Personal Responsibility

I teach high school at the largest High School in Texas.  Why are we held accountable for the fact that there are students that are advanced to us that have NEVER ever passed a grade of school? 

So there is this school thing in Rhode Island. 

Schools are low performing if their students cannot 1)graduate with their cohort (graduate in four years) or if they cannot pass the exit tests. 

HOW can WE be held accountable for students that are advanced without mastery?  HOW can WE be held accountable for students who enter High School on a THIRD grade reading level? 

I'm sorry, if a kid is only at "Skippy ran out in the street and got hit by a car and died" level then WHY should  High School Teachers take the hit because they can't bring them up SIX grade levels in one year, SEVEN in two years, EIGHT in three years and NINE in four years????

I am happy to work with all the children I get.  I'm FURIOUS that there are kids that  are being passed on even though they didn't pass ANY middle school grade but they are passed on to HIGH School because of their age. 

That tells me that High School teachers are set up for failure.  They are delivered with substandard students that are more than six years behind and THEY are held accountable.  That's not cute.

Who is responsible?  I am responsible for teaching children that get to me in the high school.  Should I be responsible for their performance if they come to me on a THIRD grade reading level.  Should I be up for being FIRED because I can't raise these Young ADULTS fast enough?

Note to a Parent and to her other teachers...

This baby girl is in DESPERATE need of glasses.  I wrote a referral to the nurse and she got her approved through Lion's club and the student told me today that her mother didn't take her to the appointment.  This is the second year I've had this child and she has expressed issues to me about her mom spending her "daddy money" on things that were not for her benefit.  I think she has 10+ siblings with her father and 4 with her mother. 

She is a HARD working kid.  She can RISE above her family of origin.  She needs BASIC things such as EYEGLASSES.  I just called her mother who told me that I couldn't talk to her now because she was at work.  She told me to call back before 11 am.  Like that works for me as a school teacher...I guess I can call her when I get up in the morning to see if she can talk about this. 

I have provided this child with the supplies to take my upper level class for two years.  I don't normally do this, but she is about the hardest working kid I've ever had. I will pay for a kid like this.  I hate to see her handicapped because she is so nearsighted.  She lives near me and I will TAKE her to the eye doctor if her mother will allow me to transport her. 

I feel bad that I didn't realize that she was nearsighted until this year.  I should have known it last year. 

She is worthy.  She's such a wonderful kid.  She NEEDS grown ups going to bat for her. 

I don't know what it's called

I see this couple walking down the hallway at school.  That in itself is not so unusual, couples walk down the hallway all the time.  However this provides a unique perspective.

They are not side by side -- hand in hand.  They are not with arms around each other's waist.

He is BEHIND her and she's pulled up close and her backside is touching his frontside as they walk....matching stride for stride as they go by me down the hallway.  He's getting his business waxed by her buns as they walk down the hall....I'm going to call it "GRAWLKING" (Grinding and walking at the same time)

My "inappropriate" meter goes off..... "Excuse me sir, sir, sir, sir, you in the white I know you can hear me you need to stop and have a brief conversation with me....."  He tells me I'm stalking him.  Wrong Answer.

I get louder and start saying "I'm SURE you don't want to disrespect that sweet girl like that...."  He doesn't stop and I don't have anything else to do at the moment and so I following saying "Sir, please stop. Sir, you need to stop, SIR, I know you can hear me, everyone else can"  and everyone else is STARING at him and the disrespected girl realizes that she looks like a fool.  SHE makes him stop.  I tell him he needs to make eye contact with me.  He gives me the most hateful vacant stare known to mankind.....I tell him that it is MY job as an educator to offer corrections when they are needed.  I tell him that walking like that shows everyone else that he thinks this girl does not deserve respect because he treats her like grindage in public.  I tell him that I am offering a KIND correction.  She starts hitting him in the ribs with her elbow at this point.  I ask him what he should say when someone offers him a kind correction and he finally sputters out "Thanks."  I think she's really close to grabbing him by the gnarlies now. 

I nod and say, "That's the right answer. Please show this lovely young lady the respect that she deserves."  I turn on my heel and walk away.

I hope he doesnt' slash my tires. 

It DO

I DO often revert to my "home" lingo.  I was born in Arkansas.  I'm related to anyone who is from Arkansas.  I don't see any way around it.  My father insists that my mother in five minutes can find either a mutual acquaintance or a family member. 

I played the "Arkansas Game" not that long ago.  I was at a teacher conference and there was a gal from Pine Bluff.  "Let's Play!!" I say to her and I ask her to name off three family names.  She does.  I do the same and get to the third and she says "Stop."  She tells me her husband's mother has the same name.  It's uncommon.  I ask her if her mother-in-law is one of Uncle Gus's daughters and she says that in fact that is the case.  This means that I'm 5th cousin to her husband.  (I think that's right...his grandfather was my great-grandfather's brother). 

Regardless, even if I come from humble origins, I learned to turn a phrase or two.  I learned that one says I do, it does, Who did?  It KILLS me to hear kids use DO for all three.  I inquire gently and they understand the correct usage, they just choose . . . ignorance. 

I correct grammar all the time.  That's how I was raised.  Even my Arkansas people understood that we may drink tea out of a jelly jar when we are working in the yard but we don't serve that same jelly jar to company.  We offer up our best tea tumbler to polite company and we also speak correctly to polite company.  The way I was raised taught me that everyone deserved polite regard.  No exceptions.  None.  Not a single one.

I was taught that it was bad manners to attract attention to oneself in public.  I thought about that today when I was on Buckner trying to listen to NPR.  The jackass in the truck ahead of me had his radio on louder than mine and I couldn't hear the interview (on the radio in MY car with my windows rolled up) that was SO interesting.  The jackass also had something testicular hanging from his bumper.  It looked like baggy red testicles.  I suppose that was making a statement also.  I HAVE BIG RED SAGGY BALLS. 

Polite.  Polite society.  Polite regard. 

What a concept. 

Some days give us hope

I'm really tired. It's been a long week but today had some fun and interesting moments and there were a LOT of us who learned a lot today.  I like it when I can see SO much learning going on in the course of a day.  I see that there are a LOT of folks who are interested in learning more.  I need to recruit minions.

ooooooo Learning Minions....don't we call them apprentices?  I have some very talented kids but I need to promote some minions that I can trust with some of the basic chores...  things that can help most of the rest of everyone to try and catch up as the students learn from each other.  I have to impress the rules.  They have to be able to recite the rules. .  .  .  .  . 

No I di'int

I'm standing in the hall talking to Ms. E and I see a girl walk up with a cake under plastic.  I notice that the icing is fondant, all kind of smoothed over like a petit four and it looks YUMMY.  A boy is buzzing about and Miss Thang throws her heel back behind her other calf and she gets in a good lick on him. . . He says "Ow."  Ms. E says "Don't kick him." and Miss Thang says " I di'int do nothin'"

Um, yeah you di'd . . .

What is this business of saying "I didn't do it" when you absolutely, demonstratively JUST totally d'ID something?  That's the ultimate of ignorant and about the best bluff in the world if you can get away with it.

I don't buy it. It's a LAME ass excuse for CHOOSING to be ignorant.  It's a PUNK ass response to a real problem. Who wants to brag about that?   




Losers.

Fear and Loathing at Taco Bell

We were sitting at Taco Bell over by City Place and there are a lot of signs on the doors that say "Work Here."  Considering the economy, I see that as a hopeful thing. Minimum wage has gone up quite a bit in the last couple of years and although still small is bigger than it was when I started working at two bucks an hour.  

I like to watch people.  I see the couple come in with their two year old.  He's very happy that there is a balloon tied to the high chair they pick out for him.  His mother is showing delight about the balloon and the child is also delighted.

I'm munching down on my double decker taco.  I've had an awful lot of fowl lately and want some mammal to gnosh on.  Mmmmm BEEF.  Even the bean helps beat that fowl taste out of my mouth.  Anyway, I'm munching down on the aforementioned double decker taco and I see this young woman walk in the front door.  She's got her hair in a sock bun.   She has a tattoo that stretches above her clavicle.  She's got on converse sneakers with no laces and is carrying a Coach bag.  She walks in and she's got this HOSTILE expression on her face like she is some kind of MAJOR bad ass.  I see this look on the faces of the students at my school.  I'm interested so I watch her.  She's walking the "I'm going to kick your ass walk." She goes to the counter and she gets a drink and she apparently asks to talk to someone.  The shift manager comes out and I don't hear the conversation but apparently she is seeking a job interview and wants to make sure that she comes at the right time.  The manager tells her to come a week from Saturday at nine.  She repeats it to him and SMILES beautifully. 

She turns around and she's a teenager again.  She has a smile on her face, she says "thank you" several times.  She looks as though she has some hope.

This makes me think a lot.  I see that "Hostile" look at school every day.  I didn't grow up that way.  Is that tough look based on fear?  Are these children really afraid more than hatefully ugly? 

Why are they afraid?  Are they afraid of me? 

R.I.P.

Ode to Jorge

It didn't have to be that way
People told me
That you were brilliant
Sometimes there were glimpses . . .

Mostly, I didn't see that

I saw
The pain, the fear, the longing

The justification

The wild and wooly animal like foraging
for a cigarette butt, for a drink, for whatever could take the edge off.

You scared me more and more. I think I felt your fear.  I heard it inside my own head. 

The reduction to such base instincts.

So gifted, the tales tell.  Sometimes we could sense that you were hopeful
but the downward spiral of fear dragged like the unstoppable force of a maelstrom

Swirling around and round and around again until the time

the hands of the clock stop turning

yesterday

And what is YOUR definition of SLANG?

I was walk down the hall and I smile at people. I figure that's better than "glancing daggers" at the people I pass.   I look around and take in the plethora of youthful exuberance and I look around in time to hear and SEE the word "M*****F****R" come out of a child's mouth. 

The brakes on my heels squeal and I turn to him and sadly my smile has gone and I say "Sir, that is unacceptable."  He gives me an evil look and says "What?"  I say again that his language is unacceptable.  He tells me he "didn't do nothing." 

I have a bitch button, and the quickest way to push it is to lie right to my face.  At this point, I  noticed that he was also wearing a hat inside (against the rules) and ask him to remove it.  He tells me I'm getting on his nerves. 

I asked him if he understood that the use of profanity in public can get him a pricey ticket, let alone the use inside a school building.  He also has no ID. 

I'm trying to find the teachable moment here.  He needs to take the hat off, he needs an ID and he needs to not use profanity at school....Fortunately, an administrator happened by and she was able to explain to him in very small words that HE was creating a problem by having an unwilling attitude. 

God Love Little Jimmy.  He got it.  He repeated back "I'm not supposed to cuss in the building?"  He finally understood that I didn't want to throw down with him.  It was amazing. He DID actually have some manners in the end.  He said, "Thank you Miss." 

What is kind of challenging to me is that this child has no sense of what is appropriate.  How can one get to high school without learning that it's not good to cuss at school? 

The Ubiquitous Apostrophe

I was going through the line at McDonalds near my home and I saw a really nice sign advertising for experienced Store Manager's.  This hit below the belt because I've been acquainted with the franchise owner for 35 years.  I know he knows better. This makes me wonder if he "delegated" the responsibility to someone for having the nice (obviously) expensive signs printed.  This also makes me wonder if the copy went to the printer like that or if the person who set up the printing added that apostrophe.

It seems as if I have a new "language" pet peeve every year.  Last year it was liberry and liberrian.  The year before it was "on tomorrow."  This year it is mine's.  That's just wrong on so many levels.  What creeps me out even more is that there are people with masters degrees in ENGLISH that say "Mine's are like that."

What is horrendous is that there are teachers that are MODELING this usage for their students who are not so swuft.  This is equivalent to "ye olde nail on the blackboard."  It grates uncomfortably.  I cannot imagine that ANY person with a college degree in English would say "Mine's are (referring to personal possessive)."

The adding of an "apostrophe s" to plurality is getting so prevalent in the language that it seems as if educated people no longer make the distinction.  I've caught myself doing it a couple of times which makes me want to scratch my eyes out of my head (in the tradition of Oedipus) so that I cannot see the transgression. 

People tell me I'm a grammar Nazi.  This brings to mind Godwin's Law which provides me some amount of amusement.

I understand casual usage and vernacular banter.  I do speak Southern.  I speak some varieties of Hick.  I still learned proper language usage.  I do not claim perfection, but I claim top 2%.  I know my they're from there from their.  I love games like Kingdom of Loathing because one has to pass the Altar of Literacy in order to participate in the chat feature.  One encounters this....

As you approach the Altar of Literacy, you see the faint outline of a human figure standing in front of it.

"Hello," says the figure. "I'm the ghost of the English language."

"At this time, you are not allowed to enter the chat. This feature is reserved for those who are members of the Order of the Literate"

"If you wish to gain access to the chat, you must perform a series of tasks in order to prove that you can be trusted with the privileges and responsibilities of the Order."

 One finds this....

"Next, you must complete the following sentences..."

When they get [there|their|they're], [there|their|they're] going to put on [there|their|they're] mittens.

[Your|You're] nuts if you think I'm going to polish [your|you're] armor for free.

"Finally, you must answer this fiendishly difficult trivia question: What color was George Washington's favorite black horse?"

What is horribly sad is that there is a "cheat" page that exists to pass the Altar of Literacy. 

What I learned from the Master Degree Possessing English Teacher is that there is now a software program that does all of the APA formatting for anything one writes.  What I remember from my time in grad school is that I had to painfully construct all of my citations.  I thought that was part of the territory.  So now there is a 28 year old English teacher with a higher degree who says "Mine's are like that."

Mine's timbers can collapse leading to catastrophic structural failure. My legs are heavier now than they were when I was 14.  Precious metals are often found in mines. 

What do you think?

I live in the hood

I live in the attendance district for my school.  I am invested in the success or failure or the students in MY neighborhood.

My dog is racist.  I did not teach my dog to be racist.  The children who travel down my back alley who are mean and nasty to pets in the neighborhood taught my dog to be racist.  I am sure there are children that don't deserve the censure of my German Shepherd but there are children that have earned that same censure. 

My dog goes CRAZY when some folks are walking down the alley.  This is not a neighborhood where folks need to travel in the alley unless they are avoiding public view.  In my neighborhood, folks avoid public view when they are breaking into things/houses/cars/ etc.....

I love my big boy German Shepherd. He loves me too.  He hollers big time when his proximity alarm goes off.  He doesn't bark just to be obnoxious. He barks when he wants to warn people off.  He would eat someone who was ugly to me.

Thank you Prince.  You are the best puppy dog ever. 

Sweet Dreams

I am SO excited.  A lot of my "grown" angels are coming to town for Thanksgiving.  We are hooking up for lunch and I will get to see several that are three and four years out of college.  I am incredibly proud of all of them.  We have a book editor from New York.  We have a mother of three (including twins) from Florida. We have the owner of a Fed Ex route, We have a learning specialist who has expanded from her math teaching days.  They are wonderful humans and I am blessed to have had the privilege to teach them all.

I don't think it gets better than this.  Not in my world.

Where do We Go from Here?

At this point, I think that everyone is confused.  Teachers generally want to help students to succeed. WHY would we do this job if we didn't like kids? 

How can we REALLY help them?

Some days are happy

Today was a nice day....My kids came prepared and were willing to talk about their work.  We put it all out on the table.  We have to talk about what we've done.  We have to criticize our own work and the work of our peers.

We have to talk about our own work.  We have to tell what we've learned from the current project.  We have to say what we have learned and say what we would do different.  We then have to talk about another student's project.  We have to admire something that someone else has done.  We then have to tell a peer what we would do differently. 

It's not okay to say that someone's work stinks.  It's not okay to say that we would finish the project because some folk's projects are not finished. 

We learn to learn from our projects.  We learn from mistakes.  We learn that sometimes we don't work fast enough and that most of our peers are already done with the project. 

We learned a lot today. Critique days are helpful on so many levels.  Today... we learned to learn. 

We are fortunate. Life is good.

I've had an Aneurism, I'm Dead, Your Stupidity Killed Me

I had such a bold idea.  I think I can revamp the education system doing something that makes sense.  Hold a child accountable for mastery.  If a child doesn't pass first grade then they need to do it over.  If a child doesn't pass first grade then they also need a massive amount of testing to discover if they are learning disabled or have such profound learning differences that they need additional help.  If a child doesn't pass first grade the second time, then there need to be profound remedial steps taken.  The parents need to be intensely involved at this point.  If they are not willing then the child needs to be placed in the care of people who care enough about the child to intervene and assist the child to do better in school. 

However, Texas says....

The rules included the provisions that no student could repeat the same

grade more than once or repeat more than two grade levels during the elementary grades.   So, since 1984, Texas has promoted children without sufficient skills to pass elementary school.   Dang.  Get this, they can only be retained one year in middle school or junior high.

SO, a child can fail first grade.  Little Angel repeats the grade but because he has failed it already he can't fail it again.  So Angel fails second grade and he repeats it.  Because he has already repeated it he can't fail it again.  As Angel is ten in third grade he can't fail again in elementary.  SO regardless of Angel's performance in third, forth, fifth and sixth grade HE CANNOT BE RETAINED.  So Angel is 14 in 7th grade. He fails.  He is retained again.  He's 15 in 7th grade but because he's already failed it once he can't take it again.  So he's 16 in 8th grade and THEY can't FAIL him so he ends up in High School and he's actually never really ever passed a grade of school and he's 17 years old in 9th grade. 

Now the high schools are held accountable because they couldn't make that 17 year old 9th grader pass that test....The high schools are held accountable if a student doesn't graduate with his "cohort."  SO Angel gets to 9th grade and he's never really ever passed a grade and he's 17 and he can't really read so he is very nearly a grown man and he doesn't want to admit that he is deficient in some way so he gets aggressive and he doesn't want to participate and he wants to tear stuff up because he is disenfranchised and he's almost grown so he has to show out and he takes away from the educational experience of the kids that are going to school to learn. 

How about if a child doesn't pass first grade that we test them every which way but loose?  If he doesn't pass first grade the second time we send that child to a remediation center that deals with children that unable to learn a first grade curriculum after two years.  We don't shove that child into the mainstream to disrupt and detract from the education of the children that DO get it?  If we do this on the early end then maybe the rest of the system will take care of itself.  If the children that are two years behind are helped on the early end then the rest of the years will benefit. 

The ADA requires that students are educated in the least restrictive environment. 

If my 14 year old daughter has to be in the same classroom with an 18 year old man who has never honestly passed a grade then SHE is restricted by him.  

Role Model

I had a conversation recently about Role Models.  Who do our children look up to these days? Seriously? Last year I read Stop Dressing Your Six-Year-Old Like a Skank: A Slightly Tarnished Southern Belle's Words of Wisdom a rather sassy look at fashions for six year olds.  I see tiny girls at WalMart wearing Playboy bunny shirts and shirts that say "I'm hawt" and shorts with handprints on the seat.

What happened to tiny girls being tiny girls? I see some of the girls in the  hallway at school and somewhere they got a memo that dressing like a hooker is a good thing.  They want to wear stiletto shoes and clomp around school looking like hippos on toe shoes.  That is NOT attractive.  They may think that makes their legs look longer.  It just makes them look graceless and silly. 

Who are they looking to? Where are they seeking things that help them define self image?  Obviously, from popular culture.  They are watching explicit videos and think that if they look slutty enough the boys will like them.  Teenage girls take pictures of their breasts and "sext" them to a boy hoping the boy will like her.  Does she KNOW that he will forward that to everyone HE knows?  No, because she's bereft of role models.

I had to ask myself this question.  Who were my role models?  I didn't have to go looking on TV or videos.  I had the REAL DEAL right in front of my face every day.  My father died when I was small and I got shifted around a bit between relations.  (Sound familiar?)  I had a strong mother and two strong grandfathers and two stronger grandmothers and I didn't need to see any hoochie on TV to give me guidance.  My grandmothers were scary-strong.  They could face down poisonous snakes armed with only a hoe and did more than once as I recall.  They sang loud in church and they took care of people that they didn't have to.  They both dealt with HARD headed husbands for more than fifty years.  They taught me that it was BAD to lie and that it was GOOD to be kind and BETTER to be kinder to difficult people because they needed it more.  They were SMART and they taught me that learning was a good thing because the more I could learn, the better my life would be. 

I learned to love books and learned that they grow more precious with rereading.  I learned how to make things.  I learned NOT to ever say I was bored.  I did that once and got to polish every piece of silver in the house.  I don't think I've ever been bored since.  I learned to play piano because my grandmother showed me Middle C on the piano and showed me what it looked like in the hymnbook and told me to figure the rest out. It was a VERY large puzzle. 

How could I do better?  I may not be glamorous.  I don't really care as that is very superficial.  I may not be rich.  I don't measure success by dollars.  I look at the people that I see every day and I am grateful to know them and grateful to love them.  I see challenges every day and I'm grateful for that because it keeps life interesting.   

Homework? What's That?

Another teacher in my building told me that he asked his students how many of them did homework.  .  .  .  Blank stares are his answer.  He's puzzled because as an educated person he remembers having to do homework.  He asks again and the kids look at each other and shrug.  He thinks they are kidding but one student says "I'm not playing Mister, I don't do homework."

When asked "Why not?" the response was "It's boring."

SO.  Um, homework is practice and we learn and get better by practicing.  Is there a whole generation that thinks that they are SO special and SO gifted that the learning is just going to LEAP into their brains while they sit by passively and drool?

A local school district is just horrified that more than a thousand more students are failing a class this year since last year.  Texas passed a law that states that districts cannot require teachers to give a minimum grade (a 50 instead of 0)  and because students are NOT doing homework then they are failing.  So Irving wants to take away failing grades for homework.

WHEN do the kids have to become accountable?  Are we supposed to spoon feed them into old age and ALLOW them to perform in a sub-standard way? We're supposed to protect their precious little psyches and tell them it doesn't really matter...that they don't have to do the mean old homework.

I know that many of our children have obstacles to overcome.  But MANY MORE are enabled to be lazy.  I will help a child that wants help with my last dime.  I do NOT CHOOSE to enable students to be lazy.  

What do YOU think?

Caffeination

I met one of my former students at Starbucks today.  We manage to hook up there every few months. It's nice.  I appreciate hearing his point of view on the world.  I'm very, very proud of his accomplishments and was SO thrilled when he presented me with a bound copy of his Master's Thesis last year.  I was even prouder when he landed his dream job.  How many people can say that?  I was totally proud when his thesis and he got quoted in USA Today recently. 

The weather was stunningly gorgeous today.  It seriously does not get better in Texas.  We usually sit at the same table.  He was there waiting for me.  We play catch up and visit and talk about the folks we both know and love and I start to tell him about my week and I said "Waiting for Superman" and this strange fellow from the next table gets up and joins us and begins to say some really peculiar things.  He actually kind of dominates the conversation and does have some interesting things to say but I think he's harder to follow than I am when there are shiny objects about. 

He talks about "things." He talks about education because of the book I have on the table. He talks about some esoterica that is beyond my comprehension.  I think he's been in rehab lately.  I have to appreciate my ability to attract random strangers.  At least he didn't ask for money. 

Maybe next time we'll meet at Lakewood instead of Casa Linda.

That is NOT Cute

I'm still Waiting for Superman.  I am SO glad that today is FRIDAY.  I love it when I interact with something (art/Radio/TV/Film/happening) that makes me keep thinking.  When I got to school today I had students waiting to hear what I thought of the movie last night.  I was happy to talk to them about it.  I didn't want to give too much away  because I want the kids to go see it.  I told them I cried.  

One girl said that she'd heard it would make you cry.  Another student asked if it made me mad.  I replied that it didn't really make me more mad than I already was.  I know what the issues are in Urban American education.  What the movie showed me is that my local issues are pretty much the same all over the US. 

This is my AP class.  We often talk about issues we face living in America. The students are curious.  They've heard me discuss Idiocracy and one boy said that he just thought it was funny until he started thinking about it and he said he got scared after that because he realized that it truly was satire involving a real issue in society today.  I asked them all to please reproduce.  But not yet, not until they are out of college...(They liked how I qualified that). 

Sometimes, when I go to the store I see infants in arms.  I always look at the babies. I love babies.  I know that I'll be their teacher some day.  I see some babies who are bright-eyed and curious.  Sometimes even when they are tiny...they are checking out the world and they are AMAZED.  I see other babies who have a dull glazed look on their faces.  They almost seem as if they are drugged.  These babies are NOT responsive, they seem like lumps of pudding.  I know what a tired baby looks like. I'm not talking tired.  Even a tired curious baby is still checking things out.

I told my class about the baby watching and several of them said that they understood exactly what I was talking about.  They turned and described their experiences to their friends (I think they call this Socializing Intelligence).  I told them to look around the next time they go to Walmart or the grocery store and get back to me.

I asked the kids to tell me what they thought about Idiocracy. D.R. said that his mother worked at a Food Stamp Office and that she got written up because she said "That is NOT Cute," when a customer was happy because her TEN year old daughter was pregnant.  The customer complained about the remark.

I have had students with children who had mothers under the age of 30.  I've met GREAT-Grandmothers that were under 40.

My experience tells me that those folks do NOT care about public education.  They care about a system that provides a free babysitter with two free meals on week days.  

That is NOT Cute. 

Waiting For Superman

We just got back from a screening of Waiting For Superman at the Magnolia.  I've heard a lot of the hype and I've heard criticisms and as it addresses public education--a topic near and dear to my pea-picking heart I wanted to see it. 

I had heard of Harlem Children's Zone and truly applaud the dedication  of Mr. Canada and the results that they are getting, but it's SUCH a tiny number of kids.  It IS an exemplary program and I wonder WHY we can't have such exemplary programs all over the place.

I saw one factor in common with all of the children presented. They ALL had parents (or grandparents) who were deeply committed to their child/grandchild getting a quality education. They were families that value education and CARE enough to get up and fight for their child.  These folks registered for lotteries at the BEST public school and the results are angst filled.

My parents cared that I was educated.  College was expected, it was NOT an option, it was a requirement.  I'm still working on my own brood, and two have degrees and two have parts of degrees. 

That makes such a big difference.  Having parents or people that care if you can read past a third grade level is a monumental thing. 

The discussion about teacher unions was interesting.  It seems as if the unions were obstructing potential growth and excellence in Washington, D.C. in order to protect the mediocre.  As unions offer very little in Texas other than legal protection it isn't locally relevant.  If the unions TRULY protect such blatantly awful teachers as indicated in the film then SHAME ON THEM.  I think about people that I've known who sat downtown and collected a full wage while out on administrative leave and it makes me sick.  If they were put on leave without pay, they might go make new friends and get a new job unrelated to education.  

In the end, some families were happy, some were not.  I do not however believe that they were defeated.  Folks who value education that much will find a way to get their kids to school.  

I do really want to pass the hat for little Miss Daisy in LA.  I see the hunger in that child's eyes.  I see the brilliance.   

What WAS She Thinking?

Little Miss prissed by today.  Down the hall I heard a teacher comment that her skirt was too short.  I looked.  It was.  I swear, some of these children don't have the sense God gave a chicken.  "My skirt ain't too short."  It was nowhere near the requisite "fingertip" length, it was about "wrist length." 

Ameliorate is not apparently in the vocabulary of a number of these students.  What part of "arguing with a teacher" is a good idea?  Why will a student LIE when all evidence is to the contrary? 

Little Miss continues to argue. I can see that the teacher is exasperated....I walk up and offer "Miss, it is not necessary to be disrespectful."  She denies that also.  I informed her that her mouth was NOT her friend.  I'm not sure if she had a clue what that meant but she said "Okay."  Because I have the time, I walk her over to the discipline office and a couple of boys hoot at her on the way and one asks her what is up.   She doesn't claim to know and the boy said "Your skirt is too short." I nod and she says "You don't need to be telling them my business."  I look at her and said, "Did I SAY anything?" and she starts mouthing off again.  I repeat that her mouth was NOT her friend.  She shut up again.

She at least had more sense than the other yahoo in the hall today.  The boy stood outside my classroom and SCREAMED at someone down the hall.  Kind of hard to teach with that noise whipping everyone's head around.  I stepped out and asked him to move along.  He continued hollering.  I asked him to hold it down.  He persisted. I told him he needed to go away and he told me that I was interrupting his conversation.  I asked for his ID and he took off.  I should have done that first.  It would have kept my blood pressure lower.

People are Strange and When You're A Stranger

Faces look ugly when you're alone
I had several conversations today.  Things are just kind of odd. 

Okay, here's how it is.  I teach in America.  I work with young adults.  I work with people that say "this is mine's."  I work with people that do not comprehend Standard English.  I thought that education in America was taught in Standard English.  I think that's the problem. We have too many kids that do not understand Standard English.  They speak Spanglish and they speak BEV (Black English Vernacular).  They have not yet learned Standard English.

We do not assume that Spanglish or BEV is inferior in any way.  We assume that they are different.  However, all of our testing and all of our assessments are based in Standard English. 

I asked my classes today....How do you ask someone about their current location?  I got responses that said "Where you at?" and "Where are you?"  I asked....How would you say that someone is a good friend? I got "he's my homie."  and "he's my good friend" and "vato" and "homeboy."  I also got "my nig" but I just really hate that.

I can understand why there are achievement gaps.  I think if one looks at our most underachieving children then one may find that there is a lack of understanding of Standard English. 

Miss,  I wasted so much money buying this Coach Bag.  I say, "you don't like it?  You don't think you got good value for your money?"  They say, "I love the bag."  I have to explain that waste means that you did not get good value.  I have to understand that the same word in Spanish means "spent."  Miss, I spent so much money buying this Coach Bag.  I say WOW, you got good value for your dollar. 

Our children are NOT to blame.  Folks bigger and better than us should realize that we are not all on the same page. 

Homecoming

I gave up giving instruction today.  It was Homecoming and was also an early release day.  I painted lots of faces.

I had someone lie to my face.  I hate that.  If you want me to cover your lazy ass self then you better shoot straight with me and give me a good reason to ignore your "omission of opportunity"  If you get snarky with me then I'm going to OUT YO ass every which way but loose. 

Ahem.

Stuff Rolls Downhill

I'm busting ass this year. I'm very pleased with myself because I just think I'm doing a better job all the way around.  I'm getting good results and I like all my kids and life is good.

Except this "documentation" business.  Everyone is documenting. I feel as if there is a microscope impinging on my anal orifice.  Excellent teachers that I know are being "documented" with "Omissions of Opportunity."  That's a nice way to say they are being written up.

I'm getting mixed messages.  I  have to post "learner expectations," "TEKS" (don't even ask), I have to have a word wall, and I have to have an agenda posted.  My head was spinning.  None of those things make me a better teacher.  What makes me a better teacher is being able to read new things about my content area, having time to post grades quickly (which is an issue when the program isn't working right and the network is wonky). 

I'm aggravated because we apparently omit opportunities when we can't submit attendance in a timely manner and the network times out.  I have computer issues at school and when I go to the right department to fuss about the attendance they seem incapable of understanding what I'm telling them.  I get a "pat" response which tells me 1) The support staff is not listening to what I tell them and 2) They are not bright enough to understand a verbal description. 

I have to "document" that I encounter idiocracy.  To cover my own prodigious backside I have to also document.   The ubiquitous THEY started it.

I'm doing a good job.  I'm doing a better job.  Ask my students.   They are having a blast. They are learning a lot.  Ask them. 

Someone higher up up the food chain is wanting to demonstrate that they are doing their "empty" job so they are creating work for those of us that walk the walk every day.

Lemmings

I could see the dissemination of information as I walked over to the main building.  It started while I was on the sidewalk.  School had been out for three minutes. There was a steady stream of kids heading for the bus lot.  I was surprised at the number headed into main.  I was physically abused by the children that pressed against me and shoved me.  I heard the kids talking around me.  I can hear the buzz.  Apparently there is a fight somewhere and by the time I can get into the main building there are children  running past me screaming "Fight" as they stream past me and shove me out of the way.  I get into the main building and I see children running past me and pushing past me and some of them are  hollering "FIGHT."  I hear the stream of children running and I HOLLER, "They are running off a cliff"  Actually there are at least two children who turn and seem astonished about that and they don't run toward the Niagara stream of children that are running toward the general melee. 

Would it be racist to say that there was one singular ethnicity involved in the streaming running throng toward the fight? 

Where to begin?

I'm terrified.  I watched the movie Idiocracy and it's very silly and ridiculous.  However, I'm a public school teacher at the largest inner city high school in my state.  I see things every day that make me cringe and respect the concept of Idiocracy. 

I choose to combat Idiocracy.  I choose to fight tooth and nail to dispel ignorance. 

Some friends know my plight. Some friends know my fight.  I posted a bellringer. If you don't know, a bellringer is an assignment that is posted on the board when the kids come into the room.  They have to write a short response to a posted question.

This was the question.  "What is your favorite book and why? Who was the best character?"

I am sad to say that I had one student that said "Miss, what if you haven't read a book?"  I'm talking to a high school child who has already reproduced.  I went sarcastic for a moment and said "You admit this publicly?"  She got defensive and said "I don't care."  I did inquire further and learned that she did read Dr. Seuss when she was small.   I had another student in a different class say the same thing and I inquired if she had read books when she was younger and she reported that she had not. 

I am teaching high school students who report that they have NOT ever read a book.  What's up with this?