Posts Tagged “parent”

Springtime Giggles

I find my students to be a never ending source of smiles. Here are a few I’ve gotten lately……

One of my title students, “Colin” had written “they” as “thay” in a sentence he was composing. I reminded him that “they” was spelled with an “e” and maybe if he sang the song when he wrote it, he could remember how to spell it. Together we sang – “There is no A in They, there is no A in They, T – H –E- Y, there is no A in They”. He went back to his writing and I moved on to help another student. A couple minutes later, I heard him softly singing the song again, but this time when he got to the end, under his breath he added, “But there should be!” Really, I couldn’t argue with that!

In Mrs. M’s Kindergarten room this week they were studying the letter “Y”. In one of the books they were using, “Y” stood for “Yankee”. Mrs. M. bravely asked if anyone knew what a Yankee was. Two students immediately raised their hands and blurted, “I do, I do…….my grandpa uses one. It’s in his pocket, he blows his nose on it. But he doesn’t throw it away!” After clearing up that it was a “HANKY” their grandpa’s used, Mrs. M. went on to describe what a Yankee was. When she finished, she noticed “Seth” had his had up. When Mrs. M. called on him he said, “I know what THAT is, just like in the movie Sweet Home Alabama, where her dad does a reenactment of the civil war and he has to play a Yankee but he doesn’t want to cuz their the bad guys.” It’s all about making those connections!! (Again, parents should be aware that when their kindergartener watches an R rated movie, everyone at school is eventually going to hear about it.)

And finally, from Mr. K.’s third grade….I was teaching a whole group lesson about similes. Students were filling in the blanks as we discussed and created some examples on the board before they started to write their own simile poem. It was a struggle to get much input from them at first, then “Luke” raised his hand and offered this simile……”When I am tired, I am as boring as a broken video game.” Once he put it in their language, I had a lot of great examples!!

11 ½ days and counting!

What’s it Worth?

There is currently a great deal of talk about “holding teachers accountable” and “merit pay”. As a teacher, of course, my opinion is not objective and it may be predictable to some, but it is also an incomplete opinion. First and foremost, how will this be judged? High stakes testing? Portfolios? Observation? Parent Satisfaction Surveys? Are any of these options anymore objective than my current opinion of merit pay? I have many unanswered questions.

Where are teachers NOT being held accountable? What is it they are doing that leads government officials and the public to believe teachers are such lackadaisical mavericks? Curriculum is determined by the district officials, (they may ask for input but normally do not follow it) and in Iowa the CORR state requirements are kicking in. This determines what we are teaching. Teachers in my district work in cooperative grade levels and also in collaboration with Special Education and Reading Teachers. This determines how we teach it. The fact that the School Board closed and combined 4 elementary buildings into one which now holds over 650 students, when it was built to house 400, determines where we teach. Should I have had the ability to make those decisions, my curriculum, presentation and definitely the facilities would be quite different. This is not to say that I am NOT responsible for teaching to the best of my ability what and how has been determined needs to be taught. However, I can say that my remedial students were better able to concentrate in a separate room. The “trailer” that currently houses 5 remedial reading teachers with bookshelves as walls definitely adds to the distractibility factor and negatively affects the students’ progress. How will this be accounted for in the determination of my merit pay?

How will the extras teachers take on, without request, be added in to merit pay? What will it be worth on my paycheck that I provide students with a safe place to talk about their daily struggles? What about those students I feed breakfast to, or an afternoon snack, to help them get through the day since I know they will go hungry at home? What is it worth when I make a deeper connection to a student, build their self-esteem and make them independent self aware learners? How much more do I earn for making time to meet with a student (perhaps not even one I see normally) before school begins or after school is over to help them complete homework because parents have refused to do so? What does packing a few extra lunches on field trip days for those students who forget to bring them, and didn’t order one from food service garner? None of this may show up on a high stakes test, none of this is recorded anywhere yet ALL of it is essential to students being successful, making progress and learning, at least in my humble opinion.

How does parental involvement get calculated into this formula? We all know that a caring, concerned, involved parent can make an enormous difference in a student. Will parents be held accountable for students completing and returning homework? Will they be required to feed them, make sure they get enough sleep and keep them safe when they are not under my supervision? If not, will there be allowances for these occurrences? A child from a home where they eat, sleep, and feel safe can come to school and focus on the task at hand. This is not the case for a child who may not be sure where they will sleep, who will be there and whether or not supper will be served.

I have no problem with merit pay in theory; I just haven’t been able to wrap my head around how the theory can be fairly and equally applied within the teaching arena. We are not making and selling pies, we are attempting, to the best of our abilities, to help students succeed to the best of their ability. Their abilities are not the same, their support systems not equal and our resources are not infinite or equal. In my opinion, those who are championing merit pay need to spend a month in the classroom shadowing teachers. Before having an opinion about how I am doing my job, come see me do it. My principal, the one who knows the constraints and population I work with does this every time I am evaluated. The truth is, there are good teachers and bad teachers, just like there are good doctors and bad, good mechanics and bad. I do not disagree that bad teachers should be either fired or given the coaching and instruction to improve. But to develop a merit pay plan based on the belief that all teachers are bad; all teachers work in equal environments with equal resources; all teachers work with equivalent populations; and high stakes test scores can determine if all teachers are “good” and “accountable” - is not the way to do it. Our children deserve better than that particular big quality-control band-aid.

Welcoming Spring with a Few Funnies

Spring Fever has hit the students in a large way. They have become bouncy and loud and though we attempted to corral them in the classroom, their minds are really outside in the sunshine. I have to admit, I’m kind of out there myself, it’s pretty contagious. So, just in case the fever hasn’t hit you, here are a few funnies to help lighten your mood.

In 4th grade, Mrs. K’s student “Jeanette”, who receives special ed services, had been helping to sort papers after she finished her assignment. She was still diligently working away when the Guidance Counselor, Mr. E., entered the room for his class lesson. Mrs. K remarked to “Jeanette” that she could put that work down for now, so she could pay attention to Mr. E. Jeanette turned and with a huge smile on her face said, “It’s ok Mrs. K, I can still do it cuz I’m MULTITASKIC! You know, that means I can do more than one thing at a time!” And she continued to sort, occasionally glancing up at Mr. E. (I do believe Multitaskic needs to be entered into the next edition of Webster’s. )

Also in 4th grade, Mrs. S had been working individually with “Maya”, reteaching a math concept that “Maya” was really struggling to understand. It was just about time for lunch, so Mrs. S invited “Maya” to get her lunch and bring it back to the room, so they could continue to work while they ate. Since eating in the room with the teacher is a pretty cool thing to do in a 4th grader’s mind, “Maya” was all for it. As she left, Mrs. S told her to think about any questions she might have that they could work on when she returned. A few minutes later, “Maya” returned with her lunch, sat down and looked at Mrs. S. Mrs. S. had the math work ready to begin where they had left off, and before she returned to it, she looked at “Maya” and said, “Did you think of any questions we can start with?” “Maya” looked at her very seriously and said, “Yes, Mrs. S. I have a question.” Mrs. S asked what that question might be. “Maya” looked at her very intently and asked, “How does the bus driver get on the bus?” Mrs. S has determined that next time, she’ll clarify that questions should be about the subject at hand!

And from my own Title group of second grade girls, “Denise” looks at me one day and says, “Mrs. R you look like my aunt “Sandy”. “ I smiled and jokingly said, “Oh, is she old too?” “Denise” said, “No, she’s not old, she’s DRUNK!” Really, I promise…..it’s just SPRING FEVER!

Professional Development

It’s part of every teacher’s life, professional development. In the past, in our district you had two kinds, the piece the district chose for everyone to follow and your own goals, that you chose(you know the one that really pertained to your teaching). Recently, in our district this has changed. The personal goals are now tied to the district wide goals (in other words, they are choosing both).

Since this change, we have embarked on a few new “next best thing that will increase student performance and test scores” adventures. First the focus was on vocabulary. All grade levels developed a list of pertinent vocabulary word and determined their importance to the curriculum. These lists were compiled, dispersed and I am sure filed. It was a bunch of busy work that is now on a shelf or in a drawer. Strategies for teaching vocabulary were also taught. That piece of the instruction was relevant and teachers are continuing to use it. Personal goal for this district wide goal – put an example of a vocabulary lesson you use in your portfolio. (Um, ……I already had one actually)

There was supposed to be more to the vocabulary adventure, but it was cut short. For some reason it was imperative we move on to Reading Comprehension. Again we were told it was the next most wonderful thing to improve student achievement and test scores. Seemed logical to us, so we shelved the vocabulary materials, and willingly grabbed the new reading materials. The trainer informed us that we would be learning a series of strategies that can be utilized with all students, no matter their reading level to improve their comprehension and lead them to using print. Let’s see…..we learned a total of……you guessed it…..ONE. The read aloud, is the only strategy we learned before the next switch was made. Personal goal for this district wide goal – put and an example of a read aloud lesson plan in your portfolio. (Ok, so I didn’t have that one.)

There was supposed to be much more to the reading comprehension adventure, in fact at the beginning we were told that it would take a few years to complete. BUT….the next year, we were on to the gold seal lessons of CORR. It was also touted as the next most wonderful thing, something that would be part of our professional development for more than a year. (is anyone else no longer hearing “RAH RAH RAH”…..but instead “BLAH BLAH BLAH”) Of course the personal goal was to create a lesson and get it gold sealed (and guess what…..you could put it in your portfolio!) I wrote up and submitted a lesson I do every year with my students, without any changes. It was gold sealed and my world was happy. (and yes, it was already in my portfolio) BUT WAIT – everyone did that….and now we are moving on again.

This time the professional development is “differentiated instruction”. We are just getting started; the first meeting was the prerequisite pep rally. “It’s not a strategy, it’s a philosophy! You won’t complete an assignment and put it on your shelf (or in your portfolio), you will integrate it into your teaching. This isn’t something we can cover in a year, this will be a long term journey, lasting 3 to 4 years. It will benefit students, improve their performance and in turn, improve test scores.” Wait, I have heard this before, and not just once or twice, but EVERY TIME WE START! I am afraid, now, my enthusiasm is not what it should be.

As a teacher, I really do want to learn whatever strategy or philosophy I can to help my students be as successful as they can be. I think every teacher does. There has to be a better way. If your professional development has been spectacular, please share! Those of us in mediocre land would love to hear about it.

*pulled from the Los Angeles Times and written by By David Kelly

Dictionary definition raises ruckus at Menifee school

The school district pulls the Merriam Webster 10th Collegiate editions off classroom shelves for study by a newly formed committee after a parent complains about explicit definitions of sexual terms.

It may be the last word in spelling bees and Scrabble, but Merriam Webster’s Collegiate Dictionary now faces a new if unlikely notoriety: being too sexy for its own good.

That was the verdict from at least one parent in Menifee last week who called the principal of Oak Meadows Elementary School to say that entries describing oral sex in the dictionary were too explicit. The books were immediately pulled off the shelves and “temporarily housed off location” until a committee could determine their suitability for children.

Holiday Funnies

There are many “extra” activities that go on around the holidays. Due to this, the normal daily schedule gets massacred and that is a recipe for chaos. In this chaos are always a few humorous moments….

#1 Mrs. Mc., the Kindergarten teacher, was trying to get her students lined up in the correct order for their music program when one of her students called her over. When she got there he motioned for her to bend down, like he needed to tell her something in confidence. As she bent down, he quickly put his hands on her chest and then turned to the student beside him and said, “Yup, she’s a girl! I told you.” Mrs. Mc. is now considering new hairstyles, clothing choices and perhaps even some plastic surgery.

#2 Mr. K is now under suspicion……he was walking by a group of (yes again) Kindergarteners when one of them said, “Yeah, that’s my dad.”
Mr. K said, “Who is your dad?”
The student said, “You ARE!”
Mr. K smiled at the student and said, “No, I’m not your dad.” and walked away.
As he was walking away another teacher saw the student turn to the one he had been talking to and say, “He really is my dad, but sometimes when he’s drinkin’ he forgets.”
And we all thought Mr. K. was the proud father of only 2 children, now we are wondering how many others may be out there and whether or not we need to do an intervention.

#3 In 5th grade this time (they are really no better than Kindergarteners) I stopped in to Mr. K’s room (different Mr. K.) because he always does a big gingerbread house geometry project. As I walked around the room and talked to many of the students about their houses I was amazed at the creativity. Some students were having no problems building while others were really struggling. One girl had been attempting to get a roof piece on for quite some time when Mr. K. took pity on her and fixed it. I asked the student what she was doing and she blithely answered, “Watching Mr. K. do my work. Isn’t he doin’ a good job?”
The look on Mr. K.’s face was priceless. He then removed the piece he had just secured and handed it to the student. She then hurriedly said, “No, I meant, I was watching Mr. K. help me so I could do my work better!!!!”
Mr. K. just smiled at her and walked away.

If you had any holiday laughs….please share….

Character Counts…at school…..

On Friday, my elementary school had the first of 6 total “Character Counts” assemblies. We couple these with a “pride” activity. Each teacher has a small group of students from grades K thru 5 assigned to them. I have 13. Each month, my pride group and I will get together to do some activity relating to one of the 6 pillars of character that is part of our “character curriculum”. The character traits we focus on are Trustworthiness, Caring, Respect, Responsibility, Fairness, and Citizenship. This month was trustworthiness. As we were talking about this in my group, and as I thought about it on the way home, I wondered how many of them hear this message any place but school.

Trustworthiness – I have heard many students say, my mom or dad just signs my read at home/planner/homework, even though I don’t always do it, so I won’t get a bad grade. Are they going to be there when to do the same when their child doesn’t want to do their real world job??

Caring – gets set to the back burner daily. I watch as students push and shove each other to be first in line for just about anything. I see parents pull away from the school with their children unrestrained by a seatbelt. Small things become such big things.

Respect – I could go on for days about this. The lack of respect teachers are shown by society as a whole is astounding. “You wanted to be a teacher because you get summers off.” (Yes, I couldn’t have wanted to make a difference or contribution to a child’s future…that surely wasn’t the reason. I am tens of thousands of dollars in debt with student loans, JUST so I could have summers off. ) Students are disrespectful to teachers, but what amazes me more is when I see them acting the same way to their parents. As a parent I would be appalled if any of my children told their teachers to “shut up”, or “f off”. I teach elementary students, I have heard and seen both.

Responsibility – is almost a lost commodity. Students don’t complete and return homework because their mom didn’t put it in their backpack. Parents don’t attend conferences because no one reminded them that it was this week. In the public realm, people sue at the drop of a hat because after all, it wasn’t their fault….whatever “IT” is. The bigger fallout from this is that students don’t believe they have any responsibility in their learning….as a teacher, I should spoon feed them, just pour it into their heads while they sit and maybe “guess” at the answer rather than look it up. It’s a struggle to motivate students when they don’t believe they have any responsibilities at all.

Fairness – THAT is one all the students talk about, but don’t really understand. It’s not fair they get that….never mind that “they” earned it. “What do you mean we don’t all get a sticker, just the winner does?” The world is unfair, the teachers are unfair – it’s only fair when I get what I want. We hear a great deal about the lack of fairness, but not so much about behaving fairly.

Citizenship – is a big concept. It comes in all sizes, school, city, county, state, country, and world. What does it mean to be a good citizen? Following laws when it’s convenient or helping clean up the park? Even those important citizens in the eye of the media, politicians and community leaders have trouble with this one.
Now don’t get me wrong, I do not think I am perfect at all. I have failed all of these traits, and probably will again. I don’t mind the dialog with my students and they seem open to the ideas. I’m just wondering if maybe we shouldn’t invite the parents too?

Partners

I dreamed I stood in a studio,
And watched two sculptors there.
The clay they used was a child’s mind,
And they fashioned it with care.

One was a teacher; the tools used,
Were books and music and art.
One, a parent with guiding hands,
A gentle and loving heart.

Day after day the teacher toiled,
With a touch both deft and skilled.
The parent labored side by side,
And all the values filled.

And when at last their task was done,
They looked at what they’d wrought.
The beautiful shape of the precious child,
Could neither be sold nor bought.

And each agreed it would have failed,
If one had worked alone.
For behind the parent stood the school,
And behind the teacher, home.