The Classics 101

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

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.

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

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

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

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?

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.