"Done what?" you wonder.
I have moved, yet again. This time to a website designed to help teachers find ideas and projects for their classrooms. I've taken all of the ideas and tips from "Spilled Glue" and "180 Days" and compiled them into one site.
Come and visit!
Saturday, July 14, 2012
Wednesday, May 23, 2012
Dust and Cobwebs
I know. My blog page has been neglected, VERY neglected over the past several months. So much has been going on that I haven't had time to write.a.single.word.
So what's been shakin' bacon? In a nutshell, school, school events, family, church, and school. In the past several months I have taken two grad classes (finishing with a 93 and 98, respectively), continued to work my full-time teaching job (which may or may not be there in the fall--more on that in a minute), coached for my local chapter of Girls on the Run, ran a 5K, guided my oldest through a season of track and field, shuffled children between dance, choir, etc., and began house hunting. It's been a whirlwind of activity.
Girls on the Run was a fantastic experience. If you've not heard of it, check out the link. If you have and you have time, be sure to check out your local chapter and/or volunteer. It is SO well worth it!
Regarding my job, my district is furloughing 84 positions, 74 of them teachers. Guess who is on the list? The whole process is one huge mess as no one seems to know anything that's going on. I've been told I am to be furloughed (two days ago), but there is no information as to what I am supposed to do next; it hasn't been fleshed out by the powers that be. So we'll see what the next few weeks bring. Oh, and WHY are such drastic cuts? Let's see, steep education cuts from the governor and poor financial sense on the part of the school district. And here we are.
So, that's where I've been. That's why dust and cobwebs have settled on my web page.
Time to get the Swiffer out.
So what's been shakin' bacon? In a nutshell, school, school events, family, church, and school. In the past several months I have taken two grad classes (finishing with a 93 and 98, respectively), continued to work my full-time teaching job (which may or may not be there in the fall--more on that in a minute), coached for my local chapter of Girls on the Run, ran a 5K, guided my oldest through a season of track and field, shuffled children between dance, choir, etc., and began house hunting. It's been a whirlwind of activity.
Girls on the Run was a fantastic experience. If you've not heard of it, check out the link. If you have and you have time, be sure to check out your local chapter and/or volunteer. It is SO well worth it!
Regarding my job, my district is furloughing 84 positions, 74 of them teachers. Guess who is on the list? The whole process is one huge mess as no one seems to know anything that's going on. I've been told I am to be furloughed (two days ago), but there is no information as to what I am supposed to do next; it hasn't been fleshed out by the powers that be. So we'll see what the next few weeks bring. Oh, and WHY are such drastic cuts? Let's see, steep education cuts from the governor and poor financial sense on the part of the school district. And here we are.
So, that's where I've been. That's why dust and cobwebs have settled on my web page.
Time to get the Swiffer out.
Wednesday, January 18, 2012
A Little Science Surprise
Sunday morning I was privy to a surprise waiting for me upstairs. Not a planned surprise, like breakfast in bed or anything, but a surprise nonetheless.
My youngest adopted a crayfish from his teacher after the students finished their science unit. (The crayfish would have been destroyed otherwise, so the teachers let the children apply to adopt the crayfish.) This was right near Thanksgiving.
So I'm downstairs and I hear him yelling, panicked, "Mom! There's something wrong with Sarah!" (The original name was going to be Spike, but then he found out it was a girl.) I yelled up and asked him what was wrong. He proceeded to tell me that something was hanging from her tail. At which point I go up to investigate.
I get to the tank and Sarah is hidden away in her little cave, so I lift the cave up to get a look at her. Surprise, surprise...she's got a brood of eggs tucked under her tail! Like 50 of them. (We don't know how long they've been there because Sarah is always in her cave and crayfish are nocturnal, anyway.)To which my first thought was "What?!?" My second thought was to call the pet store to see what we should do. My third thought, teacher that I am, was to do some investigating online about crayfish and take some pictures to share with his teacher so she could share with the class; it's not something they ever get to see during their unit. So then I talked to my son about what was going to happen and the look on his face was priceless. He wasn't worried or anything, it was more like shock mixed with awe. We joke with him that he's going to be a grandfather. =)
Some research, a phone call, and a trip to the pet store later, Sarah is now in a breeding tank that separates her from the eggs once they hatch, otherwise she will eat her young. So now the whole household is waiting like expectant parents in the hospital, even walking softly and taking care not to bump the table the tank is on so we won't give Sarah "mommy stress."
It's been an adventure.
My youngest adopted a crayfish from his teacher after the students finished their science unit. (The crayfish would have been destroyed otherwise, so the teachers let the children apply to adopt the crayfish.) This was right near Thanksgiving.
So I'm downstairs and I hear him yelling, panicked, "Mom! There's something wrong with Sarah!" (The original name was going to be Spike, but then he found out it was a girl.) I yelled up and asked him what was wrong. He proceeded to tell me that something was hanging from her tail. At which point I go up to investigate.
I get to the tank and Sarah is hidden away in her little cave, so I lift the cave up to get a look at her. Surprise, surprise...she's got a brood of eggs tucked under her tail! Like 50 of them. (We don't know how long they've been there because Sarah is always in her cave and crayfish are nocturnal, anyway.)To which my first thought was "What?!?" My second thought was to call the pet store to see what we should do. My third thought, teacher that I am, was to do some investigating online about crayfish and take some pictures to share with his teacher so she could share with the class; it's not something they ever get to see during their unit. So then I talked to my son about what was going to happen and the look on his face was priceless. He wasn't worried or anything, it was more like shock mixed with awe. We joke with him that he's going to be a grandfather. =)
Some research, a phone call, and a trip to the pet store later, Sarah is now in a breeding tank that separates her from the eggs once they hatch, otherwise she will eat her young. So now the whole household is waiting like expectant parents in the hospital, even walking softly and taking care not to bump the table the tank is on so we won't give Sarah "mommy stress."
It's been an adventure.
Friday, January 6, 2012
Wait! There IS a Pulse!
Yes...I'm alive.
I know it's been SOOOOOOOOOOOOOO long since I've shared with you and you probably figured I didn't love you anymore. Alas, that was not the case; I have just been SO. DARN. BUSY. AND. EEEEEEXXXXXHAAAUUUSSSSTTTTEEEEDDDD. from everything that has been going on.
Let's see...
Where to begin?
Well, you are aware that we had the whole flood/tropical storm remnant issue back in September. (Many of my students and colleagues have recovered fairly well, as has most of the area. One local business (that was literally WASHED AWAY) opened in its original location last week with a celebration dinner (free) for all of the first responders, employees, and their families). It was open to the public the next day and has been busy ever since.
From there, I have been trying my best to stay afloat of all of the changes going on within our district policies. Let's see: we had a principal get fired two months into the school year (said principal is now suing district), we were told to change our reading intervention program YET AGAIN (and the curriculum person in charge left the district--again--to pursue a career outside of public education just a month or so after putting this new policy in place), more responsibilities have been heaped upon us (with less support and supplies) under the guise of "it's better for the children" (trust me, it is SO NOT), I've been preparing for grad classes (starting this month), and trying to keep my personal/home/spiritual life moving along.
Whew.
I have been with this district five years. In that time, our reading intervention program has been changed three times, not counting my first year where we did guided reading with our own students. We have gone from RTI to RTII to some new version of guided reading (I honestly cannot remember what it is called. Pity.). The longest program lasted two years. Even with this, the DATA is showing that the students are not making "enough" progress. (We are not an academically struggling school. In fact, we--until the last two or so years--have been known as a school of academic excellence. Ironic that title has changed since we started those new programs four years ago.) Anyhow, this new program cuts my 2-hour language arts block in half, yet I am still expected to cover anthology, vocabulary, phonology, grammar, comprehension skills, and writing skills in an HOUR. Oh, I am supposed to have phonology lessons for my struggling students 30 minutes three days a week--DURING THAT TIME. And I am supposed to make sure I am teaching writing so the students can have work for their writing portfolios (4 required pieces minimum, from organizer to drafts to final draft). Doesn't sound like much, but when you are talking about teaching seven-year olds how to go from making a complete sentence to organizing thoughts to proofreading and everything in between, it sort of builds up. Oh, and those required pieces don't take into account the other writing projects I aim to do every other week.
Oh yeah, the new program now brings together two grade levels to share a skill group, with the idea being that since students are on the "same reading level" then it should be more beneficial to them to be taught at the same level. Trust me, it's not. I have nearly 20 students in my "small group" reading skills group. They are a mixture of first and second graders. I have had to break that group into three groups because of ability level. You know as well as I do that just because a child can read the material, doesn't mean that they can demonstrate that material as well as someone who is a year ahead of them academically. In short, the first graders are struggling to keep up no matter what I do. Reasons being: They don't have the comprehension or writing skills to keep up with the work required in the skill group (which happens to be a midyear second-grade level), nor are they mature enough to be able to work well independently, which means I spend a lot of time with that group. Which also means the other children are not getting the attention they need. This is the same conversation/gripe we had with our groups from last year. When brought up, we were told simply that this was a directive from the top and we are going to do it this way. One of those, "Sounds great, let's do it!" policies that looks good on paper but doesn't translate well into practice.
Because of this new method, I have eliminated Friday math review games/activities to do Writer's Workshop (otherwise I truly can't get it in because I refuse to sacrifice reading strategies, grammar skills, and phonology in the limited time I am given for language arts). I have doubled on math skills where I can to make sure the children get all they can in the hour I'm given for that. I throw it in morning journal and anywhere I can disperse it through science and social studies. I have also taken a portion of their daily independent reading time (supposed to be 30 minutes as part of a school-wide program) in order to review grammar, vocabulary, and writing skills for 15 minutes. I don't think my principal approves, but these are skills they need. Besides the fact that I assign a minimum 15 minutes of reading homework each night.
Just last week we were told to change our phonology program back to the program's original order. (Second grade changed this order about seven years ago to align with the order that was being presented in our anthology series. All of the lessons are being taught, but in an order that would benefit the children better since they wouldn't be learning two different phonology sets in one week. The weekly stories have a specific phonics and spelling focus that align with the unit tests as well.) Change it back?!? WHAT?!?!
Another major change is in our math curriculum. The committee has literally cut the requirements of what the children need to master each quarter (and subsequently, the year). In my grade, those requirements are almost half. Oh yeah, and we are to score only the first portion of the test for the grade; the rest is to be used for "planning purposes." Problem is, that first portion sometimes only has four or five questions and may not even cover material that we learned in the unit. (This is a professional math program, too, not one made up by my district.) So I'm supposed to base mastery of skills on four or five questions? (Of course I give quizzes and things through the unit as well.) These four or five questions count as the unit test? Sure does. Makes sense, right? Definitely NOT. Do I still teach the things I used to? Yes. Do I still require MY students to have ALL of those things mastered before they leave me? Darn right.) To do otherwise would be criminal.
There is more, but these are the issues that make me the most aggravated. I look at what my students are doing and where they are in comparison to the first class I taught here and I truly feel that this year's class will be the least prepared of any class I have taught my entire 11-year career. They are coming to me less and less prepared because of all these changes over the past few years, more and more of our time/schedule is being taken away, less and less support is being given to us to implement these changes, and it continues. I am working myself to near exhaustion just trying to meet these expectations and teach my students the way they deserve to be taught. Why? Because you don't get do overs in education. You have to get it right while the children are in your care. My students don't benefit if I slack off.
I look at my own children, who attend school in the district, and how their academics are faring. I know where the holes are in the curriculum and address them at home as best I can. But I also know that every parent in the district does not have that benefit, so I try my best to teach my students as if they were my own children.
I am at the point where I don't feel I can continue in the classroom in good conscience. I have been thinking about it for a while now, and I do not see myself in the classroom in another two to three years. My goal is to work in curriculum development or something similar that will take into account all that teachers do in a day before saying this is the end-all-to-be-all in academic achievement. I know that that's only part of the issue, though. Administrators/policymakers need to be made aware of the day-to-day issues facing teachers. I really think they should be required to do one to two weeks in the classroom before they make final decisions on any policy. I also think they need to allow teachers to give input instead of always trying to treat us like sheep.
Just sayin'.
I haven't quite decided what I plan to do, but in the meantime I am going to finish my grad classes so I can earn my M.Ed. in Curriculum and Instruction (and secure my final level of teaching certification in the process, just in case). I truly want to help other people, mainly teachers, be as successful as they possibly can. Will bureaucratic nonsense get in the way? Yes. It always does. But if I can help someone not feel the way I am feeling now by getting back to basics and using common sense in education, then I'm willing to try.
I'll keep you updated.
I know it's been SOOOOOOOOOOOOOO long since I've shared with you and you probably figured I didn't love you anymore. Alas, that was not the case; I have just been SO. DARN. BUSY. AND. EEEEEEXXXXXHAAAUUUSSSSTTTTEEEEDDDD. from everything that has been going on.
Let's see...
Where to begin?
Well, you are aware that we had the whole flood/tropical storm remnant issue back in September. (Many of my students and colleagues have recovered fairly well, as has most of the area. One local business (that was literally WASHED AWAY) opened in its original location last week with a celebration dinner (free) for all of the first responders, employees, and their families). It was open to the public the next day and has been busy ever since.
From there, I have been trying my best to stay afloat of all of the changes going on within our district policies. Let's see: we had a principal get fired two months into the school year (said principal is now suing district), we were told to change our reading intervention program YET AGAIN (and the curriculum person in charge left the district--again--to pursue a career outside of public education just a month or so after putting this new policy in place), more responsibilities have been heaped upon us (with less support and supplies) under the guise of "it's better for the children" (trust me, it is SO NOT), I've been preparing for grad classes (starting this month), and trying to keep my personal/home/spiritual life moving along.
Whew.
I have been with this district five years. In that time, our reading intervention program has been changed three times, not counting my first year where we did guided reading with our own students. We have gone from RTI to RTII to some new version of guided reading (I honestly cannot remember what it is called. Pity.). The longest program lasted two years. Even with this, the DATA is showing that the students are not making "enough" progress. (We are not an academically struggling school. In fact, we--until the last two or so years--have been known as a school of academic excellence. Ironic that title has changed since we started those new programs four years ago.) Anyhow, this new program cuts my 2-hour language arts block in half, yet I am still expected to cover anthology, vocabulary, phonology, grammar, comprehension skills, and writing skills in an HOUR. Oh, I am supposed to have phonology lessons for my struggling students 30 minutes three days a week--DURING THAT TIME. And I am supposed to make sure I am teaching writing so the students can have work for their writing portfolios (4 required pieces minimum, from organizer to drafts to final draft). Doesn't sound like much, but when you are talking about teaching seven-year olds how to go from making a complete sentence to organizing thoughts to proofreading and everything in between, it sort of builds up. Oh, and those required pieces don't take into account the other writing projects I aim to do every other week.
Oh yeah, the new program now brings together two grade levels to share a skill group, with the idea being that since students are on the "same reading level" then it should be more beneficial to them to be taught at the same level. Trust me, it's not. I have nearly 20 students in my "small group" reading skills group. They are a mixture of first and second graders. I have had to break that group into three groups because of ability level. You know as well as I do that just because a child can read the material, doesn't mean that they can demonstrate that material as well as someone who is a year ahead of them academically. In short, the first graders are struggling to keep up no matter what I do. Reasons being: They don't have the comprehension or writing skills to keep up with the work required in the skill group (which happens to be a midyear second-grade level), nor are they mature enough to be able to work well independently, which means I spend a lot of time with that group. Which also means the other children are not getting the attention they need. This is the same conversation/gripe we had with our groups from last year. When brought up, we were told simply that this was a directive from the top and we are going to do it this way. One of those, "Sounds great, let's do it!" policies that looks good on paper but doesn't translate well into practice.
Because of this new method, I have eliminated Friday math review games/activities to do Writer's Workshop (otherwise I truly can't get it in because I refuse to sacrifice reading strategies, grammar skills, and phonology in the limited time I am given for language arts). I have doubled on math skills where I can to make sure the children get all they can in the hour I'm given for that. I throw it in morning journal and anywhere I can disperse it through science and social studies. I have also taken a portion of their daily independent reading time (supposed to be 30 minutes as part of a school-wide program) in order to review grammar, vocabulary, and writing skills for 15 minutes. I don't think my principal approves, but these are skills they need. Besides the fact that I assign a minimum 15 minutes of reading homework each night.
Just last week we were told to change our phonology program back to the program's original order. (Second grade changed this order about seven years ago to align with the order that was being presented in our anthology series. All of the lessons are being taught, but in an order that would benefit the children better since they wouldn't be learning two different phonology sets in one week. The weekly stories have a specific phonics and spelling focus that align with the unit tests as well.) Change it back?!? WHAT?!?!
Another major change is in our math curriculum. The committee has literally cut the requirements of what the children need to master each quarter (and subsequently, the year). In my grade, those requirements are almost half. Oh yeah, and we are to score only the first portion of the test for the grade; the rest is to be used for "planning purposes." Problem is, that first portion sometimes only has four or five questions and may not even cover material that we learned in the unit. (This is a professional math program, too, not one made up by my district.) So I'm supposed to base mastery of skills on four or five questions? (Of course I give quizzes and things through the unit as well.) These four or five questions count as the unit test? Sure does. Makes sense, right? Definitely NOT. Do I still teach the things I used to? Yes. Do I still require MY students to have ALL of those things mastered before they leave me? Darn right.) To do otherwise would be criminal.
There is more, but these are the issues that make me the most aggravated. I look at what my students are doing and where they are in comparison to the first class I taught here and I truly feel that this year's class will be the least prepared of any class I have taught my entire 11-year career. They are coming to me less and less prepared because of all these changes over the past few years, more and more of our time/schedule is being taken away, less and less support is being given to us to implement these changes, and it continues. I am working myself to near exhaustion just trying to meet these expectations and teach my students the way they deserve to be taught. Why? Because you don't get do overs in education. You have to get it right while the children are in your care. My students don't benefit if I slack off.
I look at my own children, who attend school in the district, and how their academics are faring. I know where the holes are in the curriculum and address them at home as best I can. But I also know that every parent in the district does not have that benefit, so I try my best to teach my students as if they were my own children.
I am at the point where I don't feel I can continue in the classroom in good conscience. I have been thinking about it for a while now, and I do not see myself in the classroom in another two to three years. My goal is to work in curriculum development or something similar that will take into account all that teachers do in a day before saying this is the end-all-to-be-all in academic achievement. I know that that's only part of the issue, though. Administrators/policymakers need to be made aware of the day-to-day issues facing teachers. I really think they should be required to do one to two weeks in the classroom before they make final decisions on any policy. I also think they need to allow teachers to give input instead of always trying to treat us like sheep.
Just sayin'.
I haven't quite decided what I plan to do, but in the meantime I am going to finish my grad classes so I can earn my M.Ed. in Curriculum and Instruction (and secure my final level of teaching certification in the process, just in case). I truly want to help other people, mainly teachers, be as successful as they possibly can. Will bureaucratic nonsense get in the way? Yes. It always does. But if I can help someone not feel the way I am feeling now by getting back to basics and using common sense in education, then I'm willing to try.
I'll keep you updated.
Saturday, September 17, 2011
Oh My
Well, it has been a busy first few weeks of school. And also a bit surreal. In the first three weeks of school, we have had the aftermath of a hurricane, a tropical storm, and massive flooding. We started school on August 29, but because of the effects of the above, we just finished our 11th day of school on Friday.
The routines have been slow going because of the interruptions. We had a full week the week of August 29th, followed by a week comprised of one-and-a-half school days. We had Monday, September 5 off for Labor Day, then we had school Tuesday and half of Wednesday.
Wednesday was an early dismissal due to the pouring rain and flooding occurring here in the northeast. (In some nearby areas the water came so fast that the students weren't allowed to leave until the state police gave clearance to leave. Some students (and parents who came to pick them up when the weather turned) had to end up staying in the schools overnight.) Thursday and Friday we were off because of the flooding of the Susquehanna River in our area. At one point we had part of our interstate, the turnpike, over 150 state roads, and many local roads closed due to flooding of the roadways, sinkholes, or buckled roads. Some are still closed.
My family fared pretty well, only having to deal with a boil water advisory for four days and closed roads. We also took in a few members from our church who had to be evacuated from a flood-prone area. (Good news, they didn't get any water.) Others, including many of my students and colleagues, are still dealing with cleaning/repairing/replacement of flooded basements and homes and the headache that comes with dealing with insurance companies.) By the time we came back on Monday, September 12, it was like the first day of school all over again.
It'll take some time, but we'll be back on track soon. Keep us in your thoughts.
The routines have been slow going because of the interruptions. We had a full week the week of August 29th, followed by a week comprised of one-and-a-half school days. We had Monday, September 5 off for Labor Day, then we had school Tuesday and half of Wednesday.
Wednesday was an early dismissal due to the pouring rain and flooding occurring here in the northeast. (In some nearby areas the water came so fast that the students weren't allowed to leave until the state police gave clearance to leave. Some students (and parents who came to pick them up when the weather turned) had to end up staying in the schools overnight.) Thursday and Friday we were off because of the flooding of the Susquehanna River in our area. At one point we had part of our interstate, the turnpike, over 150 state roads, and many local roads closed due to flooding of the roadways, sinkholes, or buckled roads. Some are still closed.
My family fared pretty well, only having to deal with a boil water advisory for four days and closed roads. We also took in a few members from our church who had to be evacuated from a flood-prone area. (Good news, they didn't get any water.) Others, including many of my students and colleagues, are still dealing with cleaning/repairing/replacement of flooded basements and homes and the headache that comes with dealing with insurance companies.) By the time we came back on Monday, September 12, it was like the first day of school all over again.
It'll take some time, but we'll be back on track soon. Keep us in your thoughts.
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