Mellow
I have been scanning old pictures and ran across this picture of me. I actually built the set I am sitting in.
I haven't written in a long time because my life seems to be on autopilot and so I don't get as angry. I come to this school everyday and I sit in the server room trying to get server 2003 to work. I have no one to talk to if I can't get something to work. I have to admit that there have been times in which I have felt that I would never solve this program. I would read the same instructions over and over and not understand what they were saying. But I have finally figured it out and I think my server and backup server are up and running the way I want them to be.
This has been an interesting exercise in literacy. The difference between me and many of our semi-literate students is that I keep at it until I figure it out. I feel like giving up, but I don't. Why is this true? I think that whatever is inside me that kept me going is what we need to put inside our students. This is really all they need. The rest is details.
Two funny things since I last wrote. There was a short news article that the first 5 seasons of Sesame Street were on DVD. They came with a warning saying they may not be suitable for children. Apparently Oscar is really grouchy and Cookie Monster eats cookies. Maybe this explains what is wrong with my kids. Do you think I could sue?
The second interesting thing is that Joel Klein sent an email to me and every other teacher in NYC who checks their DoE email. The letter spoke about how some of the recent test results were disappointing but that they were not a good measure of how well the city was doing. This is strange. It is strange because Klein loves testing as an instrument to use in judging individual school performance. It is also strange that he felt it necessary to send a letter to everyone. Of course the problem is that the city and the state have manipulated tests to give them the results they wanted. But you can only do this for so long and then you have no more room. Klein should have been smart enough to get out before he ran out of room.
The next guy should come in, give very hard tests to show how awful the schools are and then spend the next few years manipulating results to show improvement. That's how you "succeed".
14 comments:
Actually, the problem was Klein was not able to manipulate the results of NAEP, which were abysmal for him, suggesting that his program of reform had, basically, resulted in no improvement whatsoever for NYC's students. That's according to the only test scores the administration can't manipulate. Oddly, that would give them an F by their own standards, but there's no talk about "accountability," which seems to apply exclusively to unionized working people.
Reading your post, though, I'm reminded of why I never check my DoE mailbox, aside from having long ago forgotten my login and password.
I think our students give up because they don't have the mental capacity to persevere. You, on the other hand, are intelligent and educated and have the facilities to solve the problem
I agree with NYEd above. I only checked my DOE e-mail to use new EGS to enter my grades.
I don't trust the DOE one lick, I never check my Doe email.
I have a friend who just says she doesn't have a computer. She does of course, but screw em. I'm still pissed they ever got my cell phone number.
This is addressed to "pissed off". Do you really think that our students don't have the mental capacity? I'm really kind of stunned at that statement. I think that they lack the stamina and incentive, and many haven't developed a sense of the value of perseverance, but 'mental capacity' implies lacking innate intelligence. I do think that a lot of these behaviors are learned, and many of our kids don't seem to get the gratification of working through a challenge.
I work in elementary school, and this has shown itself in many ways, from kids having trouble sustaining interest in a project to being able to sit through and listen to a story. A lot of this has to be taught - the things that we take for granted, that in generations past were part of the early childhood home-life (and, yes, are part of the middle class and educated today) *are* often lacking when kids start school. This, for better or worse, falls to us to develop, not to brush off as lacking facilities. They lack the training and strategies they need to be successful in school.
For the record, I do check may DOE email, at least daily. I doubt that Ed agrees that getting an annoying email from Klein translates to not checking.
R.
If a kid is in high school and can't read there is a reason. We are not all born with equal abilities and I believe some of these kids just can't do the work. Sorry if this offends anyone but it is a fact of life. I know there are things I can't do. I can't fix my car and I can't debug my computer. I would give up very quickly if I was forced to look at these things for hours. My brain just does not comprehend these things.
pissed off wrote:
> If a kid is in high school and
> can't read there is a reason.
> We are not all born with equal
> abilities and I believe some of
> these kids just can't
> do the work.
Other than severely disabled students, I read this that you are saying there are students in high school who cannot be taught to be read. If you do hold such beliefs then you probably should consider another profession.
And if you taught some of the kids I taught, you might change your mind. How does a kid get to high school without being able to read unless he is severely disabled?
If that's the case then is it not your responsibility to evaluate the student and have them placed in the proper program? If you're just throwing up your hands and saying that a student cannot be taught to learn then you are as much a cause of the problem as the system which you are so "pissed off" at.
Before coming to the DOE I taught adult basic ed students for many years. All read below the 3rd grade level. There were many quite intelligent people there who for one reason or another never "got it" with reading. They weren't lazy. They weren't "severely disabled". Most simply weren't taught in a way that worked with their learning needs. Some had other pressing issues (think Maslow - it's hard to learn when you don't know where you're sleeping that night or are hungry). And some had teachers who thought that they weren't capable - and were wrong.
Reading is a complex process and making a misguided assumption about 'facilities' becomes self-fulfilling. Maybe you should read up on it if you plan to continue teaching (and you can start with Mel Levine).
R.
I'm willing to say that in the proper environment many can learn. As for a regular classroom teacher doing something about it--our hand are tied-no matter what we try. I've been trying to help kids for over 30 years and have been branded as a complainer and at trouble maker. I've tried to set up tutoring programs with my AP students only to be shot down by administration.
With 34 in a class and assignments 6 out of 8 periods a day, there is just so much anyone can do.
And that, is why I am pissed off.
Besides, kids coming into high school at a 3rd grade reading and math level will never be able to catch up to grade level in four years. They need lots of extra help that our schools are not willing to give them.
Excuse me if I'm wrong, but that's quite different than saying that the kids lack the mental capacity to learn. If the system fails them and you're working against the system in favor of the children then it shouldn't matter if you're not making much headway.
Isn't that the motto of every aspiring teacher? "The low pay, the long hours, and the overcrowded classes will all be worth it if I can just make a difference for one child."
What happened to that person?
That person is tired of beating their head against the wall.
Why aren't people like you doing anything to change the system? Or are you just busy putting down the people that don't care.
And yes, no distinction is being made in our classes between those that can't and those that haven't.
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