I received this piece in response to the inequality lesson today. Thought I would share it with you readers. Spelling and grammar left as is.
"I believe that these results are true. I say this because the rich are getting richer by Investing or bank accounts. While some barely get buy with enough. Also with the recession now a days some may turn to relatives, shelters, and even loved ones to stay because they can not afford the standards of life. One way I believe we could solve this is by opening up big shopping malls or places to offer jobs to many who have none.
However there is another way I believe we could sovle this. Is by making Education a law. I say this because Education is no thing you can drop and try again. You cant go back 30 yrs and start all over again. Education is pretty much a ticket. This ticket could lead you to making millions, and living the life you dreamed of. But very few take the ticket and end up in sorrowness and poverty.
So will you take the ticket, and be well on your way to the pursuit of happiness? The choice is yours."
Friday, February 19, 2010
Tuesday, February 16, 2010
Inequality
I have two thoughts on my mind today.
The first thought is on the lesson I taught in Algebra today. We're doing an inequalities unit. Instead of starting out the unit in the normal way (introducing the different inequality symbols, basic graphing, etc.), I started by taking a day to talk about a real life problem - social inequality.
We had a class discussion about what types of inequalities there are in society and why these inequalities appear between individuals, states, and even countries. I was quite pleased with the kids' ideas and thoughts in our class discussions. In fact, the discussion went longer than I had planned because the kids had so many great ideas.
Their assignment is not due until Friday when they have to turn in an essay that describes two things they would suggest that our lawmakers do to help with these problems. I'm looking forward to reading their answers.
The other thought on my mind stems from a book I've been reading recently. Our district has a book club that I've been participating in and one of the books we are reading is called Inside Mrs. B's Classroom: Courage, Hope, and Learning on Chicago's South Side. It's the story of the beginning teaching journey of Leslie Baldacci, who switched careers after twenty-five years of writing for the Chicago Sun-Times to teaching in an inner city school in Chicago.
As I've been reading it, I've found many things to laugh at, but mostly it's forced me to reminisce more than I have in several years. The similarities between what Mrs. B. describes on the south side of Chicago and what I experienced in a rural district in Mississippi are shockingly similar. Not knowing what you're teaching until the day you begin. Not having rosters or a clean room. The crazy behavior that those of us who come from a standard middle class background are not used to - no matter how well we think we are prepared for it or how well we have been warned.
But mostly, this reading has made me think of my former students and what a special place they will always have in my heart.
As I read some of the descriptions that Mrs. Baldacci made of her students, the faces of my students were matching up with some of her descriptions.
The student who tries so hard to be good, but gets frustrated and as soon as one thing goes wrong for the day he is lost. But his work is always turned in and some of the best work in the class.
The girl who is so illiterate, but makes up for her illiteracy with personality.
The rare student who is so gifted it breaks your heart, because you know they will never have access to the same type of education that kids in the suburbs will get, but she's just as smart, if not smarter than all of those kids.
I pulled up my old grade books just to pour over their names. Don't worry, I'm not sitting here crying over their names. I guess now, so much of the pain of the situation in Mississippi is gone and I mostly think of the good things.
The boys who tried so hard to be "gangsta" and only you would see when they would break the facade in the middle of an "aha" moment.
My teen parents who really did try hard to balance parenting with their school work. Sometimes it went well and sometimes....I didn't even know how to help them when they have no help at home.
The clique girls who would not be separated - in life or death, they were so sure.
The chronic absentees that you are so excited to see, but have no idea how to catch them up on the days/weeks they have missed.
The girls who want to be models because Tyra looks so cool on T.V. but they have no idea that they need to grow another 5 inches and somehow get discovered in a big city.....very far away.
The typical class clowns who steal your heart even when they are cracking jokes at everything in class.
The quiet, shy kids who just don't fit in.
The kids whose home lives you could not have imagined if you hadn't heard it yourself.
I see their smiles. I don't remember many of the times that they called me names or threw temper tantrums or got in fights. Maybe that's a curse, maybe it's a blessing. I can hear them laugh or see them working together on a project. Many of them are my friends on facebook now and I can see them going to college and I nearly burst with pride.
The hardest and best part of being a teacher is the emotional connection you make with students. The students who are easy to love and the ones that take some work, the advanced learners and the ones you can't read - in the end they all just make you smile.
Teaching is probably one of the most emotionally draining professions, but also one of the most emotionally rewarding as well.
The first thought is on the lesson I taught in Algebra today. We're doing an inequalities unit. Instead of starting out the unit in the normal way (introducing the different inequality symbols, basic graphing, etc.), I started by taking a day to talk about a real life problem - social inequality.
We had a class discussion about what types of inequalities there are in society and why these inequalities appear between individuals, states, and even countries. I was quite pleased with the kids' ideas and thoughts in our class discussions. In fact, the discussion went longer than I had planned because the kids had so many great ideas.
Their assignment is not due until Friday when they have to turn in an essay that describes two things they would suggest that our lawmakers do to help with these problems. I'm looking forward to reading their answers.
The other thought on my mind stems from a book I've been reading recently. Our district has a book club that I've been participating in and one of the books we are reading is called Inside Mrs. B's Classroom: Courage, Hope, and Learning on Chicago's South Side. It's the story of the beginning teaching journey of Leslie Baldacci, who switched careers after twenty-five years of writing for the Chicago Sun-Times to teaching in an inner city school in Chicago.
As I've been reading it, I've found many things to laugh at, but mostly it's forced me to reminisce more than I have in several years. The similarities between what Mrs. B. describes on the south side of Chicago and what I experienced in a rural district in Mississippi are shockingly similar. Not knowing what you're teaching until the day you begin. Not having rosters or a clean room. The crazy behavior that those of us who come from a standard middle class background are not used to - no matter how well we think we are prepared for it or how well we have been warned.
But mostly, this reading has made me think of my former students and what a special place they will always have in my heart.
As I read some of the descriptions that Mrs. Baldacci made of her students, the faces of my students were matching up with some of her descriptions.
The student who tries so hard to be good, but gets frustrated and as soon as one thing goes wrong for the day he is lost. But his work is always turned in and some of the best work in the class.
The girl who is so illiterate, but makes up for her illiteracy with personality.
The rare student who is so gifted it breaks your heart, because you know they will never have access to the same type of education that kids in the suburbs will get, but she's just as smart, if not smarter than all of those kids.
I pulled up my old grade books just to pour over their names. Don't worry, I'm not sitting here crying over their names. I guess now, so much of the pain of the situation in Mississippi is gone and I mostly think of the good things.
The boys who tried so hard to be "gangsta" and only you would see when they would break the facade in the middle of an "aha" moment.
My teen parents who really did try hard to balance parenting with their school work. Sometimes it went well and sometimes....I didn't even know how to help them when they have no help at home.
The clique girls who would not be separated - in life or death, they were so sure.
The chronic absentees that you are so excited to see, but have no idea how to catch them up on the days/weeks they have missed.
The girls who want to be models because Tyra looks so cool on T.V. but they have no idea that they need to grow another 5 inches and somehow get discovered in a big city.....very far away.
The typical class clowns who steal your heart even when they are cracking jokes at everything in class.
The quiet, shy kids who just don't fit in.
The kids whose home lives you could not have imagined if you hadn't heard it yourself.
I see their smiles. I don't remember many of the times that they called me names or threw temper tantrums or got in fights. Maybe that's a curse, maybe it's a blessing. I can hear them laugh or see them working together on a project. Many of them are my friends on facebook now and I can see them going to college and I nearly burst with pride.
The hardest and best part of being a teacher is the emotional connection you make with students. The students who are easy to love and the ones that take some work, the advanced learners and the ones you can't read - in the end they all just make you smile.
Teaching is probably one of the most emotionally draining professions, but also one of the most emotionally rewarding as well.
Monday, February 1, 2010
Ode to Dixie Cups
Previously I have posted on the usefulness of index cards. Today I am going to talk about the usefulness of Dixie Cups. I take delight in using common materials that are cheap and can be abused in so many different ways to make education fun and interesting.
Today I used Dixie Cups for two totally different lessons, but how handy they were!
In Algebra, we discussed variables. What is a variable? How do we substitute for variables, etc. I gave each group of students some Dixie cups, tin foil, rubber bands and beads. They had to come up with a secret number and put that number of beads in each Dixie cup. Then they "sealed" the cup by placing tin foil over the top and rubber banding it in place. We then discussed how we could find other groups secret numbers, how to combine like terms and what the cups actually represented by choosing a letter to label each groups set of Dixie cups.
Cheap. Easy. Educational. Fun.
I also used Dixie Cups to do a Scrambled Eggs activity in Practical Math. I've taken an approach to this class that I usually don't do - I'm going through the book. I have acquired a business math textbook, and while I'm not big on textbooks, it has come in quite handy for helping me develop a curriculum that I have never developed or taught before.
The problem has been that it is quite dull. So I have the task of mixing up the practice problems in such a way that it is not so monotonous and boring. Today I used Scrambled Eggs - an activity I stole from a teacher at the main campus that I substituted for last year. I put all the problems in a different container. The ideal would be plastic Easter eggs, but those are not really out for sale yet. So I used Dixie cups. The students in groups send one person to the table with all the cups and pick up one cup. They take it back to their group, solve the problem inside and then take that cup back to the table where they pick up another one.
Not so boring. Has an element of choice. Cheap. Easy. Educational.
Dixie Cups saved my lessons today. Thank you!
Today I used Dixie Cups for two totally different lessons, but how handy they were!
In Algebra, we discussed variables. What is a variable? How do we substitute for variables, etc. I gave each group of students some Dixie cups, tin foil, rubber bands and beads. They had to come up with a secret number and put that number of beads in each Dixie cup. Then they "sealed" the cup by placing tin foil over the top and rubber banding it in place. We then discussed how we could find other groups secret numbers, how to combine like terms and what the cups actually represented by choosing a letter to label each groups set of Dixie cups.
Cheap. Easy. Educational. Fun.
I also used Dixie Cups to do a Scrambled Eggs activity in Practical Math. I've taken an approach to this class that I usually don't do - I'm going through the book. I have acquired a business math textbook, and while I'm not big on textbooks, it has come in quite handy for helping me develop a curriculum that I have never developed or taught before.
The problem has been that it is quite dull. So I have the task of mixing up the practice problems in such a way that it is not so monotonous and boring. Today I used Scrambled Eggs - an activity I stole from a teacher at the main campus that I substituted for last year. I put all the problems in a different container. The ideal would be plastic Easter eggs, but those are not really out for sale yet. So I used Dixie cups. The students in groups send one person to the table with all the cups and pick up one cup. They take it back to their group, solve the problem inside and then take that cup back to the table where they pick up another one.
Not so boring. Has an element of choice. Cheap. Easy. Educational.
Dixie Cups saved my lessons today. Thank you!
Thursday, January 28, 2010
3rd Term with a Vengeance!
It is 3rd term.
I have been terrible about updating, but let me make a bunch of lame excuses why.
Christmas.
Finals two weeks after Christmas.
Planning an entire new curriculum for a class I've never taught in a three week period.
Are those excuses sufficient?
I hope so. Now it's time for elaboration.
Christmas was a wonderful respite, but not entirely a respite. While Christmas is a great time to not have to go to work, it's always a busy time of year with this family function here and this family function there. And then there's the fact that teachers never really take time off. I allotted several hours every day to do lesson planning and prepping for the rest of the year.
Our school district is also a little weird with their schedule. Finals happen to be two weeks after we return from Christmas break. It's kind of nice, because once the finals are written, the job for me is easy, but it's stressful on the kids.
And I am teaching a new class this term. We have several juniors/seniors who need 1/2 or a full credit of math, but they are not really college track so we don't want to set them up to fail in Algebra II. I have been developing a Business Math class. While the math side is easy, I had no resources to speak of when I started and have had to scrounge/beg/plead with other teachers for resources and materials. They have been a wonderful help and sent me TONS of materials to go through. Because of the immense amount of help I got from teachers at the main campus, I have been able to piece together something that I'm actually pretty proud of.
And here we are, two weeks into 3rd term. We accepted some new students, so we have acclimated them to the environment of our school. The other teachers in the building have decided to implement some more standard procedures across the board. I think it's great because now we have consistent procedures throughout the whole school. It gives the kids more security and that's just what they need. I think it's added a lot to the positive environment of the school too, because the kids know exactly what is expected of them at all times - no matter whose classroom they are in.
The only hard aspect of coming back is that our attendance is starting to drop. Some kids (especially the seniors) are starting to slip in attendance. For a lot of them, that was their main problem at the main campus and now it's starting to be a problem for them again. We keep encouraging them not to go down that path. Some of them are listening, some of them aren't. What else can we do but encourage?
I've been sick this last week. That coupled with the exhaustion of the work load have made the last few weeks very difficult, but my overall outlook about the program is still good. We have made some real progress with kids that the mainstream system had given up on. I'm so proud of them.
I have been terrible about updating, but let me make a bunch of lame excuses why.
Christmas.
Finals two weeks after Christmas.
Planning an entire new curriculum for a class I've never taught in a three week period.
Are those excuses sufficient?
I hope so. Now it's time for elaboration.
Christmas was a wonderful respite, but not entirely a respite. While Christmas is a great time to not have to go to work, it's always a busy time of year with this family function here and this family function there. And then there's the fact that teachers never really take time off. I allotted several hours every day to do lesson planning and prepping for the rest of the year.
Our school district is also a little weird with their schedule. Finals happen to be two weeks after we return from Christmas break. It's kind of nice, because once the finals are written, the job for me is easy, but it's stressful on the kids.
And I am teaching a new class this term. We have several juniors/seniors who need 1/2 or a full credit of math, but they are not really college track so we don't want to set them up to fail in Algebra II. I have been developing a Business Math class. While the math side is easy, I had no resources to speak of when I started and have had to scrounge/beg/plead with other teachers for resources and materials. They have been a wonderful help and sent me TONS of materials to go through. Because of the immense amount of help I got from teachers at the main campus, I have been able to piece together something that I'm actually pretty proud of.
And here we are, two weeks into 3rd term. We accepted some new students, so we have acclimated them to the environment of our school. The other teachers in the building have decided to implement some more standard procedures across the board. I think it's great because now we have consistent procedures throughout the whole school. It gives the kids more security and that's just what they need. I think it's added a lot to the positive environment of the school too, because the kids know exactly what is expected of them at all times - no matter whose classroom they are in.
The only hard aspect of coming back is that our attendance is starting to drop. Some kids (especially the seniors) are starting to slip in attendance. For a lot of them, that was their main problem at the main campus and now it's starting to be a problem for them again. We keep encouraging them not to go down that path. Some of them are listening, some of them aren't. What else can we do but encourage?
I've been sick this last week. That coupled with the exhaustion of the work load have made the last few weeks very difficult, but my overall outlook about the program is still good. We have made some real progress with kids that the mainstream system had given up on. I'm so proud of them.
Monday, November 30, 2009
The After Thanksgiving Blues
Well, the last full holiday before Winter Break is over. This is the time that the burn out begins until Christmas hits. But today I'm trying to spin things for myself in a positive way.
The last few weeks I've been contemplating whether I'm making a difference with my kids at all. I think I am.
Case #1 - FP told me that he started out the year thinking I was mean and tried to "treat me." In kidspeak that means that he tried to give me a hard time. But at some point during the term, he discovered that he was actually learning more from me than he had ever learned in a math class before. He committed to trying harder in class and doing all his work.
The bad side....FP is in my first block and has been tardy to school every day since that conversation. He has been absent more days in my class than he has been present and is now failing.
Case #2 - One of our students now thinks she wants to go to college and be a teacher. That is not all my doing. In fact, I'm not sure that it's any of my doing, but I know that the environment that we as a staff at the alternative school have provided has influenced this young lady.
Case #3 - I teach a pair of sisters who never thought they were good at math. I get the feeling that they never felt that they were good at academics at all. Now, they are getting A's and B's on everything and feel confident in their abilities.
Case #4 - The student that I was having trouble with at the beginning of the year (being rude, yelling at me, almost violent outbursts in class) said that he has learned more in the last three weeks than he has learned in a math class in the last two years that he has been in high school.
Not all stories are this positive, but really a lot of our students are excelling more than they have in years. Today I just wanted to focus on the positive. I'm so proud of them and how hard they have worked. They overcome personal obstacles every day. Sometimes they have to overcome those obstacles just to get to school in the morning.
If nothing else, I feel like I am doing something good - not just for them, but for me too.
The last few weeks I've been contemplating whether I'm making a difference with my kids at all. I think I am.
Case #1 - FP told me that he started out the year thinking I was mean and tried to "treat me." In kidspeak that means that he tried to give me a hard time. But at some point during the term, he discovered that he was actually learning more from me than he had ever learned in a math class before. He committed to trying harder in class and doing all his work.
The bad side....FP is in my first block and has been tardy to school every day since that conversation. He has been absent more days in my class than he has been present and is now failing.
Case #2 - One of our students now thinks she wants to go to college and be a teacher. That is not all my doing. In fact, I'm not sure that it's any of my doing, but I know that the environment that we as a staff at the alternative school have provided has influenced this young lady.
Case #3 - I teach a pair of sisters who never thought they were good at math. I get the feeling that they never felt that they were good at academics at all. Now, they are getting A's and B's on everything and feel confident in their abilities.
Case #4 - The student that I was having trouble with at the beginning of the year (being rude, yelling at me, almost violent outbursts in class) said that he has learned more in the last three weeks than he has learned in a math class in the last two years that he has been in high school.
Not all stories are this positive, but really a lot of our students are excelling more than they have in years. Today I just wanted to focus on the positive. I'm so proud of them and how hard they have worked. They overcome personal obstacles every day. Sometimes they have to overcome those obstacles just to get to school in the morning.
If nothing else, I feel like I am doing something good - not just for them, but for me too.
Saturday, October 31, 2009
The Downward Slope until Christmas
Well we've made it through the hard part of the first semester. Really, November and December go by quickly for me. There is only one full week of school from now until Thanksgiving and then only three weeks between Thanksgiving and Christmas. It's manageable.
So, on to the reflections....
First term is officially over. Grades were turned in and rosters have changed. I failed three students and had one student with an incomplete. I thought that was pretty good. The students who failed didn't show up for finals and I was told to fail them. But I've made some changes.
I was asked by my administrator to "find a way to have my students pass." So I changed my original homework policy and accepted late work from students who hadn't turned in any work. This led to hours and hours of grading for me each night. That will not be done again. I told my administrator that I am going back to my original policy and it makes my life so much easier.
My homework policy is as follows:
-Late work is accepted but at a penalty. I take 10% off of whatever score would have been received for each day that the assignment is lately. Eventually after 10 days, the assignment is worth nothing and I will no longer accept it.
-To make up for this and to give students a chance to catch up if they have fallen behind, I always provide a make up assignment and an extra credit assignment every Friday. This adds up to essentially 1 1/2 homework assignments each week. I take make up and extra credit assignments at any time during the term. These assignments are easier to grade and I don't mind taking them whenever students get them in.
It's only been one week in the new term, and this has been so much better. Less hours spent grading makes for a much happier teacher. So far, the kids are taking me seriously and turning in much more of their work. We'll see how long that lasts.
So, on to the reflections....
First term is officially over. Grades were turned in and rosters have changed. I failed three students and had one student with an incomplete. I thought that was pretty good. The students who failed didn't show up for finals and I was told to fail them. But I've made some changes.
I was asked by my administrator to "find a way to have my students pass." So I changed my original homework policy and accepted late work from students who hadn't turned in any work. This led to hours and hours of grading for me each night. That will not be done again. I told my administrator that I am going back to my original policy and it makes my life so much easier.
My homework policy is as follows:
-Late work is accepted but at a penalty. I take 10% off of whatever score would have been received for each day that the assignment is lately. Eventually after 10 days, the assignment is worth nothing and I will no longer accept it.
-To make up for this and to give students a chance to catch up if they have fallen behind, I always provide a make up assignment and an extra credit assignment every Friday. This adds up to essentially 1 1/2 homework assignments each week. I take make up and extra credit assignments at any time during the term. These assignments are easier to grade and I don't mind taking them whenever students get them in.
It's only been one week in the new term, and this has been so much better. Less hours spent grading makes for a much happier teacher. So far, the kids are taking me seriously and turning in much more of their work. We'll see how long that lasts.
Tuesday, October 13, 2009
Service Projects
It has been way too long since I've written a post. There is no way that I could recap all the important things that have happened over the last few weeks. My husband and I moved into a new apartment and I've been behind on just about everything, including blogging. But now I need some help with ideas.
I'm going to try to institute some service projects for my 4th block students. I got the idea at a faculty meeting last week. We need something more for our students to help them accomplish not just getting their diplomas, but becoming productive and thoughtful adults. As a staff, we have been brainstorming ideas about how we could do this and we had two that I thought I could do with my 4th block class.
Why 4th block? My 4th block is relatively small (7 students) and more advanced than my other students. I always have to plan for an extra enrichment activity for this class because they work so hard and finish all their work early. I have decided that I could use this extra time at the end of class to plan for some service opportunities. Here are my ideas:
1. The main high school campus paper has offered our students a full page if they write some articles. I proposed this idea to my students and they loved it. There is one student who was already planning on writing an article on how she spends her typical day at our alternative school. I was looking for more ideas I could give my students to help them get started with writing. I'm not knowledgeable in the field of high school journalism, and I need to get some ideas to help them get started.
2. Our school is next door to an elementary school. One of the self-contained special education classes comes over every day at 2 pm and uses our little gym for their P.E. class. The teacher has said that he would love to have our students help out with these kids if they wanted to. If our kids would submit a simple lesson plan idea, he would approve it and let them come and work with the kids.
I have a couple students in my 4th block who are thinking about being teachers. I proposed to them today that I could teach them the basics of how to plan a lesson and we could email some lesson plans to this P.E. teacher at the elementary school. They loved the idea and think that it would be great to do something nice for these children. But neither they nor I know where to start. Elementary special education is not really my specialty. Neither is physical education. I'm good at math...and science...and occasionally english. So I need to come up with some basic ideas for games that elementary special education kids would be able to play and also have fun with as well so that I can help my students put together some fun activities to do with these younger children.
Any ideas?
I'm going to try to institute some service projects for my 4th block students. I got the idea at a faculty meeting last week. We need something more for our students to help them accomplish not just getting their diplomas, but becoming productive and thoughtful adults. As a staff, we have been brainstorming ideas about how we could do this and we had two that I thought I could do with my 4th block class.
Why 4th block? My 4th block is relatively small (7 students) and more advanced than my other students. I always have to plan for an extra enrichment activity for this class because they work so hard and finish all their work early. I have decided that I could use this extra time at the end of class to plan for some service opportunities. Here are my ideas:
1. The main high school campus paper has offered our students a full page if they write some articles. I proposed this idea to my students and they loved it. There is one student who was already planning on writing an article on how she spends her typical day at our alternative school. I was looking for more ideas I could give my students to help them get started with writing. I'm not knowledgeable in the field of high school journalism, and I need to get some ideas to help them get started.
2. Our school is next door to an elementary school. One of the self-contained special education classes comes over every day at 2 pm and uses our little gym for their P.E. class. The teacher has said that he would love to have our students help out with these kids if they wanted to. If our kids would submit a simple lesson plan idea, he would approve it and let them come and work with the kids.
I have a couple students in my 4th block who are thinking about being teachers. I proposed to them today that I could teach them the basics of how to plan a lesson and we could email some lesson plans to this P.E. teacher at the elementary school. They loved the idea and think that it would be great to do something nice for these children. But neither they nor I know where to start. Elementary special education is not really my specialty. Neither is physical education. I'm good at math...and science...and occasionally english. So I need to come up with some basic ideas for games that elementary special education kids would be able to play and also have fun with as well so that I can help my students put together some fun activities to do with these younger children.
Any ideas?
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