A Short Review

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?

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 necessary 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 preparation and recovery.

Helicopter Parents

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

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

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

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

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.