Hedgetoad Teaching

You’ve spent a lot of time trying to avoid paying taxes and demanding that the government get out of your wallet this year. Meanwhile, the federal government has weaseled it’s way into your home and not only did you not see it coming, you actually cheered and screamed in approval. I know you are scratching your head in wonderment, but let me explain… Remember those lazy teachers? The ones who get paid in the summer to do nothin’ and are “finished by 3pm, every stinkin’ day”? Yah, those ones. The federal government has decided that the only way evaluate those teachers is by using test scores from one single test. And it decided that states that choose not go along will be denied funding – which they really, really need, now that you voted not to pay taxes. Still scratchin’? Well, here it is. In order for your child’s teacher to keep his or her job, he or she will have to be really, really involved in how you parent. In fact, everyone at the school will be! Their jobs now depend on h...

Hypothetical Situation: Let’s say that at some point, you receive a notice asking for the week’s class work for a student. You receive these notices on a regular basis and about half the time the work sits in the front office for a week until it is throw away, uncollected. As you looked at this notice you realize that it is for a student who has already missed 37 days in a eight week period. This student has also approximately 2 grades in the grade book – they were tests – and has not turned in assignment this semester. And it is the third time said student has been enrolled in Freshman English. The school secretary calls your room to inform you that this student’s parent is in the office and is wanting the school work from your classroom. Do you interrupt what you are doing with your class and gather work for the student? Or do you inform the secretary that you are too busy to gather work at this point for a student who will not complete anything sent anyways?

Are you enjoying your winter break? I am. For no other reason, than I can sleep in until 7am. And I don’t have to do breakfast on the run. Well… and the only person asking to use the bathroom is 3, so there’s no judgment as to whether the asker actually has to use the bathroom or wants to text someone or wants to take a walk or is bored… etc. It’s nice to hang out with people eager to learn pretty much anything I want to teach them. Right now, both toddlers are engrossed with plastic letters, determinedly searching for those that “spell their name”. If only I could get my reading students as engrossed in reading anything! These breaks are so needed! After months of 50+ hour weeks, it’s nice to just be able to work on things in a relaxed manner. No rushing to fit every thing in, using the bathroom when needed instead of desperately waiting for the lunch bell to ring. Tomorrow I’ll be back in my classroom trying to get organized for the coming months and finish up those lingering ...

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The time of year when teachers are desperately attempting to get everything done before they leave for vacation because... no student will touch a book during the entire break. Really. Although, I will admit to possibly assigning my AP students a paper over break. Still debating on whether this will be a good idea or not... currently leaning towards not. Perhaps we will go with a AP style multiple choice test instead. Quicker to grade too! My plans for the holidays include: figuring out the Mimeo I received via Donor's Choose catching up with all the grading cleaning off my desk - oy! the piles of paper! Copying as much as a I can as it seems like our copying machine will probably be dead by the end of January... we've had for one day so far and it's already broken. No one can even use it yet. It broke "just sittin' there". planning out the rest of semester and working on next semester reading that one book on adolescent literacy I never read over the su...

apparently so.... due to budget cuts, the test will no longer be available in favor of end of course tests. Don't know who makes up those test, but given the current "test them til they die" mentality going around the nation, I find this news a bit shocking! Although I haven't decided which is more shocking... bucking the trend or someone actually realizing that these tests are a HUGE money suck.