Okay, so here we are in the last week before Christmas break.
It is amazing the time that is spent in this week just staying on task. I have the rest of the course planned out, and now it is just a matter of getting through it.
On other fronts, today's funny comes from my first block class. The ACT was administered over this weekend, and many of my graduating seniors took the test. Today, several of them, after my having explicitly and clearly shifted from the more authentic methods of teaching revision through the writing process to the multiple choice assessment style for revision that the departmental final uses, have told me that the form of editing and revision that we've used for the past couple of weeks helped them while taking the test.
Apparently, I know what I am doing after all.... if the ACT uses it, well, it must be good, right?
Good heavens, what have we taught these kids about standardized tests and their standards of valuation for success or failure?!?!?!?
I am all for teaching Discourse as Discourse. In fact, I make a point of making it very, very explicit that we are doing things in a particular way to participate in a particular Discourse, even if I never use the "D" word per se. I guess it is true that sometimes we are limited to triage.
On other fronts, I got a great e-mail today. My wrestler did very well in the tournament on Friday that he competed in, and took first place. Too bad the tournament took him out of a class that he is failing, and really needed the time within to get necessary material for the last unit test and final.
Oh, the joys of teaching the Student Athlete who is much more athlete than student...
On a personal front, I am definitely heading back to the gym tonight. I've spent the better part of the last two weeks doing all sorts of things for other people, and not getting to the gym and taking care of myself, so tonight, the wife and I are heading to the 24 hour gym. Of course, this is predicated on the girls being in bed and Grandma is safely there to watch them... and that the grading is done.... and... no. I am going, dangit!
Anyway, with all the joys of the season I am...
The Beginning Teacher
Monday, December 13, 2010
Tuesday, December 7, 2010
Second to last week of the semester...
Well, we just finished the second to last unit test of the course, and today, I started the kids on their last formal writing, the resume.
You would think, given that the vast majority of my seniors are going out directly to the world of work, that a resume would be a valuable tool for them to have.
Then, being reasonable and well educated people, you would then realize the kind of jack-o-lanterns that I teach, and recognize this is going to be, at the least, entertaining. At the least, I believe that this is a valuable experience for the future.
As I've spent the last couple hours answering a long list of repetitive, inane, and possibly slightly brain-damaged questions, as a public service, I would like to offer the following well considered and constructed FAQ for educators to use in their future attempts to teach their students to write a resume.
Q: Can I use the resume that (my (brother/mother/sister) wrote/I wrote last year/that I got online)?
A: No.
Q: I used to steal cars; can I list that as previous work experience?
A: No.
Q: But I used to get paid.
A: Still no.
Q: Can I put down that I like to read Zane books as a hobby?
A: Only if you are applying to review them.
Q: My e-mail address is (Bigboi37@thugz4life.com/sexxisista@hottiemail.com/etc.). Is that good?
A: It depends on the job for which you are applying. In most cases, no.
Q: Can I put down advertising as previous work experience? I advertise on my jacket (holds up jacket with racing badges on it).
A: Only if they paid you for it.
And so on.
For hours.
*sigh* I can't wait to read these final products...
The Beginning Teacher
You would think, given that the vast majority of my seniors are going out directly to the world of work, that a resume would be a valuable tool for them to have.
Then, being reasonable and well educated people, you would then realize the kind of jack-o-lanterns that I teach, and recognize this is going to be, at the least, entertaining. At the least, I believe that this is a valuable experience for the future.
As I've spent the last couple hours answering a long list of repetitive, inane, and possibly slightly brain-damaged questions, as a public service, I would like to offer the following well considered and constructed FAQ for educators to use in their future attempts to teach their students to write a resume.
Q: Can I use the resume that (my (brother/mother/sister) wrote/I wrote last year/that I got online)?
A: No.
Q: I used to steal cars; can I list that as previous work experience?
A: No.
Q: But I used to get paid.
A: Still no.
Q: Can I put down that I like to read Zane books as a hobby?
A: Only if you are applying to review them.
Q: My e-mail address is (Bigboi37@thugz4life.com/sexxisista@hottiemail.com/etc.). Is that good?
A: It depends on the job for which you are applying. In most cases, no.
Q: Can I put down advertising as previous work experience? I advertise on my jacket (holds up jacket with racing badges on it).
A: Only if they paid you for it.
And so on.
For hours.
*sigh* I can't wait to read these final products...
The Beginning Teacher
Friday, December 3, 2010
Not So Immaculate Conceptions
Well, here we are at the end of the week.
This week has ended well, for the most part. I think that I am coming out of the disillusionment phase of things, where it becomes very, very clear that things are not going to always go according to plan, regardless of how well you have prepared.
Today's frustration comes in the form of two young ladies who have made possibly the worst decision they could in high school, and have delivered children. Leaving aside the ethics of the various options for handling an unplanned pregnancy, I received notice today that both of them have been placed on homebound instruction until nearly the last day before Christmas break. While neither were Rhodes scholars, both of them were good students, conscientious and hard-working in my class. Now, thanks to a single poor choice, they and their children are going to be placed at more disadvantage than their SES had already placed them. ARGH!
Now, without getting too far into pedagogy, and waxing philosophical, I really am finding this as a motivator as well. I became a teacher because I wanted to make a difference, a change in the world. I want to give my students the tools they need to consciously and deliberately navigate the myriad of choices before them, to wisely choose their path and gain access to the Discourses of Power which keep them at a constant disadvantage.
Many of my students, through the chance of their birth, find themselves permanently barred from positions of power, through only the way their speech, dress, or bearing. Too often, this is a generational issue, with generations of children born from poor choices, into socioeconomically disadvantaged families, only to repeat the cycle. While I haven't given up on these two young mothers, and will do everything in my power to prevent this choice from harming them, in truth, the damage may already be done. Children take time, resources, patience and energy that no teen mother has; full grown women find it challenging. As such, the best I can manage is triage.
However, they are only two. I have easily twenty times as many young ladies in my classes without children; maybe, these two, and the difficulties they face, can serve as motivation for the rest.
This week has ended well, for the most part. I think that I am coming out of the disillusionment phase of things, where it becomes very, very clear that things are not going to always go according to plan, regardless of how well you have prepared.
Today's frustration comes in the form of two young ladies who have made possibly the worst decision they could in high school, and have delivered children. Leaving aside the ethics of the various options for handling an unplanned pregnancy, I received notice today that both of them have been placed on homebound instruction until nearly the last day before Christmas break. While neither were Rhodes scholars, both of them were good students, conscientious and hard-working in my class. Now, thanks to a single poor choice, they and their children are going to be placed at more disadvantage than their SES had already placed them. ARGH!
Now, without getting too far into pedagogy, and waxing philosophical, I really am finding this as a motivator as well. I became a teacher because I wanted to make a difference, a change in the world. I want to give my students the tools they need to consciously and deliberately navigate the myriad of choices before them, to wisely choose their path and gain access to the Discourses of Power which keep them at a constant disadvantage.
Many of my students, through the chance of their birth, find themselves permanently barred from positions of power, through only the way their speech, dress, or bearing. Too often, this is a generational issue, with generations of children born from poor choices, into socioeconomically disadvantaged families, only to repeat the cycle. While I haven't given up on these two young mothers, and will do everything in my power to prevent this choice from harming them, in truth, the damage may already be done. Children take time, resources, patience and energy that no teen mother has; full grown women find it challenging. As such, the best I can manage is triage.
However, they are only two. I have easily twenty times as many young ladies in my classes without children; maybe, these two, and the difficulties they face, can serve as motivation for the rest.
Thursday, December 2, 2010
2 Weeks...
I have these kids for 2 more weeks, and then they go to Winter Break and then the final.... So much to do!
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