action and quite a bit of humor.

It is really about the emotional growth of Copperfield, through many trials and hardships. As a youngster, he has a horrible string of bad luck, with an evil step-father, the death of his mother, and abandonment at a young age. Yet, he endures, and his basic goodness and moraltiy is formed. After that, he has some good fortune for a time, living with a kind aunt. Throughout all of this he meets the characters who later come together in unexpected ways to create situations in which Copperfield must show what he has become and stand up for what he believes in. He still is not perfect. He marries the wrong girl, not out of any wickedness, but simple inexperience. By observing others around him, he realizes his mistake, but is honest and good, so he stays with her until she dies young. This gives him a second chance. In the end, he uses what he has learned to make the right decision the second time around, and there is a happy ending.

So now, when you are a part of a conversation that turns toward David Coperfield, you will be able to follow along and perhaps chime in, without makng the mistake of saying, "Did you see the time he made theStatue of Liberty disappear?" If you have any specific questions about the book, or if you have read it and want to add to what I've said or offer a completely differing opinion, please comment. And stay tuned, coming next: Mansfield Park.

Budget Problems

2009-08-26T17:39:00.001-07:00

You may have heard that California is having a budget crisis. It's true: our schools are broke. We do not even have enough money for such essentials as textbooks. In fact we may not get new books until 2016. No, I'm not exaggerating. The state board of education is not requiring schools to buy books between now and then.

Yet today at our weekly staff meeting, we all recieved training in a new internet educational program that the district has subscribed to. What's worse is that, as usual, no one on staff was asked if we wanted this or would be willing to use it. I had never heard of it until last week. Had anyone asked me, I would have strongly suggested that we don't waste our money on it. The program is set up with tests and games to review each of the state standards. It is made to be used online, but teachers can also print out the tests for students to do on paper. In our district, most students do not have internet connections at home, and I only have four student computers in my classroom. So, I would have to mainly use the print function and give students worksheets. But if I'm going to do that, I might as well use the materials that come with our curriculum. If students do use the program online, the teacher can view a report of results for individuals or for the class, but the interface and information layout did not seem all that helpful.

If this program is not madatory, I will not be using it. I am afraid though, that since the district paid for it, they are going to expect me to show them results. This is on top of the academic vocabulary program that they are requiring us to start this year and the graphic organizer program we implemented last year. I guess with all of these programs that they've spent thousands on we won't have any time to open those outdated textbooks anyway.

2009-08-20T19:57:00.000-07:00

Today was the second day of school. I guess the first two days have been successful. I was pretty much ready to go each morning. The students in my first two classes have been really well behaved. As with last year, I'm not totally sure if they are well behaved students, or if they're just a bit scared of me, because it's the first day. I try to be pretty strict the first couple of weeks to set the tone. My third class is my RI class and again they seem like they will be the most trouble. I do not think they will be as difficult to handle as last year's class. They mostly do whatever I ask of them, but they are quite talkative. I do have that class right after lunch, so they just need to learn to settle down.

This year, I have my prep period at the very end of the day. It is so tiring. I have one fifteen minute morning break and a thirty minute lunch, but I don't really get a rest. I have to run to the restroom, scarf my lunch and get ready for the next class. By the time I have my prep, I'm too tired to really think about what I have to get done for the next day. The good thing is, though, I can clean up and organize my room during seventh, so I can leave right at 3:00.

I really think I'll have a pretty good year. Sure, there are some things I would change. But I know there are plenty of people who have way suckier jobs than I.

Update

2009-08-06T10:03:00.001-07:00

I know that it has been forever since I posted, so I feel like I should let you all know what is going on. And that is... not a whole lot. I have actually been staying pretty busy, but it is nothing exciting. In the middle of July, I spent a week at a training on ELD (English Language Development) instruction. Most of the information was just review to me. I did pick up a few strategies that I will use in the classroom, especially for teaching vocabulary. The next week, the Language Arts department from my school got together to get started on our pacing calendars for the year and to create benchmark tests. I would not call it fun or exciting, but we did get quite a lot done. The best part of all of this was that I am getting paid for it. Then, yesterday I went to a one day training on a program for teaching writing. Most of the teachers at my school already use it, so I just wanted the introduction to understand what it is about and to pick up the terminology, so that I can review with my students what they have learned in previous years and how it relates to current assignments.

The new year is coming up pretty quickly. We have two days of in-service on the seventeenth and eighteenth. Then the first day of school is on the nineteenth. The way the schedule stands now, I will have two, two-period classes of 8th grade ELA, then one of eighth-grade-only RI. My prep period is scheduled for the last period of the day (BOO!). But that could change anytime until about the first week of September.

I don't think I will have any exciting tales to relate for the next two weeks, but I will post after the first day of school to let all of you know how it goes.

Summertime and the Living's Boring

2009-07-04T13:11:00.000-07:00

I am so BORED! Remember when you were a kid, and you just couldn't wait for summer to come. The first few days were awesome: you got to sleep in, watch cartoons and snack all day long, and you could stay up late. Then on about the third day, you realized that summer is booooring!

The same is true for me, even as an adult. I had been so looking forward to having time off, to relax and do whatever I want. The problem is I've relaxed, I've done everything I wanted to do, now I have six more weeks to fill. I've read six books in the last three weeks (usually, it's about the other way around) I've watched a bunch of videos, I've mowed the lawn and cleaned the house. Right now I'm watching The Empire Strikes Back on TV. It might be entertaining, except that I've already seen this movie about thirty times in my life. I can't even think of anything to do for the rest of the afternoon, let alone for six weeks.

Checking Out

2009-06-25T09:12:00.000-07:00

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.

What Can Brown Do For Me?

2009-06-18T08:39:00.000-07:00

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.

Graduation

2009-06-11T20:14:00.000-07:00

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.

Can't Teach an Old Teacher New Tech

2009-05-24T09:00:00.001-07:00

I am a member of the Language Arts department in my school. There are six other teachers in the department. All of them are female, and all of them are older than I am. In fact, aside from me, I would guess that the youngest is close to forty. The others are all older than my parents. This means they have a lot of teaching experience, and a lot of experience dealing with most other issues at a school. The one area in which I am considered the expert is technology.

They all know how to use email and our online attendance program. Where they have the most trouble is with the assessment tracking an analysis program we have, called Edusoft. Edusoft is a subscriber service that allows teachers to create scanable answer documents for tests, then scan those tests to be corrected and analyze the results in a thousand different ways. Our school has two scanners that can be used with the Edusoft program. One of them is housed in my classroom. So, I have teachers coming in throughout the day to scan their tests.

At first, only one other teacher in my department really knew how to use the program. (I learned at the school I was at last year.) So, each time someone would come in, they would ask me to show them how. And then, by the next time they had something to scan, they would have forgotten what to do, and I would have to show them again. Eventually, they mostly seemed to remember what to do, but still asked an occasional question. For example, one teacher still asks me each and every time she comes in whether the answer documents need to be face up or face down in the scanner tray.

So, it was just the occasional question, and I could keep working on whatever I was doing. Until the computer that the program is on contracted a virus. The tech guys from the district office came to clear it up, but the scanning program still is having issues. I have figured out the little tricks to make it work. I've explained my strategies to the other teachers, but they cannot seem to remember them, and each time it won't scan, they ask me what to do.

So, one day last week, I was showing one of the ladies again how to turn it off, switch off the scanner, turn the computer back on, switch the scanner back on and wait for the two to connect. When we turned the scanner back on, it started printing. There had been a print job pending, and the computer had been waiting to send it. We looked at it when it printed out, and it was the results of a test that one of the other Language Arts teachers had scanned. Then, it started printing again, it was another copy of the same results. We figured that when it hadn't printed out the first time, she must have hit print again. Then again... and again... and again... twenty-one times! Twenty-one copies of the exact same two-page results printed out!

I am no computer genius, especially compared to my husband. And I'll admit that in the past, I have probably been guilty of hitting print again if it didn't work the first time. Maybe someone who wasn't used to working with computers would think that doing it one or two more times might make it work even if it didn't the first two times. But twenty-one times! It didn't work at all the first twenty times, but apparently she thought, "Well maybe if I click on this picture of a printer again..."

Wardrobe Malfunction

2009-04-18T09:26:00.000-07:00

I have never been esteemed for my fashion sense. And that's fine by me. In high school, I avoided the styles and brands that the popular girls were wearing. I wear clothing that appeals to my own personal aesthetic. Over the years, I have tweaked and updated my wardrobe to include items that fit my sense of style and help me look professional... I think.

But there is one aspect of attire that I have not yet mastered: dressing for the weather. I don't look at weather forecasts on TV or the internet. This is partly because they often seem to be wrong and partly because I just don't. I haven't worked it into my routine. So, I just sort of guess what the day's weather will be like. This guess is based mostly on the previous day's weather. This may work well in some parts of the world, and here in the Central Valley, it works pretty well during the summer. It can be unreliable, though, particularly during fall and spring.

For example, on a particular day, we had not had any rain here for a few weeks. The day prior to the day in question had been on the cool side, chilly even, but I would not qualify it as cold. So, when dressing for work that morning, I put on a sweater and did not bring a jacket. Well, it turned out to be rainy and windy all day, and I was wet and freezing.

Another example: it had been warming slowly but steadily for a few weeks, but then breezes picked up, and most of this week was cool but comfortable. So, yesterday morning, I picked out a long sleeve, black knit-top. There was no more wind. Yesterday was quite warm, and I was toasting.

For some people, not being dressed appropriately would not be a problem. I, on the other hand, have to encounter the weather several times a day. The school I work at is quite old. It has two original buildings and the rest are portables. Even the classrooms that are in actual buildings all open to the outside, without any halls. So, to go from any place to any other place on our campus, one needs to go outside. I usually go to the front office a couple of times a day. Once in a while, I go to the teacher's lounge for lunch. And at least once or twice a week, I go to another classroom to talk to or borrow something from another teacher. And every time I go somewhere, I have to go back outside to return to my room.

So, I don't really know what the answer is. I could let my husband pick out my clothes. He seems to be able to predict the weather better than I can. Though, he will wear a T-shirt, shorts and flip-flops regardless of what it is like outside. If you have any suggestions to help me out, post a comment, and I will be grateful. This isn't an urgent need I have, but just something that I should figure out, so that I don't spend the next thirty years of my career being miserable.

Super Great News!

2009-03-11T18:17:00.000-07:00

I received two good reports in one day.

It has been uncertain for quite some time as to who would be staying and who would be leaving next year. The confusion was caused by the California budget (or lack thereof). At first we weren't even sure if we were going to get paid this month. The State Comptroller sent the money, but anyone who filed their taxes early had to wait for their rebate so we could get a paycheck. After that was settled, we weren't sure if we were going to get funding next year for the class-size reduction which requires the district to employ so many teachers. Now that the state has a budget, the district has a budget, so they know what they can and can't afford. There will be lots of cuts next year, but no positions are being cut. Last night, the principal presented the names of temporary teachers to the board and made recommendations as to whether each should be re-elected for next year. All of his recommendations were approved, and I get to keep my job!

I posted previously about the upcoming testing season. It was upcoming then; now it just keeps coming. Today is the second half of the Language Arts writing proficiency #2. Last week seventh graders took the state writing test. This along with all future CST tests and test prep academies take place during homeroom, which is my reading improvement class. Some students had to be moved around so that each classroom would have either all seventh or all eighth graders. I was lucky enough to have all my students go to various locations, and I was a runner. It was announced today that we are going to keep these room assignments for all test prep academies and all CST tests this year. I don't have to plan for test preps. I don't have to be responsible for testing materials. I don't have to spend two or more straight hours with those students. I'm sure they're just as happy not to spend two straight hours with me.

I'm really not sure which new piece of information is more exciting.

Testing Time

2009-02-14T08:40:00.000-08:00

It is here: testing time! The main portion of the CST's don't begin for us until the end of April, but we've got plenty others to keep us busy until then. On Thursday, my regular Language Arts students had a reading proficiency test. They take this test three times throughout the year (the exact same one, I don't know why) and have to pass it at least once. In two weeks, my reading improvement class has their third writing proficiency. They have four chances to pass, while the rest of the school only has three. Then, the next week, they have their third reading proficiency. Again, they have an extra chance over the students in regular Language Arts. That same week, Language Arts students are taking their second writing proficiency. The week after that, only seventh graders (which most of my reading improvement class are) have the STAR writing test. And from there it is only a few weeks until STAR testing for everyone.

Interspersed through all of this are four test prep academies for the whole school. This is when an extra period is added to the day and all are shortened by five minutes. That period comes between first and second and is used to prepare students for STAR testing in various ways. That means that on these four occasions I have my reading improvement students for two straight hours. We had our first academy yesterday. The students did not handle it well. First period went alright, and so did the academy. Our test prep assignment was to graph scores from the two previous years tests and set a goal for this year. The students were actually pretty involved even though it was difficult for most of them and I had to go around to each one after each step and reexplain it. But I let them use colored pencils to make their graph, so they all participated. The problem came when we got back to second period. The schedule had not been previously released to students, so it was a surprise to them that they had to stay with me for a whole other forty minutes. They were not happy about that, and by then, they were getting quite tired of working. Two of them just refused to do any work throughout that whole period. And I have three more of these to do in the next two months.

Back to Work

2009-01-15T19:45:00.000-08:00

This week is our first week back from winter break. It has been a busy week. On Monday, we had a full-day in-service. Tuesday was the first day the kids came back. Wednesday, I had my support provider observe first period for BTSA (new teacher training) and district and county administrators observe second period as one of their semi-annual school walk-throughs. This afternoon we had a staff meeting. Tomorrow my support provider is observing first period again.

Happily, my RI class is doing a lot better. They still chat too much and pass notes, but they haven't been really rude or defiant. There hasn't been any cursing or fighting. I am not sure yet if it is because it's the first week back and they haven't gotten bored with school yet or if my new seating arrangement is actually working. It is my smallest class, and I have them spread out around the room as much as possible. I hope this will limit the amount of talking and their ability to annoy each other.

My regular Language Arts classes are still doing fine. I took them to the library on the first day back, so it was an easy day. In my afternoon class, I reviewed the library rules and told them to head over. I was the last one out of the classroom so I could lock the door behind me. As I was leaving, I saw one of the instructional aides walking by, so I talked to her for three or four minutes out in front of the library. When I went in, all of the students were sitting down at the tables and it was dead silent. They just watched me walk in and didn't say anything. I'm not sure if they were trying to be funny or if they thought I wanted them to do that. I just started laughing and said, "Don't you want to get books?" Then they got up and looked around at books, and I just stood there laughing at them. I thought it was hilarious, but maybe it was just one of those things where you had to be there.

Leap First. Ask Questions Later.

2008-12-20T15:32:00.000-08:00

I'm not the only new employee in our small school this year. The administrators are both new in one way or another. Our principal was previously the school's assistant principal and this is his first year in the big chair. So a new assistant principal was brought on to fill his old position. They are both good people and have both been very helpful in dealing with my least fun students. There is an area, though, in which their inexperience shows.

They have ideas about activities and programs that they want for our school. Mostly good ideas. But they commit the whole school to these ideas as they pop into their heads. They don't ask any of the staff for their opinions or seem to do any actual planning until after they have decided to do it.

One example: Several months ago, the principal bought a reading program to use in tutoring. Then he asked if any Language Arts teachers would do it. None of the others would because they knew the program and knew that it helps with fluency only, and most of our students need more help with comprehension. He ended up convincing some sixth grade teachers to do it, because he'd already paid for it.

More recently, someone decided that since it is the holiday season, we should have a canned food drive. No one asked the staff if this would be a good idea or if we were willing to do it (which I would have been). It was not even announced at a staff meeting or via email. The first I ever learned of the canned food drive was when I read it in the student bulletin. It said that the drive was beginning that week and that boxes for donations would be in homeroom classes. No one provided me with a box. No one even told me I had better bring a box. It was just announced that I would have one.

These sorts of things keep happening. There must come a day when they will run out of ideas. Or so I hope.

Take Out the Trash Day

2008-12-06T08:52:00.001-08:00

Okay, it has been almost a month since my last post. So, I figure I had better write something. Nothing terribly interesting has happened lately (or I should say nothing that I expect readers will find terribly interesting). I'm just going to write about several marginally interesting things and hope that they add up to a decent post.

My RI class had been getting worse than ever, so I sent a list of the worst offenders and some of their behaviors to the VP. She has been setting up conferences with the students, the parents, herself and myself. For a few of them the parents never showed up. One of them ended with the student being sent directly to Opportunity Room for at least 30 days, and another of the most heinous offenders has been put on a behavior contract. If he screws up at all in the next two weeks, he's going to Opportunity. So far, he has been working hard to keep out of trouble. We will see if he can keep it up. Even if he can't, though, he will be out of my class. So it's win-win for me.

And now for something completely different...

Last year during negotiations, the teachers' union agreed with the district to have weekly after school meetings for up to an hour and a half. (Let it be known for the record that I was not at this district last year and had no hand in this agreement.) The way that it was justified to them was that many of these would be grade level or department meetings, in which the teachers could discuss whatever they felt was important. They really should have gotten that in writing. In the five months of the first semester, there have only been four times available for department meetings. Each other week we have had to attend all staff meetings where information is unloaded on us from the site and district administrations. This week we had our fourth department meeting of the year. The English department at least had been anticipating it, as we have multiple district mandated tests that we needed to plan and discuss. Our principal sent out an email that morning, though. Just in case any of the departments didn't have anything else to talk about, he gave us a list of eleven different topics to discuss. One of these was "Grading (Many F's)" -exact words.

We had our staff Christmas dinner last night. It was at a train station-turned-restaurant in the next little town over. I had never been there before and it was a pretty nice dinner and a comfortable space. I made my husband come with me, even though he hates meeting new people. It turned out all right though. The principal bought a bottle of champagne for each table. It turned out at our table we were seated with a couple of Mormons who don't drink alcohol and two women who had each come by themselves and were driving. I was driving, and my husband doesn't like wine, so no one even had a sip of the bottle which they had already opened. So, that was a total waste. At least, from looking at the bottle, it didn't seem too expensive.

That's all I can think of that won't totally bore you. Hopefully, my job will get more interesting in the near future. Probably not, as we only have two weeks until winter break. Oh well, if it comes to it, I will just start making stuff up.

P.S. If you didn't get the title reference, you need to watch more West Wing.

They're Learning How to Take Turns

2008-11-11T09:01:00.000-08:00

I'm beginning to see a pattern. Every time a problem-causing child either improves his or her behavior or is removed from my class, one or more that were previously manageable students start acting up to fill the gap. It's almost as if they're working in shifts.

Young Bobby* has experienced some kind of miraculous transformation. We had been off for a week for Fall Break. When we returned, there was a major difference in his behavior. He does his work. If he needs help, he stays in his seat and raises his hand. He even asks if he can get up to get a tissue. He isn't 100% perfect; he still talks to his friends while I'm talking. The noticeable difference, though, is that he no longer seems to be trying to get himself in trouble.

There are three young ladies in the class that I used to have a handle on. I keep them seated as far from each other as possible to minimize chatting. They used to give me some attitude, but I didn't mind much. I realized that it wasn't personal: they're just teenage girls. However, within the past week, it has gone from attitude to insolence and defiance. One of the girls is constantly talking. Sometimes she is talking to her neighbors about something that has nothing to do with class. When I do have her attention, something I say will remind her of something that happened that she must share with the class. When I interrupt her, she acts as if it was so terribly rude of me. Another one makes personal attacks. She said that I live in la basura. (She was surprised when I knew what that meant.) She said that I buy all of my shoes at the flea market. When a fly flew by me, she announced to the class that it's because I never take showers. All three of them love to argue. They will argue with me about what page of the book I said we were on, whose turn it is to use the bathroom, or how to pronounce a word in a story. When assigned detention for talking, they immediately claim they weren't talking. (Yesterday, one said, "I was just looking at my shoe.") Then they say it's not fair, and I'm the worst teacher ever. Finally, they announce that they're not going to serve detention, and they don't care what happens to them.

I don't know what brought on this sudden increase in negativity. I would like to settle these girls down if I could. But I would almost be afraid to. I would worry that some other student or students would start acting up to take their place.

*Not student's real name.

Making Up the Grade

2008-10-17T19:03:00.000-07:00

This afternoon, I was in the office and ran into the principal. He asked me to talk with him for a few minutes, and, of course, I can't say "No." He wanted to talk about grades, and he had a few rather interesting pieces of information to tell me. First, he did not know what the district policy on grading was. In fact, he wasn't even sure if there was one. It is his first year in the position, so I guess he has an excuse for not knowing. So, he asked the school counselor, who has been around for several years, and she didn't know either. How are these people supposed to enforce district policy if they don't know what it is or if it even exists?!

The other thing he wanted to talk about is that although no one knows if they're following the rules, there is a grading "tradition" at our school handed down from the previous principal and more tenured staff that everyone follows. Part of this tradition is that RSP students can not be given an F. Instead, they get a P for passing. This does not make any sense to me. If they would have gotten an F, then no, they're not passing. These students are called resource students because they are given extra resources beyond what all of our other student receive. Depending on the nature of their disabilities they may get extra time or assistance on assignments, for example. My thinking is that, if they get that extra help, and they still can't manage a D-, then they shouldn't be considered passing. Putting a P on their report card might make their parents happy, but it doesn't help them any. It is not entirely relevant in any of my classes, because as long as they don't get retained, all students go on to freshman English at the high school. But what about in math. Should these kids be promoted to Algebra if they can't understand pre-algebra?

The most asinine point to this whole conversation is that I turned in my quarter grades yesterday. Report cards are already being printed, so I can't change anything. No one had thought it prudent to mention any of this at any of the three new teacher meetings we've had this year. I suppose I could have asked, but what would I say? "By the way, I have some questions about grades. Do you have any stupid grading 'traditions' that I should know about? And are those traditions consistent with district policy? Or do you even have a clue?"

2008-10-06T18:19:00.000-07:00

I know that I do not post all that often. You may think that it is because I am so busy at work. In fact, that has nothing to do with it. The real reason I can't find the time to post on a regular schedule is because I have been too distracted by other blogs. Since starting my own blog, I have been perusing the interweb to find some highly entertaining content. So, I thought I would share a few of my favorites with you. That way, you'll be so distracted by looking at those other blogs that you won't have time to miss mine. So, here are the two funniest websites I have ever seen...

http://cakewrecks.blogspot.com/
This blog lists photos of professionally made cakes that turned out terribly wrong. While the cakes are pretty funny looking, it is the commentary that makes this thing filarious.

http://feeds.feedburner.com/lovelylisting
Here are posted photos that come from real estate listings that really shouldn't have been in there. I keep asking myself, "Do they really expect people to want to buy that?!"

2 Habits of Totally Ineffective Teens

2008-09-27T09:44:00.000-07:00

I've realized something about the difference between my reading improvement students and my regular language arts students. I don't think it is limited to intelligence. Certainly, there are a few students in my RI class who are a few tacos short of a fiesta platter. But I have a couple like that in my other classes as well. The biggest difference is in their habits.

For example, instead of listening to what I have to say, most of the RI students continue to talk to each other. Some of my other students talk while I'm talking also, but it only takes one or two reminders per day to keep their attention on me. In my RI class, I have students who, after being asked by me to turn around and stop talking, will say, "Alright, Teacher! Gosh!" then, literally two seconds later, will turn back and continue talking to their friends while I am standing two feet from them.

There is another habit that is conspicuously missing from my RI group. My other classes, when asked to do a simple task, such as open their books to a specific page or write their name on their paper or copy notes off of the overhead, just do it. They just do it right when I ask. Sometimes someone will ask me to repeat directions, but then at least I know that that student is attempting to follow directions. The RI students, with the exception of two or three individuals, sit there, talking, staring into space, drawing, or doing their homework from another class. I have to address each one by name and repeat the directions over and over. Sometimes, I just get so annoyed by having to listen to myself talking repetitiously that I just open the student's book for them and place the pencil between their fingers.

Now that I think about it this way, it seems obvious why these students haven't been successful. If I were an elementary teacher with just one of these students who was slowing down the whole class all day long, I would be tempted to work with the students who were working with me and leave the one behind. For all the time that they were off task, they were falling farther behind. I have known other students who were not terribly gifted in the brain area, but who knew the skills and habits needed in school. They were able to keep up by studying on their own and asking for extra help. I am certain that the RI students have hardly ever done homework or studied in their lives, and they have only gotten outside help when it was forced on them. I think that, although it isn't in the state content standards for this grade level, I need to make study skills a new focus in my class.

Who Does That?!?

2008-09-19T21:46:00.000-07:00

Just a quick update on my reading intervention class. I talked with the other teacher who teaches the same class about the students I have... those specific ones I've told you about. And she agreed that it would be best if we could split them up. So she talked to the counselor about having two of them moved into her class. It finally happened this week. It has made that class quite a bit easier to handle, though they still don't have anything on my regular Language Arts classes.

So, I saw the other teacher today, and I asked her how the two are doing in her class. She said one of them hasn't been there yet, because he has been suspended... for choking someone!!

The Cheshire Disturbing Child

2008-09-13T07:05:00.001-07:00

A new personality is rising above the crowd in my reading intervention class. The last time I wrote, I explained that there are a few students who totally throw my class off track, and I need to remind them to SIT DOWN twenty times a day. But they do not make me angry, just frustrated. They don't seem to have much (or in one case, any) self control. They honestly seem to forget that they are supposed to stay in their seat during class.

Having observed all of this and my reactions, little Bobby*, has gotten himself some ideas. This child, I am certain, is either trying to get into trouble, or trying to piss me off. He does exactly what he knows I don't want him to do. For example, another student will be up wandering around the room, and I will tell him to SIT DOWN. The instant after I say it, Bobby will jump out of his seat and walk across the room. Or, I will remind my freakishly forgetful student to take out his textbook. Right then, Bobby, who already had his book open and turned to the right page, will slam it closed and shove it under his desk. What makes me wonder the most about him is that every time he gives one of these displays he'll be staring me right in the face and grinning like some big thing that grins a lot.

Yesterday, he straight refused to do any work, so I sent him to the office for the second time this week. He is suspended on Monday, so I will at least have one day of slightly less commotion. We will see if there has been any real effect on Tuesday, but I highly doubt it. I will continue, though, to try to figure out each of my students and see what works best with them individually. There has to be some better alternative than loudly reminding them to SIT DOWN all the time. Can you tell that I'm getting a bit tired of it? My throat is really sore by the time that group leaves each day.

Just in case anyone thinks I'm whining and that I dislike my job, let me assure you, I am still much happier than I was last year. My two regular Language Arts classes are so wonderful that it makes this all worth it.

*Not student's real name.

One Month Done

2008-09-06T08:30:00.000-07:00

It has been four weeks, and my two regular language arts classes are still wonderful. Each class has its class clown and a few girls who chat too much, but they actually do what I tell them to do. All of them. There are a few who occasionally need some coaxing, but they don't argue with me or just refuse to do it, the way my students last year would.

My reading intervention class is a bit more work. Well, a lot more work. There are four students in that class who are a total handful. I think that two of them are not trying to cause trouble, they just are incapable of sitting still for more than two minutes. And they apparently have no filter between their brains and their mouths. One of them looses his pencil every five minutes, which gets really tiring in a ninety minute class.

The other two seem to be looking for attention. They walk over to other students to start talking, or they just shout out irrelevant things. One announces that "This is boring" every time we start a new activity. I think that is code for "I don't get it." But instead of raising his hand and asking for help, he shouts or wanders around the room. Yesterday he started throwing bits of eraser all over the place.

The real work comes in when the latter two catch the attention of the former two, who can't help but respond by laughing and pointing, shouting or throwing something back. I have found myself saying "Jerry, Jose, Francisco, Alejandro*, SIT DOWN" too may times.

Of course the rest of the class is not too happy about being put in the "stupid" class, so they will gladly sit and watch the antics instead of doing their work. One thing I have found that seems to work, though I have no idea why, is putting a time limit on the activity. If I say, "You have four minutes to complete page 12 in your Practice Book" all but the four will get it done. I'm still working on figuring out those other four and finding something that will get them engaged in the activities. Until then I just keep reminding myself that once the bell rings, the rest of my day will be a cake walk compared to this.

*Not the real students' names.

Quiet Time

2008-08-29T18:33:00.000-07:00

This morning, most of the students in my reading intervention class took the CELDT test. For those of you not in the know, I have no idea what the acronym stands for (by the way, it is an acronym, not an abbreviation, because it is pronounced [sElt]), but it is a measure of how non-native English speakers are progressing in their English language development. Since fifteen of my nineteen students were taking the test, the ladies administering it suggested that it would be easier if they and the testees stayed in my classroom and I took the other four to the library.

It was so nice. I had two girls and two boys. We all sat at a big table in the back of the library. I had them bring their workbooks, and we completed and corrected two pages out of it. Then, I read a picture book to them. I had brought a box of word games to keep them occupied, but they opted to read instead. They picked out books and magazines and read quietly for the next hour. I didn't have a single behaviour issue. I just read the W volume of the World Book. I know a lot more than I did before about George Washington and the War of 1812.

2008-08-22T19:21:00.000-07:00

We finally got the textbooks for my reading intervention class one week after school started. I was kind of freaked out when I found out I was not going to be starting with the textbook I had spent a week being trained to use and for which I had made lesson plans to last me through December.

But once I thought about what I could do to fill a week, I realized it was a good thing. Of course, there wasn't much change to my plans for the first day: introductions, school rules, etc. But I got to spend the next five days doing things I had wished I had more time for last year. I read to them every day. Some of the days I read out of Jim Trelease's Read All About It! The other days I read picture books that I found in my classroom.(Thanks to Mr. E who had a copy or two of every book used by the school in the last ten years and left them all here.) On the very first day I read "Alexander and the Horrible, Terrible, No Good, Very Bad Day." That was one of my favorites when I was younger. I could totally relate to Alexander.

Then, I introduced sight words. I gave them all copies of the Dolch list and had them practice reading it. When I turned on a timer, they all got into it. I also taught about context clues. I had to use the at-level text for the information, but for the practice, I designed a word organizer that guided them through the process. By the end of those few days they seemed to all have grasped the concept, even if they still had difficulty using it.

Now we have our textbooks and we need to get back on track to catch up with our pacing calendar. Hopefully, we will have time to whip out our Dolch lists every once in a while for a quick read through, and I already have planned a few read-alouds that will go along with the units in our book. It wasn't all that long, but hopefully this little literacy basics week will have them even more prepared now to begin our official curriculum.

Day 1 is Done

2008-08-13T18:59:00.000-07:00

Well, I have made it through the first day of the new school year. The last three days have been super hectic and stressful. On Monday, we had an all day in-service. Yesterday, I had about four meetings that lasted from 8am to 3pm, and then I had to finish getting ready to start teaching today. At 6pm last night I had to leave the school because they were locking the gates, even though I still had about ten things left to do. I came home and typed and printed some things, then went to bed early.

This morning I woke up at 5:45am. The only times I can remember waking up that early were when I was going skiing. This wasn't as fun. I got ready and went to work. My husband followed me there in his new, used car to take a picture of me. My mom has instructed him to do this on the first day of every school year. Then, I made photocopies of the things that I had printed the night before. I finished moving a few things around in my room and wrote the day's objectives and homework on the board, and then the bell rang.

I had ten extra students show up to my first and second period block. There names were not on my current attendance list, but all of their printed schedules showed that class, Mrs. B, Rm. 41. So, I let them stay and sent off a quick email to the office. I know they were super busy all day, and I didn't expect an answer right away, but no one gave me an answer until 6th period. If they show up again tomorrow, I am to send all of them to the attendance office.

My clock is off by five minutes, which caught me off guard at the end of the first period. And I still am not used to these ninety minute classes. But other than that, my classes went pretty well. A few students were a little chatty, and a couple of others had to be continually prompted to get through the activity. Compared to the students I had last year, these kids are angels. I just hope that it's not just because it's the first day. I expect that as the days roll on, they will become a little more talkative and perhaps get some more attitude as they get tired of me. But if my classes go anything close to as well as today, this year will be ten times better than last.

I Am So Not Ready

2008-08-11T19:14:00.000-07:00

School starts at 8am on Wednesday. I have about a bazillion things left that I still need to do before then. Because I am starting at a new school with a new grade, I am having to start over basically from scratch. I have pretty much got my classroom ready. I just have to find a place to put all of my textbooks when they arrive, clean out a cabinet and find a place to put it, then put all my stuff in it. I have a computer and, today, I got a printer, but I still do not have a login name or password, so I cannot use them. I feel pretty good about the curriculum. It is similar to what I taught last year, just with different texts. My biggest fear right now is what the heck I am going to do on day one. My school is in program improvement, so all students have two hour blocks of English/Language Arts every day. That means that I have the same students for ninety straight minutes. Last year, I was teaching 54 minute periods. I am afraid that after I introduce myself, go over rules and procedures and do a few ice breaker activities, I am going to be left with thirty minutes with nothing to do. I haven't been this stressed since May 30th.

It is Too Early

2008-08-09T07:05:00.000-07:00

It is now 7:05 am. I just woke up. I am definitely not a morning person, so I am having trouble staying awake. I thought that engaging my brain by writing might help.

This is the earliest I've gotten up for two months. I read somewhere that if you want to wake up earlier, it is easiest to do it fifteen minutes earlier each day. School starts next week, when I will have to get up at 6:30 every morning. I found a calendar, counted backwards a few weeks and figured out what time to get up every day. I've been doing pretty well. Except that three days ago, I set my alarm for pm instead of am and accidentally slept an extra half hour.

I wish I could sleep an extra half hour now. I do not see how I will be able to function this early every morning. At this time on Monday morning, I am supposed to be leaving for work. I do not think anyone this tired should be driving. I just hope that 6:30 is so awful that by comparison, 7:10 is great.

Setting Up a New Classroom is Hard Enough

2008-08-03T08:45:00.000-07:00

I am surprised at how lazy the teachers around here are when it comes to cleaning up after themselves. I am starting at a new school. So I am in the process of moving into a new classroom. The teacher that was using this room last year (Mr. E) is now in a small office. He asked the janitors to move some of his things into the office for him, then took off for summer. The janitors moved what they could, but the office is too small for everything. So, there is still a large cabinet in the middle of my room. The janitors are waiting for Mr. E to tell them what to do with it, but he hasn't been back or called at all over the summer. So, it looks like I'm going to have to wait until the week that school starts to find out if the cabinet is going to stay in my room or not. It is also full of junk, so I do not know if I can use the cabinet or not even if it does stay.

Another teacher was using my room this summer for summer school. I didn't even know the room was being used for summer school until I got in there and found all of his or her crap still sitting on one of the desks. There were workbooks, papers, pencils, a roll sheet and an empty Dr. Pepper can and coffee cup. At first I thought that maybe summer school had just ended a few days earlier. But a week later, the crap was all still there, untouched. I wanted to move the desk, so I just stacked up all the stuff in a corner. If no one comes to claim it within the first week of school I think I will throw it all away. Except, I will keep all the pencils.

I am not known to be a neat and tidy person, but I try to clean up after myself, especially where other people might see my mess. I also try to take care of my things. Last year, I ended up going through so many pens and pencils, having to continually buy more, that they are now very precious to me. I would not be leaving any of mine just sitting around where someone could take them. I hope that these two teachers are the exception and not the rule. But if teachers in general are this lazy and inconsiderate when summer rolls around, then I will work to be the exception.

I'm Both Teacher and Student

2008-08-01T10:54:00.000-07:00

I'm trying to learn Spanish. I took two years of Spanish in high school, so I know a lot of the vocabulary. For instance, I know all of my numbers and colors. I know half the days of the week, and to get to the biblioteca, you take el autobus. When working at McDonald's in college, I learned the words for everything you put on a hamburger (salsa, mustasa, lechuga y sevoya). I did not ever really know the syntax of the language though. I could only use verbs in the infinitive, and I didn't have any prepositions to put my nouns together.

Many of my students last year and, I know, many of the students I will have this year speak Spanish. I don't get the first year students fresh from Mexico, so by the time they get to my class, their English is better than my Spanish. And to get them the language practice they need, we should speak to each other mostly in English anyway. But I would still like to be able to use the language. That way, when they speak Spanish to each other, I'll be able to tell if they're saying anything inappropriate. I would also like to be able to speak to parents without having to rely on the students as translators.

So, I... ahem... acquired a language learning computer program. You know, the one that has those commercials that make it sound so easy. Well, I wanted to see if it really worked as well as they said it does. It has helped a bit. I've only gotten through eight lessons, and I've got a long way left to go. So far, a lot of it has been review for me, but I've learned a few new things too. I like that most of it is in complete sentences. So I didn't just learn the words for dog and sleeping, but I can actually say, "The dog is sleeping." (El perro está duermiendo.) (Which he is.) I realize that this probably won't help me much in the classroom. I've got a long way to go before I start holding parent/teacher conferences in Spanish. But I think that if I stick to it, this program will help me to eventually get there. Although, I'm only writing about it right now to procrastinate actually doing it. So, we'll see.

P.S. I only speak Spanish: I don't write it. So please forgive me if I've misspelled something.

Advice... The Finale

2008-07-31T10:53:00.000-07:00

Here is the last installment of things I wish someone would have told me before I got started teaching.

5. Don't try to grade everything yourself. It's a good idea to look at a lot of student work early on to get an idea of their abilities. Also, you may feel some sort of responsibility: you're their teacher, so it's your job to grade their papers. Actually, as a teacher, it's your job to teach. Get as much help with grading papers as you can. Be selective about what you grade and what you hand off to a T.A., parent helper or personal loved one. Save your time for things that only you can do and let someone else take care of anything else. Then, you can take a glance through the scores when you get them back to see if your students are on track. In fact, having someone help you grade papers will help your students be more successful in your class. Timely feedback improves student achievement. If it takes you a week to hand back that vocabulary quiz, the students will already have forgotten what was on it and will no longer care that they've failed.

6. Classroom Management is as important as instruction. Upon leaving a teacher preparation program, your mind is no doubt filled with activities and instructional strategies. You know all about learning styles and English language learners. You have plans for using what you know to turn your curriculum into diverse, engaging, and meaningful instruction. And that you should. But a heterogeneous group activity is only as successful as the group members. You may offer some profound wisdom and insight into your content area, but if your classroom is too loud for the student to hear you, it won't do them any good. Start from day one, minute one working to get and keep control of your classroom. Require students to be on task and non-disruptive. Once it becomes routine, you can slowly start to bring in more dynamic instructional strategies. Remember to require the same good behavior of your student working in partners as when listening to lecture, and soon you'll be ready to move on to large groups and learning stations.

7. Test the technology ahead of time. You think you know how to use a DVD player, but what do you do if the disc won't play, and the TV is showing a message in a foreign language? While this may be unavoidable, you don't have to let it happen while your students are watching. When you first get access to your classroom, check out all the technology to make sure it works and that you know how to use it. Then, test it again the morning before you actually intend to use it. Test it every time. Even if the VCR worked just fine last week, it may not work today. Some darling child may have crossed the cables. Maybe this particular video doesn't agree with the player. Or the gremlins may have got to it. If you check it out ahead of time, you may be able to fix it, or if not, revert to plan B.

Advice ... Part 2

2008-07-30T11:59:00.000-07:00

Here are a few more lessons I had to learn the hard way during my first year as a teacher.

3. Make friends with your neighbors. Suck up to the teachers in the classrooms near yours. They can easily become allies or enemies, and a lot of it depends on you. Unless the teacher in the next room is also in her first year, she really does know more than you. She may be old, cynical and critical of your teaching abilities when no critique was asked for, and I know that you're full of ideas, optimism and faith in your students. But experience is priceless, and it's the one thing that even the most senile teachers have more of than you. So, if they offer you advice, take it, or, at least, pretend like you will consider it. If the other teachers like you, they can help you out when you run out of #2 pencils and keep an eye out for whoever it is that keeps sticking chewed gum on your door handle. On the other hand, a neighbor who sees you as an arrogant young thing will come over to tell you to keep the noise down every time you show a video and make comments in department meetings about "some of the new teachers" while staring you straight in the face.

4. Have plenty of sponge activities ready to go at a moments notice. A sponge soaks up time. When your planned activities run a little short, and you have an extra five minutes at the end of class, or when you were going to show a video all period, but the VCR doesn't work, you have got to have something to do. Dead, empty time is a very dangerous thing. The best way to maintain your students' good behavior is to keep their hands and minds occupied every minute. You can plan extra activities related to the unit you're working in, but it's best to have some generic type sponges that don't require a lot of materials, especially ones that can be quick or can be stretched out to half an hour if needed. One that I recently learned of that my students liked is a tic-tac-toe game. Draw a big tic-tac-toe board on your white board or overhead. Split the class into two teams, one X, one O. Ask questions or give vocabulary definitions. Students shout out answers. Whichever team gets the right answer first gets to place their mark wherever they want it. Three in a row wins. You can play as many rounds as you can come up with questions for, and you can make it work with any content area.

Advice I Wish Someone had Given Me

2008-07-29T16:03:00.000-07:00

This past school year was my first year as a teacher. I taught 9th and 10th grade English at a high school downtown in a city in the southern end of California's Central Valley. I have a Bachelor's degree in English Education, and I had just completed student teaching and the credential program at a CSU with my teaching credential in English and Health Science. I thought I was ready.

I wasn't ready. Oh, I knew plenty about literacy, language acquisition, learning styles, special populations, instructional strategies and lesson planning. But there are a few other things which I wish someone had told me before I got started.

Well, now I know. If you are also a new teacher or plan to be one, I'm sure you could figure these things out the way I did. But I'm a teacher; my goal in life has been to inform and educate others. So allow me to inform you of the most valuable lessons I've learned over the past year.

1. Learn how to use the copy machines. Ask your support provider or department chair or other veteran teacher who likes you to show you how to use the Rizo and Xerox machines. And not just how to make copies. Find out how to turn the machine on and off. Find out where to put the paper and where to get it and if certain kinds go in certain drawers. Learn how to print transparencies and double-sided pages. Learn how to replace the ink or toner and master roll and which direction to insert them. This is stuff you need to know, and you will figure it out eventually, but you don't want to be figuring it out at eight o'clock in the morning when you need to make two hundred copies by 8:15. Besides, an older teacher can probably show you how to do it all without getting ink on your clothes.

2. Now that you know how to make copies, get it done. Early. Do not wait until the morning that you're going to need the papers to do the copying. In fact, don't even do it the day before. If you need handout for Friday, copy them on Wednesday. Run off Wednesday's homework on Monday. Because if you wait, every machine in the staff workroom will be out of order when you need it. Or there will be five other teachers, who got there before you, all waiting to use the one working machine. Even if all the machines work when you plan to use them, you won't be able to because a parent will call. I know it won't last. You'll be getting everything ready early for the first few weeks, but by the middle of the fourth week, you'll be permanently behind schedule. But the longer you can stay ahead of the game, the less depressing it will be when you fall.

More advice to follow...