Hedgetoad Teaching

I hope that everyone has a wonderful food and laughter filled day! We're off to shop before dawn tomorrow - I'm hoping that I won't end up on the TV news as the "unfortunate assualt victim" at the front door of some random super store.

Thanksgiving break is nearly upon me. Just one more class and lunch - Can't forget food as we head into the one of the biggest eating days of the year - and I'm hitting the road for far flung places. Ok, not really far flung , but definitely "over the river (or several) and through the woods" I go.   In midst of cleaning up the last of grading pile, I'm hoping to do some real reflection about my teaching. For some reason, this year I'm feel off. I don't feel like I'm making as much of a difference this year or that I'm even teaching that much. I am in the classroom every day, but it just doesn't feel like teaching used to... it could just be the five year burn out or it could be that I'm just phoning it in, so to speak. I'm not sure, but it's something I need to spend some time thinking about.   On the personal side, I revived Hedgetoad Cottage . It's hard to maintain two blogs, I know. One always suffers, b...

This week is parent conferences - oh, joy. Actually, they're not bad and most of the time I really want to talk to parents. Unfortunately, the parents who show up are not the ones I really need to talk to... this year I caved and offered extra credit for those who could drag their parents in. I had one student show up for his conference, without parent. It would have been even better if I knew he/she was interested in improving the learning rather than just trying to score pity/brownie points.   I had a student come to me and claim that the parent I spoke with now believes that "I hate" this student. I tried to say positive things about the student's personality and intelligence level while strongly recommending that the student just shut up in class . (I tried to say it in more positive terms). The student has a very low grade, is a complete distraction to all the other students and driving me mad... but hate seems a rather strong emotion, doesn...

ok, readers and lurkers... (if there are any) most of my students are near completing the The Twilight Saga and have worked their way through Sherman Alexie . Last year they all read the Uglies Set: Uglies, Pretties, Specials . They read A Child Called It in middle school... I'm running out of ideas and to be honest, I don't have time to read a bunch of books in hopes of finding something of interest. There are just too many books out there! I need some new high interest recommendations for my students. The books has to start off with a bang and I need ones that interest boys and girls. What is everyone at your school reading?

So, we're starting to make some headway in the RtI areana. Another district in the area is actually paying to do RtI training over the year and generously offered to allow myself and another colleague sit in. At times I can actually feel like I'm understanding things. I still have a to-do list, but at least pieces are starting to fit together. Of course, there are also snags. Such as miscommunications about scheduling and people not being clear about their expectations. The biggest one right now is differentiating the Level 2's (strategic interventions) and Level 3's (intensive interventions... generally those with IEP's) and now one goes from Level 2 to Level 3. It's communicated that this process has "to be x", while "x" changes according to each person being spoken too. That could be due to differing levels of involvement of each of these people or hearing what they want to hear... this is one of the things on my to-do list. The to-do list...

Don't forget to Vote today, if you haven't already! And then tell your students your voting stories - don't tell them who you voted for, it'll drive them crazy. A teachable moment that is so important, especially when you consider past voter turn outs or turn outs in non-presidential elections. My county does mail in ballots for everyone. They don't offer polling places at all, just a couple of drop boxes scattered here and there. For my students, they've never experienced going somewhere to vote and probably won't. If you're of similar age to me, you've probably voted using a variety machines. Remember the School House Rock cartoon about voting? Yep, I've used the machine with levers to close the curtains while you vote and open them when your done. I've also done butterfly punch ballots, scantron and touch screen. Ya. The voting machine with the curtains made really feel like I was a "Voter"... I miss them, even if they did break ...

For those who have been following for awhile, you knew that last winter I had a foster child placed with me. The child is now in the process of transitioning back to her biological family. Very sad for me, but I'm cautiously happy for her. This weekend was the first overnight visit. As a consequence I didn't really want to do trick-or-treaters. I wanted to paint the kitchen. I turned out the lights, remove the decorations... they still knocked. I let the dog bark ferociously, they still knocked. Who lets their kids knock on darkened doors with ferocious sounding dogs? Oh, the ones who aren't kids. Swear to God, I had a pregnant woman knock on my door. No, it wasn't part of her costume, and no she didn't have any other kids. Just her and a man who hopefully was the "baby-daddy." A sign of bad economic times or simply another example of how trashy this town really can be? Want more proof? An 8 year old's costume at school? Jamie Lynn Spears, complete wit...

I think I'm a bit stressed - my eyelid has been twitching for several days (driving me nuts!) and I'm afraid to look at my in box.  Also, I'm suddenly really interested in doing craft projects. In the last 48 hours, I've finished a blanket I've been working on for the last 4 months, sewed two christmas ornaments and completed the tea cozy I started last month.  Today I printed out patterns for "nordic houses" ornaments and clothing for a christmas knome... when the going gets tough, the tough start finding projects that have an actual finish line.   What do you do when things start to spiral out of control?

It snowed in the mountains last night and there is a "black ice" warning on the news (seriously, a black ice warning?!?). Winter is on it's way.

Since accepting the position of RtI coordinator for my school I've learned the following things... My school is guided by people who need to think more long term... last year's RtI team was made up of all new teachers, most of whom did not return this year. It also has almost no support from any staff members who have been at the school for more than two years. They also paid to train a bunch of teachers last summer who are not, nor ever have been, on the RtI team. Again, because no one supports it. My school is guided by really nice people who want to make a difference in student's lives. Sadly, many of their ways of doing this annoy the crap out of me. RtI is a law. The way to implementation is not... thus people can actually screw around with it in many obnoxious and unhelpful ways. RtI is now a step to special education. I now get numerous emails asking for student X or Y to be tested. I get almost no other information because apparently it doesn't matter. Just...

As the three long time readers know, I hate grading. It's vitally important, but I hate it. Mostly I hate it because woefully disappointing. My regular english students see little value in anything that goes on in the classroom (and when the B*&#$ of teacher won't let you text while waiting for the outcome of your parent's trial, who can blame them?). At least one third of the papers are so poorly written that I really can't decipher what is written. I'm pretty good at reading chicken scratch, but our middle school decided several years ago not to "worry" about penmanship and the result is radom slashed on the paper that make no sense to anyone - even the writer.   So, the two thirds I can read... well, about half are barely completed. Mostly they contain answers like "he did that." I've gone over the proper way to answer questions... I've done mini-lessons on the use of complete sentences... We've gone over pronoun us...

The other day, someone tried to "friend" me on Facebook. Apparently, we graduated from high school together... but I had no idea who it was. I mean, the name was posted on the profile, but I didn't recognize it at all. I had to dig out my old yearbook - the one I keep telling my students I've lost - to look this person up. Didn't work. The first name was really common in that era and the picture wasn't any help either. I finally just clicked "accept", because who wants to get a reputation of being a Facebook denier (is that a word) back in my hometown? The reason I tell my students I lost it? They're utterly fascinated with seeing it. They want to see my hideous photos and laugh at everyones hair styles. Hey, I laugh too! But really, do I want them to see cute boys labeled? Or the copious drug and alcohol references? Sure it was all talk, but that's just not something I want to share. I'm just glad I don't teach in my hometown. They d...

Every year starts out the same way... one class period I love. For some reason, we just click immediately. I'm excited to see them and I'm sure that we're all going to have a wonderful learning experience. It's wonderful! Then about three or four weeks into the semester, the class turns the behavior corner and because I'm "such a cool teacher", they go hog wild. No one turns in any work, assignments sit on tables or are used for paper airplanes and spitwads. They are directionless and only motivated to here the latest gossip. Every activity is like walking through a mud flat... I can hear my soul being slowly ripped out of my body as they manage to dampen any hope I had of having one of those wonderful classes. They drive me to drink. This year, I've been trying to avoid it. It happened anyways. But! Instead of drinking, we had a class meeting. I told them my sad dream class story. (they love to hear stories) They apologize and ask for more intesting a...

What It's Like on the Inside had a link to an blog entry on ASCD Inservice - Dumbed Down Generation expressing the view that perhaps the current generation is perhaps devoid of an intellectual spirit. What great timing! Just this past Friday, I was asked in my English class why I don't buy the our current novel on tape and play it for them during class instead of forcing them to read it.. I was promised they would be much more interested than the current napping pattern displayed. Or just show the movie and then it would be over in a couple of days. The entry talked about a recent debate on the state of intellectual curiosity among teens. The teens did not come out good in this one. One of the comments in reaction to the blurb is from writer of the generation under discussion. In his post, he writes that there is a differing view point that the older generations are missing. I think as teachers it's important to evaluate these view points, if for no other reason then to c...

This morning I saw an tv advertisement for KFC - it claims that buying a KFC family dinner at $9.99 is cheaper than buying the ingredients from the grocery store. It goes on to show kids and mom running around the store exclaiming shock at the prices and searching for the "secret herbs and spices." I gonna be honest... I have a real problem with the commercial. We're in an economic recession and these people are trying to convince viewers that it's cheaper to buy ready made, than purchasing the ingredients to make it yourself... or as the commercial shows buy it ready made at the grocery store. Most of the items needed for such a meal can't be bought in single meal servings - yes, if you had to go and buy a bag of potatoes, a 5lb. bag of flour, a pound of butter and all the spices, plus paid full price for the expensive-free-range-chicken, then yes, it's more than $10. But who I ask, buys a 5lb bag of flour just to make biscuits? Or spices for one chicken? Thi...

It started raining on Tuesday - just a sprinkle, but enough to keep me from mowing the lawn. It's now coming down in buckets and our first storm is on predicted for the weekend. Good-bye sun. See in you in April.

Before I became a teacher, I interviewed for a job as a long term sub in a private school. I got the job, but then wasn't needed. It did give me a clue as what teaching high english was... but that's another story. Somehow during this interview/discussion we started talking about how all English teachers really want to write the "Great American Novel". I've always wondered if ALL English teachers want to write... but I certainly do. The thing that stops me and probably most, is the time commitment. With everything I have to do, I could not figure out how to get more time to write. And that was pre-baby! But I think I may have figured it out... If I get up at 5am and write until 6, I might be able to get something finally on paper. So I'm gonna try to do NaNoWriMo . Last year I was all about the murder mystery, but I was creeping myself out and got too busy. This year, I'm going to try fantasy - definitely royalty, someone in distress and possibly a giant s...

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 ...