A young lady I work with had a pretty disheartening experience this week.
She's a very young mother (17) living with her baby daddy. She's employed and going to school. She has very little family support; her own father and mother have their own issues. Her grandmother has health issues.
This young lady was visibly upset one morning and when I asked if she was o.k., the whole story poured out. Her boyfriend has become gradually more physically aggressive with her. He's prevented her from leaving their apartment, threatened to take their child away, and physically hurt her.
Those of us who work with this young lady advised her to seek help from several sources. One thing we suggested was to go to our local Public Housing Authority and find out how to get a place of her own. We told her not to tell her boyfriend about this and keep her plans to herself.
She went to Public Housing and filled out the necessary paperwork and told them that she was in an abusive situation. She left her cell phone number and home number and went to work.
When the agency could not reach her on her cell phone, they called her home phone. The boyfriend answered the phone....can you see where this is going?
Yeah. The individual disclosed the information to the boyfriend.
Do I know the whole story? Of course not. But I can tell you that she's very reluctant to seek help from anyone else now.
She's got my cell and home number with instructions to call me day or night.
Showing posts with label teaching. Show all posts
Showing posts with label teaching. Show all posts
Friday, February 8, 2008
This was Discouraging
A young lady I work with had a pretty disheartening experience this week.
She's a very young mother (17) living with her baby daddy. She's employed and going to school. She has very little family support; her own father and mother have their own issues. Her grandmother has health issues.
This young lady was visibly upset one morning and when I asked if she was o.k., the whole story poured out. Her boyfriend has become gradually more physically aggressive with her. He's prevented her from leaving their apartment, threatened to take their child away, and physically hurt her.
Those of us who work with this young lady advised her to seek help from several sources. One thing we suggested was to go to our local Public Housing Authority and find out how to get a place of her own. We told her not to tell her boyfriend about this and keep her plans to herself.
She went to Public Housing and filled out the necessary paperwork and told them that she was in an abusive situation. She left her cell phone number and home number and went to work.
When the agency could not reach her on her cell phone, they called her home phone. The boyfriend answered the phone....can you see where this is going?
Yeah. The individual disclosed the information to the boyfriend.
Do I know the whole story? Of course not. But I can tell you that she's very reluctant to seek help from anyone else now.
She's got my cell and home number with instructions to call me day or night.
She's a very young mother (17) living with her baby daddy. She's employed and going to school. She has very little family support; her own father and mother have their own issues. Her grandmother has health issues.
This young lady was visibly upset one morning and when I asked if she was o.k., the whole story poured out. Her boyfriend has become gradually more physically aggressive with her. He's prevented her from leaving their apartment, threatened to take their child away, and physically hurt her.
Those of us who work with this young lady advised her to seek help from several sources. One thing we suggested was to go to our local Public Housing Authority and find out how to get a place of her own. We told her not to tell her boyfriend about this and keep her plans to herself.
She went to Public Housing and filled out the necessary paperwork and told them that she was in an abusive situation. She left her cell phone number and home number and went to work.
When the agency could not reach her on her cell phone, they called her home phone. The boyfriend answered the phone....can you see where this is going?
Yeah. The individual disclosed the information to the boyfriend.
Do I know the whole story? Of course not. But I can tell you that she's very reluctant to seek help from anyone else now.
She's got my cell and home number with instructions to call me day or night.
Friday, January 25, 2008
Privacy
What a tenuous web we weave as we attempt to control our own personal privacy.
Personal privacy among adults has become an insane hot button issue. "I don't have anything to hide, I don't care who listens to my phone calls." "Only people with something to hide have something to hide".
Uuhhhh.
Those lines of privacy become very blurred and vague for those who work with high school students.
15, 16, 18 year olds are still children. As much as our culture would love to classify them as adults and hold them to the same standards as 30 and 40 year olds, there are very few in their 30's and 40's who would like to be judged by the actions of their younger selves.
When did we become a people who decides the fate of a human being based on what they choose when they are too young to vote or buy a six pack?
There are days when I just want to scream "UNCLE"
Today is that day.
Personal privacy among adults has become an insane hot button issue. "I don't have anything to hide, I don't care who listens to my phone calls." "Only people with something to hide have something to hide".
Uuhhhh.
Those lines of privacy become very blurred and vague for those who work with high school students.
15, 16, 18 year olds are still children. As much as our culture would love to classify them as adults and hold them to the same standards as 30 and 40 year olds, there are very few in their 30's and 40's who would like to be judged by the actions of their younger selves.
When did we become a people who decides the fate of a human being based on what they choose when they are too young to vote or buy a six pack?
There are days when I just want to scream "UNCLE"
Today is that day.
Privacy
What a tenuous web we weave as we attempt to control our own personal privacy.
Personal privacy among adults has become an insane hot button issue. "I don't have anything to hide, I don't care who listens to my phone calls." "Only people with something to hide have something to hide".
Uuhhhh.
Those lines of privacy become very blurred and vague for those who work with high school students.
15, 16, 18 year olds are still children. As much as our culture would love to classify them as adults and hold them to the same standards as 30 and 40 year olds, there are very few in their 30's and 40's who would like to be judged by the actions of their younger selves.
When did we become a people who decides the fate of a human being based on what they choose when they are too young to vote or buy a six pack?
There are days when I just want to scream "UNCLE"
Today is that day.
Personal privacy among adults has become an insane hot button issue. "I don't have anything to hide, I don't care who listens to my phone calls." "Only people with something to hide have something to hide".
Uuhhhh.
Those lines of privacy become very blurred and vague for those who work with high school students.
15, 16, 18 year olds are still children. As much as our culture would love to classify them as adults and hold them to the same standards as 30 and 40 year olds, there are very few in their 30's and 40's who would like to be judged by the actions of their younger selves.
When did we become a people who decides the fate of a human being based on what they choose when they are too young to vote or buy a six pack?
There are days when I just want to scream "UNCLE"
Today is that day.
Thursday, January 17, 2008
I-CRAP
It's that time of year again. The time of year in Illinois when all young school children frolic in the snow. Sledding. Snowmen. All that jazz.
Oh wait, this is central Illinois. No snow. We're experiencing flooding. What's up with that?
And those young children I was speaking of? They are now diligently being preparedfor a very, very important event.
I-SAT!!
What's that? The Illinois State Achievement Test. This is a test given, in predetermined grades, to Illinois School Children. Illinois schools live and die by aISAT scores. If a district does not make "adequate yearly progress" the district runs the risk of losing funding, being put on "probation" and all sorts of other shitty things.
So, to combat this and ensure that our children perform well, our teachers are forced to "prepare" the kids for the tests. Yes, that's what we all call "teaching to the test". The test is supposed to measure whether or not students are learning what they are supposed to learn and whether or not teachers are teaching what they are supposed to teach. Except it doesn't work that way. See, if part of what you teach is how to do better on the test (rather than just teaching the material) you aren't really measuring a student's true knowledge.
"Teaching to the test" is an old concept. It's been around forever. But it doesn't really teach a child anything. And this type of b.s. doesn't really asses how well a teacher or district educates students, either. Here's a little example:
"No Child Left Behind Football Version
1. All teams must make the state playoffs, and all will win the championship. If a team does not win the championship, they will be on probation until they are the champions and coaches will be held accountable.
2. All kids will be expected to have the same football skills at the same time and in the same conditions. No exceptions will be made for interest in football, a desire to perform athletically,genetic abilities or disabilities. ALL KIDS WILL PLAY FOOTBALL AT A PROFICIENT LEVEL.
3. Talented players will be asked to work out on their own without instruction. This is because the coaches will be using all their instructional time with the athletes who aren't interested in football, havelimited athletic ability or whose parents don't like football.
4. Games will be played year round, but statistics will only be kept in 4th,8th and 11th games.
5. This will create a New Age of sports where every school is expected to have the same level of talent and all teams will reach the same minimal goals.
If no child gets ahead, then no child will be left behind.
This example is NOT a stretch. This is exactly what happens. Those tests don't tell you if Little Johnny who is in the 4th grade had to listen to his dad beat the hell out of his mom the night before the test. This test does not tell you that Janie in the 8th grade just lost her mom to Leukemia a week ago. They don't measure the teacher who has battled bullies in her class or the 5 students whose parents parents are getting divorced in his class.
This is what the No Child Left Behind legislation has done. And to those who will say "Wasn't it Ted Kennedy who initiated NCLB?" I respond with: "Yes, but it's Mr. Bush who fails to adequately fund it."
My #2 son has brought home ISAT preparation homework for the last two weeks. He's supposed to solve a math problem and then explain HOW he arrived at that answer. That's on top of the 25 spelling words he must alphabetize, "vowel color" [write the vowels in a different color], and spell out loud; then there's the fractions to simplify and southern states whose capitals he must write. Each and everyone of those skills is important. I believe in meaningful homework. I'm a teacher. I get it.
But the pressure that is put on teachers and administrators to have their students PERFORM LIKE MONKEYS is asinine. This is how drop-outs and burned out teachers are created. Teaching is NOT about learning anymore.
We've all become drones who must have the "Meets Expectations" box on our performance evaluations checked off...even our children.
Oh wait, this is central Illinois. No snow. We're experiencing flooding. What's up with that?
And those young children I was speaking of? They are now diligently being preparedfor a very, very important event.
I-SAT!!
What's that? The Illinois State Achievement Test. This is a test given, in predetermined grades, to Illinois School Children. Illinois schools live and die by aISAT scores. If a district does not make "adequate yearly progress" the district runs the risk of losing funding, being put on "probation" and all sorts of other shitty things.
So, to combat this and ensure that our children perform well, our teachers are forced to "prepare" the kids for the tests. Yes, that's what we all call "teaching to the test". The test is supposed to measure whether or not students are learning what they are supposed to learn and whether or not teachers are teaching what they are supposed to teach. Except it doesn't work that way. See, if part of what you teach is how to do better on the test (rather than just teaching the material) you aren't really measuring a student's true knowledge.
"Teaching to the test" is an old concept. It's been around forever. But it doesn't really teach a child anything. And this type of b.s. doesn't really asses how well a teacher or district educates students, either. Here's a little example:
"No Child Left Behind Football Version
1. All teams must make the state playoffs, and all will win the championship. If a team does not win the championship, they will be on probation until they are the champions and coaches will be held accountable.
2. All kids will be expected to have the same football skills at the same time and in the same conditions. No exceptions will be made for interest in football, a desire to perform athletically,genetic abilities or disabilities. ALL KIDS WILL PLAY FOOTBALL AT A PROFICIENT LEVEL.
3. Talented players will be asked to work out on their own without instruction. This is because the coaches will be using all their instructional time with the athletes who aren't interested in football, havelimited athletic ability or whose parents don't like football.
4. Games will be played year round, but statistics will only be kept in 4th,8th and 11th games.
5. This will create a New Age of sports where every school is expected to have the same level of talent and all teams will reach the same minimal goals.
If no child gets ahead, then no child will be left behind.
This example is NOT a stretch. This is exactly what happens. Those tests don't tell you if Little Johnny who is in the 4th grade had to listen to his dad beat the hell out of his mom the night before the test. This test does not tell you that Janie in the 8th grade just lost her mom to Leukemia a week ago. They don't measure the teacher who has battled bullies in her class or the 5 students whose parents parents are getting divorced in his class.
This is what the No Child Left Behind legislation has done. And to those who will say "Wasn't it Ted Kennedy who initiated NCLB?" I respond with: "Yes, but it's Mr. Bush who fails to adequately fund it."
My #2 son has brought home ISAT preparation homework for the last two weeks. He's supposed to solve a math problem and then explain HOW he arrived at that answer. That's on top of the 25 spelling words he must alphabetize, "vowel color" [write the vowels in a different color], and spell out loud; then there's the fractions to simplify and southern states whose capitals he must write. Each and everyone of those skills is important. I believe in meaningful homework. I'm a teacher. I get it.
But the pressure that is put on teachers and administrators to have their students PERFORM LIKE MONKEYS is asinine. This is how drop-outs and burned out teachers are created. Teaching is NOT about learning anymore.
We've all become drones who must have the "Meets Expectations" box on our performance evaluations checked off...even our children.
I-CRAP
It's that time of year again. The time of year in Illinois when all young school children frolic in the snow. Sledding. Snowmen. All that jazz.
Oh wait, this is central Illinois. No snow. We're experiencing flooding. What's up with that?
And those young children I was speaking of? They are now diligently being preparedfor a very, very important event.
I-SAT!!
What's that? The Illinois State Achievement Test. This is a test given, in predetermined grades, to Illinois School Children. Illinois schools live and die by aISAT scores. If a district does not make "adequate yearly progress" the district runs the risk of losing funding, being put on "probation" and all sorts of other shitty things.
So, to combat this and ensure that our children perform well, our teachers are forced to "prepare" the kids for the tests. Yes, that's what we all call "teaching to the test". The test is supposed to measure whether or not students are learning what they are supposed to learn and whether or not teachers are teaching what they are supposed to teach. Except it doesn't work that way. See, if part of what you teach is how to do better on the test (rather than just teaching the material) you aren't really measuring a student's true knowledge.
"Teaching to the test" is an old concept. It's been around forever. But it doesn't really teach a child anything. And this type of b.s. doesn't really asses how well a teacher or district educates students, either. Here's a little example:
"No Child Left Behind Football Version
1. All teams must make the state playoffs, and all will win the championship. If a team does not win the championship, they will be on probation until they are the champions and coaches will be held accountable.
2. All kids will be expected to have the same football skills at the same time and in the same conditions. No exceptions will be made for interest in football, a desire to perform athletically,genetic abilities or disabilities. ALL KIDS WILL PLAY FOOTBALL AT A PROFICIENT LEVEL.
3. Talented players will be asked to work out on their own without instruction. This is because the coaches will be using all their instructional time with the athletes who aren't interested in football, havelimited athletic ability or whose parents don't like football.
4. Games will be played year round, but statistics will only be kept in 4th,8th and 11th games.
5. This will create a New Age of sports where every school is expected to have the same level of talent and all teams will reach the same minimal goals.
If no child gets ahead, then no child will be left behind.
This example is NOT a stretch. This is exactly what happens. Those tests don't tell you if Little Johnny who is in the 4th grade had to listen to his dad beat the hell out of his mom the night before the test. This test does not tell you that Janie in the 8th grade just lost her mom to Leukemia a week ago. They don't measure the teacher who has battled bullies in her class or the 5 students whose parents parents are getting divorced in his class.
This is what the No Child Left Behind legislation has done. And to those who will say "Wasn't it Ted Kennedy who initiated NCLB?" I respond with: "Yes, but it's Mr. Bush who fails to adequately fund it."
My #2 son has brought home ISAT preparation homework for the last two weeks. He's supposed to solve a math problem and then explain HOW he arrived at that answer. That's on top of the 25 spelling words he must alphabetize, "vowel color" [write the vowels in a different color], and spell out loud; then there's the fractions to simplify and southern states whose capitals he must write. Each and everyone of those skills is important. I believe in meaningful homework. I'm a teacher. I get it.
But the pressure that is put on teachers and administrators to have their students PERFORM LIKE MONKEYS is asinine. This is how drop-outs and burned out teachers are created. Teaching is NOT about learning anymore.
We've all become drones who must have the "Meets Expectations" box on our performance evaluations checked off...even our children.
Oh wait, this is central Illinois. No snow. We're experiencing flooding. What's up with that?
And those young children I was speaking of? They are now diligently being preparedfor a very, very important event.
I-SAT!!
What's that? The Illinois State Achievement Test. This is a test given, in predetermined grades, to Illinois School Children. Illinois schools live and die by aISAT scores. If a district does not make "adequate yearly progress" the district runs the risk of losing funding, being put on "probation" and all sorts of other shitty things.
So, to combat this and ensure that our children perform well, our teachers are forced to "prepare" the kids for the tests. Yes, that's what we all call "teaching to the test". The test is supposed to measure whether or not students are learning what they are supposed to learn and whether or not teachers are teaching what they are supposed to teach. Except it doesn't work that way. See, if part of what you teach is how to do better on the test (rather than just teaching the material) you aren't really measuring a student's true knowledge.
"Teaching to the test" is an old concept. It's been around forever. But it doesn't really teach a child anything. And this type of b.s. doesn't really asses how well a teacher or district educates students, either. Here's a little example:
"No Child Left Behind Football Version
1. All teams must make the state playoffs, and all will win the championship. If a team does not win the championship, they will be on probation until they are the champions and coaches will be held accountable.
2. All kids will be expected to have the same football skills at the same time and in the same conditions. No exceptions will be made for interest in football, a desire to perform athletically,genetic abilities or disabilities. ALL KIDS WILL PLAY FOOTBALL AT A PROFICIENT LEVEL.
3. Talented players will be asked to work out on their own without instruction. This is because the coaches will be using all their instructional time with the athletes who aren't interested in football, havelimited athletic ability or whose parents don't like football.
4. Games will be played year round, but statistics will only be kept in 4th,8th and 11th games.
5. This will create a New Age of sports where every school is expected to have the same level of talent and all teams will reach the same minimal goals.
If no child gets ahead, then no child will be left behind.
This example is NOT a stretch. This is exactly what happens. Those tests don't tell you if Little Johnny who is in the 4th grade had to listen to his dad beat the hell out of his mom the night before the test. This test does not tell you that Janie in the 8th grade just lost her mom to Leukemia a week ago. They don't measure the teacher who has battled bullies in her class or the 5 students whose parents parents are getting divorced in his class.
This is what the No Child Left Behind legislation has done. And to those who will say "Wasn't it Ted Kennedy who initiated NCLB?" I respond with: "Yes, but it's Mr. Bush who fails to adequately fund it."
My #2 son has brought home ISAT preparation homework for the last two weeks. He's supposed to solve a math problem and then explain HOW he arrived at that answer. That's on top of the 25 spelling words he must alphabetize, "vowel color" [write the vowels in a different color], and spell out loud; then there's the fractions to simplify and southern states whose capitals he must write. Each and everyone of those skills is important. I believe in meaningful homework. I'm a teacher. I get it.
But the pressure that is put on teachers and administrators to have their students PERFORM LIKE MONKEYS is asinine. This is how drop-outs and burned out teachers are created. Teaching is NOT about learning anymore.
We've all become drones who must have the "Meets Expectations" box on our performance evaluations checked off...even our children.
Thursday, August 30, 2007
Fuzzy Lines
I know I mentioned before that I'm a teacher at a school for bad kids. Or rather, kids that have made really poor choices.
It doesn't occur to me that what we talk about from day to day in my classroom is pretty wierd, until I share it with people who don't work there.
For example, a boy returned to our program today who had been in a juvenile "home" for the last 30 days. He was there because he violated his probation and had to serve 30 days. I was asking him what it was like, if he had a room-mate, about the food, if he had school...and I learned about "Bob Barkers". These are the shoes that the kids wear in "juvie". I guess they are slip on sneakers.
I overheard a couple other students discussing whether or not it was possible to kill yourself by drinking too much water. I shared that I knew this was possible and that kids who have taken Ecstasy have done this by throwing off their electrolyte balance. This, in turn, turned into a mini-biology lesson about electrolytes and the dangers of messing with stuff you don't know about.
Another student, who is 8 months pregnant, was "grossed out" because when she lays down on her back, the top of her "belly" is "all squishy". I told her that this was because her uterus is expanded and smooshing everything.
This is not stuff they told me about in my teacher prep classes. We learned about "teachable moments" but this was not quite what I had in mind.
But I love these students. I just love these kids and wish that everyone who came in contact with them would have a chance to see them when they expose their hearts and let their guards down. They are so polite to kind to me. They ask about my family, worry about me when I'm not there, and make handmade cards for the other students and teachers on special days.
I wish I could bring them all home, give them a warm bath, some meatloaf and mashed potatos, a warm blanket on my couch as they watch t.v. and oatmeal for breakfast in the morning.
It doesn't occur to me that what we talk about from day to day in my classroom is pretty wierd, until I share it with people who don't work there.
For example, a boy returned to our program today who had been in a juvenile "home" for the last 30 days. He was there because he violated his probation and had to serve 30 days. I was asking him what it was like, if he had a room-mate, about the food, if he had school...and I learned about "Bob Barkers". These are the shoes that the kids wear in "juvie". I guess they are slip on sneakers.
I overheard a couple other students discussing whether or not it was possible to kill yourself by drinking too much water. I shared that I knew this was possible and that kids who have taken Ecstasy have done this by throwing off their electrolyte balance. This, in turn, turned into a mini-biology lesson about electrolytes and the dangers of messing with stuff you don't know about.
Another student, who is 8 months pregnant, was "grossed out" because when she lays down on her back, the top of her "belly" is "all squishy". I told her that this was because her uterus is expanded and smooshing everything.
This is not stuff they told me about in my teacher prep classes. We learned about "teachable moments" but this was not quite what I had in mind.
But I love these students. I just love these kids and wish that everyone who came in contact with them would have a chance to see them when they expose their hearts and let their guards down. They are so polite to kind to me. They ask about my family, worry about me when I'm not there, and make handmade cards for the other students and teachers on special days.
I wish I could bring them all home, give them a warm bath, some meatloaf and mashed potatos, a warm blanket on my couch as they watch t.v. and oatmeal for breakfast in the morning.
Friday, August 17, 2007
Educators and Hemophilia
It's the beginning of the school year. Which means hairy scary for parents, students, and especially teachers. I am one and
have some of each so I feel tri-hairy scary.
I'm getting my classroom together. Setting up bulletin boards; putting those big sheets of butcher paper up and making the blank bulletin boards look nice and neat. It's not easy! The school I teach at has a VERY, VERY limited budget. We are grant funded and subject to the whims of the state legislature. We'll always have funding, but we never know how much.
I'm identifying my goals for my various students this year. And I teach high school resource (special education). So my goals for my students must help them achieve the goals they have on their IEPs. An IEP is an Individualized Education Plan. This plan is set up based upon the "qualifying condition" that has made the student eligible for special education services. Somewhere along the way, it was determined that the student needed extra services to make that student succesful in the classroom. Each and every public school student is entitled to a free and appropriated public education. What makes a student a "special education" student is that what is deemed appropriate for most students isn't appropriate for this student because of some qualifiying condition.
A specific learning disability, a behavior disorder, a physical limitation (it's not appropriate to ask a student with cerebral palsy to have to handwrite answers to a test), an emotional disorder, etc...that's what counts as a qualifying condition. Each year goals are written for the student and specialists are designated to help the student meet those goals.
My students have lots of goals, needs, accomodations....etc. And then there are the students who have other issues that make school a challenge, but don't qualify for special education services. Like a student with asthma or diabetes. Or one who is pregnant. Or who lives with his Grandma's neighbor in the basement and can't get to school on time because the alarm doesn't work, they don't have a phone and the dog has to be fed before the student can walk to school. (You laugh? Oh...the stories I could tell)
Anyway, each year millions of classroom teachers eagerly plan and prepare their bulletin boards and make the room inviting and appealing to students. We think about the things that will make a student comfortable and ready to learn. We try to figure out a way to organize their papers and assignments so that when parents call with questions, we can find the information they are looking for quickly.
I personally spent about $100 today just on stuff I can't get my school to pay for. Stuff like making my all file cabinets hanging file cabinets. You know...those metal frames you add to the drawers? We buy those. Those plastic "in-boxes" that students put their homework in at the end of the day? I bought 4. White board markers? I buy those. 3 Ring binders to put student work in? I bought 6 today. I bought paperclips and staples too...I need to buy my own stapler and electric pencil sharpener, too, but I didn't like what they had at the store.
I bought a "boom-box" for my room because the vast majority of my students work better when there is some music playing in the background. I use classical music often. If the class completes their work and is cooperative, I let them pick a CD to play. But if they are REALLY squirrley, I put in a little kid CD like Raffi or nursery rhymes....they hate it. I can get them to get back on task pretty quick if I have to pull out the "baby CD".
People that don't teach have no clue how much teachers spend on the "little things" that make an empty room a classroom. Those cute little note pads teachers send notes home on? Some come from gifts from parents, but we usually buy those. Those cute cut outs that teachers put student names on? We buy those. Colorful pens? Markers? Gel Pens? Cute scissors? We buy those. Classroom games? We buy those.
[Hey, by the way - instead of another mug, cute apple candle, Christams ornamet, bath gel, or novelty pair of socks, your kid's teacher would much rather have a gift certificate to the teacher store ($5 is fine, too), or a gift certificate to the video store, pizza place, grocery store...gift certificates are the bomb! We never, ever expect gifts from our students. We are touched that you think of us and greatful for your gifts...but after the first couple years of teaching, we have a lot of teacher themed stuff. And we really do have lives outside of school.]
We work to organize our teaching materials so that there is little "down" time in class. There's nothing worse that not being able to find the hand-out that you need. We check the lightbulbs in our overhead projectors and buy new markers. We make sure our computers still work and even though I'm using an ancient Gateway I still make sure I have internet connection so that I have something to reward my students with (computer games are big) when they do well.
We have to listen to the new and exciting things our principle wants to implement and figure out how we can work that in to our day. We have meetings about the new state laws and mandates and take that paperwork back to our room and try to find a place to file it where it won't be lost so that we'll remember when it has to be turned in.
We read the information from the Federal Government about how good or bad our school is and what we will have to do to ensure we keep all of our funding.
We check through all the items we ordered at the end of the year last year and see which things were approved and which weren't and then we modify our classroom plans accordingly. We see that the new LCD projector we wanted - that all the stuff that all the other schools have but we don't - wasn't ordered and we figure out how we are supposed to expose our students to new technology when we can't even get a decent photocopy machine in our building.
I take some time to wipe off the desks and remove as much of the grafitti as I can. What I can't remove, I try to cover. I especially hate the swastika on the back of a big file cabinet in my room. I've got it covered right now, but I don't know how long that will last.
In the midst of all this, I'm calling my own children's teachers and asking them for a few minutes to tell them a little about the boys and what they can expect the impact of hemophilia to have on their daily lives. I assure the counselor that I only need about 10 minutes, I just want some "face time". I mostly want to reassure them that even though the big, scary word "HEMOPHILIA" is on their records, we (my husband and I) aren't going to ask more of them.
If only every parent of every child with a little something "extra" had the experience of being a classroom teacher.
If only every classroom teacher had the experience of being a parent who has to reassure a school full of people that their child won't spontaneously blow up on the playground.
Public education has been getting such a bad rap for about 10 years. Most of the negative stuff comes from people who've never taught a thing in their lives. I hope that my children's teachers don't feel overwhelmed with my kids and one more thing to worry about. I sure go out of my way to tell them specifically what we expect.
Parents get a bad rap, too. No one wants to raise their kids to be brats. I don't expect my kids' teachers to be nurses....
Just a little sympathy, empathy and compassion on all sides would be and welcome thing.
What I expect my children's teachers to do about their hemophilia is very simple.
Rule #1 - Listen to my children. They've never faked an injury or only pretended to need ice before. I'm well aware that this may happen at some point. Let me be the one to make that call. Trust me, my punishment for faking will be far worse than what the teacher could come up with. However, the consequence of a teacher THINKING he's faking when he's not are worse than either of use could come up with. Give him the ice. Let him call me. I'll deal with that end.
Rule #2 - When in doubt, call me.
Rule #3 - Even if you're not in doubt, call me.
Rule #4 - If you don't like me, call his doctor.
Rule #5 - Don't mess with my kid. Don't single him out. Don't discuss his bleeding disorder aloud (with the class, other students) unless you have his explicit permission.
I think it's pretty easy.
Let's hope their teachers do, too!
have some of each so I feel tri-hairy scary.I'm getting my classroom together. Setting up bulletin boards; putting those big sheets of butcher paper up and making the blank bulletin boards look nice and neat. It's not easy! The school I teach at has a VERY, VERY limited budget. We are grant funded and subject to the whims of the state legislature. We'll always have funding, but we never know how much.
I'm identifying my goals for my various students this year. And I teach high school resource (special education). So my goals for my students must help them achieve the goals they have on their IEPs. An IEP is an Individualized Education Plan. This plan is set up based upon the "qualifying condition" that has made the student eligible for special education services. Somewhere along the way, it was determined that the student needed extra services to make that student succesful in the classroom. Each and every public school student is entitled to a free and appropriated public education. What makes a student a "special education" student is that what is deemed appropriate for most students isn't appropriate for this student because of some qualifiying condition.
A specific learning disability, a behavior disorder, a physical limitation (it's not appropriate to ask a student with cerebral palsy to have to handwrite answers to a test), an emotional disorder, etc...that's what counts as a qualifying condition. Each year goals are written for the student and specialists are designated to help the student meet those goals.
My students have lots of goals, needs, accomodations....etc. And then there are the students who have other issues that make school a challenge, but don't qualify for special education services. Like a student with asthma or diabetes. Or one who is pregnant. Or who lives with his Grandma's neighbor in the basement and can't get to school on time because the alarm doesn't work, they don't have a phone and the dog has to be fed before the student can walk to school. (You laugh? Oh...the stories I could tell)
Anyway, each year millions of classroom teachers eagerly plan and prepare their bulletin boards and make the room inviting and appealing to students. We think about the things that will make a student comfortable and ready to learn. We try to figure out a way to organize their papers and assignments so that when parents call with questions, we can find the information they are looking for quickly.
I personally spent about $100 today just on stuff I can't get my school to pay for. Stuff like making my all file cabinets hanging file cabinets. You know...those metal frames you add to the drawers? We buy those. Those plastic "in-boxes" that students put their homework in at the end of the day? I bought 4. White board markers? I buy those. 3 Ring binders to put student work in? I bought 6 today. I bought paperclips and staples too...I need to buy my own stapler and electric pencil sharpener, too, but I didn't like what they had at the store.
I bought a "boom-box" for my room because the vast majority of my students work better when there is some music playing in the background. I use classical music often. If the class completes their work and is cooperative, I let them pick a CD to play. But if they are REALLY squirrley, I put in a little kid CD like Raffi or nursery rhymes....they hate it. I can get them to get back on task pretty quick if I have to pull out the "baby CD".
People that don't teach have no clue how much teachers spend on the "little things" that make an empty room a classroom. Those cute little note pads teachers send notes home on? Some come from gifts from parents, but we usually buy those. Those cute cut outs that teachers put student names on? We buy those. Colorful pens? Markers? Gel Pens? Cute scissors? We buy those. Classroom games? We buy those.
[Hey, by the way - instead of another mug, cute apple candle, Christams ornamet, bath gel, or novelty pair of socks, your kid's teacher would much rather have a gift certificate to the teacher store ($5 is fine, too), or a gift certificate to the video store, pizza place, grocery store...gift certificates are the bomb! We never, ever expect gifts from our students. We are touched that you think of us and greatful for your gifts...but after the first couple years of teaching, we have a lot of teacher themed stuff. And we really do have lives outside of school.]
We work to organize our teaching materials so that there is little "down" time in class. There's nothing worse that not being able to find the hand-out that you need. We check the lightbulbs in our overhead projectors and buy new markers. We make sure our computers still work and even though I'm using an ancient Gateway I still make sure I have internet connection so that I have something to reward my students with (computer games are big) when they do well.
We have to listen to the new and exciting things our principle wants to implement and figure out how we can work that in to our day. We have meetings about the new state laws and mandates and take that paperwork back to our room and try to find a place to file it where it won't be lost so that we'll remember when it has to be turned in.
We read the information from the Federal Government about how good or bad our school is and what we will have to do to ensure we keep all of our funding.
We check through all the items we ordered at the end of the year last year and see which things were approved and which weren't and then we modify our classroom plans accordingly. We see that the new LCD projector we wanted - that all the stuff that all the other schools have but we don't - wasn't ordered and we figure out how we are supposed to expose our students to new technology when we can't even get a decent photocopy machine in our building.
I take some time to wipe off the desks and remove as much of the grafitti as I can. What I can't remove, I try to cover. I especially hate the swastika on the back of a big file cabinet in my room. I've got it covered right now, but I don't know how long that will last.
In the midst of all this, I'm calling my own children's teachers and asking them for a few minutes to tell them a little about the boys and what they can expect the impact of hemophilia to have on their daily lives. I assure the counselor that I only need about 10 minutes, I just want some "face time". I mostly want to reassure them that even though the big, scary word "HEMOPHILIA" is on their records, we (my husband and I) aren't going to ask more of them.
If only every parent of every child with a little something "extra" had the experience of being a classroom teacher.
If only every classroom teacher had the experience of being a parent who has to reassure a school full of people that their child won't spontaneously blow up on the playground.
Public education has been getting such a bad rap for about 10 years. Most of the negative stuff comes from people who've never taught a thing in their lives. I hope that my children's teachers don't feel overwhelmed with my kids and one more thing to worry about. I sure go out of my way to tell them specifically what we expect.
Parents get a bad rap, too. No one wants to raise their kids to be brats. I don't expect my kids' teachers to be nurses....
Just a little sympathy, empathy and compassion on all sides would be and welcome thing.
What I expect my children's teachers to do about their hemophilia is very simple.
Rule #1 - Listen to my children. They've never faked an injury or only pretended to need ice before. I'm well aware that this may happen at some point. Let me be the one to make that call. Trust me, my punishment for faking will be far worse than what the teacher could come up with. However, the consequence of a teacher THINKING he's faking when he's not are worse than either of use could come up with. Give him the ice. Let him call me. I'll deal with that end.
Rule #2 - When in doubt, call me.
Rule #3 - Even if you're not in doubt, call me.
Rule #4 - If you don't like me, call his doctor.
Rule #5 - Don't mess with my kid. Don't single him out. Don't discuss his bleeding disorder aloud (with the class, other students) unless you have his explicit permission.
I think it's pretty easy.
Let's hope their teachers do, too!
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