The Actor Starts Again

Wrestling Fan has decided he wants to do another play. We will be heading out in a about a half an hour to sign him up for our local community youth theater. I am beyond thrilled that he is doing this. It is one more step towards full recovery and defeat of the anxiety monster!

Practice starts next week and during practice they start deciding who gets what role. I do not anticipate a big role since he hasn't done any plays for a while and really don't want that kind of pressure for a major role placed on him.

I'll keep you posted!

Follow up on a post

Remember this post about trusting your gut? Well, I wrote a follow up article over at Learn Me Good. I had forewarned him that this post was a little darker than his usual fare, but he agreed to host it on his site.

I have thoroughly enjoyed reading the comments left by his readers. They have really made me feel better about this situation.

My Fae

What type of Fae are you?

Teacher Tip Tuesday #30

This really isn't a teacher tip, rather it's a quest for help. A couple of weeks ago, Kevin Reigner posted a question to me in response to my Teacher Tip #28. In his comment, he wanted to know how to keep students engaged halfway through the school year and if other teachers notice a change in student motivation during the winter months.

So, offer up your advice in the comments section. Help a teacher out!

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New to Teacher Tip Tuesday? Click here for past teacher tips!

Ms-Teacher Sounds Off! (3)

Dear Parent/Grandparent/Guardian;

I know that you love the child in your life. I get that because, seriously, as a mom of three myself, I have had more than one instance of when the old bitchiness mother bear comes out. I get it. I also understand that you have had many years of frustration at a school system that perhaps doesn't always meet the needs of your child. As an older sister of a brother with mental and physical retardation, I've seen my parents go through many needless battles. As a parent, I've had to deal with my own share of battles with teachers, administrators and district personnel.

I have been there, so I get it.

That being said, just a piece of advice from one who has been on both sides of this issue. If you always come at teachers like they automatically have it out for your child, you almost guarantee that we aren't going to be very sympathetic when there is a real need. It's kind of like that old story of crying wolf, eventually your yelling at me or anyone else at my school site will be met with a "there she/he goes again" along with a rather dramatic rolling of our collective eyeballs.

Despite what you might think, I didn't go into teaching to make your life miserable. The reason I teach is because I want to help your child be successful. Sometimes success means occasional failures because just like in life, sometimes our most valuable learning comes from falling flat on our faces. It is my job to help your child learn from both and nothing makes this teacher's heart happier when I get to witness that proverbial lightbulb moment.

All that being said, the one thing you should not do is immediately fly into attack mode. Yesterday, when you called me on the phone launching into a tirade against me because your child was tardy yet again and accusing me of not letting her into my classroom went beyond disrespect. You probably didn't notice that during your diatribe, I never once raised my voice, instead I remained calm and told you to please call my supervisor if you had a specific complaint against me. I also politely asked that you refrain from yelling at me, otherwise I would have to end the conversation.

I must say that I was rather shocked to have you tell me to shut up. Believe me when I say that I had to pull from within myself very deeply to continue to remain calm when I informed you that I was ending the conversation. I do have a confession to make. When I ended the conversation with "please have a nice week-end," I wasn't being very sincere. I really do wish that I could have sunk to your level, but that's the thing; I know how to act like an adult. You clearly don't.

Sincerely, Ms_Teacher

Teacher Tip Tuesday #29 (On Friday)

When confronted with an angry parent/grandparent/guardian, do not engage in conversation with them.

Be polite at all costs. Many times parents are upset by what their child has told them, which is usually not the complete truth. There are times when I have let a parent rant and get whatever it is that's bothering them off their chest. Once they are able to have their say, I have been able to then talk to them about their child and the concerns or issues that I have. Other times, I just know that the conversation is not going to be positive. At that point, I let the parent know that I am ending the discussion, but they are welcome to continue it with my principal. Of course, depending upon your relationship with the principal, you may want to be present if they do call the principal. For me, I have been fortunate enough to just give my principal a heads up and let them know I am available if they need me to be.

At all times, I try to remain as professional as possible, then I rant to my co-workers or imbibe in my alcoholic beverage of choice when I get home (and in COMPLETE moderation because I'm responsible like that).

I know that it's tough to not take it personally when a parent/grandparent/guardian takes out their anger or frustration on you. There are times where you will deal with people who are not rational when it comes to their child. That's their problem.

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New to Teacher Tip Tuesday? Click here for past teacher tips!

I promise

That this week-end, I'll have a new Teacher Tip Tuesday and a new Sound Off.

Sometimes life gets in the way of blogging. That has been my week.

So, tell me, how are YOU doing?

Me, I'm tired and frustrated.

Just Call Me Crabby

I went to my first crab feed last night. It was put on my the local unions in the city where I teach. Great fun was had by all and the room where I sat with my union president was by far the most fun. No, I was not dancing on the tables. I did eat way more than I should have, especially after suffering from a stomach virus that swept through our house last week. (As a result of being sick, I missed two days last week, a day after starting my "Into Activity" for my literature unit on A Thousand Never Evers by Shana Burg.)

Speaking of not dancing on tables, on Friday, my GATE students and I went to our computer lab to do some work on ancient Egypt. While we were in there, one of my students asked me if I had a myspace page. I told them that I did, then another one asked me if I a Facebook page and I replied that I had one of those as well.

I heard quite a few of them gasp in disbelief. I told them, "just so you know, there is nothing on either my facebook or myspace page that can be used against me. I value teaching you guys way too much. Of course, I also don't want any of you to come up with anything that you can use to blackmail me."

It's Wednesday!

That means that the Carnival's in town! Ms. Hermitt has really done an awesome job on this week's carnival.

Teacher Tip Tuesday #28

Go with your gut.

I found out something about a student yesterday. I had suspected something was up when my this student went from getting superb grades to barely passing. I should have acted sooner and went with my gut. However, now that I know the situation, I can start to remedy the situation. Still, I wish I would have listened to that little inner voice.

I couldn't be there for my student then, but I sure as HELL will be there for my student now.

Ms-Teacher Sounds Off! (2)

Today's post is on teacher salary. One of the most common complaints I hear from general public is that while they usually don't think we are paid too much, they do think that our salaries are adequate. After all, our work day is usually shorter than other people and we have summer's off! Take all of that into account and our salaries seem fair to most people.

Prior to becoming a teacher, I held a variety of other jobs. This was also prior to me earning my B.A. and my Master's. I'll admit that these were secretarial type positions, which didn't require that I earn a college degree. My husband has worked in the automotive trade for almost 30 years. The jobs that he has held only required two years of an apprentice program prior to becoming a journeyman in his field. Another colleague of mine has a husband who works as a correctional guard. He was not required to complete any college work for his position.

The reason that I mention all of this is that I know for a fact that the salary that I earn right now is much smaller than what it would have been had I stayed working in private industry. I also know for a fact had I stayed at my last position (working for the state), my salary would also have been much greater and my benefits package was one of the best I have ever had.

Furthermore, none of my previous job positions came with the expectation that I would work beyond the hours I put in at work. I was never expected to give up my lunch, stay after work, or work week-ends without monetary compensation (usually time and a half). In all of the years my husband has put in his job, there has been very little after hours or week-end work required. When he worked in a shop that was unionized, he had mandated break times and lunch. His employer was expected to follow the contract or face serious monetary consequences. My friend's husband does work some overtime as a correctional officer (unionized) and he gets paid time and a half. He often jokes with her about how little she makes in comparison to his salary.

In other positions that I have held if I wanted to take classes to help me advance in my career, the employer would help cover the cost. In teaching, all costs for my courses to help me become a better teacher have been paid out of pocket. I have also never been expected to buy necessary supplies (like paper, pencils, notebooks, overhead markers, whiteboard markers, etc) that I needed for my job.

Then comes the old "but you get the whole summer off!" argument. Tell that to 100 teachers and we'll laugh at you. Most summers you'll find us usually a bit more relaxed, but we are also doing things to make us be better teachers. We are searching for ways to make that lesson on theme a little bit more understandable to our second language learners or more challenging for our advance learners. We are attending conferences, workshops, online courses, so that we can help our students be more successful. In my district the only compensation I would get for any of this is advancement on our salary schedule. This year, I topped out on units, so the only compensation I'll get is an increase for another year in my district. There has not been a summer where a good portion has not been spent on reflecting on my previous year and seeking to hone my craft for the upcoming year.

I love teaching and have loved it since I walked through the door of my first classroom eight years ago. However, I used to be one of those people on the outside who used to make the same arguments about teachers having it easy. It was only when I started walking that mile (several hundred miles now) in a teacher's shoe that I understood that what I thought about teaching wasn't reality. It is the hardest job I have ever held. It is also the only job that I have ever had where everyone thinks they are an expert, even though they have never taught a group of hormone induced 11 year olds. When you have walked that mile in my shoe, then we'll talk.

You have a few minutes

(or hour) to spare? Then, head on over to this week's Carnival of Education hosted by Right Wing Nation. My first "Sounding Off" blog post is included as well as a whole bunch of other interesting educational blog posts.

Young Love

It appears that two youngsters (with a little help from sis who would act as their witness) tried to elope to Africa.

This story made me smile. I am sure that their parents didn't feel the same way.

Teacher Tip Tuesday #27

I have over 130 blogs on my blogline feed. Most of these are education related from education bloggers that offer a variety of perspectives. Chances are you have heard of the blogs that I am mentioning in this post, but if you haven't and you like to read education blogs, these are "must reads" on your blog feed service.

The first blog, The Tempered Radical, is being highlighted today because he will be hosting Kelly Gallagher, author of Deeper Reading: Comprehending Challenging Texts, 4-12. Gallagher has written a new book, Readicide: How schools are killing reading and what you can do about it. On January 14th, Stenhouse Publishers will offer Gallagher's new book online through a link provided by The Tempered Radical. Then, you can come back to his blog with questions you want to ask the author.

The next blog is Cool Cat Teacher. This blogger is known for technology integration in the classroom. However on New Year's Day, she had a blog post about being teacher-reacher. This post has reenergized me and really reaffirms my purpose in the classroom. The stories that she shares of two educators who were teacher-reacher are inspiring.

Finally, Eduflack is written by Patrick Riccards. This past Sunday, he wrote a really good blog post about a spam e-mail he received on a quick and easy scheme to obtain a teaching credential. It really hit home for me the misconceptions that people in the general public have about teaching, that is, that anyone can do it and it can be done in "six easy lessons." (Of course, it also brings to mind the fact that my Superintendent believes that good curriculum trumps an effective teacher, but that's a whole 'nother ball of wax!)

I've linked to Mr. D over at "I want to teach forever" not too long ago. However, yesterday's post is one I thought would be of great use to those of us in the classroom. He is asking for submissions from current teachers under what he has deemed to be an ambitious project titled "52 Teachers, 52 Lessons." His prompt is: "What is the most important advice you can give to other teachers?" If this something you're interested in doing, head on over to his blog and read the submission requirements.

Finally, Angela at The Cornerstone Blog had a hilarious post yesterday showcasing the LOL cats. It's focus is on administrators. It will have you LOL (or at least chuckling to yourself making those around you wonder what the hell is so funny!).

Hope everyone back in the classroom has a great remainder of the year! Today is my first day back and I expect that I'll be exhausted, but in a good way.

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New to Teacher Tip Tuesday? Be sure to check out my previous posts!

Guitar Teen's New Schedule

Guitar Teen received his new schedule for this term. He started his classes today, so I called him up about an hour after school let out to find out about his day.

Me: So, how were all your classes?
GT: Good.
Me: You find them all okay?
GT: Yes.
Me: You want to tell me something more that doesn't require just a one word answer.
GT: Well, my English teacher is a former cheerleader for the 49ers.
Me: Really?
GT: yeah, I really like her class (sheepish laugh follows).
Me: So, she's attractive?
GT: you could say that.

Anything that will get him to do well in class is a good thing, I suppose! (Do you think I should buy him Van Halen's Hot for Teacher?)

Meeting Bloggers in Real Life!

On Saturday, I had the distinct pleasure of meeting Liz from I Speak of Dreams. To paraphrase Liz, it really was like getting together with an old friend. I arrived at our agreed location around 10, met up with Liz at about 10:20 and then before I knew it, it was time to leave! The few hours that we spent together, we talked about all kinds of things, some relating to education, some about our kids (that's what moms do) and a lot of other things.

It was a Saturday well spent and I'm glad that I settled some of my own inner fears. I look forward to meeting with her again soon!

Two blogging friends met in real life - too many to count to go!

The Break that Never Ends!

That is what this two week break has felt like to me. It has been a nice, long break and something that I've needed. While I have done some school related work, most of my time has been devoted to doing absolutely as little as possible.

It is probably the first time since I've started teaching that I didn't spend the whole two weeks obsessing about the rest of the school year and/or grading papers! I can say unequivocally that not doing anything school related during this two week respite is one of the best decisions I've made.

While most of my blogging teaching colleagues go back to school tomorrow, I don't return until Tuesday. We do have a teacher inservice tomorrow, however, I've decided not to attend. Instead I am going to find out if my school is open (the teacher inservice is a field trip into the city during commuting hours - not my idea of fun) and if it is, I'll take my refrigerator, my radio and other stuff, and get those things back into my classroom. Otherwise I'll have to wait until Tuesday after school to do it.

As far as my literature unit goes, I have the first half of the book completed. I've also decided that I will let my GATE students decide which grade they want. Each day there will be tasks that need to be completed which I have put on a calendar. This calendar will be in the folder that I will be providing for each of my students. In order to get an "A" grade, students will need to complete all the tasks for the week (4 days of work), a "B" grade, students will complete 3 days of work, a "C" grade, 2 days and a "D" grade, 1 day. Students will be earning weekly grades on this, so that one week they can earn "A" grade and another week, they can earn a "C" grade.

I'm then thinking that perhaps for those students who have done ALL the work and have earned a 85% or better on all the quizzes, will not have to take the final test. (I know this goes against my earlier post about my son's Biology teacher, but I'm always willing to try new things!) All students will have to do a culminating project which will tie the book in with some portion of the civil rights movement.

So those are my thoughts on this. Now, I've got to get into the shower and get something accomplished, um, like get the Christmas stuff put away. Have a great day everyone!

Ms-Teacher Sounds Off!

This is going to be a new feature that will run on the week-ends on topics that pique my interests. These topics will usually be educationally related, however, there may be times where I go off on a tangent rationally discuss something topical in the news.

One of the hot topics in education circles is merit pay. When I had the pleasure of attending the NEA-RA this past summer in Washington, D.C., then Presidential hopeful, Barack Obama spoke to the 10,000 plus teachers assembled. There was much enthusiasm when he spoke, except when he spoke about merit pay. I was astonished and somewhat disappointed in my colleagues when many of them booed him.

As teachers, we are so unwilling to listen to anything that we think goes against our interest. I understand why so many are against merit pay, but what I don't understand is the absolute shutting down of ideas that may be different from our own. The way I see it? If we don't take a place at the table when discussing merit pay, then we will have no say at all when it happens and we definitely won't like it.

I know about the problems that surround merit pay. As a teacher in a school district that routinely loses close to 100 teachers every year due to the stresses of teaching in this district, I understand where my colleagues are coming from. When I have students who are out of school more than they are in school, I don't like the idea of someone holding me accountable for their test scores. As a teacher who has taught GATE students this year and really like what I'm seeing so for on our District testing, guess which group of students I would like to teach every single year if merit pay ever came into play in my District?

I get it and I understand the frustrations that teachers have when it comes to merit pay. However, I also understand that this is something that is not likely to go away anytime soon. Teachers also didn't like the idea of charter schools, but many on the outside did. Charter schools did not go away just because we tried to ignore it.

I would rather that as teachers who I already know are highly intelligent and creative to begin with, join the discussion. We need to listen to the critics. We can no longer sit with our fingers in our ears hoping that the discussion on merit pay will just simply go away.

Recently I was at a staff lunch at my school site. One of the teachers at my table brought up Obama and his new pick to head the DOE, Arne Duncan. She was very displeased with this pick and started to rant about merit pay. After she was done talking, I started to talk about how I felt that it was important for teachers to be leading these talks rather than hoping that if we rant loud enough about our opposition, then the merit pay discussion will simply disappear. As I was talking, she left the table and proceeded to ignore me for the remainder of lunch. I really could not believe it.

However it is something that I see a lot when it comes to some teachers, usually many of whom have been in the trenches a long time. I understand their frustrations. The unfortunate reality is that teachers have a lot of stuff thrown at them by many on the outside who think they know what's best. Then when it doesn't work out, guess who usually gets blamed? Teachers and their lack of "fidelity" to the program. So, I get it.

That being said, I do not think that merit pay is going to go away. Especially not when we have a soon to be President and his choice for DOE already in strong support of it. Therefore, we need to demand a place at the table and demand that those in leadership positions in the NEA and AFT speak to us in the trenches about what we think merit pay ought to look like. To do otherwise is simply put, stupid.

India

Image linked from PBS.

One of the units I cover in my Ancient History class is ancient India. I also subscribe to PBS Teacher's Teacher Preview e-mail, which gives teachers information on upcoming programs, along with resources we can use in the classroom. In today's e-mail, PBS provided information on an upcoming week-long series on The Story of India.

In looking at their teacher lesson plans for this series, I think it will fit quite nicely with what I'm doing with my GATE students. The other really cool part of this? I have a student from India this year who is quite proud of his Indian heritage and I think that he will really enjoy this series as well.

Thank you PBS!

Getting Healthy

One of my intentions this year (note I did NOT type resolution or goals) is to get healthier. I already know that I do not eat enough fruits or vegetables and I know that I do not exercise enough. My intention is NOT to lose weight, rather it is just to be healthier and happier with my body because modifications that I'm making.

If you want to join me in this journey, I have set up a blog called "Getting Healthy." At this point in time, I only want it accessible to those who want to join. One of the best ways to stay motivated when starting something like this is to have other like-minded individuals join in. If this something you're interested in, please drop me an e-mail.