Hedgetoad Teaching

We're all in a state of flux... I think it's the nature of an educational professional to constantly evalutate, adjust and change. Sure, lots of ideas get recycled; tweeked and presented as new, but it is in our nature. Problems arise when things change for reasons that are not thought out or focused so tightly that the change causes more problems in keeping that focus. This summer our district chose to change it's online presence. The reason for this was because the old system could not be searched for on a search engine. Yes, this change had to be made because no one could "go*gle" us. Sadly, no one in our tech department (that one guy) made the connection in how google ranks it's links... and why "googling" kept bring up numerous links to G*&eatSchools. Two years ago, the old system was installed because it was very compatible with our electronic gradebooks, making it easy to put grades online. Guess what the new system does not do? And so, si...

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...

Things have been going fairly well with my classes. I'm starting to get worried/suspicious... itchy butt was actually on task all period on Friday, thanked me for moving his assigned seat and returned promptly from a trip to the library with a book to read . It's a bit freaky. I'm thinking the flu epidemic is having an impact on this long streak of calmness. Only any given day, at least three kids are gone from every class. Even itchy butt has been out a few times, and you know that kids like that are never gone. Not that anyone has had swine flu, they're all just staying home at the slightest sign of sickness. Today I had my first pro-cert culminating seminar. Five hours people... five hours! During the pre-assessment pro-cert we had long discussions about the use of the refresh button , how important it was use the ,jpeg format for photos and other technological conundrums. Today we had a 30 minute discussion on how a document appendix works. Labeling each document ...

One of my goals this year is to really get into purposeful teaching... I know, I know. If it doesn't have a purpose why are you teaching it? But let's be honest. Anything can have a purpose if the teacher is creative enough. My mentor teacher spent three days watching "Finding Nemo" and turned it into a really great spring board for an essay topic. The students really connected with the topic she drew a parallel to and it was probably the most worked on writing assignment the entire year. I am not that good. I posted on the English Companion Ning, looking for a planning buddy. I actually got way more replies that I thought I would. However, I have yet to really figure out the Ning technology. (You cannot believe how hard it was for me to type that... I am disgusted with myself. The fact is, I just don't have the time.) So, I'm posting what I've done so far here. I have a lot of great ideas. Many, many great ideas and materials from others, but it just fee...

When I lived in NYC, it always made my day when I found a new poem displayed in the subway car. Sitting alongside advertisements for English lesson and zit removal, it was a little pick me up amongst a sea of riotous ads. How's that for poetic? I never claimed to be good. The other day, I forgot to erase a poem I'd written on the board for one of my AP classes. A couple of sophomores mentioned it - one had seen it before; another asked what it meant... and suddenly an idea was born. If I post a short poem on the board and just never mention it, all of my students will assume it's meant for another class. They'll still read it, thinking it may be important, and get a little poetry in their lives. It's an idea anyhow.

Rarely do I have specific stories about students - I always feel kinda guilty for talking about my students because they're only really interesting to tell stories about when they're being nutty. As a class started this afternoon, one boy announced that his "butt itched real bad". A little distracting, but he then proceeded to stand up and wiggle around, and let us all know that his "butt was really itchin'". I said, "sounds like a medical issue, do you need to see the nurse?" Oh, yeah. He was on a role. Anything to keep us all off of task and not writing. So, while the antics continued, I wrote him a pass to the nurse and off he went. Thankyoujebus that the nurse wasn't actually at the school today... she doesn't seem to have much of a sense of humor. This particular student is fairly notorious for making similar statements in his classes with female teachers to throw them off and establish his control of the classroom. The counselors ...

Last night was our school open house. My babysitter crapped out on me at the last minute, and I could not find another. Every back up already had plans - two were planning on actually attending said Open House. So, as any good single mom, I brought them with me. All was well until the third group of parents. By then Lala was comfortable and the cuddler had run into his second wind. While I was trying explain the class requirements to parent, I had a little boy sitting in a stroller chattering away (or rather "bok-ing" away... he really does sound like a chicken trying to lay an egg!) and a little girl rolling on the floor under my feet saying "momma" over and over. Luckily, the scene reminded all the parents of when their children were young AND those were happy memories. I know it was certainly memorable for me!

One of my students is worried about me. Apparently it appears that I have a fixation on death, because I keep mentioning "old dead white guys". Is it my fault that none of them have ever heard of the literary canon ? One of the ongoing assignments for the class is read two books from the literary cannon to pump up their background knowledge. However, none of them know what a "classic" is... and I am at somewhat of a loss as how to explain the difference between Twilight and Wuthering Heights without insulting some hard core fans. In the meantime, I guess I'll hold off on the whole "best way to hide a dead body" discussion for later in the semester. I don't want to creep them out too soon. On a personal note, what is the deal with Jay Leno? When Carson retired he was a gentleman about... but Leno has to come up with a show to kill off the Tonight Show? Is retirement that boring? Would no one hire him? Was he a major Madoff investor? Seriously, just ...

I keep waiting for the other shoe to drop. So far, so good. Then again, we're all honeymooning - the students are attentive and studious, for the most part. It's a little scary. The class I was sure was going to torture me has so far not done so... but I have a feeling will soon. I have a horrible habit of allowing students to shout answers or questions at me when it's quiet and then scolding them for not raising their hands when it's not or when I'm lecturing. It's inconsistant and probably angers some students since the ones asking during quiet times are "good" students and those who aren't are the "bad". Not that I really categorize them as that, but you'd be surprised at the number of students who do for themselves and their classmates. My two sophomore classes are turning into completely different preps. One class is full of academically skillsed students, who are very capable of working independantly. The other is a class that c...

I've been trying to write a post for the past week or so, but life kept getting into the way... it has a habit of doing that. Just before school started, I didn't really go in and set things up. I did for a few hours, but honestly, I had bigger things to do. Besides, planning curriculum at the local coffee shop is waaaaayyy better than sitting in a stuff classroom. The chairs are no where near as comfy and the coffee shop does not have annoying "protect us from the big bad world" internet filter. If someone recommends a site, I can actually see it in all it's glory. Sadly, I can't share it with my classroom... but I can use the ideas. Plus, I had family over, two kids and a ton of things on my to-do list that I procrastinated all summer long. Also, if I was at school, I knew I would not be able to resist looking at my class rosters and having a freak out. Freak one would be the deminishing number of students in my AP classes. I was told that due to the lack of...

Still trying to get everything done before the week of meetings start. Studiously avoiding the school building and taking another peak at my class roster. Yesterday students could pick up their schedules and make changes before the year starts. About a third of them do it, and the counselors start working on evening out sections. I'm sure that my 5th period class now has more than 7 students. Or I could not have a 5th period class any more. It's all up in the air now. But I won't take a peak until next week. Why ruin the surprise. I'm still worried about the AP classes. I ran into a student a week ago who told me "everyone wanted to drop the class, but were afraid to tell you"... Is this true? Am I an AP bully? Have I driven the entire program into the ground by demanding too much? The first thing I had to learn after moving here was that very few people expected any sort of rigor from students and that those who had that were usually looked down upon. If they...

This is my last week before having to follow someone else's schedule. One week to complete all the household tasks I planned last June, but still haven't completed. Tomorrow will have to be the start of the mad dash to get it all done... and I swore I wasn't going to procrastinate any more. First task is cleaning out the "storage room"... I have no idea where I'm going to put everything, but I desperatly need a play room, so I have to find a new home for all the crap. Second task is painting, painting. I hope I'll be able to get to that by Wednesday. Before and after photos posted tomorrow.

Last year was a tough year for me. I had a lot going on in my personal life, working on Take One! and the new RtI stuff (which took me out of the classroom more than I liked). I also had a class with a horrible mix of students. All of these things combined in a way to that made me really not want to be teaching or spend any time outside of school thinking about/working school. We all know that teaching isn't a job that can be done during school hours. I wasn't being a good teacher... at least in my mind. This year, my goal is to change that. I've really reworked several things in my sophomore curriculum and added a lot of preparation work into the early months of the year. I'm not sure how well it will go over, as our class configurations changed. Our school no longer has separate "honors" and "regular" english courses for the sophomores. There will be a much greater mix of skill level in the room. My AP courses will continue on, but the summer assig...

school supplies purchased - check new lunch box - check new laptop computer - check plan for the first month for sophomores - check no plans for AP yet, as I'm not sure if there will be any AP classes. Due to budget constraints and lack of teachers, I will not be allowed to have a class of less than 20. Less than 20 students have completed the summer assignment for each section... the math is not working in our favor. Also, have no spent more than 30 minutes in classroom since June. Really, all I have to do in there is hang up a few posters and run copies. Everything else can be done on my handy-dandy new laptop. Did I mention that I got a new laptop? It's shiny. I did, however, take the time to look at my class rosters - joke that they are at this moment. I have two classes of 35+, one with 7 and one normal one. Is there a point in even paying attention to it at this point? I'm really hoping that the class with 7 will actually be moved to another time. I loath having class...

Summer went by very, very quickly... even though I had almost no conferences or classes to attend, it still seems to have flown by. This morning I woke up at 5am and it was pitch dark. Nothing like the turn of the planet to make you feel the passing of the seasons and realize that all those projects you've been saying you'll do "tomorrow" have to be done today.

Test

Continuing with the end of the world theme in young adult fiction, I read Life As We Knew It by Susan Pfeffer. It's actually pretty similar to One Second After , a book I read earlier this year, but without the horrific death scenes or the belief that when something bad happens almost everyone is going become little more than savages out to murder everyone else in the most horrific way possible. It's your basic something bad happened and all the eletricity, fuel, food and water sources are limited or gone type of story. The main character is junior in high school when a natural disaster strikes. The book is basically her diary of the events - she goes from being jealous that her best friend has a date for the Prom to wondering if she'll ever see 17. At first people are bit worried, but still believing that things can soon return to normal. Luckily for the main character, her mother sees bad things coming. The description of the scuttle for supplies is almost funny. Things...

A couple of weeks ago, I finished reading Readicide by Kelly Gallagher. There is a huge discussion about the book on the English Companion Ning - I highly recommend reading through it. There are so many great idea and points to ponder throughout. At the end of the book is a huge list of books that are of high interest to students who aren't that motivated to read. As mentioned last week, I hit the used bookstore to find as many as I could for the upcoming year. I now has enough books to last me for the rest of the summer if I don't finish painting the living room. Or anything else. On the other hand, they are pretty easy to get into, which is the point, I suppose. The first one I dove into was How I Live Now by Meg Rosoff . The description promised an end of the world theme (which is my favorite), and given our days of sunshine lately I thought it a good start. There's nothing worse that reading a depressing book while it's raining and let's face it, teens do se...

I've written about the joys of my clothesline before... how green it is, how it saves me tons of money (seriously at least $20/mo.), yadda, yadda. I didn't, however, really know how to work it... I mean, it's a clothesline right? Pin the clothes to the line and let the wind do the work. How hard is that? Except the underwear question. No one wants their underwear hanging out for everyone to spy. So, what does one do with the unmentionables? I know what you are thinking, lord-luv-a-duck, could you not figure it out on your own? And I couldn't. It wasn't until I attended an OSPI conference session led by an Australian using the book The Terrible Underpants (which is hysterical, by the way). An amusing story, the speaker went on to described how in Australia, where everyone uses a clothesline, the underwear are hung in the center of the Outdoor Clothes Dryer while the sheets or large towels are hung on the outer line so that all undergarments are hidden from street...