It is my belief that students need to have a good rapport with teachers before they ever truly begin to learn. A large chunk of learning, in my opinion, is based on pride. Who will be proud of me when I do good on this test? Should I give more of an effort in Ms. Soandso's class than Ms. Whatsherface's class because Ms. Soandso cares more about me succeeding.
It's true. I make it a point to make sure that all of my kids know that I want them to do well for the pride of themselves, their parents, and their teachers. I also like to instill a sense of accomplishment within my students when they DO do well. The question is when do I have time to go over these ideals in class? The pacing guide already mapped out my entire year and I hear that next year, somehow, they are going to add on more.
I feel that all this county really cares about is measurable goals. Things that we can collect data on, and make sure the teacher is on pace (in the green), all of the classes are getting through the curriculum (in the green), or the school is doing what it should (in the green).
Why are the arts the first to go? Because the county hasn't figured out a way to make a standardized test that measures the success or failures of students. They can't put a student's artwork into a computer to figure out whether or not that student is learning the topics given in art class, and grading them by hand is way too time consuming.
But what is art? Is it a class where students learn to doodle correctly? Or is it a class where students learn to express themselves in a variety of ways? Can learning the right way to use watercolors relinquish the curiosity to spray paint a road sign?
For the most part I like that we have a pacing guide and I like the way the county wants to use the data to make the quality of the schools increase ... However, I feel that sometimes it is a little too much. They are kids, not robots. I know that lecturing students is the easiest way to get through a lesson... but it isn't the best.
So when the county drops an absurd amount of goals that we know "can" be met, what they aren't taking into consideration is the growth of the student as a learner.
I don't have any blocks set aside to teach a student good work habits. I don't have any blocks set aside to get to know my students and understand their backgrounds, families, who they care about, what they are feeling. These are all important things to know for students to grow as learners. The sad part is that I don't have any time set aside to do this. Not only that, I don't have any time to take a personal day because I don't want any teacher to mess up something that I have ready to teach. I am not an interchangeable person. When I have a lesson planned, it is for me to teach. Students don't take substitutes seriously. Remember when you were in middle school? It was a waste of a day if a teacher was out.
I don't know what my point is for this blog. Maybe it is that there is no answer for all of the complaining that I hear and there may never be an answer. I just have to shut my mouth and do as much as I can, in the time that I can, so that at the end of the year, my kids are smarter than everyone elses.
Tuesday, May 3, 2011
Saturday, November 13, 2010
You can roll with this, or you can roll with that.
Webquest project. Should I make it look good, or should I concentrate on the material inside?
Shouldn't a webquest have visual appeal? I mean, seriously, the ones that we had to research in class all looked like garbage. The information was good, but they all kind of looked like interactive worksheets. If I am going to make a webquest that will be implemented in class, I would at least want it to look appealing to the kids.
Also, sending a kid out searching for information could be disastrous. My biggest concern is not being able to prepare the kids enough (if I am going to use this) with the skills needed to perform a basic search. We all know one kid is going to end up on a site that has ads for Viagra or on-line dating. Calming down the class could take a lot of valuable time.
I don't feel like I have enough time to implement something of this caliber because I feel it supplements a lesson. Our scope and sequence is tight enough as it is. Lord knows what happened last year with all those snow days. I have to make sure if I am going to use this, that the Webquest is finished when that class day is.
Doesn't that suck?
I attended the meetings for scope and sequence and all that was decided was how urgent we can cram all of these topics into our kids heads. There are maybe 12 days set aside the whole year for assessment and the rest is teaching information that could be truly learned if there was more time.
Maybe if sixth grade math were taught in a way that the kid would remember it, we wouldn't have to use three quarters of seventh grade math re-teaching all of the same topics.
There's no time. Education looks like a factory. Here are the topics you can squeeze into one year. Here is a test at the end.
GO!
Shouldn't a webquest have visual appeal? I mean, seriously, the ones that we had to research in class all looked like garbage. The information was good, but they all kind of looked like interactive worksheets. If I am going to make a webquest that will be implemented in class, I would at least want it to look appealing to the kids.
Also, sending a kid out searching for information could be disastrous. My biggest concern is not being able to prepare the kids enough (if I am going to use this) with the skills needed to perform a basic search. We all know one kid is going to end up on a site that has ads for Viagra or on-line dating. Calming down the class could take a lot of valuable time.
I don't feel like I have enough time to implement something of this caliber because I feel it supplements a lesson. Our scope and sequence is tight enough as it is. Lord knows what happened last year with all those snow days. I have to make sure if I am going to use this, that the Webquest is finished when that class day is.
Doesn't that suck?
I attended the meetings for scope and sequence and all that was decided was how urgent we can cram all of these topics into our kids heads. There are maybe 12 days set aside the whole year for assessment and the rest is teaching information that could be truly learned if there was more time.
Maybe if sixth grade math were taught in a way that the kid would remember it, we wouldn't have to use three quarters of seventh grade math re-teaching all of the same topics.
There's no time. Education looks like a factory. Here are the topics you can squeeze into one year. Here is a test at the end.
GO!
Monday, November 8, 2010
Getting Bored with the Board
My Promethean board is getting boring. I would love to see the board go beyond its present limitations.
It's like every current Adam Sandler movie ... it has the potential to be good, but just ... isn't.
There is nothing exciting about a "container". In fact, it takes way too long to set up those stupid things for five seconds of flip chart use.
It would be cool if the board did fun stuff that the SmartBoard software already has. For example, the smartboard has these rotating boxes that you could put a question on the front and have it spin around to the answer. You can also imbed and hide items in a Notebook file. It's all simple, interactive Flash programming.
Imagine being able to grab the corners of a picture of a cube and rotate it any which way. I know it can be done. Why hasn't it?
These things create a more interactive learning atmosphere. The ability to make a boring topic, visually appealing will at least grab the students' attention and hopefully lead them to listening.
I did get to sample the ActivExpressions. I've been batting around the idea of taking them from the library and the kids will always have one in front of them. Then always allow them to text in their answer. Or use them for formative types of assessment.
The more I try to make my classroom feel less like a classroom, the more students I believe will learn.
I also think carpeted rooms would help for some reason. Nothing fancy. Maybe a nice Egyptian blue carpet ... maybe with a little Feldgrau mixed in there to keep a calm tone.
It's like every current Adam Sandler movie ... it has the potential to be good, but just ... isn't.
There is nothing exciting about a "container". In fact, it takes way too long to set up those stupid things for five seconds of flip chart use.
It would be cool if the board did fun stuff that the SmartBoard software already has. For example, the smartboard has these rotating boxes that you could put a question on the front and have it spin around to the answer. You can also imbed and hide items in a Notebook file. It's all simple, interactive Flash programming.
Imagine being able to grab the corners of a picture of a cube and rotate it any which way. I know it can be done. Why hasn't it?
These things create a more interactive learning atmosphere. The ability to make a boring topic, visually appealing will at least grab the students' attention and hopefully lead them to listening.
I did get to sample the ActivExpressions. I've been batting around the idea of taking them from the library and the kids will always have one in front of them. Then always allow them to text in their answer. Or use them for formative types of assessment.
The more I try to make my classroom feel less like a classroom, the more students I believe will learn.
I also think carpeted rooms would help for some reason. Nothing fancy. Maybe a nice Egyptian blue carpet ... maybe with a little Feldgrau mixed in there to keep a calm tone.
Tuesday, October 26, 2010
I've had it this week.
I have never thought about taking a day off school. I have never bad mouthed my students and meant it. I have never thought a lesson I thought was a complete bomb. I have never felt like I can't get my kids to learn.
Until this week.
I feel like my kids have given up on me. The hardest thing a teacher can do is be in a situation where they feel the kids do not want to learn. I just want to flip their desk over and say, "FINE! If you don't want to prove that you can learn this, then fail."
The very fact that I am thinking this is questioning my entire integrity as a successful teacher. My first year of school I was a rock. I would take on any challenging kid. Now it seems like I have so many kids that just don't want to learn.
Oh and don't get me started on parents!
Why do parents wait until the week before they get the grade before they start caring about their kids' grade? I've been e-mail you all year! Why do none of my kids care about their grade until the week before they are about to get it?
At least once a day I tell one of my classes that I truly care and want them to do well and they need to be responsible and care about learning the material so they can get a good education and good grades.
Well they don't. Until the day they get the grade.
When I learned how to drive a car, I didn't learn that I needed to start using the brakes after I made the mistake of slamming into the car in front of me. I understood what needed to be done to learn how to drive.
The same applies with these kids.
I hate feeling so helpless.
Until this week.
I feel like my kids have given up on me. The hardest thing a teacher can do is be in a situation where they feel the kids do not want to learn. I just want to flip their desk over and say, "FINE! If you don't want to prove that you can learn this, then fail."
The very fact that I am thinking this is questioning my entire integrity as a successful teacher. My first year of school I was a rock. I would take on any challenging kid. Now it seems like I have so many kids that just don't want to learn.
Oh and don't get me started on parents!
Why do parents wait until the week before they get the grade before they start caring about their kids' grade? I've been e-mail you all year! Why do none of my kids care about their grade until the week before they are about to get it?
At least once a day I tell one of my classes that I truly care and want them to do well and they need to be responsible and care about learning the material so they can get a good education and good grades.
Well they don't. Until the day they get the grade.
When I learned how to drive a car, I didn't learn that I needed to start using the brakes after I made the mistake of slamming into the car in front of me. I understood what needed to be done to learn how to drive.
The same applies with these kids.
I hate feeling so helpless.
Tuesday, October 19, 2010
Tuesday, October 12, 2010
Education is not received. It is achieved.
Why do we buy the brands we love? Why do we think Velveeta Shells and Cheese is so much better than its generic counterparts? Is there something about the way that box looks that makes me want to buy it over the crappy brand?
Advertising. I have no doubt in my mind that the reason people buy what they do is because of good advertising. What if you had to advertise your classroom?
What if your class were a movie? Would anyone want to watch it?
Sometimes I find myself staring in the mirror in the morning at my Adonis-like body and wonder: Are you a good teacher? Do kids want to be in your class? Do you want to be in your class?
How can I sell myself?
I've decided to stop bombarding this blog with hypothetics and get to the point. Let's advertise. I am going to sell my classroom ... in the format of what the back of a movie case would look like. The movie about my classroom.
Learn and Earn or Crash and Burn
Brandon St. Clair "captivates, motivates and agglomerates" (Time Magazine) in this fast curriculum based educational thrill ride filled with knowledge and excitement around every lesson!
Mr. St. Clair [Brandon St. Clair] plays a sixth grade math teacher with an insatiable hunger to inspire students to learn.
If he can get the kids to believe that what he teaches is what they want to learn, then they are going to want to learn it. If he just joins the ranks of mediocrity like so many teachers before him, he may not be as effective.
This year, Mr. St. Clair has some changes to make. With the help of a rascally troupe [Krause, McCarthy and Klimek] this year in Math6 is sure to be a hit!
Advertising. I have no doubt in my mind that the reason people buy what they do is because of good advertising. What if you had to advertise your classroom?
What if your class were a movie? Would anyone want to watch it?
Sometimes I find myself staring in the mirror in the morning at my Adonis-like body and wonder: Are you a good teacher? Do kids want to be in your class? Do you want to be in your class?
How can I sell myself?
I've decided to stop bombarding this blog with hypothetics and get to the point. Let's advertise. I am going to sell my classroom ... in the format of what the back of a movie case would look like. The movie about my classroom.
Learn and Earn or Crash and Burn
Brandon St. Clair "captivates, motivates and agglomerates" (Time Magazine) in this fast curriculum based educational thrill ride filled with knowledge and excitement around every lesson!
Mr. St. Clair [Brandon St. Clair] plays a sixth grade math teacher with an insatiable hunger to inspire students to learn.
If he can get the kids to believe that what he teaches is what they want to learn, then they are going to want to learn it. If he just joins the ranks of mediocrity like so many teachers before him, he may not be as effective.
This year, Mr. St. Clair has some changes to make. With the help of a rascally troupe [Krause, McCarthy and Klimek] this year in Math6 is sure to be a hit!
Monday, October 4, 2010
Washington v. Kardashian: Wood Teeth v. Veneers
First off, did you ever have a grandma or someone start to lose it a little? Like so much that they made a lasagna where the top two layers of it is the dessert cake she made? And all you can really do is force it down and tell her that it's good and that she is the best cook ever.
That's how I felt about getting through the Revolutionary Wealth. There were so many good lines to get out of it, but so many, tons, much other ... WORDS! It was really hard for me, as a bad reader, to truly... get it.
So, the following is a quote and some of my chain letter that brings up some really insightful ideas and opinions.
"As speeds continue to accelerate, with currency and securities markets already operating at blinding, blistering, blitzing rates, the market life of products (and products related to them) will continue to shorten." p 267
When I read this, I was like "heck yeah I agree with this!" My "old" iphone is a few years old and is already a paperweight. How does education compare to the rapid acceleration? Well think about how long it takes to implement something new in the cycle of education. How long it takes for a student to start and end in the public school system.
When something in education is modified, it takes quite some time to see results.
At the "blistering, blitzing" pace information is growing, education seems to rapidly be losing its battle to keep up.
Think about history. Up until World War two-ish anything that got published nationally was HUGE news and would definitely make its way "into the books".
Now everything is national. What will history say about this era. Will the students have to memorize the dates Paris Hilton pops a tire on her bright pink Bentley? Or a matching section devoted to celebrities and their stints in jail.
We need to know what is important. A definitive line between what is going on in the world, and what the world needs to know to become better. Lately I have been feeling overwhelmed with everything this world has to offer.
I really feel, however, that my job is great because nothing will ever replace the value that a human teacher has on a classroom. Someone to walk around the room and tell kids about how much they care and want to see them succeed. If they can take from my class the knowledge that someone wants to see them do their best, and is willing to devote a little time to making them better people, then I've done a great job. The rest is just getting them to know the crap on the state tests.
Brandon
That's how I felt about getting through the Revolutionary Wealth. There were so many good lines to get out of it, but so many, tons, much other ... WORDS! It was really hard for me, as a bad reader, to truly... get it.
So, the following is a quote and some of my chain letter that brings up some really insightful ideas and opinions.
"As speeds continue to accelerate, with currency and securities markets already operating at blinding, blistering, blitzing rates, the market life of products (and products related to them) will continue to shorten." p 267
When I read this, I was like "heck yeah I agree with this!" My "old" iphone is a few years old and is already a paperweight. How does education compare to the rapid acceleration? Well think about how long it takes to implement something new in the cycle of education. How long it takes for a student to start and end in the public school system.
When something in education is modified, it takes quite some time to see results.
At the "blistering, blitzing" pace information is growing, education seems to rapidly be losing its battle to keep up.
Think about history. Up until World War two-ish anything that got published nationally was HUGE news and would definitely make its way "into the books".
Now everything is national. What will history say about this era. Will the students have to memorize the dates Paris Hilton pops a tire on her bright pink Bentley? Or a matching section devoted to celebrities and their stints in jail.
We need to know what is important. A definitive line between what is going on in the world, and what the world needs to know to become better. Lately I have been feeling overwhelmed with everything this world has to offer.
I really feel, however, that my job is great because nothing will ever replace the value that a human teacher has on a classroom. Someone to walk around the room and tell kids about how much they care and want to see them succeed. If they can take from my class the knowledge that someone wants to see them do their best, and is willing to devote a little time to making them better people, then I've done a great job. The rest is just getting them to know the crap on the state tests.
Brandon
Subscribe to:
Posts (Atom)