Hedgetoad Teaching

While purusing the Sunday paper, I came across an article describing some local candidate forum held over the weekend. Apprently they either weren't able to say a lot or what they said was pretty boring because the article was skimpy on specifics. What caught my eye was a position of Randy Dutton. He wants "higher standards for teachers." My interest was piqued... what kind of standards? In looking at his website, apparently those standards will be raised by carrying a gun to school, finally; "full days of school"-whatever that means - personally I'd love to put in business hours. No more 5 am wake ups; increasing the number of k-8 schools - because those kindergartners don't swear enough; sending disruptive students to placed like Habit for Humanity - babysitting is what people volunteer for; and teaching more American History- too bad that with all the testing, no one ever gets past the Civil War... I'm not sure how any of these apply to teachers, ...

The Daily Grind featured It's Not All Flowers... yesterday, so I had to check it out. (see how linky I am?) Apparently, I just missed a big blog scandal because Miss Mimi had described a classroom meeting wherein a single student was told by the other classmates how said student's behavior made them feel. In response, an anonymous poster claiming to be an administrator wrote how Miss Mimi was all kinds of wrong and bound for some sort of reprimand or firing. And then everyone jumped on anonymous and another post was written... Lord-love-a-duck! I do enjoy a good comment fight. You should check it out, it's high entertainment for us teacher types. Anonymous did have a point when he/she wrote that the parents would surly complain to the administration. I think, however, he/she missed the reason for that... it's readily apparent that students who have problems with behavior are generally being raised by parental units who do not subscribe to the "responsible citiz...

The other day I was informed that my name and number had been given to another school district as the RTI Guru . Four weeks on the job - two of which were spent trying to figure out a poorly designed assessment matrix - and I'm a guru . The word scared doesn't even cover that feeling... this is federal and state mandates and money, people! You can't screw around with that stuff! And that last thing I want to do is be telling people how they should do it. Or showing them when they visit... how do I get myself into these things? To be honest, although our district is really into this RTI thing, the high school implementation has been haphazard at best. The reading intervention existed for one year and then it was gone, replaced by math. Now it's back with math. The materials for reading however, are spread all over the campus hiding in drawers and dusty boxes belonging to various people, some of whom are no longer at the high school. It's taken nearly four weeks, but ...

I bought a programmable coffeemaker yesterday. In past, I've always thought it too decadant to pay extra for something I could just get my lazy ass out of bed to do. Oh, how wrong I was. Fresh coffee when I wake up? So worth the extra 20$. I see now the error of my cheap ways. Now I just need to buy a bottle of pumpkin spice syrup and I'm set for the year. I also bought a set of really cheap and flimsy shelves to keep the baby's toys on. The child is just over 13 months old and she has three boxes full of toys! And I nearly bought her more while buying the shelves (boy! was she pissed when I put back the fake grocery items! oooo!). It is amazing, how much she has collected in 9 months! Anyhow, these toy bins are taking over the living room (there is no room in the baby's room for the toys), and all the toys get mixed up in them, so it's hard to really play with them. I'm still searching for the green ring from the rainbow stacker/lighthouse. (I'm pretty sure...

I was just saying that the month hasn't been going by that fast, but since it's been 10 days since I last posted, I guess I will have to rethink that view. It's taken three weeks, but I finally figured out the testing matrix for the reading portion of RTI . All it took as a conference call with the creator, becuase it IS backwards (still no reason why!) and there are two "first"s because they are meant to be done simulteanously. Again, why they are in separate boxes listed in a linear continum that seems to indicate a progression is not explained why. But I do understand what I need have people do, so good 'nough. The teacher who was hired to teach these reading intervention courses seems a little disconcerted that there isn't really a set curriculum, but there is. Basically, we have all these curriculum books that must be used, but they're not a planned curriculum. He'll have to cobble them together. While I don't have reservations that he can...

Mr. McNamar over at The Daily Grind  brings up the subject of merit pay and how he wants it. Would you?   A couple of years ago, I wrote a post about the so-called teacher shortage. Every year there articles and news stories about the declining numbers of teachers (who are almost always dumber too!) and with gobs to current teachers retiring, no one will be left to teach Little Johnny (who can't read). In these discussions, merit pay is almost always brought up as a way to attract teachers. Especially to those districts in areas where test scores are particularly low.   My problem with these ideas is that:                   1. There is no teacher shortage. Plenty of districts get hundreds of applications for every single job opening. Some districts barely get one for 100's of openings.               ...

Before school started, I was asked to be the lead person for an intervention project going on within the district. No one really knew what I was supposed to be doing, but it did not require any traveling or extensive meetings after school. So I agreed to do it. I figured it would be good experience and I might learn something. Today I discover that I am, apparently, supposed to be attending a meeting every Thursday of the week during school hours. My last class of the day. You see, I do get an extra free period in the day to do all the work needed for this new program. The free period, however, is not during the time when the weekly meeting is scheduled. In fact, no one in my building was told of a particular day or time needed for this position. Thus a sub has to be found for one class period every week. I'm not happy - middle of week days off are a pain. The continuum of the class is ruined and students are never ready to jump back in after having a sub, no matter how good he/she...

How do you deal with cellphones in your class? I seriously need some ideas. Last year, I did the prescripted "if I see or it goes off, it's mine routine," but it left me doing A LOT of monitoring. Kids can send text messages through their pockets, you know. Also the "vibrate" setting is noisy and disruptive. It drives me to distraction. This year I started with the cute little baskets. I already have students not putting them in the basket (hiding them) and I just want it to stop being a policing issue. Parents are no help at all. Half the phone calls and texts during class are from the parent. I don't know if parents just don't care that their child attempts to send a text message every 30 seconds during EVERY class or if they're just oblivious. Last year a teacher had a little contest. He gathered all the phones on his desk and then asked the student to bet on how many text messages any one student would recieve. The highest number? 101. In a 50 mi...

I've forgotten how exhausting the first day is... I really need to get some sleep tonight! I wish I could say that we're off to a great start, but it seems like all will be confusion and massive moving of classes (again). It would be nice if they could just staff the necessary number of courses needed, but apparently constant switching and precarious balancing is how some like to live. Tomorrow is open house. Lala will be my special guest. I'd get a babysitter, but I've already spent my monthly allowance for that. She'll be one tired baby!

On the first day of school, I'll be spending my day in class going over the syllabus, various class procedures and other mundane tasks. The second day? Monitoring a line of students getting their pictures taken. Education at it's best... Day three? Shortened periods for a pep assembly. Day four? Shortened periods for a motivational speaker (teachers have to sit with students *shudder*). At this rate, I'll be lucky if I get anything done until October. Bonus for me... I'll also be having my picture taken and be given a large photo packet for free! Because when you hit 40, you so need an 8x10 of yourself. Creepy

Iza left a comment asking me to share how I teach - I do need the clarify that while I am an "English teacher", I don't really teach the language of english. We do have vocabulary related to text, but for the most part teaching of how to speak english is very informal. In teaching how to analyze literature or proper writing technique, I would have to describe my teaching methods as slow and methodical. At least for my regular education courses. By slow, I mean that every concept is broken down piecemeal. For example, during the first week of school my students will read a short story by Ray Bradbury. The first day, we will focus on "pre-reading" strategies. The beginning of the story handout has a bunch of information about the story - background information on the author, information about setting and tone, a list of words and definitions that may be unfamiliar to the reader, etc. Going through all this information and figuring out what to do with it will tak...

We're off to the Westport seafood feast! A little crab, some oysters, salmon... picniking while being circled by screaming seagulls. The last hurrah before the school year starts. Hopefully, a little climb up the lighthouse steps will work off some of the fresh blueberry pie. I wonder if they'll let a baby into the winery ? *UPDATE* We saw seals and sea otters at the marina! I got some photos of one large seal floating next to fish shop on one of the docks/floats. A smaller whiter one was swimming several feet away - was it upset to have to compete with the big seal and seagulls? The sea otters were piled up on another dock that was empty. They kinda looked like a fur coat that had been tossed on the floor. They moved a little bit and were pretty cute. The baby urped up some milk on the way to Westport, so no trip to the winery for us. I'm still trying to clean the car seat and get that spoiled milk/cheese smell out of it. The straps are the worst because they don't com...

Did the vacation thing - I really don't recommend traveling by car for eight hours with a baby. However, we had fun and enjoyed the hot weather. It was quite a change from cold, rainy and foggy. For the past week, I've been involved with preparing for the upcoming year. The entire staff had a three day in-service on "safe and civil schools". I was so impressed that the district actually paid someone - a professional presenter, no less - to come in and do this. Usually we get a rag-tag team of various administrators doing a power-point presentation. (Last year it was the Stiggins videos - he is probably a really nice guy, but OMG ! the videos make Lawrence Welk look " wonnerful ".) Not everyone was into it, but the information was good. It probably didn't need three whole days, but again, he's a professional presenter . Stories, jokes... the whole entertainment package. Plus I got a lot planning done. I know the first week is kinda a wash, but I s...

Ok, maybe not so much today... but soon! I swear, I'll get back into my classroom soon. Just got back into civilization. Showered and finally feeling clean. Now, if only I could squeeze in a nap. I think I'm finally beginning to show my age - sleeping on camp mattresses is not very restful any more. Neither is chasing a crawling baby all over. I really had hoped Lala would be walking by the time we went on the annual camp trip, but it was not to be. Of course, I do remember my "black feet" days with fondness. It meant that we were outside playing all day and having fun. ( cue "The Circle of Life" theme song )

One of things I'm always on the look out for is a somewhat short, attention grabbing book for the "non reading boys" in my classes. They hate everything. They know they have to read, but if given any choice on books will attempt to choose something from Dr. Seuss. You know these boys. And, if you're like me, you are always looking for the holy grail of reading - the book they will LOVE to read. Like the true holy grail, no one knows if it actually exists or what form it really is. It might be a graphic novel or a website that releases a story in serial form. But the quest continues. I believe it was the May issue of some teen Weekly Reader. Someone mailed me a sample copy, but I didn't really pay attention to it. I did skim it. Inside was an excerpt from The Absolutely True Diary of a Part-Time Indian . I had read the book over winter break and thought it was good, but reading the excerpt, I realized that this was my shot to get the students interested. I read it ...

At the beginning of the last school year, my students started telling me about this book they were reading. More than a couple of students. It was a great book they claimed and best of all... it featured good ol' Washington. Forks, WA to be exact - which is just about 20 miles east of the end of the earth. Seriously. My great uncle and aunt lived there for many years. There is nothing out there. Of course, this makes it the perfect setting for the book. Remote and rainy. The book was, of course, Twilight. Another two books soon followed. The poor librarian had to hide a copy so I could read it. I try to read all the books that several students are raving about. Even kids who don't like to talk about reading, LOVE to talk about books they think are fantastic. And the series is good. There's undying love (which every teenager believes they are either in or have been thwarted at). There's fighting, death and gore. And it rains all the time. I think this fact makes it much...

I've got my Teacher's Daybook . It's just as fabulous as I remember. Well, the reflection, tips and ideas are just as great as I remember. The amount of space for writing your daily lesson plan has shrunk. Basically, it's because that space has now become a simple "you are here" space and the actual lesson plan is written on an additional page. I'm not so sure about it, but the planning checklists, reflective actions and personal vs. professional planning areas are still great. I also like that there is a year at a glance page, as well as monthly planning. This is in addition to the daily calendar. This year, our department is doing a yearly plan of novels. I know this is the antithesis of our departments "fly and be free" environment, but a couple of things happened last year to make it possible. First, one teacher used a book that is for a specific grade level in a class with multiple grade levels. Thus, I couldn't teach it at all and a cou...

To be honest, summer school is somewhat boring. All of the lessons are pretty much scripted (" week 2, day 4 ") and most of the work is on demand so there is quite a bit of my wandering around while the students are working. On the plus side, I don't have to grade anything. I look at it and if it's what I asked for, the student moves on. If not, we chat about it and student has to re-do it. Of course, I have one student who pretty much refuses to re-do anything. I've talked til I'm blue in the face. I've explained. I've given strategies. I've warned that this quality of work will not receive a passing grade. So far the student has remained firming in the camp of "I wrote something and put my name on it, therefore I pass". S/He even had the gall to tell me that writing a 5 sentence essay (vs. 5 paragraph) received an 'A' in the regular school year. It was really hard not to point out (again) that if S/He had nothing to learn or ski...

The Carnival of Education went up yesterday at Scheiss Weekly - there is always something interesting and educational from fellow bloggers. And let's face it, what is summer for, if not for improving our teaching or discovering something new to bring into the classroom. This week I started reading Effective Instruction by Jim Burke (whom I love and highly recommend). I haven't gotten very far because it's really dense with information. For a book with only 126 pages, there is a lot in there. I think the first four pages cover as much information as the first six chapters in my master's educational theory class. So far, so good.

It's officially July! The summer stock up sales at Staples have started. I'm sure the back to school sale commercials will be soon blanketing the television. This week it's 2-pocket folders, pencils and purell bottles for 1 cent. 1/2" and 1" binders for a quarter and retractable highlighters for free (rebate)! Stock up now because the prices will soon be rising to their "Back-To-School-Sale" prices... which are not much of a bargain for those of us trying to keep over a 100 kids in school supplies for the year.