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.

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.

Can't Teach an Old Teacher New Tech

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

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!

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

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

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.