Today is the day, the one day when we give the one test to the one grade level that will determine the public's perception of our school, our staff, and each individual teacher. Ok, maybe some people in the public will realize that there is more to a high school that its report card grade, but many won't.
However, I am going to try to look at multiple perspectives. Is it fair to be judged on one test on one particular day? Well, if you ask the Atlanta Falcons, they will probably tell us that they will be judged on one-half of one game, as will the Patriots. No one really cares how well the Falcons played in the first half, or how poorly the Patriots played in the second half. If a surgeon has done well his entire career but botches my surgery, I don't much care about all those other successes. This is even true with repairs on my car; you've been a great mechanic, but if you mess up my car, I'll likely take my business elsewhere.
Before everyone starts to think I am a traitor to my students and to public education, I'll point out why those are not effective analogies and could instead be used to teach logical fallacies. A surgeon is trained to do surgery. S/he practices surgery before doing it for real. These are the skills we want him/her to develop and implement. The same is true for the football player or the mechanic. However, when students take the ACT, some skills we want them to have are embedded in the test, but a good portion of their success is learning to take this particular test. How do I time myself, how do I skim and scan, how do I eliminate answers to take my best guess? And each section has its own set of tips and skills to learn and apply. Some of our students, those who are college-bound and are happy to take the test free-of-charge, practice all of these test-taking skills and become quite skillful at taking the ACT. But is this really what we want them to be learning?
Tuesday, February 28, 2017
Friday, February 24, 2017
Increased Challenges
Today I spent a couple hours of my snow day looking up articles and resources to use for the upcoming satire unit that I teach in conjunction with the reading of The Adventures of Huckleberry Finn. As I was sifting through materials that will help my students distinguish between political satire and fake news, I realized how much more difficult it must be for our students to navigate through their world than it was for me to navigate through my high school world.
When I was a teen, I had access to six television channels at my house -- NBC, CBS, ABC, FOX, PBS, and an independent network. There were three tv's, but one was not hooked into an exterior antenna, so we had to adjust the "rabbit ears" to get reception. My family watched the evening news together because that is what my parents were watching on the good tv. A daily newspaper was delivered to our house. Besides my teachers and classes at school, those were my sources of information. While the media always had the power to determine what issues were considered important by deciding how much air time to give to an issue, the coverage was much more balanced than cable news networks of today, and intentionally fake news stories were not being promoted except in The National Enquirer, and very few people believed more than a sentence or two from it.
Now, before we can even talk about the current social issues that connect with literature, we need to determine whether the topic of an article is even real, and that is getting trickier. Even Andy Borowitz has changed the heading on his column to make it less likely that a person will interpret his satire as straight news. Some fake sites, like the Enquirer make it quite obvious that their stories are fake, but others mix facts, half-truths, and outright lies together so skillfully that it can be difficult to filter through. Add to the mix that a fake story is shared on social media by a trusted adult in a teen's life, and the confusion grows.
Last year, for this unit I focused on Charlie Hebdo and asked the students how to distinguish satire from materials that shock or provoke simply for the sake of shocking or provoking. Now we also need to ask whether a fake news site can defend itself by saying they are producing satire. While this will be an interesting intellectual exercise, the fact that these questions are getting more difficult to answer and the lines between entertainment, news, personal opinion, political statement, and deceit are blurring more each day worries me. Adolescence and finding one's place in the world has never been easy; however, when the identity of the world seems just as uncertain as the teen's, it seems to be even more complicated.
When I was a teen, I had access to six television channels at my house -- NBC, CBS, ABC, FOX, PBS, and an independent network. There were three tv's, but one was not hooked into an exterior antenna, so we had to adjust the "rabbit ears" to get reception. My family watched the evening news together because that is what my parents were watching on the good tv. A daily newspaper was delivered to our house. Besides my teachers and classes at school, those were my sources of information. While the media always had the power to determine what issues were considered important by deciding how much air time to give to an issue, the coverage was much more balanced than cable news networks of today, and intentionally fake news stories were not being promoted except in The National Enquirer, and very few people believed more than a sentence or two from it.
Now, before we can even talk about the current social issues that connect with literature, we need to determine whether the topic of an article is even real, and that is getting trickier. Even Andy Borowitz has changed the heading on his column to make it less likely that a person will interpret his satire as straight news. Some fake sites, like the Enquirer make it quite obvious that their stories are fake, but others mix facts, half-truths, and outright lies together so skillfully that it can be difficult to filter through. Add to the mix that a fake story is shared on social media by a trusted adult in a teen's life, and the confusion grows.
Last year, for this unit I focused on Charlie Hebdo and asked the students how to distinguish satire from materials that shock or provoke simply for the sake of shocking or provoking. Now we also need to ask whether a fake news site can defend itself by saying they are producing satire. While this will be an interesting intellectual exercise, the fact that these questions are getting more difficult to answer and the lines between entertainment, news, personal opinion, political statement, and deceit are blurring more each day worries me. Adolescence and finding one's place in the world has never been easy; however, when the identity of the world seems just as uncertain as the teen's, it seems to be even more complicated.
Monday, February 20, 2017
A typical day
I am in my 12th hour in this building. It's not that I have been doing school work for 12 hours, but it seems that too many aspects of my life take place here. I started the day at the rec center, went into my 8-hour day of teaching, led a student book club, and am now at my son's intramural basketball game.
At times I love how convenient it is to go from one activity to the next without ever having to drive across town. At other times, I think that I need more of a change of scenery in order to feel like I am getting a break from my work life.
Either way, the score is 37-33 with only 7:00 minutes left, so I need to cheer.
At times I love how convenient it is to go from one activity to the next without ever having to drive across town. At other times, I think that I need more of a change of scenery in order to feel like I am getting a break from my work life.
Either way, the score is 37-33 with only 7:00 minutes left, so I need to cheer.
Collaboration
On Friday four Clintonville teachers and one administrator traveled to Hartford Union High School to observe cross-curricular project-based learning. It was so refreshing to see another school's approach to instruction. I wish that it was easier to be out of one's classroom because the value of collaboration time can not be overestimated. We collaborate a lot within our own district, but as most of us teach in small districts, it is easy to get stuck in one way of thinking, not because we don't want to break out, but because the number of people to collaborate with is limited.
I do read a lot from blogs and articles, but seeing something in action and being able to ask questions in real-time is so much more helpful. I'm so glad the teachers at HUHS were so accommodating in allowing us to wonder through their classes and bounce ideas around with them.
I do read a lot from blogs and articles, but seeing something in action and being able to ask questions in real-time is so much more helpful. I'm so glad the teachers at HUHS were so accommodating in allowing us to wonder through their classes and bounce ideas around with them.
Tuesday, February 14, 2017
Blogger Frustrations
I have been trying to comment on others' blog posts. I have tried multiple times without success. Elly, Deanna, Becky, and I are working together on our assignments and they are trying to help me figure this out, but still no success.
I went into the settings and changed from a Google Plus to a Blogger account. I thought that was the secret, but I still am not able to comment. If I get time, I will google some tutorials and see if I can find the answers. Until then, I just wanted to let everyone know that I have been reading your posts and am trying to give you some feedback.
I went into the settings and changed from a Google Plus to a Blogger account. I thought that was the secret, but I still am not able to comment. If I get time, I will google some tutorials and see if I can find the answers. Until then, I just wanted to let everyone know that I have been reading your posts and am trying to give you some feedback.
Friday, February 10, 2017
WSRA
I love attending conferences. First of all, it is a nice change of pace even though getting everything ready for a sub sometimes does not seem worth it; However, when I'm here and learning so much, I know that it is. (Even though I received a message from a student letting me know that Glogster is blocked for them. I've used it in the past. It wasn't blocked then. I created an example; it wasn't blocked for me. Okay -- tangential rant is over.)
Stephanie Harvey was the best presenter I saw today. So much of what she said echoed what we learned by Reading Kittle in our last class. She stressed the 5 principles of reading achievement.
1. Access: Books! Books! Books! (I need to build my classroom library. Goodwill, rummage sales, and flea markets: here I come.)
2. Volume: The more kids read the better the read and the smarter they get. (In our reader's workshop, Deanna and I have been pretty good about keeping reading time sacred. We have to be careful not to cut that time when we have other things we want to finish.)
3. Response: The more kids interact, the more they learn and understand. (This is an area we could focus on. Our students are reluctant to share, so we will need to really work on cultivating confidence and skills.)
4. Explicit Instruction: Kids need teacher modeling and time to practice. (We are moving forward with this. We just discussed how to make independent reading time more purposeful and how to connect it to the overall lesson. Right now it is a "stand alone" rather than an integrated activity.)
5. Purpose: Readers must see reading as a meaningful act. (I think the 1-minute read and the magazines from The New York Times is helping with this. Students are engaged. We could also bring in a variety of texts such as owners manuals and other real-world texts to show that reading is not exclusively a school activity.)
Other thoughts from her that I want to remember:
If we only hold them books that they can read/decode, we limit them intellectually.
All kids get the same instruction. The instruction is not differentiated, the response is. For example, students took part in an interactive read aloud. Some could have read the book on their own, others couldn't. However, all could do the thinking and responding. Student who could not read the book independently showed he understood parallel themes. Student who could read independently did not. We need to be sure we aren't holding them back from knowledge and information because they are STRIVING readers (better phrasing than struggling).
Even in sessions where I didn't get as much and didn't feel the "wow" factor, I had time to sit back, breathe, and think. That doesn't happen often in my regular day, so that in itself was worth the price of admission.
Stephanie Harvey was the best presenter I saw today. So much of what she said echoed what we learned by Reading Kittle in our last class. She stressed the 5 principles of reading achievement.
1. Access: Books! Books! Books! (I need to build my classroom library. Goodwill, rummage sales, and flea markets: here I come.)
2. Volume: The more kids read the better the read and the smarter they get. (In our reader's workshop, Deanna and I have been pretty good about keeping reading time sacred. We have to be careful not to cut that time when we have other things we want to finish.)
3. Response: The more kids interact, the more they learn and understand. (This is an area we could focus on. Our students are reluctant to share, so we will need to really work on cultivating confidence and skills.)
4. Explicit Instruction: Kids need teacher modeling and time to practice. (We are moving forward with this. We just discussed how to make independent reading time more purposeful and how to connect it to the overall lesson. Right now it is a "stand alone" rather than an integrated activity.)
5. Purpose: Readers must see reading as a meaningful act. (I think the 1-minute read and the magazines from The New York Times is helping with this. Students are engaged. We could also bring in a variety of texts such as owners manuals and other real-world texts to show that reading is not exclusively a school activity.)
Other thoughts from her that I want to remember:
If we only hold them books that they can read/decode, we limit them intellectually.
All kids get the same instruction. The instruction is not differentiated, the response is. For example, students took part in an interactive read aloud. Some could have read the book on their own, others couldn't. However, all could do the thinking and responding. Student who could not read the book independently showed he understood parallel themes. Student who could read independently did not. We need to be sure we aren't holding them back from knowledge and information because they are STRIVING readers (better phrasing than struggling).
Even in sessions where I didn't get as much and didn't feel the "wow" factor, I had time to sit back, breathe, and think. That doesn't happen often in my regular day, so that in itself was worth the price of admission.
Wednesday, February 8, 2017
Coaching
When I accepted the position of instructional coach, I had no idea what I was in for. It was new to our district, the one person who had been a coach left the district mid-summer, and I was offered the job -- without ever applying. After over 20 years in the classroom I welcomed a change, any change.
What I've realized is that I love working with students and I miss them. I used to teach at least 3 sections of freshmen or sophomores, so I knew most of the students walking past my door every morning. In my now third year of coaching, I know very few of them. When my son graduates, I'll know even fewer. However, I now have my weekends for myself much more often. My son would never want to go back to having me grade papers and do lesson planning every Sunday while the Packers were playing. (Let's face it, with the instant replays, the game does not take full attention , even from fans.) It's a trade-off that at times makes me sad, but with only three years before Daniel is off to college, I treasure that I can focus more energies on him.
I've also realized that adults can be more frustrating than students. Just like kids, adults will have late assignments, will be rude with their electronic devices, will ignore emails, and will stare blankly at you during staff in services. They can push my patience and leave me feeling as frustrated as sophomores who tell me abbook is bad when they never cracked the cover.
However, just like with kids, there are days when someone is appreciative of my efforts, when I get a compliment or see a positive change in a classroom. And just like with students, one of those moments can help me forget days, even weeks of frustration and keep me going back for more. And it's time to go back for another day.
What I've realized is that I love working with students and I miss them. I used to teach at least 3 sections of freshmen or sophomores, so I knew most of the students walking past my door every morning. In my now third year of coaching, I know very few of them. When my son graduates, I'll know even fewer. However, I now have my weekends for myself much more often. My son would never want to go back to having me grade papers and do lesson planning every Sunday while the Packers were playing. (Let's face it, with the instant replays, the game does not take full attention , even from fans.) It's a trade-off that at times makes me sad, but with only three years before Daniel is off to college, I treasure that I can focus more energies on him.
I've also realized that adults can be more frustrating than students. Just like kids, adults will have late assignments, will be rude with their electronic devices, will ignore emails, and will stare blankly at you during staff in services. They can push my patience and leave me feeling as frustrated as sophomores who tell me abbook is bad when they never cracked the cover.
However, just like with kids, there are days when someone is appreciative of my efforts, when I get a compliment or see a positive change in a classroom. And just like with students, one of those moments can help me forget days, even weeks of frustration and keep me going back for more. And it's time to go back for another day.
Thursday, February 2, 2017
Henry and Walt
It would be really good if I could take the advice of authors I read every year with my students. The Transcendentalists tend to lift my spirits when the December days are getting shorter and the darkness makes me wish humans hibernated. Every year Henry Thoreau reminds me that “Our life is frittered away by detail." He advises, "Simplify, simplify, simplify! I say, let your affairs be as two or three, and not a hundred or a thousand; instead of a million count half a dozen, and keep your accounts on your thumb-nail.”
He makes it sound so, well, simple. And for a day or two, maybe even a week, I say "no" to being on another committee at work, or I pass on a social gathering when I really just want to be home with my husband and son. But it's February, and all the renewed resolutions to simplify have slipped away, but even if I wanted to change that, I'm not sure where to start.
Oh, I can hear the ghost of Thoreau telling me that I have a choice, that I have as many choices as there are radii in a circle. But Thoreau wasn't married and he didn't have any kids, so I'm not sure that moving to a cabin in the woods for two years is really a choice for me, though I often wish it were. When I'm driving back and forth from school to home (make supper and throw in some laundry) to my son's driver's ed class (do some lesson plans while waiting) to yoga to a church meeting to home -- that cabin sounds very appealing.
Luckily, by the time I start to get really frustrated, we are on to Walt Whitman and his eternal optimism. And with his encouragement, I go on playing my role, "The same old role, the role that is what [I] make it, as great as [I] like,/ Or as small as [I] like, or both great and small," and I can once again see the parts that are great.
Thanks, Walt.
He makes it sound so, well, simple. And for a day or two, maybe even a week, I say "no" to being on another committee at work, or I pass on a social gathering when I really just want to be home with my husband and son. But it's February, and all the renewed resolutions to simplify have slipped away, but even if I wanted to change that, I'm not sure where to start.
Oh, I can hear the ghost of Thoreau telling me that I have a choice, that I have as many choices as there are radii in a circle. But Thoreau wasn't married and he didn't have any kids, so I'm not sure that moving to a cabin in the woods for two years is really a choice for me, though I often wish it were. When I'm driving back and forth from school to home (make supper and throw in some laundry) to my son's driver's ed class (do some lesson plans while waiting) to yoga to a church meeting to home -- that cabin sounds very appealing.
Luckily, by the time I start to get really frustrated, we are on to Walt Whitman and his eternal optimism. And with his encouragement, I go on playing my role, "The same old role, the role that is what [I] make it, as great as [I] like,/ Or as small as [I] like, or both great and small," and I can once again see the parts that are great.
Thanks, Walt.
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