First Gay Straight Alliance Meeting

Last week was the first meeting of the Gay Straight Alliance that I agreed to be the faculty advisor for. I went to the meeting, dreading what I had gotten myself into, afraid of what I would be dealing with and pissed with myself for having to stay in school an extra period.

This week, I am going to the meeting without the dread. I still don't want to stay late, but I am looking forward to listening to the ideas of a bright group of young people, proud of who they are and willing to embrace the lives they are leading.

About thirty kids attended last week's meeting. Most were gay, although many were not. These kids had joined to show their support. One of the organizers, a boy in my period one class, told me he was not gay and then asked if I thought he was. I told him that I would never judge anyone by appearances and it did not matter to me what his sexual preference is.

The kids took turns introducing themselves and talking about things they were interested in. I was relieved that sex did not come up as I am a firm believer in abstinence for teens. After this, they broke into groups, discussed whether gay marriage should be legal and then shared their findings with the rest of the group.

The meeting ended with a talk about the Day Of Silence coming up and how they would show their support. The girl who introduced the topic was fantastic. She explained that by not speaking they would be speaking for all the gays that could not speak for themselves.

During my C-6 assignment today, I met a young man who was at that meeting. We started talking about "Don't Ask, Don't Tell." I want the kids to get involved in a lobby to over turn that law. (I am sure there must be a lobby group working on that somewhere.) I then found out that the JROTC has the same policy, so I am going to try to push them to work towards the end of that in our school.

These kids are alive with spirit. It might take a while, but it is kids like this that will change the world.

Please Pass The Trash Can

The appearance of our school and classrooms can have an impact on our student behavior and learning. Please monitor your classroom and pass the trash basket around to your students and ask them to pick up any trash that is on the floor around them. If you come into a classroom and find that it is in poor condition, please report this to your assistant principal, supervision.

This, from a principal who allows this and this to go on!

The Great Divide

When did the Great Divide come into the teaching profession? I'm not referring to the divide between the administration and the teachers, that one has always been there. I'm referring to the divide between the young and the old teachers.

Young teachers, believe it or not, I was once young too. I also wanted to(actually I still do) save the world and thought I could do it one class at a time. But, I also knew that I was inexperienced and needed help.

Years ago, before the Great Divide, older teachers were valued. Their ideas and their skills were appreciated. Young teachers absorbed what they had to offer and in return, the older teachers got an energy charge from the young.

Things are different now. The young and the old teachers are totally separated. There is an "Us" and "Them" feeling in the school. The young ones are being put on pedestals and are being heralded as the type of teacher we all should be. Only their methods are good. Only their teaching methods can break the barrier preventing all from succeeding.

The older teachers are disgusted. We don't want to share with the young ones. We will all retire and take our skills, and our lesson plans with us.

I don't know how all this happened. I don't see any way to stop it from continuing. I only know what I see and what I see will hurt the education of future generations.

ECLB

The new ECLB (Every Child Left Behind) is much more successful than the NCLB law ever was. I see this every day in my Math B class.

Last week we began the part of the curriculum that deals with factoring. After a quick review of Math A factoring, we began the more difficult ones, factoring with variable exponents and factoring trigonometric expressions. I expected the kids to have trouble with some of these. I knew that many would be weak when it came to any kind of factoring. What I never expected was kids to react as if they had never seen or heard of factoring before. After all, my school is a good school. We teach, we have standards. Then, it hit me, we taught them all the Math A they needed to pass the regents. We teach so that ECLB.

My AP did not think we should teach factoring with lead coefficients greater than one. It was much too hard for the kids and since it wasn't on the regents, why bother? He also encouraged us to teach them to work backwards from the choices so they could find the answer with their calculators without understanding the process. Us old timers rebelled and taught the kids to factor. The young ones, not knowing any better, followed the directions of their fearless leader. One of my Math B kids told me he failed math 3/4, the term where factoring is taught. But, since he passed the regents, he was given credit for the course and moved ahead.

So now, where are we? We are teaching kids who do not have the foundations needed to move ahead. When George Jefferson moved on up to the East Side, he was prepared. He worked hard and had all the facilities he needed to meet the challenges he would face in his new life. Our Math B kids are kids that have been moved up only they are not as fortunate as George. They did not receive the same preparation to move ahead and while he thrived in his new environment, many of ours are failing. We're moving them on up, but only because Suit needs that bonus money he gets when more kids are taking Math B, that the kids are being moved along. Success while in motion has nothing to do with anything. ECLB is thriving.

I know I've said that I am in a good school, with good, bright kids. But, the bright kids are in the same classes as the kids that are not as bright, not as ready to move ahead and these kids are holding the others back. My AP would say differentiate the lesson, but with 34 in a class, that is not possible. Suit would say, go to talk to other teachers and see what they are doing. With five classes and a C-6 assignment, we barely have time to use the bathroom, let alone talk to other teachers. Right now I am losing the weak kids and failing the bright ones. Test grades last week ranged from 100 all the way down to 8. Something has got to change if education is going to work. Something has got to change if we are going to prepare our kids to face the future.

Mr. Whine

Ms. Math Teacher was sitting in the teacher's cafe yesterday, as usual, doing school work. It seems a math teacher's job is never done. Ms. Math Teacher usually has her I-pod in her ears so she can work without distraction, but had forgotten to put them in on this day.

Sitting at the next table was Mr. Whine who was enjoying his lunch of cheese and crackers. Mr. Whine is a brilliant liberal arts teacher and a fantastic educator and he never has to work during his lunch period. His is usually pontificating on some topic or another, and while Ms. Math enjoys listening in, she needs the I-pod so she can turn him off and concentrate on getting her work done.

Mr. Whine was talking about his child today. He is a parent totally enamored by his child. Ms. Math Teacher has met the child and totally agrees with his assessment. This period, Mr. Whine was whining about the child's math. He went on and on about trapezoids and triangles and other shapes he has no use for. At that point, Ms. Math Teacher lost it.

"Mr. Whine, it is parents like you that make it hard for math teachers and the children they are teaching. Every year, parents come to school and when I tell them their child is struggling in the class, they respond with 'I always had trouble in math too.'"

In other words, it is fine for the kid to struggle in math. It is no big deal to get a low grade or fail math because the parent failed math too.

Mr. Whine is a learned man. He is probably much brighter than Ms. Math Teacher. I am sure he would not accept his child not being able to read or write, yet he feels as long as his child is competent enough in the four basic operations, plus fractions, decimals and percents, she knows all the math she will ever need. I'm not saying that a parent's attitude will make everyone love math, but a more positive approach to the subject sure might help. Besides, at the moment, this child loves math and is doing quite well. An attitude like Mr. Whine's may turn the child off to math.

Student Urinates in Lunch Box in Class

ORLANDO, Fla. (AP) - A teacher was put on paid leave Tuesday while officials investigate why a student urinated in a lunch box during her class.

The Meadowbrook Middle School student urinated in a lunch box while hiding behind a classroom bookcase, Orange County school officials said Tuesday.

According to statements by other students in the class, school officials think that when the boy asked to go the restroom on Thursday, teacher Jameeka Chambers told him to hold it or use her lunch box.
The boy took the lunch box, hid behind a bookcase, urinated in it and returned it to her, Frank Kruppenbacher, attorney for the Orange County School Board, told the Orlando Sentinel.

"I think we clearly know she didn't tell him, 'Go pee in this box,' in the sense of going to go do that," Kruppenbacher said. "That's beyond our comprehension."

Chambers is to be interviewed on Monday.

The next morning the boy's mother complained to the principal and told a local TV station that Chambers would not allow him to use the restroom.

The boy was not regularly in Chambers' class, but was in her room to complete makeup work on a computer, Kruppenbacher said.
This is a first-year teaching job for Chambers, who teaches sixth-grade language arts.

A telephone number listed under the name of a Jameeka Chambers in Orlando was busy.

How many times have we all been told by administrators not to let the kids use the pass to go to the bathroom? How many times have we had kids who just want us to let them walk the halls? Is this another way to send teachers to the rubber room for no reason?

What He Really Meant

The latest memo had a sentence in it that said we need to improve the scores on our AP exams. I was really pissed when I read this. The AP calculus scores are always the highest AP scores in the building (except for native language Spanish). If Mr. Department Head had a problem with our AP scores, he should have spoken to the people directly involved instead of one of his lovely memos and then, it hit me.... He wasn't complaining about us. He was worried about the kids that would be placed in these classes next year.

Our school has been cited for not having enough (or any) African American students in our AP classes. Principal Suit is suddenly concerned about this. I imagine his bonus will reflect this lack of diversity or he would not really care. Mr. Deaprtment Head is worried that Suit will start putting kids into these classes that have not taken the required prerequisites or even if they took the prerequisite, they had not scored high enough in that course.

Mr. Department Head is worried about his statistics. He would probably crap his pants if he heard me telling the kids not to worry about the exam. This exam is one exam that will have no long lasting effect on their lives. If they score a 4 or a 5, they might get to skip a term of calculus. If they don't, they can retake the course and and get an easy A. My idea is to learn the course, learn to think. Passing is just the icing on the cake.

Dump Your Children Here

This is the garbage strewn puddle outside my trailer. But, most people reading this blog have seen this picture many times before.
This is something new. Someone seems to have forgotten to pick up the garbage or even put it in the dumpster. Last week when it was windy, a teacher got hit with a flying box.
More garbage pictures. We walk through this every day to get to the building.
Another view.

Got to love working for the NYC DOE!

Kid's Say The Darndest Things

No one makes a big deal about Pi day in my school. I'm the only one who even bothers to wear a Pi shirt and wish the kids a happy Pi day. I wonder if I could have taken the day as an RO, being a math teacher and all.

Anyways, I have some pretty bright kids this semester. Some didn't get the happy Pi day on the board, and I had to go through the name the date game. They usually got it then and told me how corny I was. I did have one surprise, a good one and not from one of my better students.

"Pi is not 3.14.08, today's date. You are celebrating the wrong day, Ms. POd." You just have to love a kid like that.

Bet You Didn't Think They Could Get Worse

I have met with parents whose children were cutting their math class. I was told by some parents that some math teachers never bothered to contact them when their child was absent. Ladies and gentlemen, please make a phone call and make sure you speak to the parents of students who cut your class. It is unfair that we do not speak to parents when a student is cutting our class. It is not fair for a student to fail a math class only because s/he does not attend, either. Remember, you can not teach to the empty seat a student sits in. You can only teach the student in that seat.

The PTA will print a new letter and I will ask parents to contact you if their child is failing math and they have not heard from you. You might be better off to be pro-active and contact parents first.

Wow! So now I am responsible for making sure every parent knows every time their child is absent. Let's see. Thirty four kids in a class, five classes a day (actually six for me with the college now class in the morning) and no free periods except for lunch and prep. No available phones. No place to sit. Many parents cannot be reached during the school day. This sounds really like something I am really going to do! There is one teacher in my department who is outstanding when it comes to calling parents. They are always coming in to talk to him. He has not eaten lunch in weeks and many of the kids are still having problems.

Don't get me wrong. I contact parents all the time. Chronic cutting is not the teacher's responsibility. We have an attendance teacher in the school. We fill out scan sheets every day with daily attendance. It's not the teachers fault that the attendance teacher and the attendance office can't do it all. We can't do it all either. Besides, a kid that has chronically cut math and suddenly decides to return to class will be incapable of catching up since all new math depends on previous knowledge. Years ago, my AP told me I was too nice to the kids so they all came to my class. He said that was the reason I sometimes had discipline problems. Now he is telling me to get them all come to class.

I would like to insure that when math teachers retire, we are not in a "hole". Therefore, if you are interested in teaching a first period. College Now Course, please see me as soon as possible. We have to make sure you are approved by the college involved.

This last paragraph was meant for me. Instead of asking me about my plans, he makes a stupid announcement to everyone. If he would only have asked, I would have told him that I plan on continuing College Now after I retire and that when I am ready to give it up, I will give the school plenty of notice. I've already had this conversation with the College Now Liaison. I thought about telling him how obnoxious and insulting his memo was but then I figured, why bother? He hasn't gotten anything in the past and I am sure he will get nothing in the future. I'd rather bitch about him this was and get everything out of my system. By Monday, he will have a new agenda anyways.

HAPPY PI DAY!!!!!!

3/14/08

Me and My Big Mouth

I don't usually do school clubs. When I'm asked to sponsor an after school club, I always say no and keep walking. I should say, I almost always keep walking.

Last week, a nice boy in one of my classes asked me to sponsor his club. I did not walk away fast enough and he said, "It is an interesting club." Here is where my big mouth got me in trouble. I had to say "What kind of club?" He hesitated and then said "Gay-Straight Alliance".

This must have been a difficult subject for him to approach me with and I decided I wanted to help. I was glad that I couldn't as I teach the period the club wanted to meet. He then asked me about another period and again, I couldn't. My college job conflicted with the time. I felt bad, told him the other days I would be available and tried to find a teacher willing to work with this club. Turns out no one wants to stay late.

Yesterday this boy approached me again. After much thought, the meeting time was changed to agree with my schedule. I am now the sponsor.

I've managed to avoid all after school jobs for over thirty years. I refuse all per session jobs. I'm not going to kill myself working now just to pad my pension for later. Since I don't want to stay late for money, I certainly won't stay late for free. While I stay late to help my students, I try never to do it officially. I've got to learn to keep my big mouth shut.

Math Standards Today

Today an old time teacher, one that I "had respected"told us that he doesn't bother teaching the trigonometric functions of the special angles. That is of the 30, 60 and 45 degree angles. He said there is no reason for the kids to know the exact values as they can figure out all multiple choice questions using a calculator, working backwards from the choices, if necessary. All us old timers just stared at him in disbelief.

I always knew that this new curriculums and the NCLB dummied down the courses. I knew that some of the younger teachers skipped this stuff because they did not know any better. I never expected someone who is teaching almost thirty years to dummy down his lessons also. This guy has a reputation of being a great teacher. The kids like him. He gets them to pass, but does he really teach them any math? A few years ago, some kids went from the strictest teacher in the building to this guy's class. Their grades went from 80 to 95 yet they told me they preferred the strict teacher because he was teaching them math.

Many of the math B kids in my school are very bright and go on to take honor pre-calculus and advanced placement calculus BC. Originally I could not understand how they could know so little trig coming into the class. They fought me when I refused to let them use calculators on exams and forced them to figure out these basic trig values.

Every day I grow more and more weary. My teaching days are coming to an end soon and it is things like this that are pushing me to go sooner. I fear for the future of our students. We are sending them to college without the tools they need to succeed. It is hard to hold the kids you are teaching to standards when so many others in the same building are not doing the same.

Should A Teacher Be Forced To Attend Graduation on a Sunday?

The following is from the money section of today's Newsday:

DEAR READERS: In the past week I received several letters responding to the column about the private-school teacher who wanted to be paid for being forced to attend a graduation on a Sunday. The school doesn't have to pay her because teachers are exempt from overtime. All of the letters took the teacher to task. Here is a sample:

DEAR CARRIE: I was disappointed to read that a teacher is more concerned about getting paid on graduation day than attending this exhilarating ceremony. The choice to become a teacher is a decision that obviously requires people to give of themselves. The nights I spend grading papers and creating lessons, going to workshops to improve and stay current with educational reform, and keeping up with the daily routine all go along with the job.

The choice to become a teacher is a decision that has an impact not only on the future of your students but also on your life. A teacher's desire to work with children is a calling and does not end in the classroom. Watching them grow and making a significant difference in this world is rewarding alone.

[That reader] should be proud to attend the graduation ceremony, because teachers are partners in their students' learning and a reason these students have this wonderful opportunity. Believe me, I truly believe that teachers are underpaid, but, as a teacher, I would take real pleasure in watching my students be part of the "pomp and circumstance."

I, for one always attend graduation but I am so tired of people talking about teaching as a "calling" and that our job does not end in the classroom. Most teachers do take pleasure in watching their students achieve, but enough is enough. Yes, we are teachers but we have private lives as well. Not wanting to attend a school function after school hours does not make anyone less of a teacher or less devoted to their students.

This year, for the first time, the graduation at my school will be held a day after the last day of school. I am sure that I will attend as I cannot imagine not watching my seniors graduate, but I resent the fact that it is being held this day. I intend to go as a guest and will do no work assisting in the graduation unless there is some sort of compensation. The school could easily substitute a staff development day in exchange for attending graduation. (Oh no, how would we survive without all that data analysis training.) It is not fair to always ask teachers to give. We are considered professionals when something is needed from us, otherwise we are considered peons, worthy and deserving of nothing.

Passion Quilt

This meme requires each player to find a picture or design a piece of art that communicates what you, as an educator, are most passionate for your students to learn about. I was tagged by Tamareden who has a wonderful blog I just found.

The most important thing I teach my students is how to think. If they understand a concept and know how to analyze the question, they can do anything. Too often, my students have succeeded by memorizing rules and completing assignments by rote. I always say "Give a man dinner and he has food for the night. Teach him to fish and he has food for life." By understanding concepts, they are ready for life. The math I teach them is good, probably not helpful in the long run for most. Everyone needs to think and learn how to apply those thoughts to making good decisions. The picture is one I took this summer of a man salmon fishing in Alaska.

THE RULES OF THE MEME:

Post a picture or make/take/create your own that captures what YOU are most passionate for kids to learn about
give your picture a short title.
Title your blog post “Meme: Passion Quilt”
link back to this blog entry.
Include links to 5 folks in your professional learning network

I would like to ask all who read this blog to think about what they are passionate about and share it.

The Memos Keep Coming

During my routine visits, I observed a few classes in which the teacher was “teaching” while some students engaged in their own conversations. Thus, one could not hear a pin drop. This really has to stop. We are not teachers to students who want to learn. All students who attend your class want to pass and you are responsible for every student on your class roster. Please start engaging every student during your lesson. It is unacceptable for students to sit in your class and do next to nothing in terms of learning math. The new world we live in requires you to try to reach every student.

First he is telling us that we are not teachers to students who want to learn (an obvious typo, but being petty is something I am good at) and then he is telling us that all students who attend our classes want to learn. I don't think I teach in the same school he does.

Ms. XXXX came up with a Citizenship Report which included positive aspects of what a student does. I will revise our old one to include the positive aspects. Please do not mail a letter which is positive so that we can save some postage. Please only mail the letter which indicates that a student will fail.

Saving a buck is more important than saying something nice about a kid. I often get more accomplished with nice words than with harsh ones. This is a guy that would not understand about that.

Doc In A Box

Yep, Doc In A Box, that is what my kid's pediatrician used to call those walk in clinics that you go to when you can't get an appointment with the usual doctor.

I have an ear infection. Being the idiot that I am, I went to work anyways. My eighth and ninth period classes were scheduled for an exam and I did not want to disappoint my students. I always hated it when a teacher was absent on a test day and I had to go home and study all over again. I called my regular doctor to get an appointment but, Ms. Bitch, the receptionist, said there was nothing available until tomorrow. Knowing I needed the anti-biotic, I hit Doc In A Box.

I walked into the office and was excited to see only one person waiting. I was sure I could get in and out in no time. No such luck. The receptionist took twenty minutes to sign me in. Then, I had another 15 minutes in the room waiting for the doctor. She looked, confirmed what I knew and told me she would give me a prescription for drops and the anti-biotic. I thanked her and walked out.

The woman at the front desk kept me waiting for another twenty minutes to finish the paper work and give me my prescriptions. Another bitchy receptionist, full of herself and the power she has over us poor mortals.

On the good side, I do have my medicine and the drops are already working. I think I'll wait until tomorrow to mark the exams. It's not a good idea to mark them in the mood I am in.

Ms Timid and Mr. Bully

Mr. Bully visited Ms Timid's class last week. The class was a repeater class consisting of all juniors taking freshman math. Ms Timid was proud of them. They were all quiet and everyone was working except Jimbo. Jimbo had his head down and was evidently having a great dream as he was grinning from ear to ear.

Mr. Bully: Jimbo has his head down, Ms. Timid. Why haven't you done anything about it?

Ms Timid: I'm sorry Mr. Bully. I'm trying so hard. I've called Jimbo's mom. I've spoken to the guidance counselor. I offered him money to stay awake in class. I bought him a new bed, the kind where he could pick his own sleep number. I figured if he slept better at night he would not be tired in class. I even went to Jimbo's house last weekend to see if he wanted some extra help. Nothing I do works. I'll try to do better.

Mr. Bully: Trying is not good enough. You must get all these students to pass or you will get a U rating and end up in the rubber room. I will not lose my job or my bonus because of you. Stop by my office at 5:00 PM. I need to speak to you.

Ms Timid: But my day ends at 1:40 and I have a doctor's appointment. My appendix has been acting up all day and the doctor said he could take it out this afternoon. I did not want to take a day off for a little operation.

Mr. Bully: It will only take a minute, then you can go have your operation. Just make sure that you are in school tomorrow. And, don't be late. Oh, and enjoy your trip to the doctor.

Sol

Sometimes we know we should do something, but put off doing it for various reasons. By the time we get to do them, it is too late.

My boyfriend
just died. I knew he was sick when I did not see him in temple for the daily minyon and for services last Shabbos. I asked about him. At first, no one knew where he was. They thought he was just staying away because he did not like a comment someone made to him. Then we found out that he fell and was in the hospital. He was not a very nice man, most people in the temple really did not care much for him. No one went to visit. I planned on going to see him, but between work and visiting my dad, I never had time. Tomorrow afternoon was going to be my visit. Today the phone call came that said he passed away. I am not going to get to make my visit.

Sol was one of the first people I became friendly with when I started attending the daily minyon.He was a lonely old man and I was just sad. It was nice to see a friendly face while saying Kaddish. Besides, he flirted with me non stop. It felt good to be told how young and beautiful I was, even if the man telling me that was 95 years old.

Sol liked me to sit with him. At first I resisted because I like to hide in the back. I'm glad I gave in. He told me that the thirty minutes we spent together were the highlight of his day. Jack thought he was an expert on everything. He knew more than the Rabbi and knew more about life than anyone. I just smiled and agreed with him. He was arrogant, but harmless.

I really never got to know the man. Intellectually I know that I did not do anything wrong by not going to see him. He never would have expected me to. I hope I brought a little bit of joy into his life. I feel I could have made his last days happier by paying a visit to his hospital room.

Maybe others won't miss him. Maybe he wasn't the easiest man in the world to get along with. But, I will always remember him, sitting in the second row, loudly saying his prayers, wrong pronunciations and all. Sol, I will miss you.

Cry For Help

Joe wanted to be on the varsity basketball team more than anything. As a freshman and a sophomore he played junior varsity but he knew how good he was and yearned to play with the big boys. His happiest day was the day he made the team.

Joe became the number one forward on the team. He led the team to victory and everyone was sure he would lead the team to winning the city championship. Unfortunately, report cards came out and Joe failed four subjects and was dropped from the team. Every teacher said he was missing homeworks, was excessively late and that he had poor work habits. Even his basketball teacher said his work habits were poor. Yet, Joe was taking a full load of classes, classes that only a bright kid would take.

I was the teacher responsible for handing Joehis repot card. When I saw it I felt ill. I knew he was not doing well in my class and had many discussions about this with his mother, grandndmother and guidance counselor. I had no idea he was doing so poorly in all his classes. I photo copied the report card and walked into the counselor's office. I wanted to make sure he was aware and would try to help. "Ms. POd", he said, "Joe is just lazy. Besides, he is overwhelmed with work since basketball started. He is glad he is off the team and will have more time to study." I just said "I have never met a kid who wanted to flunk off the basketball team. There must be something else going on. He is too good a kid and too smart a kid to get grades like this." The guidance counselor promised to look into it and to bring his mom to school for a conference. I am still waiting for the conference to happen.

By the third marking period Joe passed enough subjects to get back on the team. He's in my class again and up to his old tricks--no homework, lateness, etc. I told him if he's not careful, he will be off the team again. He told me not to worry. Report cards come out after the season is over.

Joe is a member of the ethnic group Principal Suit is so eager to help. I gave Suit Joe's name earlier this week and asked him to do something for him. Joe is too bright to be failing. Why is it that no one in the school will do anything to help a kid like Joe? Maybe its just me. Maybe those grades aren't a cry for help, they are just the grades of a kid too lazy to do any school work.

Ms. My S**t Does Not Stink

Ms. My S**t Does Not Stink had her frozen mac and cheese in the cafeteria's microwave oven. However, she did not think it worthy of her time to stay nearby and watch it heat. When I walked into the cafeteria, the microwave was not on. I opened it to heat my food, found her ice cold food, and took it out. All of a sudden Ms. My S**t Does Not Stink jumped up and started screaming because I preumpted the microwave. I told her, that not only was it not turned on, no one was even nearby and I had no way of knowing when the person that put it in would return. I took my dish out and let her continue, or should I say start cooking hers. She begrudingly apologized.

Ms. My S***t Does Not Stink and I have had similar run-ins in the past. She actually gave me permission to continue sitting at a table that she and her cronies decided to use. To quote her, "Don't worry, you don't have to move." (As if I was planning on moving!) She been snippy when I had to get resource room exams back from her and refused to do anything about her student who cut unless I put it in writing. Evidently, Ms. My S**t Does Not Stink can't remember something so simple unless it is written down.

Special education teachers are often and unfairly looked down upon by other teachers. It is teachers like this one that give them this unearned reputation. Ms. My S**t Does Not Stink needs to learn to play nice with others

Looking Good Is All That Counts

jd2718 said...
one of the progress report categories, or is it NCLB? or quality review? whatever. One of the categories that schools are being rated on is how they help their weakest students, and how they help their lagging subgroups.All good ideas, yeah?Except they get credit for
a) doing better?
b) trying to do better?
c) showing someone that they have a plan to do better.

I think just c.

You know what Jd, I think C too! Yesterday we were given a list of all the students in all of our classes. We were told to contact every parent of every failing student and document the nature of our contact on a special form to hand in by Monday. Most of us have been contacting parents. Having us fill out these forms only serves to make the administration look like they are really doing something new to help the failing kids. When will it all end?

I've been thinking about the administration's push for our African American kids to succeed. Is it fair to help these kids and ignore the others? Is the Asian kid who needs help a "throw away" because our school has plenty of Asians that are succeeding? Instead of singling out one race, shouldn't we be finding ways to help them all, or at least help them all equally? If schools truly care about no child being left behind then statistics need to be thrown away and children need to be looked at.

Put Your Money Where Your Mouth Is

The school is suddenly concerned about the lack of African American students in AP and honor classes. They are also suddenly concerned about the low number of African American students receiving advanced regents diplomas.



The sad fact is that there is not one African American in any of the AP calculus class or on the math team. For years, I have been talking about this problem. We have lots of bright African American kids in our school. They seem to fall through the cracks in the system. As much as I hate to say it, racism is alive and doing too well in the twenty first century. If it wasn't for the outcry to improve our statistics, these kids would still be going through high school unnoticed. (Unless of course they do something wrong.)


Yesterday, Principal Suit came to our department meeting and brought up this subject. He wants us to do something about the problem. Today I handed the AP guidance a list of African American students from my Math B class that can use a little extra help, either academically, or with some extra motivation. They are all good kids, bright kids, but kids that can easily get lost in the system. I told her to put her money where her mouth is and find a way to help these kids. I've already doing all that I can for them. She took their names and promised to look into it. I want to look into how all the data the school has been collecting and analyzing lately will be used to help these kids.

There's a Hole in the Trailer

There's a hole in the trailer. Maybe they are looking for a new classroom. Might be good for a swimming class.

Sadness

Footsteps in the pristine snow. No one visits the cemetery in February--except my dad.
Mom loved red roses. Dad wanted to bring her some for Valentine's Day.
Dad saying Kaddish by her grave.
Dad walking away, his tears melting the snow in his path.

Restaurant.Com

For all of you out there that love to eat out and like to save money, I recommend restaurant.com. You have to join, but that part is free. For $5 you can buy $10 gift certificates to many restaurants and for $10 you can buy certificates worth $25. Be careful, and read the fine print for restrictions (there aren't that many.) Wait until the end of the month of make your purchase as the certificates go on sale and are 50 - 60% off.

Looking for something to do yesterday, we printed a certificate for Mim's. The place was extremely elegant, a much nicer place than I usually lunch at. The certificate cost me $1.20 and my lunch bill (including two meals and a beer) was only $15. My husband had dinner last night with a friend at the Barefoot Peddler. Their meal, fajitas and two margaritas came to $16 plus the $4 certificate.

Restaurant.com is a great way to try different places and save money along the way.

Daddy's Little Girl

It's the twenty first century. Women make their own money and take responsibility for themselves. While watching this sweet four year old going through the racks at Century 21, I comment to her dad "She better get a good education so she can make a living that will support her expensive taste." He just answers "She better get a husband that can take care of her the way I do." I just give him a look. You would think he would know better and want more for his little princess.

What Makes A Fair Election?

In a democracy we always say, majority rules. But, what exactly is a majority?

The simplest type of voting involves only two choices. With two choices, the most common way of deciding is majority rule, that is, the candidate with more than 50% of the vote wins. While this rule is taken for granted, it is important to check three properties:

1. Every vote has the same weight.

2. There is symmetry between the candidates. If all votes were reversed, the loser would become the winner.

3. If a vote for the loser were changed to a vote for the winner, the outcome of the election will not be changed.

Of course, in a democracy, there are many variations of this majority rule. A Constitutional Amendment can only be passed if it is approved by 2/3 of Congress and 3/4 of the states. A jury can only convict on criminal charges if there is 100% agreement.

Voting with more than two choices is much more complex. Sometimes, more often than not, no one gets a majority. Mo gets 35% of the votes, Larry gets 33% of the votes and Curly gets 32% of the votes. Mo cleary has the most votes, but not a majority. He has what is known as a plurality. These votes are very close. If Larry had decided to drop out and all his supporters decided to vote for Curly, Curly would win. Problems are definitely going to arise in this system. Studying this, makes it clear as to why some of our presidential hopefuls are dropping out early and giving their support to others.

In the mathematics of voting, we study different ways of holding an election, using preference schedules. We hold elections using run-offs of the top two candidates, sequential run-offs (similar to American Idol), Borda Counts (similar to figuring out GPAs) and pairwise comparisons. Holding the same election each way can give different results.

One of the things we always want is fairness. Judging fairness is subjective but mathematicians and political scientists have come up with four basic fairness criteria that must be met by a fair voting system.

Criterion 1: If a candidate recieves a majority of the first-place votes, that candidate should be the winner.
Criterion 2: If a candidate is favored over every other candidate in pairwise races, that candidate should be declared the winner.
Criterion 3: If a candidate is declared a winner and a second election is held which ranks the candidate higher, that candidate will still be the winner.
Criterion 4: If a candidate is declared a winner and a second election is held in which one of the losing candidates drops out, then that candidate should still be the winner.

In 1973 Kenneth Arrow received the Nobel Prize in Economics for his mathematical analysis of voting systems that led him to discover that no voting system satisfies all four fairness criteria.

I've only touched on this topic here, but it is one that I enjoy teaching. Delving further into it, students can appreciate how the electoral system we have now was developed. It brings real life applications of mathematics into my student's lives. It shows them that there is more to mathematics than the quadratic formula. There is a strong correlation to what they are learning in their government and in their math classes. For my weaker students, it is a way to practice arithmetic and calculator skills in an interesting manner. Kids who can't do the basics, are still drilling their basics (percents, fractions, decimals) and are not being treated like babies.

Source: Using and Understanding Mathematics by Jeffrey Bennett and William Briggs.

Can I Use Teacher' Choice Money For These?

This is the latest in trailer wear. The full body protection is needed to wade through the puddle on rainy days.
Or maybe these boots will be enough.

(Both products from the Bass Pro Shop, Baltimore, Md

Homework

I have been following the thread concerning homework on KTM. Rather than comment there, I thought I would add my own comments here.

Homework is an integral part of mathematics. Since the only way to learn mathematics is by practicing, practice must be done at home, after school. Before I give any homework assignment, I do it myself. If it takes me more than 10 minutes (5 minutes for a low level class), it is too long and I shorten it. The homework always is a reflection of what was done in class and the students should have examples to go back to for help. In an advanced class, I try to assign problems with the answers in the back so work can be checked. Although the answers don’ t explain the problems, many times it is possible to work backwards from the answer and figure out the process.

Every homework problem is gone over in class. My room does not have much board space, so I have students (a different one each day) do the assignment on an acetate and then use the overhead to display. If a student cannot do an example it just has to be written down with space left for the solution. The students are supposed to make corrections with a different colored pen. After the assignment is gone over, it is collected. I go through the papers, see which problems were the most difficult and return them the next day. I do not have the time or the ambition to mark each paper and put corrections on them. Besides, years ago when I was young and ambitious, I found my efforts ended up in the trash more times than not.

In my advanced placement calculus class, I don’t check homework every day. It takes too long to collect it and give it back. To compensate, I give “take home quizzes” once a week and mark those. So far, this has been successful.

I don’t know if this is the best way to check homework, but at the moment it is the best I can do.

School Condition Update

My puddle--picture taken from inside the room.
My puddle, picture taken from the top of the ramp. The white stuff floating around in it was pretty scary stuff. I was assured it was not toxic, but who knows? Today the custodian (one I trust) told me it was the sodium chloride put down to melt the ice.
View from the top of the ramp. At this time the puddle is so deep, it is impossible to get in or out without getting soaking wet
Today's puddle remnant. What an enticing place to get an education!
More puddle residue.

On another note, while my trailer has soap in the bathroom, the trailer next door still has none. Trailer people must be immune to germs. Both trailers are still missing paper towels.

Good news, the APO is getting all new furniture in her office and one the F Status people has had an office carved out for her. She has her own desk, phone and computer.

Isn't the NYC DOE great!

No Workshop Model For This Guy

The guy who wrote this would like to hear what teachers think. He would appreciate a comment even if you don't agree.

Let Teachers Teach

Smart Young Guy

Taken from The Politricks.

Presidential Idol

For years Americans have complained about the presidential election process and election after election Americans sit at home instead of going to the polls to cast their vote for a candidate who will ignore their campaign promises and help out their wealthy friends.

Americans in states with late primaries complain that by the time they get a chance to vote for the party representative of their choice there are no choices left. Other times political parties decide that a state won’t get any delegates at the party’s national convention because they didn’t have there vote on the day they were told to. In the national election many people in smaller states feel like their vote is pointless because of the few electoral votes their state is worth. There are also many people in non-swing states who feel that their vote and voice cannot possibly sway the masses. These factors plus the laziness of people not to want to drive to wherever they are assigned to vote wait on line and pull a few levers has lead to a large portion of the country not participating in the democratic process.

In this modern age there is no longer a need for this archaic process. I recommend we go to a system that has proven to work and allow Americans to select their top musical candidates for the past six years. If the American Idol process can work for soon to be pop legends such as Kelly Clarkson, Ruben Studdard, Fantasia Barrino, Carrie Underwood, Taylor Hicks, and Jordin Sparks why not for our next great president. If nothing else it would be great entertainment listening to Simon Cowell call Hillary Clinton’s health care policy rubbish, Randy Jackson telling John McCain he is his “Dawg”, and watching Paula Abdul swoon over Barack Obama’s good looks.

This new system would allow us to text message our votes in after each episode.
without ever getting off the couch. I feel this might be the only way to get this attention span deficient nation to care about politics. One hour episodes one day a week with a second elimination episode is about all we seem to be able to handle, anything more seems like to much effort.

Although by now I am sure you can all detect my sarcasm in this post I am still disgusted to write it. How is it that more people take the time to vote on who has a better singing voice then who will lead the free world? Last time I checked there was no Iranian Idol or Cuban Idol. These shows can only exist in a free society, something that many of us chose to ignore!

E-Mail From A Student

Email from a student:

Hi Ms POd, has Jill seen you lately? For Chinese New Year, my family
went to toronto so I have been absent. I just got back from toronto. I
will be back with an absence note and my parents should call you later when they
have time. Because my mom was off from work for a while, so she has to
catch up on the work she missed and so do I. May you please prepare the
worksheets I missed? And can I take the math test again?

My answer:

I spoke to your mom this afternoon.

See you tomorrow.

Student Response:

Yes. I know she called me at 2:16. But yeah, I didn't go to toronto. I apologize for not going to class, but I got a new history teacher and I needed to catch up on the work so I had to go find help on the homeworks and I also needed to go talk to Mr. Bill regarding receiving my honors credit so I waited for him in front of his office. After the thursday that i didnt go to school because of chinese new year, my 2 AP classes had homeworks and essays that were stacking so i had to go finish it, thus i couldnt make it to 9th. Im sorry for the inconvenience and I will get all the work done and finished as soon as possible. I didnt tell my mom as I knew she wouldnt want me have trouble with my classes and fuss over it, but I was going to tell her today or something about math so she could write me an absence note. If you want to have a talk with me or something, let me know and I could come see you period 4,5,or 7 thanks

My answer:

I want you to stop cutting--NO EXCUSES and no more lies.

No make up on this test. Better not miss any more!

And again she tries:

alright, but you don't want me to come see you or anythng right?

And again I answer:

Nothing to say--you've said it all

Once again:

ok so can i get the worksheets and hws so i can come back to class prepared?

I give up. She cuts, She lies. Now she wants me to give up my lunch to help her. Yesterday I saw No Country for Old Men. There should be a spinoff--No Teaching for Old Pissed Off Teachers.

WHY?

Why would they put their empty coffee cup on top of the ice bucket? Wouldn't it have been better to throw the cup in the garbage?

Mystery

One day there was grass and the next day there was a slab of concrete. It's been here over a month and no one knows what it is for? Anyone have a clue?

It's Chinese To Me

One of my classes is full of kids that do not speak much English. They are fairly new in the country and they are really struggling. There are kids in the class that speak their language (and English) and excel in math. These kids often explain things to the others in their own native tongue.

Last week a boy in my class was explaining LRAMS, RRAMS, and MRAMS (rectangular approximations of areas between the curve and the x-axis) to another . I listened carefully and watched what he was pointing to. I told them I just wanted to make sure that he was doing the work correctly. Both kids laughed as they know that I do not speak or understand Chinese.

I started listening as a joke, but as I stood there, I thought about how hard it must be for them to understand me, although their limited English is far better than my knowledge of Chinese (which is nonexistent.) I wanted to feel the way they felt every day. I told them why I was listening so hard. The kids just smiled and thanked me. That part of the lesson was just as valuable or even more valuable than the calculus they learned that day.

Limitless Inability

Is it possible that there are math teachers out there that do not know math? The shocking answer to this question is YES! I 'm not talking about not knowing advanced math or even high school calculus, I'm talking about geometry, intermediate algebra and trigonometry. My AP said the new geometry course is going to be a problem because most of the teachers in my department don't know the subject and can't teach it. Little by little the old timers are retiring and those left behind are a sad bunch. (Not all new teachers are this uneducated in math, but lots of the ones in my school fall into this category.)

One of the young ones who will be around for a long time (and probably become an administrator) told me that if an answer is 3/2 and a kid writes 1 1/2, she marks it wrong. I tried to explain to her that she couldn't do that, the answers were equivalent. Her reply was, "my students know what I want and that is what they will give me." She taught the probability of picking a red and a blue marble from a bag of marbles and refused to recognize the answer had to be the probability of red and blue plus the probability of blue and red. It's her way or no way. My AP loves her. Even if he knew, he would probably not say anything.

There are teachers that go to the library for their C-6 tutoring assignment but who cannot help the kids with any math past the Math A regents. Even that is too hard for some of them. One teacher had to teach an SAT course over the summer and refused to learn the math. I have no idea what she taught but she will freely admit that she did not know the material and did not bother with it. The administration was just glad to have a body in the room and to be able to say the course was being offered.

A few weeks ago, my chairman brough a large part of the department in to watch one of the young ones teaching factoring. Her lesson consisted of doing the same exact problem (slightly different numbers) over and over. She never introduced coefficients higher than or lower than one or exponents higher than two. Don't get me wrong, she was excellent, but she doesn't know how to progress and there is no one to show her. She's a teaching fellow and her math education is limited.

My school is a good school. Attracting quality teachers should not be a problem. But, in a system that does not value senior teachers this does not happen. Seniority transfers are no longer available. Administrators want the newbies who take a much lower salary than the experienced teacher and jump to follow all their directives. Experienced teachers in the schools already are being harassed and told to transfer (as if some other school would take them.) Only the young are valued.

When I started teaching there were many experienced teachers around. I needed to learn and they were around to help. Sadly, this is no longer true. Sadly, even the older teachers still around are so overwhelmed with work that there is no time to help the new ones. Soon the only teachers left will be the ones who don't know the material and can't teach. These teachers will embrace the horse shoe seating arrangement and they will embrace group work so my guess is they will be embraced by the administration.

The Bucket Runneth Over

The neighbors are home.

The faucet is still leaking. They put some doohickey on the end to stop the leak, but it is not stopping it.
They put a bucket under the leak to catch the water, but the bucket is overflowing.


I don't understand why they don't empty the bucket. Their car was parked in the driveway this morning and now it is in front of their house. They have to know it is leaking.

Something is really wrong with these people.

Saga of My ID Card

This term my room at the college requires a swipe card for entry. Once inside, there is a computer hooked up to a projector. I can use a graphing calculator without having to drag one from room to room. I can put a book on the projector instead of using the old fashioned overhead.

I don't have a swipe card so the secretary typed out a letter authorizing the ID office to issue me one. This office is not open evenings so I ran over during lunch (and prep) to pick up the card. The college is only about 5 minutes from the high school I teach in and the secretary told me the whole process would only take about ten minutes. Everything usually goes well at the college, so I was not concerned.

Wrong.

The highway had a lane closed for construction. The five minute trip took fifteen minutes.

Mr. Homeland Security, the guard at the front gate, did not want to let me in to park. He told me that the school does not issue swipe cards. I had to wave the letter in his face to gain entry.

The secretary told me to go to a room *** but when I got there, I found a sign directing me to room ###. Of course there were no signs around pointing out the location of that room and no one was around to ask. (It was hidden in a corner behind the Bursar's office.)

The line to get into the ID office was 50 people long. Since I am faculty, I walked in without waiting. Faculty ID's could only be taken at one of the two machines and the woman, Ms. Discombobulated, that worked the one I needed, was on a break. By the way, the office opened at 11:00 and I arrived at 11:10. Ms. Discombobulated wouldn't take the picture until she ate her gum drops. She needed the sugar. Then she took a phone call. Next, she insisted I needed my expired ID (which I did not have). The number she needed was already on the computer, so she really did not need it at all. She finally took the picture, but the computer did not hold it. How anyone could lose a digital picture on a computer is beyond me, but lost it she did. I then sat for another one. It came out awful, but at that point I did not care. I just wanted to get out of there. While all this was going on, the other ID person, Ms. I Don't Give a S***t was busy doing something, I'm not sure what that something was. Meanwhile, the line outside grew longer. The kids on the line became agitated. The ten minute process was up to forty minutes but, I did get my card and I got out of there before any of the kids on that line got violent. In all that time, only two students had been taken off the line.

I still have to wait a week before I can use the card. A locksmith has to put my number into the system and like all NYC contractors, he is only in the school one day a week. But, unlike Ms. Discomboboulated and Ms. I Don't Give a S**t, the secretaries in the math department are efficient. They are the ones in charge of getting my card to the right person so it will be activated. I know that it will be working soon.