Hedgetoad Teaching

Today I had two more team members quit - one of them was a captain. This has become an exercise in frustration. At this point, both myself and the assistant coach are ready to just throw in the towel. We're in the middle of choreographing our competition routine and this just isn't the slap in the face anyone needed. My favorite student was expelled for fighting. I've been working with this kid for a a long time and we're so close to getting to an easy graduation. In fact, we were just talking this morning about being all caught up on credits and only a year left... I hope this doesn't lead to downturn. It's so easy for that to happen. A personal goal has been set back - again. Some days, I feel like a salmon trying to swim upstream... only to discover a damn.

for this school year -> My area of focus will be to develop a variety of assessment methods that allow students to develop portfolios of work to demonstrate growth in reading and writing. Students will be able to clearly see the improvement in their reading and writing skills by examining a portfolio of assignments. Students will be able to lead the assessment of their own work and reflect upon skill gains and self-determine needed areas of improvement.

This week we started the Navigation 101 program. Sadly, I think, we didn't get a lot of lead up to this - mostly the lead up consisted of "go look at the website." The first class was on Thursday. We didn't get the first lesson plan until Wed. (we aren't going by the website schedule) and it was pretty skimpy. We were start off with an ice breaker, and then move into checking transcripts. Except that I'm really bad at ice breakers and I don't know how the occupational/arts classes break down. Yeah. I told several kids to talk to their counselor the next day. Then the students asked what all the other things on their checklists were and I had to say "we'll get to them another day" because I don't really know what they are really about - I mean, I guess the portfolio shows work the student has done, but what kind and what is going to happen to it, I don't know. It's not that I think the program is a waste of time or not helpful for...

Outside the wind is whipping and rain is coming down in sheets - everyone is predicting power outages. Do you think we could get out of school early? I'm rooting for the trees!

A new book has been making the rounds of the high school and I know it's making the rounds in others. A friend who teaches in another city told me that she read the entire series in a weekend! Ok, so they're not real deep or complex, but highly adictive to teen-age girls. Twilight by Stephanie Meyer. It's actually the first book in a series of three (and continuing), so once the reader is hooked, there's even more to keep them reading. It's got vampires, romance and high school.. what could be better? Oh yeah. It's set on the Olympic Pennisula, so the kids get a little thrill every time they read the name of a town they've heard of or been to. In fact, it is set in Forks, WA . Why Forks? Because as the rainiest town in the US, it's a perfect place for a vampire who doesn't want to be in the sun. Heh. Personally, I didn't find Forks all that much rainier than anywhere else on the pennisula, but the kids told me that the author never actually visi...

As it is October, we are now in the midst of examining goals set in September, the School Improvement Plan and a whole host of other documents that largely make everyone feel like they're doing something. For the first time, we got some actual statistics - these are usually horded by one staff member. Unfortunately, they didn't really tell us much more than each grade level class has different issues. Big shock. So, we wrote up a plan to get past scores of the students actually in our courses, instead of the ones who've moved on. It's a revolutionary idea, but it just might result in better results. Next week we're also starting Navigation 101 . We're not getting a lot of prep for it - the lesson plan for the day will be given to us the morning before. Lack of planning makes teacher nervous and it's becoming a recurrent theme. According the website, the first lesson is become aquainted (insert ice breaker game here) and then create the high school portfolio....

Ok, maybe now I'm settling in. Finally, I can find a moment or two for myself that don't require more energy that I can muster. I still have a pile of grading to do, but I'm ok with it... no one will die because their questions on the Masque of the Red Death haven't been graded. Next week, the plan was to start To Kill A Mockingbird - however, our department has discovered that we are about 10 books short. I'll have to check with one of my collegues on Monday to see if he has more stuffed in the closest. Othewise, my almost 2 separate preps for English 10 become actually 2, making for a total of four. The joys of rural teaching. (actually, I did at one time have only one prep and it bored me to tears!) I might also pick up a copy or two at the Border's teachers sale this weekend. AP is working on narrative writing. We've read quite a few narratives and next week, will begin reading one about 'the black death'. It isn't quite the narrative that m...

The first stories were turned in this week. I really have high hopes for them - more than a few students were really into writing their stories. The bonus was that they all have more than one page of writing. I still have sophomores who are confused with the whole concept of a 5 paragraph essay including more than 5 sentences total. With this assignment, creating a good story seems to dictate more detail. My AP class has also settled in - I lost a few students with the period shuffle and didn't really gain any - but we're making due. And it really is less work for me. Locally, the mayoral race has gotten hot, with letters and accusations flying. It's made for interesting reading. Will it lead to a interest in politics in general? I'm pretty sure that all the boys have seem the Obama Girl .

I'm getting the distinct feeling that this is going to be a year filled with petty annoyances. It's officially a pissing contest. I wonder when the community was told about the new "Kids First" campagin, that said campaign would include a pissing contest. For example, this summer I sent an email to our tech person to let them know that the printer attached to my side of the building was nearly out of ink and toner. I was then informed that none would be forthcoming until the beginning of the school year - for the second summer I'm forced to use my own money to get things for the students. I'm refusing to teach next summer. In the meantime, no ink or toner were ordered because the district office refuses to approve any purchase orders. Last week the printer fully gave up the ghost. Still no ink. I'm frantically sending files to my home computer so I can print them there. Luckily we still have a copy machine for the time being. However, I did notice that the...

Whew! What a week! We played musical chairs for the last three days... except that instead of music, it was notes from the counseling center. I had two entire classes moved (which really sucked) and a class where students wounldn't get out of their seats for fear that I'd immediately give it away. I believe that class is currently at 33 students. If you counted the total number that appeared at one time or another on my roll sheet, the number would be closer to 45. Of course, this means that almost nothing was done. I'm not even sure that everyone got a syllabus. My sophomores did get AR books and a jump on reading them because there's no real point to even going over procedures. We had Open House on the 2nd day of school. I'm not sure if it was the schedule confusion or what, but the only class where I had more than 3 parental units show up were the AP course. One parent was shocked by the fact that she was the only parent there - sadly, given the class, I wasn...

As promised, a photo of my classroom with tables - Please note the broom handle... not only split in half in the photo, but desperately needed for the dust bunnies that seem to multiply like, well... bunnies. Please also note the clean desk. This is the last time it will appear like that until next summer. Yes, that is a Yoda poster in the back. In my first year at my current school I was always saying "do or do not... there is no try " whenever a student told me they had tried to do something. Last year, it was changed to "do or do not... there is no like " in response to the incessant whine of "I don't like it". Apparently, if a book doesnt' have a dead body or other horrific scene within the first two pages, it's not worth reading. The blank poster on the door is actually an event planner. I haven't put the titles on the boxes, but the upper portion is for announcements. The middle three boxes are where the jobs for the event are listed...

Actually, I've been home for a few days... let me just say that embarking on a home improvement project while simultaneously getting ready for the upcoming school year probably isn't a good idea. Especially if you are the coach of a team that will be performing on the first day of school. I'm a little stressed out. Luckily, for the first time, I seem to be taking the opening of school in stride. I haven't even looked at my rosters since July. It was then that I noticed that my first period class had 46 students in it. I didn't even blink. I believe the current number is now 30 - large for an AP class, but par for the course in my district. Sometimes, it can be like teaching in Central Africa. When I have a moment I'll post some photos of my new tables (no desks!) and some of the fun games I learned at leadership camp. Possibly photos of a fully insulated attic. Still working on that one.

Back from one trip - off to another tomorrow morning. Teaching Meme - tagged by hipteacher 1. I am a good teacher because... I really like most of my students and want them to go on to happy lives filled with cozy homes, babies and jobs they enjoy. I also truly believe that literature and poetry are part of what makes life worth living. Plus, I think grammar jokes are hysterical. 2. If I weren't a teacher, I would be... a corporate flunkie ? a professional nanny? a writer? 3. My teaching style is... nagging? I'm sure that's what my student would say. I think I'd have to say variable. With some classes, it's almost collaborative. With others it's almost authoritarian... hey, I'll admit it... I don't know if I really have a specific style yet. I'm still in the process of developing it. 4. My classroom is... a trapezoid. One wall is full of windows. Sadly it looks into the courtyard. The teacher across the hall has windows that display a forest full of ...

Did anyone catch Wife Swap last night? While at the OSPI conference last week, I read all about the environmental couple featured in this week's episode ... and how they were slightly concerned that they may be made out to look like freaks. P.S. they've never seen the show. Well, they didn't have to worry. I realize that show's producers edit the footage to portray the victims participants in certain manners, but holy crap! The " mainstream mom " (and I use that term loosely) was a complete nut. Obviously she is in need of professional help... it wasn't just the fact that she devotes her life to her dogs to the expense of her family - I nearly choked when she said the other family needed to eat something with nutritional value, like fast food - but she was so mean and rude to everyone. Did she think that she might come out looking good? I'm pretty sure that anyone who "knows what's going on" is aware that use of foul language and throwin...

I went and I survived. Ok, it wasn't really that bad. Terry Bergeson personally served us ice cream when a meeting went late... which was a nice gesture, since I all I got out of the "keynote speeches" was an increase in my tetris skills. At least I didn't snore. One session I attended was given my someone from the Virtual School in Spokane. Somewhat good - although I wish it had been longer - and a link for all sorts of online goodies ! I'm still working on setting up a stable classroom website that is easy to find, easy to use and doesn't require a lot membership levels for students. I'm currently using freewebs, but it's slow to load and blocked by most school computers. It has a lot of the functionality that I want, but not the freedom. I've been trying googlepages, but they don't have the functionality that I really want. For example, I cannot figure out how to get all three assignment calendars to show up on the same calendar page and I c...

Ah... the last week of summer school. Everyone, including me, is desperate to get out and leave this campus for a while. Unfortunately, many of the students will be back in a week to take the WASL. I just hope they remember to be at the school at 8 am - I know I would have to set the calendar reminder on my cell phone (great feature!) or be scrambling to get here at 9. I've started planning for the upcoming school year. This year I have four preps. I'm not thrilled about it. However, since the administration doesn't see the difference between advanced courses and regular courses, here I am. I'm hoping that if I'm a bit more organized, I'll survive it. Of course, I say that every school year. This year, I have found a very nice pacing schedule for the AP class. I have to say that I'm not looking forward to the start of school. Last year was a bit of a scandal and it doesn't seem to be dying down. One of the problems that small towns face is the never-en...

Starting today at Staples - various supplies for only one cent! Pencil boxes, binders, folders, pencils and pencil sharpners... walking out with a bag of supplies for $2.35 is fantastic! Keep an eye out, because a whole new slew of goodies will be coming out next week!

AP scores are out - so far, I've only heard from two students... they did pretty well and I'm fairly happy. For those who didn't call/email me, I'm going to have to wait until this fall when the mail is finally opened by the counselors. I'm hoping that there will be some detailed information so I can see what was missed or didn't work and what did. WASL scores are probably in that pile too, not that it will do any good. The only report that teachers get are the generalized "85% passed." Completely worthless. Worthless, because there is no additional information describing how or why they passed and how or why others did not. Did they barely pass? Pass with high scores? Got a great score on expository writing, but not so much with the persuasion? Are there any trends at all? How did they get from 55% passing in 7th grade to 85% in 10th? Suddenly started caring? Fantastic remedial programs? Who knows? I can tell you it's not the teachers! This, of co...

At home, worrying about the dog. Poor Keavy was just freaked out. Unfortunately, we're a town that allows anyone to buy fireworks, so they were going off from 8 am to after midnight. I tried the beach but Keavy wanted to stay in the car. This is a dog who loves to chase birds. Seriously looses it when she sees them. She tries to get the birds sitting on the telephone wires (which is hysterical to watch) - and she wouldn't get out the car because of the fireworks. Why exactly we need to have fireworks at 1pm, I'm not sure. However, if you're male teenager, it must make perfect sense. While watching the tv fireworks (without sound), the dog disappered. Following the sound of labored breathing, I found her huddled in the bathroom. A particularly bad sign, because she doesn't like bathrooms. To hang out in one by herself... yikes! I left her there. After about 20 minutes, the labored breathing stopped and I had fleeting thoughts of heartattacks and stroke. Luckily, sh...

I just joined Shelfari to connect with other book lovers. Come see the books I love and see if we have any in common. Then pick my next book so I can keep on reading. Click below to join my group of friends on Shelfari! http://www.shelfari.com/Register.aspx?ActivityId=217911&InvitationCode=2d7d63b4-f8c1-4393-98f0-09f7ec47237b hedgetoad Shelfari is a free site that lets you share book ratings and reviews with friends and meet people who have similar tastes in books. It also lets you build an online bookshelf, join book clubs, and get good book recommendations from friends. You should check it out.