An archived stack of papers: February 2006
What Students Need, But Don’t Get
In a stack of papers called Reform.
- Feb
- 18
- 2006
Teenagers need control. Adults need to help them not make stupid decisions. Everyone needs to realize that some things are only learned through experience. Schools need to help students find their vocation. Students need power.
Teenagers often don’t know what to feel passionately about. They live in a dusk of life, a transition time where things are not well defined as day or night. Are... read more
Beginning Winter Break
In a stack of papers called Personal.
- Feb
- 17
- 2006
Before vacation, do you ever take a look at what you expect your students to do and compare that to what you expect yourself to do? Do you ever do that after the break? I suspect that most of us would find the expectations severly out of balance. Rarely do I finish everything I plan to during vacations. Of course, rarely do I assign homework during vacations.
I thought it fitting to... read more
Alright, Fine
In a stack of papers called Union.
- Feb
- 16
- 2006
Attention: Read sarcastically. Fresh from a terribly motivational and informational meeting, I feel great about the proposed contract facing ratification. Attention: End sarcasm now.
Numbers give me headaches. That’s probably why I’ll retire and be shocked to only receive 10 bucks a month to live on. I avoid financial planning... read more
Will We Ever Have A Contract?
In a stack of papers called Union.
- Feb
- 15
- 2006
Certainly not a shock, it’s more than a little annoying that the district office all but commands teachers to accept their pay and be happy for it while people who never see a student throughout their entire year are paid 3 or 4 times what a teacher could ever dream of making.
Trust me; this isn’t another diatribe about how teachers don’t get paid enough. We are paid what we are... read more
SLC: A Sloppy Experiment
In a stack of papers called Reform.
- Feb
- 14
- 2006
So my school sits in the midst of spending the money provided by a grant for Smaller Learning Communities (SLC). Come next year, SLC haunts the hallways and likely grows to encompass the sophomores, whether the program works or not.
SLC and NCLB
Ah, yes. A match made in heaven, NCLB spells out SLC’s purpose. ED.gov’s... read more
Wal-Mart: Persuasion And Argumentation
In a stack of papers called Connections.
- Feb
- 13
- 2006
I just watched an episode of Frontline this weekend and plan to use it to encourage persuasive and argumentative writing, along with a classroom debate.
Oh yeah. And I plan to make an illegal copy of the DVD for use in the classroom because I don’t want to pay the $20 for a legal copy. But the end justifies the means,... read more
Teaching Should Be Limited
In a stack of papers called Instruction.
- Feb
- 12
- 2006
If a teacher wants to work for 10 hours every day, be on call during the evenings to answer questions about the day’s lesson, and maybe work for 3 hours every other Saturday teaching an additional class, for that teacher’s and the students’ own good, that should not be allowed.
Let’s Get It Right, that site I mentioned recently... read more
The Good, The Bad, The NCLB
In a stack of papers called Legislation.
- Feb
- 11
- 2006
Zooming around the internet, I found a few sites that discuss the No Child Left Behind (NCLB) Act. Just so you are aware, NCLB is simply a modified Elementary and Secondary Education Act (ESEA). To call it NCLB is not technically correct, even though that’s what we’ve stuck with. With a more appealing name, you feel like a jerk if you disagree with the legislation and are more likely to... read more
In Defense Of The CAHSEE
In a stack of papers called Testing.
- Feb
- 10
- 2006
You study hard in your classes and earn passing grades. You stay on task during your school day, dutifully complete the work waiting at home, stay out of trouble, and attend school as often as your health permits. The remaining hurdle, a test that assesses your ability to show mastery of several 8th grade and many 10th grade state standards in English and mathematics, wavers in the distance, flapping in... read more
We Have The Numbers (And We’re Voting Yes)
In a stack of papers called Reform, Unorganized.
- Feb
- 09
- 2006
Stumbling onto a news report of an education poll, the glaring problem of differing expectations in schools across the nation (world?) stands almost untouched. I’ll just say at the outset that I’m not sure I feel too confident in anything with AOL’s initials attached to it,... read more