Fortune Cookie

From my fortune cookie:

Discontent is the first step in the progress of a man or a nation.

My husband wants me to frame this one.

Workers Of NYC

I Love This Guy

The Dingers had everyone over to celebrate the Fourth of July. Imagine, we have been getting together like this for over 30 years.

These people, my Julia Richman friends, the people I started teaching with and grew up with are the best. I have many good friends from my current school but none like this group.

Thanks Dingers. We all love you!

Adventures In NYC Continue

It is hard to believe that we are only off one week. I feel I have done so much already. The above picture was taken on the E train yesterday. Three Mexican men serenaded us for a stop. What a bunch of talented guys.

We took the subway all the way to South Ferry and walked through Battery Park, one of my favorite places in the entire city, to the Jewish Heritage Museum.

This is a statue outside Clinton Castle (where you get tickets to ferry to Ellis Island and Stature of liberty. The stature commemorates all the immigrants who have come to the United States. This little girl snuggled inside was so appropriate.

The flowers were in full bloom.









Line to buy tickets at Castle Clinton. I'm sure the wait was at least 3 hours. Note to anyone planning a visit--find out what time tickets go on sale and get there at least 30 minutes earlier.


There were lots of people dressed like this outside Castle Clinton, trying to make a buck posing for pictures.
The Jewish Heritage Museum has an exhibit now on Swastikas and Jim Crow. It is all about how Jews, escaping Nazi persecution ended up in the south, at African American Colleges, such as Howard, Talladega and Tougaloo. These schools needed teachers and hired these scholars. Both groups of people had been severely persecuted and there was mutual sympathy. I quote Albert Einstein, because he said it the best:

The separation of the races is not a disease of colored people. It is a
disease of white people. I do not intent to be quiet about it.

No pictures are allowed in the museum but I did take a few looking out the window and in the restaurant.

Water pitcher--Orthodox Jews have a hand washing ritual before eating.

View from a staircase window.

Right outside the museum was a wonderful water sculpture. This bird was having fun cooling off.

Old apartment building across street from the museum.

Fraunces Tavern--the place Washington bid a final farewell to his troops.

These old books brought back memories. They were laying in the trash near Brooklyn Bridge.

Fulton Market
These radishes made a great, low calorie lunch.

Even entertainment in the street--Fulton Market.

The Brooklyn Bridge

It used to be that the biggest con game around was when someone tried to sell you the Brooklyn Bridge. That game is being replaced by an even bigger one: Bloomberg's claim that he has improved the quality of education in NYC and the UFT's claim that it works for the teachers it represents.

I fulfilled a summer goal today by walking over (not buying) the real Brooklyn Bridge. I wish the pictures were in better order but I haven't mastered the art of easily moving them around yet, so this will have to do. I also wish I had used my new camera but once again, I was afraid to take it out in the rain.

View from the Brooklyn side.

Manhattan skyline from the bridge.

Water tower in Manhattan, from bridge.

These enterprising young people were selling cold drinks.

View of Brooklyn.

Brooklyn Bridge with Manhattan Bridge in the background.

Lots of people had the same idea I did and walked today.

(Cars below the pedestrian level)

Below the bridge (Manhattan side)

Underside of the bridge

Street view--Manhattan side

More great NYC pictures coming this weekend.

Internal Hiring Support Center

I just got the following e-mail from my ATR friend.

Internal Hiring Support Center called me today, to ask if I would sign up for an interview technique class that they offer or a job fair. And had I been using the open to hire for jobs?

Yes, I told them I had been applying to the open to hire, but that in 2 years of applying I had not gotten one interview. I informed them that I have an AP and Principal license and have gotten plenty of interviews for AP . It seems strange that I can get AP interviews but can not get one interview for a teaching job in my district. Perhaps they can get me teaching interviews? I also informed them since I worked last year for the University of Santa Cruz and the DOE with Fellows, on a DOE leave, it seems strange that the only organization I can't seem to get a teaching interview with is the DOE. Also, I informed them that I do not need interview technique skills, because I was a Mentor for three years and can teach interview skills.

They then asked if I would come to a Job Fair? Why? Why should I leave my district where there are jobs, which I am not getting interviewed for? This is totally ridiculous. ATR mentors should be placed in their home schools as jobs become available. We were moved from those schools to work as mentors for the UFT and the DOE, who both had people on the interviewing committees to choose the mentors. If we were good enough, " The brightest and the best" to quote Mr. Klein, we should be returned to our home schools.

I think the real reason I am not getting interviewed is because of age and salary. This is really terrible as I have a lot of training and background to offer a school. But to have the DOE call and suggest I take an interviewing class is really insulting.

My friend is depressed. She has done everything right but no jobs are materializing. A former principal told her she costs too much money and should look for a job somewhere else. She wishes she had a tape rolling during the conversation. The UFT says she should be happy she is getting a paycheck, and while she is happy to get paid, that is not enough. She is a teacher who wants to teach. There are students out there who deserve a teacher like her.



We are guessing there might have been motivations besides the obvious with this phone call? Have any other ATRs been approached in the same manner?

NYC PEP Sept. 2007

Norm Scott video on rubber room hearings.

Tables Of Chelsea

Above flowers were on outdoor tables at a restaurant in Chelsea.

A Student's Perception Of Math B

(Please click on each picture to read. It is worth the time.)
The teacher of the young man that wrote this answer was agonizing over this and this boy's other answers. You see, this young man did not want to take math B, but was forced to. During the term, he either did exceptionally well or was clueless, depending upon his level of interest at the moment.

The teacher agonized because he worried about his statistics. He knew this boy would bring them down.

I hate to write this, but I really think Suit made the right decision when he forced this boy to take the course. Although he might not have learned all the teacher wanted him to, he had to pick up quite a bit of material. The prose in this essay is a testament to the child's intelligence. Too many kids go into college totally unprepared for the math they will have to take. No matter how little this boy did, he did something and he learned something. He was exposed to the material and because of this he do better later on.

I don't remember a time in the past when teachers worried more about statistics than education. When will we wake up and see that school is so much more than numbers?

TeachersUnite.Net

Teachersunite.net is a great new organization to help teachers get together, to know their rights and to just help one another. This group is doing what the UFT has failed to do. The thing that impressed me the most about this organization is its members who range in age from the very young to the retired. Some have had problems with their schools, others are just looking to strengthen their chapters and to help others.

I thought I was pretty knowledgeable about my rights but I picked up quite a bit of information from one of their handouts.

1. Assault--While I knew a report should be filed I had no idea that the principal is required to investigate and write a report, including statements by witnesses. I also had no idea that the chapter leader was supposed to be involved. Our old one couldn't be bothered when I had the intruder in the room.

2. Conferences--cannot exceed 40 minutes. Our old principal would get mad when we got up to leave and our conferences were one period--45 minutes long. The agendas for faculty conferences are supposed to be in consultation with the UFT chapter committee.

3. Professional Activity Options--You are required to select a professional activity and to work on it--but, you need not spend every minute of your professional period working on it. (We are told to be on our tutoring and/or hall patrol assignments on time.) Involuntary assignments must be made on a rotational basis in inverse seniority order. Before the end of the current school year your principal must notify you in writing as to which professional activity you have been assigned for the upcoming year. (We have never been told this.)

4. Teacher Facilities--You are entitled to have adequate supplies in teacher washrooms, including toilet paper, paper towels and soap. (Not always available. Many teachers bring their own soap.)

(Pictures taken with Olympus on way to meeting.)

I loved the reflections of the old building in this new one.

Next two pictures--old apartment building is on 14th and 7th.

Window on 7th Ave

New glass condo on 8th Ave and 14th St

Herald Square

(Pictures taken with my Olympus. I was afraid of rain and didn't want to risk my new toy.)

Herald Square, along with Times Square is closed off to vehicular traffic. I got a charge out of watching the chess and checker games right in the middle of the city. (Opposite Macy's)

Super Pii Pii Brothers

Only my son would find this!

Thank goodness he just got a job (a really good one) and will not have so much free time on his hands.

Something Is Rotten And It's Not In Denmark

Suppose an ATR has been working at a certain school, covering a complete program, a program that consists of three classes in her license area. Suppose the ATR has gone above and beyond any teacher's requirements to assure her students are successful. Suppose the ATR is only an ATR because her previous mentor job no longer exists. Suppose that ATR was asked to mentor new teachers.

Wouldn't you also suppose that the ATR would be first in line to get appointed when a position in her subject area opened up?

Office Furniture

My mother-in-law taught me all I ever needed to know about beach chairs. My parents were never big beach goers so I had to rely on her. All her years in a Rockaway bungalow made her an expert.

First thing is never buy a beach chair without screws. This way, when the web breaks, it can be easily replaced. Next, she taught me how to replace the webbing. She showed me how the webbing from a broken chair can be recycled to one with a good frame. She taught me how to prowl the beach blocks looking for discarded chairs that could be used. She never worried about matching colors.

My mother-in-law would be so proud of me. It is not easy to find webbing anymore, but I found this other stuff that works almost as well. My chair has strips of 5 different colors, only a few of which are ripping at the moment.

My kids hate this chair. They called me trailer trash for using it, long before I was called trailer trash because of my classroom. They've offered to replace it many times. My husband even bought me a new one that I have yet to use.

My frugal upbringing will never leave me and I will never get rid of my chair. This is our 28th summer together.

My First Photos

Okay, so I took 246 photos in less than 30 minutes and most did not come out great. I did get a few good ones.

The ever photogenic Larry





Camera shy Rita



Neighborhood flower

If you look at these in a slide show, you can see the flag moving.

Not bad considering this car was going 30 mph.

Spinning fan.

Apologies

Orkut Myspace Sorry Comments &
Graphics

Schoolgal reprimanded me for being so hard on this guy. She reminded me of his predecessor who was featured on the front page of the Post, smiling as he talked to a reporter about overcrowding. His predecessor saw nothing wrong with kids eating lunch at 9:00 AM, taking gym outside in frigid weather or the school giving dance lessons in the hallways with music so loud no one could hear themselves think. At least this guy recognizes a problem exists and wants to do something about it.

Apologies! And, thanks Schoolgal for the reminder!

It's Here

And it was only ordered yesterday! I love it! I already took over 100 pictures.

The Good, The Bad and The Ugly

Reflections on the June 26, 2009

The Good
1. Two teachers were assigned to every room which made giving out report cards and taking attendance easy.

2. We did not have to keep them in the room for 40 minutes.

The Bad
1. No food on the last day.
2. No formal goodbyes to all the retirees, some who gave a major part of their lives to helping students.

3. The machine that sells water was empty.
4. No one fed us for the first time ever.

The Ugly
1. Listening to APs drone on about improved regents scores when we all know how meaningless these scores really are.
2. The UFT meeting.

3. Being one of the only schools forced to stay until the end of the day.
4. Not a morsel to eat or drink.

Lazy, Hazy, Crazy Days of Summer

Old broken lawn mower--going out in the trash

Same for this broken old hose.

My family is officially ready for me to go back to work. One day off and already I have a list of jobs to get done. They are rebelling. They seem to enjoy doing relaxation. Today we tackled the garage. It still doesn't look great, but at least you can walk in there now. I wish I had taken a before picture to show how improved it is.

They'll Be Better With This

My new toy.

It should be here by the end of the week.

4100 Into 2100 Does Not Go

This guy speaking in this article is obviously not a math person. Four hundred less will not do the trick.

When you bargain, you always have to start asking for the impossible and hope you can negotiate down to something agreeable to both parties. I know you have to start somewhere, but a bigger number would have been better.

Be Prepared, Not

Kids came into the regents exam with their I-pods and cell phones but forgot to bring pens, pencils, calculators and ID cards. Why? Is it because they were not emotionally, mentally or educationally ready to take these courses and sit for these exams?

One girl, during the Global Regents said, "Can you read me the instructions? I am too lazy to read them myself." I thought, maybe she cannot read. but, if she can't read, how could she possibly take this exam? She got to the essays and stopped. "I'm too tired to do all this writing. I think I did well enough on the short answers to pass." I pushed and pushed her and got her to write. I don't know if she finished or wrote anything coherent, but she wrote. Her attitude alone told me that something was seriously wrong with our education system. I have never, in over 30 years teaching, had a kid tell me they were too tired to finish an exam that meant passing or failing a year long course and was crucial to graduation.

The Summer Begins

I'm embarrassed to write that in all the years I have lived in Queens, today was only my second visit to Long Island City and my first time at Socrates Sculpture Park.

All I can say about this place is WOW!!! The view of Manhattan is phenomenal and the pieces of art along the way are great. My favorite part of the art was that there were no guards around warning you not to touch. Children ran freely through the sculptures, clearly having a wonderful time.



Kids playing on a tugboat


This sign must mean something.

This vise was in an artist work area as were the next few pictures.


Arm wrestling.

We hit the park today because of an article about a Craft Makers Fair. There were three tents set up with the work of various artisans around the city. I wish I could afford to buy what they sold because there stuff was so great. At least I had a chance to view it and take a few picture.






This stool is made of recycled egg cartons.

After viewing the sculptures and the crafts we walked along the waters edge. I LOVE NY.

Park and playground area.

East River views
Fishing for striped bass. I'm told they are safe to eat but, I don't think I would try.
You really don't have to spend a lot of money (or any money) to have a good time in this city. You just have to know where to look.

Sunset

Finally, we have had two days of sunshine and the sunset yesterday was magnificent.

Port Washington, NY

Zale

Zale is one tough little girl. I met her when she was in tenth grade and she scared the crap out of me in the beginning. Then I got to know her, to understand her, to see where she was coming from and where she intended to go. And my fear turned to respect and to love.

You see, Zale entered Packemin HS with deficits in English and in math. Before she even started ninth grade, she attended summer school for English. She did not want to be in that awful ramp up program for underachievers and she did not want to have to take double period English. She successfully completed the program and avoided the class. Zale did end up in a double period math class. Luckily she had a great teacher who was a strong disciplinarian with a soft spot for kids like her. This teacher was able to get Zale through her first two terms of math A successfully.

Zale went from a double period math class to a single period class. She did not have the extra class time she needed and the work was much harder. Zale was determined. The attitude I saw was just her determination to succeed and succeed she did. She successfully completed that year with me and did very well on the regents.

With eleventh grade came Math B, a much, much harder class. Zale ended up with a teacher that was good, but whose heart was not as soft. Although she passed, she did not do as well and she was not happy. Zale was determined to do better. She set her mind on getting transferred into my class and managed to succeed. She did not even mind staying an extra period because that was when the class met. During that semester, I learned that she had failed the Global regents in tenth grade and had to retake it. I heard her repeatedly say "I am not a Black statistic. I am going to pass that test." And, pass it she did.

Twelfth grade brought her to her last math regents. I couldn't do much for her as I wasn't teaching the course and wasn't free when she was. Unfortunately she did not make it in January. But Zale, determined as ever, studied on her own, came in for some tutoring and passed the exam this June. (She also passed college now math.) On Friday, when Zale picks up her diploma, it will have that gold seal on it, the seal that says it is an Advanced Regents Diploma.

High School was not easy for this girl. According to all statistics, the probability of her not making it was high. The deck was stacked against her achieving all she did. This determined little girl beat the odds. I know she will go on to be a huge success. I am glad that I was around to be a part of it. I know if I wasn't there she would have found someone else to help her through.

Congrats Zale! Knowing you has enriched my life.

The Math Teacher Gets Married

The Prize Fighter

I'm a fighter. Knock me down and I'll get up and keep on fighting. Punch me, I'll punch you back. Maybe I am too stupid to quit or maybe I am just stubborn, but I never give up. I might be injured badly. I might be bleeding, but I won't stop. You might be hurting me but I'll keep giving it to you back and you will not see my pain.

The Suit Free school year has come to an end and for once I am ending the year without any broken limbs and blood stained clothes. I know there were years I was the victor in our battles, but I was injured nevertheless. Right now, I keep looking for some wound I missed and I can't find it. I can't believe that I don't hurt anywhere and it feels so good. But, I am not secure. I don't trust. My antennae is always up and I am ready and willing to get back in the ring whenever necessary.

Horse S**t

An article in Newsday today explained Merryl Tisch's reasoning for moving standardized testing from the winter to May--TEACHER ACCOUNTABILITY--MORE TIME FOR TEST PREPARATION!

When the tests are given in the winter it is hard to know which teacher screwed up when the kid did not improve. This is important because everyone knows the teacher is the only factor in education.

What a crock of DOO DOO! This is just another way to play the blame game.

And more test prep time. What the school's really need is MORE LEARNING TIME!

Mr No Longer aka CL Emeritus

I should have written this post way before the last one. I can't believe I missed him. He is a worthy subject for my bitchiness.

Mr. No Longer has been our chapter leader for as long as I am at Packemin HS (1985) and for many years even before that. He is a huge over powering man who gives the appearance of knowing what is going on. In actuality, he only knows what is going on in every restaurant in NYC.

I met Mr. No Longer on my the first day at Packemin HS. He told me to see him about any problems. Now, the school I came from had a great CL who really knew answers and how to get things done so I assumed all CL's were the same (I was an excellent example of a stupid teacher back then) and went to him with a problem. His advice was awful. In fact, he went behind my back to Principal Fire and started the ball rolling to begin my reputation as a trouble maker.

After that episode, I avoided Mr. No Longer for three years. I only went to him then because I wanted to transfer to the math department (my license and my appointment was to that department from the special education department.) Mr. No Longer told me to wait and see what happened in September. By then it would have been too late. Once again, Mr. No Longer gave really bad advice. (I got lucky, the new spec ed chairman did not want me any more than the math chairman did but the math chairman got stuck with me because of my license.)

Over the years, Mr. No Longer was forced to run for CL again. Some years he ran unopposed. On the years when others went against him, he campaigned vigorously, became super useful and helpful and convinced enough of the stupids to vote for him. I'm proud to say I was never one of those stupids.

I was on the exec board with Mr. No Longer for years. It was one of the most frustrating experiences of my life. His issues were the only ones we ever discussed. I happily gave up my position as soon as someone else wanted it. I've never been known as a shrinking violet but even I could not get a word in with him around.

Well, Mr. No Longer is retiring. But, he still has to have his finger in the pot. Maybe he is related to Suit? He might even call himself CL Emeritus. He tried (unsuccessfully) to replace himself with a clone. He declared the delegate election which he ran illegal because of a technicality and ran a new election. He must really be pissed because he could not put the people in he wanted. Now he is trying a new tactic. He is trying to turn Mr. Tie into Mr. No Longer. This won't work. Mr. Tie is a man of intelligence and integrity whose interests include things that are not related to his appetite. Things are going to change for the better.

Bring On The Beer

Anyone interested, send me your e-mail and we can set up a date!

All of us bloggers have got to go out and get drunk together!

Let's plan a drinking fest in the NYC area.

He's Going Out With (out) Any Class

We had our last union meeting of the year today. Actually, it was our only union meeting of the year. Its purpose was to vote on some C-6 assignments and some comp time jobs.

The meeting was held in our school auditorium and we all learned how that poor lobster must feel as he is dunked into a pot of boiling water. But, wanting to do the right thing, we all stayed.

Mr. No Longer CL ran the meeting but he had Mr. Tie (our new CL) assist him. I felt so bad for Mr. Tie. Mr. No Longer rambled on and on and totally confused all the issues. He called for a vote but some people rightly wanted discussion. The acoustics in our auditorium are awful and trying to make sense out of anything said is nearly impossible. We did hear Mr. No Longer say that we could accept the entire slate as written, reject the entire slate as written or accept or reject individual parts. An overwhelming majority voted to accept entirely. But, this was not good enough for him. He then proceeded to read each job separately and call for individual votes. Little by little people left. I tried to hold on but after a while I too just gave up. I think there were about 10 people left at the end of the meeting. We were also supposed to vote for two teachers for the leadership committee. I don't even know if this came to be.

Our last day is the day all our retiring members and members with upcoming weddings or births get gifts. By the time Mr. No Longer got around to this, most people were no longer there.

I watched Mr. Tie while this was going on. He looked annoyed and frustrated by the fact he could do nothing to stop this fiasco. I would think Mr. No Longer did this on purpose to complicate Mr. Tie's life in September, but I doubt it. This is the way he runs everything.

Mr. Tie will have his work cut out for him in September. He will have to clean up the mess Mr. No Longer left for him today.

For Helping Her Get The Advanced Regents Diploma

And you wonder why I won't retire? (From one of the girls who came for Math B help. she got her advanced regents diploma.)

Bridge Anyone?

I heard that there will be three principals will be in one building this summer.

Too bad there won't be four.

How are they going to manage the bridge games now?

This Just In...

Henry is cleared of all charges. There is justice in this world.


Now, let's hope he ends up in a much better place.

You Might Be The Only Suit Lover Around

Suit Lover, before you read any further let me warn you that this post totally bashes your hero. It is completely one sided and its purpose is to portray him as the egotistical fool that he is. I suggest you skip reading it because it might make you cry.

Graduation was tonight and Suit was in all his glory. Instead of a nice, short sweet congratulatory speech, he began with his usual shtick--throwing old dirty hats, the hats taken in the halls, at the kids in the audience. I wasn't the only one who didn't find this antic amusing. He then went on to brain teasers and I went out into the hall. I made a phone call, used the bathroom and still had ten minutes left before I returned. I just couldn't take him. Now Suit Lover, I know you think that plenty of kids love him, but you are wrong. The kids walked out in droves too and they were complaining non stop about how long he droned on. No one stood up for him when he got up to speak. The applause was minimal and the same is true when he finished.

Listening to him was bad, but watching him while the graduates were called up on stage was painful. He sat facing the woman next to him and talked to her non stop. His body language showed his disinterest. Not one student stopped to shake his hand and he did not bother to stand up and congratulate any of them.

Actually, Suit did one thing that I enjoyed. He talked non stop to our key note speaker (a man I dislike more than Suit and if I wasn't afraid his name would give away the school, I would mention it here) and bored the man to tears.

Hopefully Suit will take the hint that his time is over and not return next year. But, if he does, you can be sure I will be here to bash him again.

Graduation Night

This is the sign I wish I could carry at graduation. I promised my husband I wouldn't.

END
MAYORAL
SCHOOL
CONTROL
NOW

This is the sign I will carry

DANIEL
IS A
HIGH SCHOOL GRADUATE
He worked hard and made it!
CONGRATS!!!!!

My friend overcame many difficulties to make it tonight. I promised the sign if he made it and I always keep my promises. Daniel, I'm proud of you and I know that you know how happy I am right now for youand your family.

The Truth About The Rubber Room

Click here to read the true rubber room story. Thanks Henry.

The Public Needs To Know

I didn't mean to do it, but I was responsible for busting a young man's bubble. I told him the raw score to pass the Integrated Algebra regents was 30 (out of a possible 87) and that a grade of 81 equated to getting only 65% of the exam correct. His grandmother, an educated woman looked at me in disbelief. Thankfully this young man will be attending a private boarding school in Connecticut where he will be able to get a real education, an education very different than the one our education mayor has foisted upon us.

After my encounter with this family, I stopped at the community college where I teach (I had to reverse a grade) and met up with the chairperson. We had a long discussion about grades and how the high schools today are not preparing students to succeed in college. Mr. Education Mayor has improved his graduation rates and at the same time destroyed the success rates of the college.For one business to thrive another must meet the bulldozer. This is what is happening to the community colleges. Their devastation is a by product of the mayor's programs.

It is really hard to fight city hall and win. The high schools must develop curriculum that will teach the algebra basics to students who have passed the regents. They need to emphasize the skills Integrated Algebra just skims over and the regents does not test. We can't get the state to change the graduation requirements so we must be like MacGyver and work with what we have to achieve the results needed to help these kids succeed. The education mayor only cares about testing and results. Knowledge is not something that concerns him. There are courses now that supposedly do this, but I wonder how rigorous the curriculum is and how closely it parallels what is taught in the colleges. I wonder if these classes are just dumping grounds for the kids who cannot pass regents math. I worry that no one cares about these kids beyond getting them to graduate so the statistics will be good.

Group Work

Math teachers are supposed to be organized. My department is usually not. We used to mark regents without any rhyme or reason. Even in the chaos, the exams got marked. No papers ever got lost.

Several years ago, we organized into marking groups. We marked one envelope at a time. Things were a little more organized but it was still kind of a free for all.

This term we tried something different, something that should have kept everyone working. You know, every school has that group of people that manage to disappear during marking time. This method was supposed to prevent this. (It didn't. The usual group did their Houdini act and disappeared right in front of eveyone's eyes.)

Every group took six envelopes and that group was responsible for those papers. Sounds good, right? Sounds fair? Well, it wasn't. I left for an hour to go to a graduation meeting, two teachers left for extended retirement luncheons and then one left to hand in her papers. Another spent all morning doing rereads on the algebra exam. And, for the first hour, our group only had two members.

By two o'clock, several of the groups were sitting around with their hands folded, waiting until it was time to leave. My group, still short handed, kept on going. By 3:30 we all got up and left. They guy in charge said he would write the group name on the papers that needed to be finished. And then I exploded (at my poor friend who was in charge!)

I'm not marking today. Graduation is in the evening and since I am attending, I am exempt from going in to school tomorrow. Still, what's fair is fair. I hate group work. It never worked for me as a kid, it doesn't work for me in the classroom and it is not working for me as an adult.

Wish I Could Share This Here

I can only share this over there.

Bloomberg's Tax Shelter

It's funny how when things turn out good, that instead of being happy about the good turn out, you think about all the things that could have been done differently to make the good turn out even better.

The Math B results are almost in. I was able to find the papers of 6 of the kids I tutored on Monday and Tuesday, the kids that retook the regents without taking the class. Of these 6, 4 passed!!!! At least four more kids will be getting advanced diplomas because of the help I gave them. (Of course Mr. AP says it was a much easier regents than the one in January and that is why they did so much better, but I know the truth.) One girl told me she only took the exam because she was afraid I would call her mother (kids don't call me bull dog for nothing) if she didn't take it.

So now, instead of being happy, I am more pissed than usual. If it wasn't for the crazy overcrowding in our building, I would have been working with these kids for several weeks and more of them would be getting that advanced diploma.

Bloomberg, I know you don't care anything about me or my students but if I ever had an opportunity to meet you, I would tell you a thing or two. I am sure you don't read this blog, or even know that it exists, but since the face to face isn't coming off, I'll tell you what I think here:

You want schools to follow the business model. You run an extremely successful business, a business that has made you a billionaire. You didn't achieve this by cutting corners. You spent money hiring and nurturing your staff. You provided them with a comfortable working environment. You spent your money on your staff so they in turn could use your money to develop and market successful products. In other words, being successful requires a big outlay of money. You also hired people who knew the business. I am sure you would never have hired a teacher to be your CEO as a teachers knows nothing about business, yet you have filled the DOE with lawyers and businessmen and assorted other people that know nothing about education.

If parents could find good, neighborhood high schools, Packemin HS wouldn't be as overcrowded as it is. There would have been rooms available for kids to get the help they needed. There would be more kids doing better in school.

Mayor Moneybags, my big question to you is if education is a business, why aren't you treating us like one? Or maybe you are. Are we the business you are using on your income tax as a loss? Are we your tax shelter?

Look Out Unity Party

Ms. POd is a new delegate. She has strong opinions and does not like to keep them to herself!

Math B Worries

The Math B regents was yesterday. The kids were worried as it is probably the last time they would be able to take this exam. (We are only offering the new trig course in September.) Here are a few pictures I took of the kids right before the exam. Most had books and study notes in front of them for that last minute cram. I even had eight show up this morning for some extra help. (I am not even teaching Math B this term.)












This one was taken in front of Subway, about 3 blocks from the school.

The more juicy part of this post is not here. I originally wanted to publish it publicly, and while this guy deserved to be castrated, I cannot be the one to do that to a fellow teacher so you can only read about it if you have access to this.

Seventh Ave--Midtown

OTB--my father-in-law (who I loved dearly) was addicted to this place so I have special feelings for all the men hanging outside.

Gargoyle--you don't have to go to Europe to see them, they are all over NYC

Love the detail on this building.

Old Jewish man in garment district.

Fashion district--garment center

People claim that you can't find a decent bathroom in NYC. That just is not true. You have to know where to look. If you happen to be on 7h Ave in the lower 30's, try the one in the LIRR waiting room in Penn Station. It is brand new, spotlessly clean.

Automatic sink and soap . Also, hand towels and blow dryers. What more can anyone want?

Seat covers in every stall.
As you must know by now, I am obsessed with bathrooms.

The Bolt for a Buck bus, the one my daughter took back to Baltimore. This has got to be the best value ever. (It actually cost her $15.50 round trip but it was still a great bargain.)

Turtle Droppings

I'm sitting with the half gallon of ice cream as I read this!  My kids always went to camp the day after school ended.   i wouldn't have survived anything else.

Rubber Room Movie Trailer / www.rubberroommovie.com

Chi Town Girl and Mathematicamama asked me about the rubber room. The story in Yahoo (I won't even link it here) portrays the rubber room as a place where teachers sit and read and relax and do nothing to earn their $100,000 a year paycheck.

While their are teachers who should not be there, too many of my colleagues are being set up. The rubber room as too many senior teachers in it. People like Moriah (untamedteacher.blogspot.com and henry (http://getupstandupforurrights.blogspot.com/) are being framed by power hungry, vindictive principals.

I hope this video explains the true story to you.

I Need This

Chelsea

Chelsea--there are gardens and playgrounds and interesting restaurants in this bustling area of the city.

Robert Hall

Robert Hall was a discount clothing store which flourished from 1938 - 1966. In fact, this store was a pioneer of the low overhead, large facility operation. Cheaply made goods, together with extensive advertising on television and radio led to the success of this operation. Their ads were catchy. Just thinking about how Bloomberg and Klein are touting increased graduation rates brought one of them to mind.

When the prices go down down down
And the values go up up up
Robert Hall this season
Will show you the reason
High quality! Economy

I just changed a few words and dedicate it to them:

When graduation rates go up up up
And learning goes down down down
Joel Klein will show you
The reason he gives you
Low quality! Economy

Yes, Klein and Bloomberg have economized on the education of the students of New York by:
1. Pushing credit recovery classes in place of real classes to make students repeat what they have not learned.
2. Boot camps and seat time to do the same as #1
3. Tests with passing grades so low no actual knowledge is required to pass them (actually, this comes from the state, not them--Merryl Tisch, you might want to look into this.)
4. Non-stop test prep so no real learning can take place.
5. Closing instead of fixing troubled schools causing other schools to be overcrowded.
6. Valuable resources and space given to charter schools.
7. The largest class size in the state
8. Continued harassment (rubber rooms and ATR treatments) of senior teachers.
9. Trailer classrooms in desperate need of repair.
10. Austerity budgets.
11. Aris
12. Tweed staff


Robert Hall closed its doors in 1966. Will Bloomberg and Klein be closing the doors on our children in the future? Will their education continue to be a huge warehouse of cheaply made goods and catchy phrases such as Keep It Going NYC Public Schools and this report from Gotham Schools?

Bloomberg--YOU SUCK!!!!!!

I had this brilliant idea to help the kids that failed the Math B regents in January. It was brilliant because the kids were psyched to do it and it would not cost the school one penny. And, I know it would have worked. I'm really good at teaching kids how to take a test and I know I could have taught them math along the way. Unfortunately the plan was never carried out. Packemin HS is so overcrowded the period that would have worked for me and the kids had NO AVAILABLE ROOMS. Thanks Bloomberg. Keep building your little high schools and your charter schools. Don't even think twice about the majority of the kids that attend their neighborhood schools and attend schools like Packemin because we are so much better than their neighborhood schools.

I know the smaller group would have worked. I got 15 kids to come in today to work on Math B. I know, I'm insane. I'm not even teaching Math B this term. (So, Bloomberg and Obama, if these kids do well, I would not qualify for any merit pay because I am not a teacher of record for them.) I had a lot of these kids last year and feel responsible for them. For many, all they need is this one regents to get that little sticker on their diploma. The kids told me today they accomplished more today than they could have ever done on their own and in the big classes.

So, Mr. Education Mayor, do something about the education of the students of NYC. It is time to put your money where your mouth is. Smaller classes and schools with the populations they are built for work. You would never have sent your children to a school like ours. Why should our children have to settle for so much less of an education?

Times Square

I finally got to see the glass steps and the lawn chairs on Broadway from 45th to 47th. As an extra bonus, enjoy the pictures of the Naked Cowboy. He does have a good body but I would not want to rub against it like all these women were doing. Yuck! Sweat City.

Lots of people are complaining about the tackiness of beach chairs. Personally, I think they are great. I love tacky.

The New Year Eve's ball. It is up all year round now.

Fun billboards on the side of a building.

I don't like Guinness (yes, there is one beer I can't drink) but I loved the perfect pint.

High Line Park

When I am on a mission, nothing stops me. Today's rain might have made a normal person stop and think, but not me. I was only a mile from my goal, so, armed with my trusty umbrella, I kept walking. (I'm glad my husband stayed home. I love him but he is a woos when it comes to walking in a park in the rain.)

I wanted to see High Line Park, the new park in the city built above ground, running from the Meat Packing District, on Gavensport to 20th St between 10th and 11th Ave. When completed, the park will run to 34th St. I got off the train at 47th and 6th (I was tired of sitting), walked my daughter to her $1 bus for her return trip to Baltimore and then headed down. Since I was already on 33rd and 7th, a few more blocks wouldn't hurt. Little did I know that the only entrance to the park was the one south of 14th St.

I stopped at the Chelsea Market along the way. Everything looked so good, but since I pigged out at breakfast, looking was all I did. (I did not even photograph the food.)

The park is spectacular. It is built above the city, on an old railroad line. The tracks are still there. The view is unbelievable. As you can see from the pictures, I was not the only one to brave today's weather. I bet no one walked as far as I did to get there.

The view from the glass window pictured below this one.

Street view of the above window.

Nice lounge chairs along the way.

I tried to frame this guy. through the arches in a small area of park.

The benches all had "slides" attached. The kids were having a ball going up and down them.

Flowers between the tracks.

New buildings

Flowers.

These two were actually posing for someone elses picture. They were looking up ahead to where the park will be extend to.


I want to live in the city so badly I would trade my house for this. Unfortunately, I would have to give up my husband too and that I am not ready to do.

If only I could afford this......

Another attempt at framing. NJ is in the background.

These bridges between buildings always fascinated me.

Old building

I had to cheat and walk off the path to get the next two. They were in some one's yard.

Almost took a mini cruise from here once. We backed out at the last minute and had dinner in the village instead.

Meat Packing Trucks. In all my trips to the city, this was my first visit here. I am planning on going back to really explore the area.
I always liked these vertical parking lots. (I never trust my car in one of them.) The stairway down gave me a good view of them.

More new construction

Another old building

Area is really being built up.

More picture tomorrow. I have some good shots of Times Square area to share.

Saw This And Thought Of You

Dedicated to NYC Educator

Bar on 23rd St and 8th Ave

Friendships

One of the best thing about my career as a teacher is the friendships I have made along the way. I don't know of any other profession where the bonding among colleagues is so strong. I usually consider myself quite an anti-social being, yet here I am surrounded by my colleagues, my friends, celebrating the marriage of one of their daughters. Notice how nice we clean up. No one at work would ever recognize us all dressed up like this.

The wedding took place in Sayville, New York. The ceremony was on the beach. (I felt like I was at a destination wedding in Jamaica.) The rain was even good enough to hold off until it was over. The cocktail hour was inside/outside on a patio overlooking the water and the dinner was in a great ballroom. The band was great. The dancing was fun. The drinks were strong. Here are a few pictures.

The bride and groom exchanging words of love under the Chuppah.

The bridesmaids

The chuppah View from the patio

The sand ceremony--the bride and groom fill the vase with sand to symbolize the combining of their lives. Just like the grains of sand, they can never be separated.

Attention Female Teachers

The Loft will give you a 15% discount every time you shop there. Go here to sign up.

Could My Death Be More Meaningful Than My Life

I just got this e-mail from an ATR I have gotten to know through the blogosphere. Beware before you read, it is very heavy and quite depressing.

Rita,

I only made it to one interview. The other two I couldn't get to because I had to be at school. I don't have any other interviews coming in. The one job where the principal liked me didn't work out because he had already committed to someone before he met me and it looks like he needs ESL not ELA and he can't handle both an ELA and ESL. I said I would teach ESL, but he will be out of compliance. He's looking into it, but it's not promising. I said I would commit to him for next year if he would commit to me, but he didn't bite.

I have no future.

Suppose I give Joey and Mitchell to my friend Marie and I shoot myself in the stairwell at XX High. My suicide note says something like, "ATR with no future, clocking out." I explain the one "U" rating. People will say kind things about me and all the kids will say how they liked me. It looks like the Eng Regents scores for the kids I tutored are good. Colleagues will say how nice I was. The principal at XX will say I was good with the kids. My old AP at YY High School will say nice things. Even if that bitch of a principal at ZZ HS says I was "troubled" that will be one bad thing in the middle of a story which says that this ATR business is killing off fairly young, talented teachers who were making a difference.

Please tell me why my life is worth more than my death?

Don't tell anyone I asked you this. It's purely theoretical. It's just I can't see, logically, why it doesn't make more sense to take a bullet for the cause and possibly change the situation.

Jane

Postscript:

And I just wondered if I did kill myself, so long as the dog's were safe, would it be useful. Would it change the tenor of the news?

But selfishly I love being with the dogs too much right now.

I don't know this person, other than from what she writes on line and from a few e-mails. I pray she will be all right. I asked her permission before I shared this letter. It is something everyone needs to read and I know this blog is much more popular than hers. I am sure any offers of support or a job will be appreciated.

The Waiting Game

They are entering the building for another exam when they spot me. They rush over, not to say hello but to find out how they did on the geometry regents. They are concerned. They feel confident. They all walked out of last year's algebra exam feeling lost, yet they all passed and passed with decent grades. This year they were able to answer so much more. There is no way could be failing.

I wish I could have given them a positive response. While I know the raw scores, and there are guesses as to what will be passing, I cannot give most of them any reassurances at the moment. Quite a few scored in the high 50's and low 60's. They will pass, although I don't know with what grade. The 40's are more difficult to call. And, I don't want to say anything to the 30's until I know for sure. I did give bad news to one of my 20's, but I broke it to her easy, told her she passed the course and she promised to let me help her retake the exam in January.

This waiting is silly and makes no sense. Merryl Tisch, the new Chancellor of the Board of Regents wants higher standards. She talking about raising the passing grade from 65 to 75 to make the grades more meaningful. What she should be talking about is making the exams more valid. Here we gave an exam, graded the exam but will only determine its success or failure after the state scrutinizes the papers and determines exactly the grade that makes this new project a success.

All year, the kids take exams worth 100 points and know that if they get a 65 or better, they passed. The biggest exam of the year has a totally different scoring system. These poor kids will not know their regents results until Friday, the last day of school. It's not right.

Pretty Toes

To celebrate the nice weather, I got my first pedicure of the season after school today. (Red, to match my hot red dress. I am wearing it to a wedding tomorrow.)

I would have gotten a manicure too but sitting still for the length of time required does not sit well with me (no pun intended.) I usually leave before they are completely dry and have a mess on my hands before I get home. At least the toes can dry on my way home

I"m Sorry For Them

I find it sad that women today are forced to return to work immediately after giving birth. The financial situation doesn't allow them to stay home to enjoy and nourish the new lives they have produced.

It took me a long time to decide I wanted to be a mom. I didn't want to give up working and my husband did not want his children raised by a stranger. Since he made more money than I did, and I had a job that provided a long leave, it made sense for me to be the one to stay home.

The one thing that helped me decide I was ready to be a mom was my disillusionment with work. One day, I had enough and decided that I might as well have a baby. As luck would have it, I got pregnant that night.

I still wasn't sure what I wanted to do with my future, but I agreed to stay home one year and see. Well, saw I did and I shocked the hell out of myself. Once I held my beautiful daughter, I could not let her go. I could barely let her out of my sight to be with her dad or grandparents and all thoughts of daycare and babysitters were banished from my mind.

I ended up pregnant again, pretty soon after my daughter was born. The thought of two babies scared me. I cried lots. But, when I held my ugly little boy (he was probably the ugliest baby ever born, but within six weeks he could have won prizes for his beauty) and he cuddled into my arms, I melted. I had two babies, no sleep and constant hives from nerves, but I would not trade those days for anything.

I saw a young mother in school looking for a private place to express her milk. I felt so bad for her. I still get all tingly when I think about my little ones sucking away. I remember the pride I felt, going to the pediatrician and hearing how healthy they were, knowing their nourishment came from me. The biggest child hater in the world became the earth mother with her own two little ones. This mom will still have the pride of nourishing her baby but the tingle will only be felt occasionally.

I heard one of the young teachers decided to resign to be a stay at home mom. People around were shocked that she would give up her income. They couldn't understand why she would do that. Today everything is so expensive. I don't know her or her financial situation but I do know what mine was. It was hard to live on half the income we were used to. But, we lived frugally and survived. Personally, I am happy for this woman, happy for her entire family.

I might be old, but I was young once. Lucky people all get old one day. I'm glad I was young long ago and had opportunities that the young today are being forced to miss either for financial or political reasons. Whether I was a good mother or not I know that I was the mother that was there for them in their formative years.

Back Again

Along with today's sun, the writing style returns.

Fashion Follies

Lots of the girls in my classes buy all their clothes in China while visiting family during the summer. Often words are misspelled and sometimes they are used incorrectly. The kids think they look stylish (and they do) and they are happy until evil POd points out the error.

The shoes above are from China. No misspelled words here, just happy feet on a very sweet girl. She was even able to walk in them. These shoes look like the museum shoes, shoes I have seen at exhibits at FIT and in the costume institute at the Metropolitan Museum of Art. No one ever expects anyone to wear those.

Scary Night

I was frantic. It wasn't where I thought I left it. I searched. I cried. It was raining too hard to go out and get another one. I knew my husband didn't touch it. He knows better. I almost stopped dating him when he tried to take some of it. I blamed my son. He would be vicious enough to do it. I started to hyperventilate. I screamed. I didn't think I could make it through the night without it. And then, I moved some stuff around and found it hiding in the back of the freezer.

Relief.

Checkmate

Ask my students, I play hard and vicious and I play to win. One group, years ago called me Pit bull. I am the epitome of a sore loser. Now, before you read too far, see if you can figure out who this post is addressed to.

Anonymity is a wonderful thing. You can say or write anything you want without fear of repercussions and without having to own up to what you have said or done.

When the anonymous person gets tired of being anonymous, he can adopt a pseudonym and write under that name. Writing under a pen name, such as Suit Lover, gives the individual a sense of identity, a stronger commitment to what he is writing. While the individual is still unknown, he starts to believe the name he is using is real and he is now worried that he will be exposed. I know, I love being Ms. Pod and I have these same worries.

The person using the pen name might start to get some heat for the things he is writing. This causes him to get a little uptight and become defensive. The person fears that his true identity has been discovered and will be revealed. At first the writer claims not to be the person he actually is as he fears discovery. In fact, he makes up an entirely new identity, changing his age, profession and even course studies. When this tactic fails,the person tries to change writing styles. While the beginning writings might have been well written and confident, the next set is riddled with grammatical mistakes and typos. There are twists and turns that make no sense and the postings are full of contradictions. This is all an attempt to make the reader believe the author is the person he is pretending to be, not the person he is suspected of being. [He would never go to this much trouble unless he really worried about being discovered.]

Finally, this attempt to dissuade also fails. As a last ditch effort the anonymous author volunteers to reveal himself privately, if only there was a way. Just returning to the original posts shows the reader how very bright the anonymous poster is and how easy it would be to reveal himself privately. Many of the pen names of the commenters on this blog have been revealed to me. [Although by now, only a face to face would make me believe who a certain commenter actually is.]

Mr. Suit Lover, you try to convince us all that you are who you pretend to be but the game is over. Checkmate! I will not respond to your posts but feel free to comment away, as often as you like. And, on the chance that we meet and you really are an 18 year old, [I will want some proof that you are the author of the posts.] I'll admit you got me good and I will post my sincerest apologies right here on this blog.

What A Waste Of Time and Money

Four of us spent all afternoon using this


to make photo copies of the geometry regents answer sheet. We packed the originals in this

to send them to Albany so a group of people can decide on a passing grade.

We give a test, mark it and then the grade that will makes the exam a success will be determined. This should be featured in Ripley's Believe It Or Not.

(Notice I used photo shop in the bottom picture. I was able to wipe out the school's address. I feel so accomplished at the moment.)

If I Didn't Hear It With My Own Two Ears...

Mr. AP was entering regents grades into the computer this afternoon when I walked in to his office to get a few packs to photo copy before they were shipped up to Albany.

Mr. AP: Ms. Rio has two hundreds already.

Me: Ms. Rio has honor classes.

(continued here)

Surprise

I had a very pleasant surprise yesterday.


There were three erasers in the room and chalk on the board. These are unusual finds at Packemin.


But then, I needed to call the office and ask a question. The next surprise was not so pleasant.

The phone was there but the receiver was missing.

When will I learn to stop expecting everything to be as it is supposed to be?

Logistic Growth Model

For any particular species in a given environment, the carrying capacity is the maximum sustainable population. That is, it is the largest population the environment can support for extended periods of time.

A logistic model assumes that the growth rate automatically adjusts as the population approaches the carrying capacity. However, because of the astonishing rate of exponential growth, the real population often increases beyond the carrying capacity in a relatively short time. This is called overshoot.

When a population overshoots the carrying capacity of its environment, a decrease in the population is inevitable. If the overshoot is substantial, the decrease can be rapid and severe--a phenomenon known as collapse.

(source: Using and Understanding Mathematics by Jeffrey Bennett and William Biggs)

Logistic problems are quite complex to solve.

Here is a simpler problem (not a logistic growth) that deals with exponential growth. It was inspired by Arthur Goldstein's article, over at Gotham Schools, and I am dedicating it to Mayor Bloomberg.

1. Let P(t) represent the number of students attending Packemin HS at a time t years, when t is great than or equal to 0. The population, P(t) is increasing at a rate directly proportional to 800 - P(t), where the constant of proportionality is k. We know that initially the population is 500 and two years later, the population is 700.

a) Find a function to represent P(t), the population of Packemin HS at any time t.

[solution: P(t) = 800 - 800e^(-.5t ln 3) ]

b) What is the maximum capacity of the school as time approaches infinity?
[solution: 800 students]

c) What will happen to the school if it is possible for the DOE to keep adding students beyond the limiting capacity?

[solution: I'll leave this one to the mayor to figure out.]

Message To Suit Lover

He thought that if you said it loud and often enough, people would believe it is true:

I am not a crook.

You and Tricky Dick have a lot in common.

Their Reactions

The red truck on the left, the one with the double smoke stacks is the one I want to drive. Being at the wheel of one of those would so beat teaching.

Growing up in the projects, weeds were the only flowers I ever saw.

I took a walk after I finished proctoring the geometry test. I needed to de-stress myself. I took the above pictures on the way. (Photography is a great way for me to unwind. I'm going to purchase a Nikon SLR soon! I can't wait to start taking real pictures.)

I met lots of the geometry kids and they were all happy. I don't know if that means they passed or not, but they felt confident. They never felt confident when they left my exams.

I got the following unsolicited e-mails. I really hope they are a good sign.

OH MY GOD!!!!!!!!! YESSSS THANK YOU SOO MUCH MS.Pod =]
i hope i passed the regents! it was okayy...

Aw thankks =) wish i did better...[86 on the final was not good enough for this girl] i hope i did good on the regents, i did really well on the MC, i was very nervous and idont know about the short answers.

Ms.POd the regents was not that badd. You really over prepared us
if anything. It was a fair test and a lot simpler then your class tests.
But what I'm trying to say is thank you very much for everything and for
being a GREAT TEACHER. The past 2 semesters

okay ms.POd im going to be so nervous like i was today. [until I know if I passed]

The margarita above was sitting with my name on it ready to relieve the stress the walk did not accomplish. The other drinks belong to my friends. We've decided to continue this tradition in the fall.

Hard At Work

Mr. AP bought Casio graphing calculators this year. They were half the price of the TI 83 which enabled him to get twice as many for his buck. I don't blame him. It was a wise and economical move. Besides, the Casio is actually an easier calculator to use than the TI 83 and it does much more.

For more, continue reading here

Fool Me Once, Shame On You...

Fool me twice, shame on me. I hate to be shamed. I promise there won't be a third time.

There is a commenter on this blog that doesn't agree with some of the things I write, which is fine. I almost never agree with his comments. But, this commenter is slick. He manages to divert the dialog away from the posting topic to a topic of his own. He managed to convert a posting on Suit's award night pontifications to one about Suit's virtues and my shortcomings as a teacher (although in a later comment he did try to deny implying he said anything negative about me. True feelings do tend to come out when one is writing anonymously. I'm guessing that he is putting his personal feelings about me here.) There was even a post about the contradiction of not giving kids too many exams on the same day (a school policy) so as not to overwhelm them verses a thirteen period day to push them out of school (also a school policy) with no worry about overwhelming them. The commenter managed to change that discussion to a discussion about the virtues of credit recovery.

It took me a while to catch on to you, Mr. Commenter, but catch on I did. (I never claimed to be all that sharp.) I'll be watching and waiting before I engage in that sort of debate with you again. You won't be able to trap me again.

No Survivors

The mayor and the chancellor claim class size should not matter and that a quality teacher is all that is needed. Boy, can I prove them wrong this year.

My geometry classes consist of 34 kids each. Out of the 34 kids, at least 28 of them have some sort of attention deficit and have trouble focusing. This is not a good combination. They feed off of each other and it doesn't matter how they are seated. I have kids that would make friends with the cobwebs if there was no one around to talk to.

Having these problems doesn't make these kids bad kids or dumb kids but it does make it hard to teach them and it is hard for them to learn. But, the majority of them do want to succeed, although you would never believe this if you walked into my classroom and saw the cell phones and i-pods that I am constantly yelling about and listened to the mouths that do not stop yakking away.

Since the AP exam is over and my college now class is over, I feel like I am on vacation and have been able to put all my effort into these two classes. I've been grabbing the kids wherever I find them and making them work, even if it is only for ten minutes at a time. In this one-to one or small group situation, they are learning and succeeding. I can get them to do more in this mini session than I can in class in 45 minutes. (I just marked their finals and almost all passed!)

The quality of my teaching is immensely better in the small group situation. That is the one thing that works. The Bloombergs, Kleins and Obamas of the world know this. Their own children attended or attend schools with small classes. The UFT knows this. They spend thousands of our hard earned dollars going on television talking about how they got smaller classes yet my classes and those of my colleagues are still packed to the gills. Charter schools know this and they do have smaller class sizes.

Years ago I had a big aquarium. I knew that number of fish that would survive based on the size of the tank. Too many and they would all die. NYC students are like the fish in the over stocked aquarium and they are dying by the minute.

Advice To My Regent Kids

Orkut Myspace Sweet Dreams Comments & Graphics

I sent them all the following e-mail.

Just want to wish everyone good luck for tomorrow's exam.

Remember, blue or black ink only.

Sign the declaration.

Pencil for the scantron.

Study and get a good night's rest. Don't leave anything out.

Don't be nervous. I will be nervous for all of us

I hope they do all right!

The Last Day

They drove me crazy all term, yet there were tears in their eyes as they hugged me goodbye filing out of the room after the final. (I know Chaz, hugging can get me in trouble.)

Tomorrow is the regents. I told them to all go home, study and pray. There are so many different religions represented in that class, some G-d might hear our prayers and make it a fair regents with a nice curve.

I requested the trig class for next year. Insanity must run in my family because I would love another year with this group, or at least with most of them.

On another note, I got a shout out from the announcement girl as she made her final announcement of the year and forever at Packemin. She is graduating and going on to Sophie Davis. My class was very impressed.

Money

I'm getting paid for Saturday. Hooray!

Now, how to spend that money? And, what will it do to my tax bracket?