Today my BP kid started to show his true colors. B.P. stands for "behavior program." He has a behavior checklist and I made sure to put an "x" in the sections where appropriate. But, I have this sneaky suspicion that it is not going to do much good.
My opinion on behavior checklists has dipped in the last few years. The lists are too detailed and too time consuming. Plus, students really seem to know how to skirt around the "behavior targets" so that they still act out without getting marked for it. It seems like I'm always dealing in "gray" areas. Tired of it.
That's all for today.
Wednesday, August 26, 2009
Tuesday, August 25, 2009
Day 2-You Never Get A Second Chance To Make A First Impression
This summer during our professional development trainings "they" emphasized that they wanted our classrooms covered with student-generated work, not store-bought posters. "They" also said that when we started off the year, they expected our classroom walls to be somewhat bare (to make room for the student generated work, of course). "They" said that they wouldn't be "upset" with us if they came to our classroom early on in the year and we didn't have anything up on our walls.
Now, we are in the second day of school, so I really don't have any student work to put up on the walls yet. We're still going over rules and procedures, getting routines down, sorting out school supplies, retraining bladders, etc.
Well, today we also found out that we are getting a visit to our campus tomorrow from a VIP (namely the superintendent of schools). So, now all of the sudden word comes through the grapevine that I have to adorn my bulletin boards with stuff just in case the supe decides to walk down my hallway (or, God forbid, into my classroom).
It really gets tiresome to me when one hand doesn't know what the other is doing. Or when the left hand is not on the same page as the right. Such is life in this district. That is what it has been for 14 years, and that's probably what it will be for another 14. Everyone is always worried about appearances and perception. And yes, it has filtered down to me. But that's another blog.
Heck, maybe tomorrow's!
Now, we are in the second day of school, so I really don't have any student work to put up on the walls yet. We're still going over rules and procedures, getting routines down, sorting out school supplies, retraining bladders, etc.
Well, today we also found out that we are getting a visit to our campus tomorrow from a VIP (namely the superintendent of schools). So, now all of the sudden word comes through the grapevine that I have to adorn my bulletin boards with stuff just in case the supe decides to walk down my hallway (or, God forbid, into my classroom).
It really gets tiresome to me when one hand doesn't know what the other is doing. Or when the left hand is not on the same page as the right. Such is life in this district. That is what it has been for 14 years, and that's probably what it will be for another 14. Everyone is always worried about appearances and perception. And yes, it has filtered down to me. But that's another blog.
Heck, maybe tomorrow's!
Monday, August 24, 2009
First Day 2009-2010
I'm having a frustrating year... Yup. Day 1. My sanity and mental faculties are already being tested. June, July, and half of August weren't quite enough the recuperation time I needed.
My students last year bled me dry. Ever see the movie "Lifeforce"? About these alien vampires discovered in space and brought back to Earth? The female vampire literally sucks the life out of her victims, shriveling them up into dry corpses (all the while walking around London in her birthday suit). This year's group (I have a feeling) are going to be kind of like her (except for the birthday suit part, thankfully). I'm somewhat familiar with most of them already because I had the opportunity...err, um, disadvantage... of proctoring a good deal of them when they took their state standardized tests last year.
I feel like I'm losing my rose-colored glasses. I am coming to a crossroads after 14 years. Performance pay, evaluations, instructional strategies that only work in the movies, are just a few of the reasons why I am approaching this crossroad. My track record of success automatically puts me at a disadvantage because I'm entrusted with the hardest of the hard (which can make it more taxing for me in my quest to reach goals).
In the NFL, it is perception that if you give your star running back more than 30 carries a game, that you're potentially shortening his career. Breaking him down, so to speak. I am in no way trying to equate myself as the star teacher at my school, but I do feel like I'm being broken down.
I asked for a "change" this year, a reprieve if you will... a break from the front lines. Still requesting a challenging task, but involving a population with more "receptive" minds. Needless to say, I didn't get what I asked for. Others got what I had requested instead (others who are less experienced). Honestly, I really just wanted a reprieve. A chance to decompress and recuperate from the challenging group I had the previous year. Then, after a year or two, I would go back to the front lines. Because, in reality, I really do enjoy the tough hardened populations that I have taught year after year for 14 years. Most of the time, I get no thanks from them or their parents. But, I take satisfaction from the fact that I know they left me with a lot more "stuff" in their head.
So I started the day with yet another hardened group, while still wounded from last year's battle. Stuff that I could usually easily put aside, or ignore in the past, was not so easy to ignore today. Kids outwardly arguing whether Joe Student said "pussy" or "pussycat", or Susie Sunshine not knowing the name of the apartment she lives at, or me having to repeat the same direction an ungodly amount of times was enough to make me go buy a lotto ticket today, and also contemplate furthering my education.
It looks like it is another case of "same shit, different year" syndrome for me. This time, I don't know if I'll recover.
My students last year bled me dry. Ever see the movie "Lifeforce"? About these alien vampires discovered in space and brought back to Earth? The female vampire literally sucks the life out of her victims, shriveling them up into dry corpses (all the while walking around London in her birthday suit). This year's group (I have a feeling) are going to be kind of like her (except for the birthday suit part, thankfully). I'm somewhat familiar with most of them already because I had the opportunity...err, um, disadvantage... of proctoring a good deal of them when they took their state standardized tests last year.
I feel like I'm losing my rose-colored glasses. I am coming to a crossroads after 14 years. Performance pay, evaluations, instructional strategies that only work in the movies, are just a few of the reasons why I am approaching this crossroad. My track record of success automatically puts me at a disadvantage because I'm entrusted with the hardest of the hard (which can make it more taxing for me in my quest to reach goals).
In the NFL, it is perception that if you give your star running back more than 30 carries a game, that you're potentially shortening his career. Breaking him down, so to speak. I am in no way trying to equate myself as the star teacher at my school, but I do feel like I'm being broken down.
I asked for a "change" this year, a reprieve if you will... a break from the front lines. Still requesting a challenging task, but involving a population with more "receptive" minds. Needless to say, I didn't get what I asked for. Others got what I had requested instead (others who are less experienced). Honestly, I really just wanted a reprieve. A chance to decompress and recuperate from the challenging group I had the previous year. Then, after a year or two, I would go back to the front lines. Because, in reality, I really do enjoy the tough hardened populations that I have taught year after year for 14 years. Most of the time, I get no thanks from them or their parents. But, I take satisfaction from the fact that I know they left me with a lot more "stuff" in their head.
So I started the day with yet another hardened group, while still wounded from last year's battle. Stuff that I could usually easily put aside, or ignore in the past, was not so easy to ignore today. Kids outwardly arguing whether Joe Student said "pussy" or "pussycat", or Susie Sunshine not knowing the name of the apartment she lives at, or me having to repeat the same direction an ungodly amount of times was enough to make me go buy a lotto ticket today, and also contemplate furthering my education.
It looks like it is another case of "same shit, different year" syndrome for me. This time, I don't know if I'll recover.
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