I really need to find a way to procrastinate less with planning and school work so I can find time to sleep. Calendars and lists sure make me feel organized and are pretty to look at…but don’t help with the actual “getting stuff done” part. I only work best under pressure, and unfortunately setting false, early deadlines for myself doesn’t work. Any ideas of what I can do? It is starting to get frustrating and I’m not sure if I will be able to change the way I’ve done things for years. Wow, fourth blog post of the day. See, I catch myself doing work that I enjoy but that is not necessary. Maybe that’s my problem too. I probably could have finished my Disciplinary Knowledge paper by now, had I spent my time on that instead, but I enjoyed this more and do find meaning in it. And now…I’m tired so I’m going to watch TV and relax, therefore once again putting more important work off until tomorrow. Hmph, complicated.
At our department meeting this week, some things were stressed about what the state is going to be looking for and what things our department supervisor will therefore also be looking for as he comes around to randomly observe our classrooms. One of the things on the checklist is that we have student work posted in the classroom. So, having none displayed in our classroom, I made this my little project. In the copy room of the school I found scroll paper in school colors and spent a few free periods and a couple of hours after school making the “Chemistry Scholars” wall, which my CT and I decided to call it. He said in ten years of teaching he had never really posted student work, and the wall I used for it has always just been left blank. He had always thought high school students would never really care about seeing work hanging up. Well, I collected a lot of the outstanding work from my students, as well as some of the assessments I gave that we were incredibly impressed with.
The next day at school, the students all loved it. Every student walked in and walked right over to it to see if they were up there somewhere on it. We assured them that we will constantly be updating the work up there so that they will have a chance to be showcased on the wall as well. We never could have guessed the reaction we would get from some students. They were so excited when they realized they had done a good job on something and were getting acknowledged for it by having it displayed to everyone who walks in the classroom. One girl was like, “Wow, my quiz is up there, that’s awesome! I want to keep doin well so I always have something up there! I know I can.” Other students were like “I’m gonna do really good on my lab now.” Ok, so something that was just supposed to be a decorative addition to the class ended up being a bit of an external motivation factor as well. But it was great to see the students being so proud of themselves, as they should have been. One student walked in and pointed to one of the chromatography labs, shouting, “That kid is soo smart!” referring to his own work. Starting out the class with all these positive comments and with the students feeling proud of their work, (and the others knowing that their work would be up their eventually too), classes were very enthusiastic and pumped up today. It was wonderful! I remember in Lisa’s class we were talking about memorable feedback we had received at any point in our academic career and why it was memorable—it made me think of this. The students really love seeing their work on that wall, and to have teacher approval that they did well, in addition to just comments and grades that they receive all the time. To put it on display really makes them feel proud of their work, and now they are motivated to have that feeling repeated. Who knew the power of scissors, paper, tape and hanging wrinkled pages on a blank wall.
I love love my placement. I got too lucky with the students I have. Of course some days are better than others, and some of my lessons reach the students more than others, but regardless I’m learning lessons and considering it all for each day that follows. I have learned that I really have to be aware of how much I plan for one day. It is so hard to remember what it was like back in the day when I was in my students’ shoes having never seen this chemistry material before. Many of my lessons always spill over into some of the next lesson. I do not think it is an issue of time management though, and I do not know if it is something I should consider a bad thing and try fixing. When this happens, it is because the students are getting engaged and asking a ton of great questions, so discussions and activities are stretched a little longer than planned. Other times, it is because I’m realizing through my “ongoing assessments” that students are not fully understanding certain concepts or are somewhat confused and therefore it directs my instruction by making me decide to go over something an additional time to try and get all students on the same page before we move on. Is that a bad thing? Should I be trying to improve my time management or is it fine to just be adapting to the students needs, harnessing their ideas and having lessons go longer than expected to ensure they are understanding everything? It would bother me if I didn’t.
However, this week went really well! I love my classes. Even with all the obstacles. Last period on Friday a verbal screaming match that had been brewing for the past couple of weeks broke out between two students, keeping my eighth period class at the top of the energetic class list. However, the class began really well. The students were coming up to act out analogies for covalent bonds (thanks for your ideas Kristine!), doing examples on the board, and even coming up to explain the question of the day, something they usually expect the teacher to do. It was intended to be a joke as one student and his friend walked in all hyper and wanted to use the different colors to write/doodle on the SmartBoard. I was able to focus the class to the front and ask them all questions to get those two actually teaching the first 5 minutes of class as a review of what we did yesterday and applying that understanding to the question of the day. They even started asking the class additional questions from yesterday, testing them, enjoying taking that leadership position in the classroom! It was awesome to see, especially since I do not think they are used to that collaboration or leadership in the classroom on days that are not lab days. This week I’ve been calling on my inclusion students a lot and they have all been making my CT, my inclusion CT and I so very proud! Their constant contributions to class are really motivating to me and the rest of the class as well. One of them came up to me after class, informing me that he would be coming back to sit up front tomorrow because he likes the extra help he gets when he sits up there and that he is able to focus better. I was very impressed with his maturity and sure enough, he has been doing much better the past couple of days when he took it upon himself to sit in the front row. I love the raising of the hand accompanied by “I’m not sure…but I can try.”
My CT thought that the recent quiz I gave would be very challenging for all of my classes but when I graded them, he was so impressed with how well they did! (as a whole of course). “You’re reaching them, you’re really reaching them,” he said. Many of the students were so proud of their work, celebrating as I gave their quizzes back. My CT said they might have actually been a little too excited about them, which actually made class a little chaotic and off the walls that morning. I did have a feeling they would do well though with how much they have all been contributing in class, and how students were walking out a few days earlier saying, “Wow, this stuff is actually interesting” referring to just valence electrons and Lewis dot structures… Surprising since I didn’t blow anything up for them and that’s usually all they want to see…but I’ll take it!!
I can already tell that this post is going to be somewhat unorganized, there are just so many thoughts on my mind and other things that I want to share. (So this is your warning!)
Anyway, I just got back from my school’s boys’ basketball game at the Blue Cross Arena! They won sectionals! I have one student in my 8th period class who is on the team…he won MVP of the tournament! I walked in, hoping to find the inclusion teacher I work with not expecting the entire place to be packed. Once I realized that it was going to be impossible to find her, I just found a good seat and plopped myself down. I ended up chatting the whole game with the people next to me. They were from Rochester and had actually gone from the high school I’m teaching at about 20 years earlier and were friends with the coaching staff. It was great to meet people from the community and talk about the school, my student teaching experience, and teaching and Rochester in general. At half time I wasn’t hungry but decided to go and get food anyway because I figured maybe I’d run into other teachers or students I could say hi to. Sure enough I saw about 10 of my students! I was great to see all of them, except for one who stole half my fries 
Just kidding. At the beginning of the game our team was winning by about 15…the next two quarters it was about a 3 point game until we finally pulled away and beat them by 23. It was so terrible to have to hear the other team get upset and start screaming cheers that were making fun of our academics and basically calling my students stupid, being poor sports just because they were losing. However,it is so awesome how sports have a way of uniting everyone. I saw students I have that usually argue with each other in class or don’t get along, high-hiving each other during the game. We talk about sports uniting nations, and cities, and it has the same effect on high schools. In schools that are so diverse and when there are students that always have something to argue with one another about, there’s always that one thing that they can support together; their teams. When your team is down by five, you forget all those little fights you had with those sitting in the seats next to you and together you get nervous together, and you cheer louder. When your team is up by five, you share that same excitement and give high fives to each other, forgetting the fights you had in the past, because now you’re supporting something larger than yourself.
Thinking back to the game where I saw most of the students from my 8th period class, makes me think of that class itself. I think there are about five different first languages represented in that class. In addition to the 7 ESL students, there are 8 students with IEPs, one girl who tells me she’s “done this already and didn’t like it then and won’t like it now,” countless students who won’t keep their cell phones in their bags, one student who needs glasses and can’t see the board and squints so hard he gets headaches, two class clowns, and one student in a wheelchair who was paralyzed two years ago during a shooting at his house. Here’s where I’m going to start posting all my random thoughts. First, this class is probably my favorite class, but the most difficult to control. There’s so much personality which I love, and the chaos that comes along with it makes class so exciting. Last week we worked with the Van de Graaff generator and all the kids were out of their seats for the activity, making human chains around the room to shock each other. The whole class got involved, is was so great to see! Just the other day one of my students who has an IEP and always seems to be wandering around the room or having a shouting match with one of the girls in the class, actually volunteered to do a problem on the SmartBoard!! My teacher and the inclusion teacher were so impressed! It made my day to see him up there explaining ions to the entire class. And then there’s my student in the wheel chair, who always makes my day as he wheels past the classroom a few times a day, always waving and calling our names. I have never met a kid with a better attitude than him. He once was the star quarterback of our football team and a star on the basketball team before he was shot. The year before he was shot and paralyzed, his mother was shot and killed. A year before that, his brother was shot and killed. All of my students are my inspiration, but this student in particular just has an incredible personality after all he has been through. He’s always smiling, so respectful and encouraging, and just always brings such a positive attitude and sense of humor to class. So many people always think of teachers inspiring students, but everyday I come home thinking of how they all inspire me.
I had been researching Rhode Island high schools when I came across an article that mentioned how a superintendent in RI decided to shut down one of the city schools, firing every single teacher at that school. I was amazed to read this article. It was of great interest to me because I am from Rhode Island and went to high school half an hour away from Central Falls High School, and went to elementary school about 15 minutes away from it. I remember playing their school in basketball, going to their school to see football games, etc. Now as a teacher and no longer a high school student, I am put in a completely different position with a whole new perspective. Apparently the superintendent had wanted to make changes since it was a very low-performing school, with only about a 30% graduation rate, but the teachers refused to agree to those changes (which just included more dedication on their part). I am trying to decide if this was a good decision for the school district to make. Yes, of course the school definitely needs some changes. But it makes me think of the uneasiness of some of the teachers in Rochester who are also nervous to hear whether or not their school will be shut down or transformed and whether or not their will lose their jobs. The news about this school in RI made national news and apparently there are many more schools in the U.S. that will be going through the same change where the entire staff will be fired and no more than 50% can be rehired. One morning this past week I walked into my student teaching placement and heard a group of teachers talking about this school in RI, not believing the decision that had been made. They were bringing up a good point that, unfortunately not many people typically want to teach in the city and therefore would this school be able to find replacements? Also, these teachers received their termination notices in February, while still having to teach for the remainder of the year. What is the atmosphere in that school currently like, with all the teachers knowing they are going to be let go? Are they still motivated to teach? Ideally, of course they are because they should love teaching and are there for the students…but realistically, probably not. Well, it happened in RI first, and it only means that it will probably be happening more throughout the U.S. where all teachers are simply fired and the school attempts to start out on a new slate. I guess it is good if a school really needs such a drastic change. It’s worth a shot. But if this didn’t happen, what would other alternatives be?
Last week I attended the UTL Spring Teach-in about Mayoral Control. The panelists were Dr. David Hursh (UR Professor), Anthony Plonczynski (Assistant Director of David T. Kearns Center), and Dan Drmacich (Principal of School Without Walls). The discussion really got me passionate and full of energy about the topic, especially when people from the community stood up and started sharing their concerns and stories. This rant is in response (and in much agreement) to the comments said by the panelists.
I do not understand why there are people who think the issues of education can be solved by having the Mayor take control of the schools. Dr. Hursh mentioned that there are so many other issues our mayor should be focusing on (transportation, jobs, lead poisoning, etc), ending his speech with “the mayor should rethink his plan.” In NYC, the mayor removes board members who do not agree or who he just does not want. Parents feel they have no voice. Teachers can be fired without meeting with the school board to make that decision. Potential results this change might bring include increased privatization of schools, more emphasis on standardized tests, and less parental input into schools. How can they just take away our school boards and therefore be taking away our input, our democracy? School boards should remain as advocates for school and the education system, where the mayor should be behind them, supporting them, while being an advocate for his city.
Yes, ok, so we realize something should be done about our school system including student performance and community and parental involvement. But how is it that people think mayoral control is the solution to those problems? We can’t yet. There is no evidence. How are we supposed to know this is change we can believe in? It might simply be that we do not know enough about our own school system, and with the right procedures and changes, this whole upheaval of the entire system could be avoided. Why do we need a deputy major of education when we have a superintendent? The proposal of mayoral control diminishes democracy for our community, our parents, our teachers and our students who want to have input on policies. According to what Dan Drmacich said, the only reason that SWW is still in existence is because of the say that the people of the community had. People attempted to shut down SWW and because of the community and the school board, the school was protected and that was the only way it was saved.
The question arose, does mayoral control mean there is going to be increased emphasis on test preps so students can pass the Regents? This will simply turn the schools into factories. What will those students be leaving the district with and taking into the real world and be able to apply to unpredictable situations? Testing narrows the curriculum, and limits student growth and thinking as well as growth of innovative schools. SWW was named a “failure school” because of their graduation rate, however, those that calculate that number fail to put a face on those children. They do not consider if the student suffered from lead poisoning, or if they come from a single parent household, or if they have a second grade reading level in the ninth grade. They focus on a number, a percentage. They don’t ask, what did you do as a school to help each child? Or, how have you developed a constructivist approach for them, provided them with advisors, or set them up with internships? Those who are looking to control the school system do not know enough about it to begin with. How can we know the mayor will know what’s best for our schools? Doesn’t he already have enough other things he should be worrying about? I say, keep the school board, let them do their job, and let us have a say. I don’t know how we can let people wanting control over money come in the way of such an important issue.
Dan mentioned that Duffy wants control of the $119 million guaranteed to the district. Teachers are getting blamed for the low graduation rates and test scores. He just is not understanding education or schools. Although the mayor has good intentions, there are still some gaps, and not a complete understanding of what can best help our district. But there are issues even beyond test scores that need to be addressed. Radical change needs to happen. Do we really think that mayoral control is that change that we need? Why don’t they focus on the issue of poverty first? They say parents aren’t caring, but isn’t that sometimes because parents are “one paycheck away from poverty” and it is hard to be working three jobs and getting involved with their children’s schools at the same time? There needs to be something done about poverty first. Why doesn’t the mayor focus on that? Why isn’t that the number one priority? The panel mentioned that the link from the SES issue is making it also a racial issue. When we look at places where there is mayoral control, it is in cities with much racial diversity and urban schools. Hursh said it is like a racial attack, saying, “We don’t trust you to govern yourselves” so they are taking away the school board, and their right to vote! Why do they think this intervention could help? Why would replacing the school board with an educational panel, a city council and a special education board be the best solution? Why aren’t there better reasons for this change, and more planning behind all of this?
One of the most powerful moments of this forum was when a teacher from school 45 stood up and said that it makes her so extremely upset when people say, “we don’t know how to solve this problem.” Bringing herself to tears, she went on saying we, as teachers, DO have ideas of what needs to change. Why do they not ask teachers? She says there needs to be higher expectations of students, better discipline, and there should be accountability across all schools from kids, parents, teachers and administrators. One kindergarten student told this woman that he was going to punch her in the face and knock her teeth down her throat, and she sent him to the office only for him to get sent back to her class and spill her coffee on her lap. The students are not being asked to respect others, their school, or themselves. They aren’t being told to say the pledge of allegiance. According to this woman, and I agree, the school board needs to listen to the people who are IN the trenches. We (teachers), KNOW the answers. Or we can at least TRY to solve some of these issues by coming together to address something and foster change. “People need to start listening to us. The kids are dying spiritually” said the woman. She also said that if we get rid of the school board because they aren’t doing their job then it only makes sense that we then get rid of city council then too. And Anthony P was right when he said that this will teach us all a lesson– how important it is to go out and vote for your school board. Because now, we’re paying for it.
People have proposed that mayoral control should be approved 2 cycles in a row before being enacted. Or else it is just diminishing the local government’s control. However, the mayor said that cannot apply here because the school system is not a local government, and that it will have to be passed by the state and governor. The interesting point that a member of the community from the crowd brought up is that we, as a community, have to keep protesting, or we are going to let one of the most dysfunctional governing bodies in the nation impact us on a local decision.He mentioned that some people are afraid of dealing with this situation because of all the SES and cultural problems that are involved, making it so very serious. However, he said that if this issue was out of the urban setting and affecting more whites, that they would have already declared a “national emergency,” emphasizing the racial issue involved in this debate.
We know the mayor cares, but there are undoubtedly gaps in his understanding of what should be done and what could work in our schools. Last week at a church meeting where they were going to talk about mayoral control, the mayor popped up, taking the stage for 40 minutes. He knew the people he was going to be seeing and dealing with, the same people in the community who have been putting up a fight. What one man said was powerful– The mayor knew what people he was going to encounter and what he was going to say, although he still sounded unsure about some things. After hearing Dr. Hursh speak at this forum, the man told the entire room that the mayor already knows what he is going to face when he pops up to places like that. We NEED new people, and more professionals to pop up too. We need more academics to bring their research to the city and to speak up about this. The conversation cannot just be had among the same people, professionals have to go if there is to be a stronger influence. There was another meeting at their church last Friday where the press attended that I unfortunately could not go to because I was teaching. After the forum the people from this church talked to Dr. Hursh and he agreed to speak tonight at their church (see previous post!). I will be attending with a few other students from Warner and I hope others who see this can make it too! This is a major issue that will be affecting us all, and the stories I got to hear from the community members at that forum caused their passion on this subject to transfer to me. Let’s see if we can unite as a community of teachers, students, parents and concerned citizens, to make our voices heard.
I have included the two articles that were provided at the forum. One by Duffy as well as one by Cala, against mayoral control. Check out the contrasting views.
Where: Helping Hand Baptist Church, 703 Joseph Ave
When: Tonight, Feb 16, 6:30 pm
Featuring: Dr. Hursh
Discussion: Mayor Duffy’s plan to take over the city schools
Please come if you can, they really want new people there to show support!
website info
I have really been struggling with how to best help a few of my students. Three students in one of my classes are refugees from Nepal and speak very little English. There have been a few times when one of the students is able to translate to the others what it is I am saying, but for the most part they stare at me with blank looks, or turn to each other with the most confused look on their faces. I have started using hand motions to say “follow me” to go get goggles and equipment, but I am worried about how to distribute my time between helping these three students who need more guidance than the other students while still moving about the room and helping everyone else. We have been working on a lab for the past few days and each day we get started the students remain seated, not engaging in any of the activities. It takes me about 5 minutes each class to try and communicate with them what to do and where to go at that moment. They were getting so far behind that I didn’t just want them missing out on the whole activity so I stuck them with another group to at least observe the experiment and help out where they could. Luckily, the group I stuck them with was very accepting and tried to give them responsibilities. I just really don’t know what to do. I feel like when these students are in classes, they are usually just ignored or not encouraged to do the activities even when they are just sitting there because teachers have such a hard time communicating with them. And we do have an inclusion teacher push-in during that period however since they have a language barrier and not IEPs, they are given no extra attention. I feel like they need the extra time from me, but then if I were to continue doing this then I’m not spending enough time rotating around to the other groups. I guess I should just be sure they are always with other students in the class who can guide them along? It is just frustrating that there is that language barrier and I feel as though I am just not able to be helping them as much as I wish to. One of the three students, although it is very hard to communicate with him and therefore hard to get him involved in class activities because he does not understand instructions, had one of the highest scores on the midterm. Since I haven’t taken over teaching just yet, I’ve been making a mental list of the things I think I might try and do differently for these students. Should I be trying to keep them with other students in the class? I want to be sure to always explain, write and illustrate instructions. I’m just concerned they are not getting enough out of the lessons as they could be and it frustrates me that I don’t see them getting enough attention from the other adults, and I’m afraid I spend too much time trying to help them. How do I improve the way I help them while also improving my ability to get around the room and be able to help, observe and assess all the other students in the room at the same time?! (<< B/c I know this is so, so, so important, and I want to make sure I’m giving all the students equal attention!)