Hedgetoad Teaching

We’re starting our wind down for the school year. Most state testing has finished, although there are still the End of Course (EOC) exams to be done and AP tests start next week. College acceptances have been received and deposits sent back. Students are a little stunned to realize that only six weeks are left and that there aren’t many assignments left with which to rescue their grade. My formal last observation for the year was today. I was a bit nervous – things haven’t gone well for others and who knows what’s going on behind the scenes. Once again, I am reminded that working in education is only slightly less political that working on Capital Hill… fewer political  ideologues, more personal vendettas. The deadline for RIFs and transfers looms. Basically, we greet each other in the morning, at lunch and after school with the words “have you heard anything?”, every day. God forbid anyone is out of their normal spaces at any point in time. The rumors immediately start flying....

At the AP institute last month, I was given a copy of a letter from 1999 detailing the value of AP and taking the AP exam in college admissions – even if the student did not pass. I mentioned having the letter to our vice-principal and had planned on handing it out on the first day of school to my AP students. Our VP asked for a copy because our AP program is apparently in jeopardy. It would appear that the $2500 dollars spent annually on it (plus, I suppose, numerous reams of paper) is too expensive. There is not enough ROI, as our student do not pass in droves. Instead of investing our achieving students, it appears that some feel the money could be used somewhere else. More books for the online school perhaps? Is it worth it? I would have to say yes for a couple of reasons. First, we are one of the few schools still offering AP courses. Everyone else has cut them. As our area practices ‘open enrollment’ this means that students from other districts can choose our school over the...

Our school district, like many others, is short of money. We're all tightening our belts and trying to make do with what we have. It's meant many sacrifices. For example, if anything breaks down… forget about it being fixed. If a chair breaks in my room , a pretty common occurrence, the student will have use an absent student's chair for the rest of the year. It's not that big of deal, until you also realize that due to overcrowding, I have students doubled up on designated seats. So far "Bob" has not actually been here when "Joe" chooses to show up. Luckily for me… not so lucky for either Bob or Joe. Our technology is fairly gone as well. Forget about using the internet for research for the most part because most sites are blocked by our super strict blocking company (we are the only school they serve that allows student to access the internet) and there is not one available to unblock. Computer problems go unresolved and although our superintendent...