I know I'm going to jinx it, but so far this semester has been great. The 3 Gorges presentation/debate went over pretty well - the kids understood the implications of the construction of the largest dam in the world. (Except 4th period, which is my greatest challenge).
We have moved on to Japan and the Koreas. Specifically, we have focused on education in Japan and S. Korea, reading an article from the NY Times and using a handout from AskAsia.org. The students compared their educational experience to that in these Asian countries, and found it woefully lacking ( although they weren't disappointed that they didn't do school 15 hours a day). Today I read them parts of Paul Burka's editorial from the December 07 Texas Monthly, No Nino Left Behind. We looked at (former) state demographer Steve Murdoch's prediction for the year 2030 - the year Texas will become a majority Hispanic state. After hearing that median income was $20,000 higher for Anglos than Hispanics in 2000, and that over 40% of Hispanic kids quit school before graduating, we had some intense discussions.
In first period it lead to a discussion about college - I never really thought about it a lot, but many of my students don't have family or friends that have been to college, and they have many misconceptions about it. It felt great to help these kids see the importance of finishing school, not only for themselves, but for the future of our state and nation. We talked about where to go (jr college is inexpensive and fine to start with), where to get the money (live at home and work part time), and what kind of grades you need to make in high school (Bs and Cs will get you in - they were relieved to hear that).
I am still working on 4th period - even with all the schedule changes the make-up of the class has not changed; I have a lot of kids in there who don't much care about their schooling. The majority are great kids, so I have to figure out a way to encourage them and reform the nay-sayers. I am working on a new seating chart - I hope it helps.
Thursday, January 17, 2008
Wednesday, January 9, 2008
New Semester
The holidays were too short, and we are back to work. Yesterday the kids came back, and there has been quite a bit of schedule-changing. All the freshmen who failed the first semester of Algebra I have been assigned to a 2 hour math class (actually class plus lab) in an effort to catch them up and help them pass TAKS. Since there were 125 kids (out of 600) that failed, there has been some serious rescheduling.
We are starting off with a project on the Three Gorges Dam in China. During the powerpoint presentation yesterday I questioned kids about various things they should have learned last semester (plate tectonics, rainshadows), and I came away impressed - they remembered more than I gave them credit for! Unfortunately, geography isn't considered an important subject - like Algebra - so we don't get the same attention or emphasis. Congress won't even pass the Geography Education bill, so most kids in this country don't take the class in high school. Perhaps if Rumsfeld and Cheney had taken geography they wouldn't have thought Iraq would be a piece of cake to conquer and reform.
We are starting off with a project on the Three Gorges Dam in China. During the powerpoint presentation yesterday I questioned kids about various things they should have learned last semester (plate tectonics, rainshadows), and I came away impressed - they remembered more than I gave them credit for! Unfortunately, geography isn't considered an important subject - like Algebra - so we don't get the same attention or emphasis. Congress won't even pass the Geography Education bill, so most kids in this country don't take the class in high school. Perhaps if Rumsfeld and Cheney had taken geography they wouldn't have thought Iraq would be a piece of cake to conquer and reform.
Sunday, December 9, 2007
1st Semester
We have made it to the end of the semester, and I don't think my kids have learned half of what I wanted them to - they know what a literacy rate is, but can't imagine how it impacts their future. Paul Burka's editorial in the new Texas Monthly hits the nail on the head - if we don't/can't/won't reach the at-risk, low income, marginalized kids then this state doesn't stand a chance of having a great future. We'll end up no better off than Sierra Leone.
Tuesday, October 30, 2007
Ring Night
My favorite sport (well, my favorite winter sport) is back. And my FAVORITE team, the World Champion Spurs, receive their rings tonight!
Monday, October 29, 2007
Thursday, October 25, 2007
Freshmen
High school freshmen are turning me gray, one hair at a time. I thought I had gotten my Pre-AP classes up to speed, and that they would actually study for tests, but apparently that's not the case. Last Friday's test was over the physical geography of the Middle East and they totally blew it. Not just in my class, either - all 6 PAP sections did very poorly because they didn't study.
I am not sure why so many kids are failing social studies classes. I am in charge of scheduling after-school tutoring for kids who fail 2 core courses, so I get to see how many fail what subjects. Although junior English and US History were high on the list, overall social studies had more failures than the other core subjects. Many of the students I talk to tell me they couldn't do my homework because they were doing math or science or English. Why do those subjects rank before mine in their eyes? I thought perhaps it was just me, but its across the board.
So now parents are calling and emailing, upset because little Bobby has always made As, and now he's doing well to get a C. I tell them what Bobby is supposed to be studying, where to find my study guides and testing schedule, and usually they realize that its not my fault. The kid either shouldn't be in PAP for one reason or another, or should prepare better for the test.
That still doesn't help solve the riddle of why they choose to let the social studies homework or studying go by the wayside and do the math or science instead. Maybe we'll never know.
I am not sure why so many kids are failing social studies classes. I am in charge of scheduling after-school tutoring for kids who fail 2 core courses, so I get to see how many fail what subjects. Although junior English and US History were high on the list, overall social studies had more failures than the other core subjects. Many of the students I talk to tell me they couldn't do my homework because they were doing math or science or English. Why do those subjects rank before mine in their eyes? I thought perhaps it was just me, but its across the board.
So now parents are calling and emailing, upset because little Bobby has always made As, and now he's doing well to get a C. I tell them what Bobby is supposed to be studying, where to find my study guides and testing schedule, and usually they realize that its not my fault. The kid either shouldn't be in PAP for one reason or another, or should prepare better for the test.
That still doesn't help solve the riddle of why they choose to let the social studies homework or studying go by the wayside and do the math or science instead. Maybe we'll never know.
Sunday, October 14, 2007
Tutoring
A couple weeks ago the Academic Dean at my new school asked me if I would be interested in doing the scheduling for the after-school tutoring program. This is the first time the district has had anything like this - mandatory tutoring for kids who fail 2 or more core courses. The pay wasn't great, but I said yes - apparently I have left the impression that I'm organized, but I'm not sure how that rumor got around. It's not true - it just looks that way.
Anyway, the nuts and bolts of how the program would actually work, and who would be doing the actual tutoring, and how many students we would actually have, were not well thought out before the program was put on the ground. there is nothing in writing - its all a seat-of-the-pants sort of thing right now. And to top it off, the dean was called out of town on personal business, and it all dropped into one of the Assistant Principal's lap. Fortunately, he is much more organized than me, and also much smarter and better with people. He has helped get the program off to a good start (well, we start Monday, but its looking pretty good). We still need a couple more teachers - there were a lot of kids who failed junior English, but all in all I think it will go well.
We have 542 slots for tutoring - kids that failed at least 2 core classes (math, science, English, and social studies) have to go, and many students failed more than 2 core classes. Probably 240 students out of 1800 will start 3 weeks of tutoring on Monday. If they can get their grade up then they'll be released after 3 weeks; if not, then they'll continue for the remainder of the 6 weeks.
Hopefully, they or their parents will work harder to pass next 6 weeks, and the numbers will drop. It will be and interesting experiment.
Anyway, the nuts and bolts of how the program would actually work, and who would be doing the actual tutoring, and how many students we would actually have, were not well thought out before the program was put on the ground. there is nothing in writing - its all a seat-of-the-pants sort of thing right now. And to top it off, the dean was called out of town on personal business, and it all dropped into one of the Assistant Principal's lap. Fortunately, he is much more organized than me, and also much smarter and better with people. He has helped get the program off to a good start (well, we start Monday, but its looking pretty good). We still need a couple more teachers - there were a lot of kids who failed junior English, but all in all I think it will go well.
We have 542 slots for tutoring - kids that failed at least 2 core classes (math, science, English, and social studies) have to go, and many students failed more than 2 core classes. Probably 240 students out of 1800 will start 3 weeks of tutoring on Monday. If they can get their grade up then they'll be released after 3 weeks; if not, then they'll continue for the remainder of the 6 weeks.
Hopefully, they or their parents will work harder to pass next 6 weeks, and the numbers will drop. It will be and interesting experiment.
Monday, October 8, 2007
New School
After 2 years in D'ville, I accepted a new position south of Austin at a formerly rural school. Just like D'ville they are reeling from the effects of immigration and migration.
In the last 5 years my new district has grown from a small backwater to suburbia. Following the Law of Unintended Consequences, much has changed, and not all for the better. Many of the students new to the district are from homes where English is not the first language, or where education is not valued. The district is still in the process of figuring out how to help these students. For the past 3 years the district's test scores have fallen, mostly due to the low socio-economic group scores. Because all students are our future, we must make sure that all receive the knowledge and skills they need to be productive, satisfied, citizens.
However, I'm not sure the district has addressed the issues in the most cost-effective manner; but they are trying. I would feel a lot more comfortable if they asked teachers to be part of the problem-solving process, rather than the having all the answers come from the top down. Apparently, in the past, teachers were expected to address the problem, but in a piecemeal, hit-or-miss sort of way. Curriculum planning was given short shrift, and no support or training.
Now the district is in dire straits, with falling test scores and TEA breathing down their neck. They have purchased, at exorbitant cost, a "pre-planned" curriculum, which turns teachers into robots. I know that some high school teachers, especially new ones, have a hard time deciding what to do, and end up trying to 'teach the book.' This is a mistake, because the text always contains much more information than the student needs, and more than is tested at the Exit level. The problem teachers have is that no one bothers to tell them what's important (ie, tested) and whats extraneous. All the extraneous material will be covered, just not necessarily at the depth and complexity of the tested material, which is usually the most important information for the course.
Of course, all of this will change in the next few years as we go to EOC (end of course) exams. My first trainer, Brad Gibson from Region 18, always said "follow the money" and he was right. All the TAKS training material, study guides, and disaggregation of data workshops are out there, and there's not much new they can do (read sell districts). So they have come up with EOCs (really a throwback - they were used in the 1990s).
These won't actually be implemented for several years, but they are hovering over our heads - tests written by people who work for testing companies, at MUCH higher salaries than anybody in the classroom makes.
Anyway, I really like working here - the kids are MUCH better behaved, and I am respected by my peers for some reason - I am not sure why. Anyway, I love it, and plan on staying here for a long time.
Its good to be back.
In the last 5 years my new district has grown from a small backwater to suburbia. Following the Law of Unintended Consequences, much has changed, and not all for the better. Many of the students new to the district are from homes where English is not the first language, or where education is not valued. The district is still in the process of figuring out how to help these students. For the past 3 years the district's test scores have fallen, mostly due to the low socio-economic group scores. Because all students are our future, we must make sure that all receive the knowledge and skills they need to be productive, satisfied, citizens.
However, I'm not sure the district has addressed the issues in the most cost-effective manner; but they are trying. I would feel a lot more comfortable if they asked teachers to be part of the problem-solving process, rather than the having all the answers come from the top down. Apparently, in the past, teachers were expected to address the problem, but in a piecemeal, hit-or-miss sort of way. Curriculum planning was given short shrift, and no support or training.
Now the district is in dire straits, with falling test scores and TEA breathing down their neck. They have purchased, at exorbitant cost, a "pre-planned" curriculum, which turns teachers into robots. I know that some high school teachers, especially new ones, have a hard time deciding what to do, and end up trying to 'teach the book.' This is a mistake, because the text always contains much more information than the student needs, and more than is tested at the Exit level. The problem teachers have is that no one bothers to tell them what's important (ie, tested) and whats extraneous. All the extraneous material will be covered, just not necessarily at the depth and complexity of the tested material, which is usually the most important information for the course.
Of course, all of this will change in the next few years as we go to EOC (end of course) exams. My first trainer, Brad Gibson from Region 18, always said "follow the money" and he was right. All the TAKS training material, study guides, and disaggregation of data workshops are out there, and there's not much new they can do (read sell districts). So they have come up with EOCs (really a throwback - they were used in the 1990s).
These won't actually be implemented for several years, but they are hovering over our heads - tests written by people who work for testing companies, at MUCH higher salaries than anybody in the classroom makes.
Anyway, I really like working here - the kids are MUCH better behaved, and I am respected by my peers for some reason - I am not sure why. Anyway, I love it, and plan on staying here for a long time.
Its good to be back.
OK, OK, its been a long time
The debate was awesome. Edwards definitely won. I was up in the cheap seats in a corner, but I had a great seat - right in the front of my section, with a straight shot of the stage. Lots of people cheering during the debate, which wasn't visible or audible on TV (I watched the re-run after I got back to the house). It was soooo much more exciting in person.
Afterwards they had an 'after party' at a hall next door. I stood 4 feet from Hilary (she's short), shook Obama's hand (he's tall) and got Edwards autograph in the program.
then I spent 2 days driving home, so we could pack and move.
Afterwards they had an 'after party' at a hall next door. I stood 4 feet from Hilary (she's short), shook Obama's hand (he's tall) and got Edwards autograph in the program.
then I spent 2 days driving home, so we could pack and move.
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