Watergate Not Revisited Here

Someone in my school must think this blog is the National Enquirer of Packemin HS. Yesterday I found an anonymous note questioning the job a certain person in the school does, or does not, do. The writer of the note assumes I will write some revealing story. The writer is wrong.

MESSAGE TO PEOPLE AT PACKEMIN:

Do not leave me notes like this because I will toss them in the trash. My blog is my issues, not yours. If something bothers you, write it yourself, and post it on your own blog. Also, do not leave anonymous comments to push your own issues. I refuse to post those. Learn to take responsibility for your own words and actions.

About Time

The pompous one finally learned. He left a hard copy of the form which I promptly filled out and returned.

Pay Attention

Santa just successfully parallel parked his car next to the curb. Which was perpendicular to the curb?
a) passenger door
b) driver's door
c) back end

A woman could have won $54,000 if she got the answer correct, but she didn't. She should have paid attention in geometry. I'm going to put this question on my next test and I am willing to bet 100% of them get it correct. (54 out of 99 people in the audience got this wrong as well.)

(From the game show One Vs One Hundred)

Unsuccess Story

He's passed all his regents and is on schedule to graduate on time. He's sweet and polite. He never causes anyone trouble. No one ever caught on the the fact that he cannot read.

I discovered this last week while marking his last exam. He missed obvious questions, questions that depended more on reading than on doing math, questions that no one ever missed. I showed the exam to his mom and she agreed with my diagnosis. Now, the problem is, what can be done to help him.

This boy used to have an IEP. An over zealous psycho doc (psychologist) convinced her to get him decertified years ago so now he has no extra services available to help him. His mom is worried. He's been accepted at the local community college in September and she knows he will not be survive.

He's a Bloomberg success story. He's graduating high school in four years and going on to college. The fact that he is illiterate means nothing. Failing to succeed in college does not reflect on high school success stories at all.

Accomplishments

Proctoring an AP exam means working 4 solid hours but the reward is going home as soon as the exam is over.

Even with dawdling, I got home today at 12:30. Just that little extra time let me accomplish so much.

The laundry is away.

Packed for the weekend.

Ordered some medicines.

Doctors appointments made.

Finally figured out the problem with AP audit site (only took an hour on the phone calling four different numbers.)

Figured out how to use Delta sky miles for California trip.

Lesson plans.

Hand washed shirt.

And of course, had time to blog about it all.

It would be so nice to get home this time every day.

Nothing To Be Proud Of

Four out of 174--not numbers to be proud of. Read the rest here.

Words Teachers Live By

This is a little mushy, not my usual style but I found it on my calendar yesterday and thought I would share it here. It is a big part of my not being ready to retire.

From my page a day calendar:

What I do becomes who I am. I am working with precious elements here.

More Than One Way To Enjoy Lunch

I got three out of the four kids I am supposed to be working with to show up during their lunch period. One showed up last week and I got the other two to come today.

Last week's girl stopped me in the hall and asked when we are doing it again? She enjoyed the session and even gave me a big hug when it ended. The other two girls were equally responsive. I thanked them for coming up and apologized for using their lunch. They looked at me and said the session was "fun" and wanted to do it again soon. They even said they wanted the extra help. All we did was read a story together and talk about inferences from the story. I felt so good I wanted to cry.

Now, to find a way to get the fourth student to show up. He's the only boy in the group so maybe the thought of being surrounded by three pretty girls will help. The girls agreed to approach him with me.

Definitely a 5, If Not The Derivative Of 3x :)

The AP exam was today. I didn't see any of the kids so I sent out an e-mail asking how they found it. (Only that, they are never allowed to discuss the multiple choice questions and cannot say anything about the free response questions until 48 hours has passed.)

The responses are coming in. Most found the long questions difficult, which I knew they would. The good news is that they were able to do parts of almost all of the questions and they didn't find the multiple choice too bad.

I don't have high hopes for this years group. They are a great bunch of kids, very bright but extremely unmotivated. The other AP teachers have been saying similar things all year. I just hope they learned enough to help them in college and that they grow up enough over the summer to develop to their fullest in college.

(The title of this post is one student's response to the e-mail.)

Choices

Abbie dreamed of going to the prom since she was 5 years old, when she saw one of her television heroines getting ready for the big night. Now that Abbie is a high school senior, all she can think about is the beautiful new dress, her hair style and the fun she is going to have dancing and laughing with her friends all night.

Abbie attends a high school with very high strict standards and the kids were told loud and often that if they even failed one subject they would be denied admission to the prom. Abbie worked hard to avoid failure. She studied. She never missed a homework assignment and was never absent. Alas, trigonometry was not kind to her and no matter how she tried, she could not pass.

Abbie had a decision to make. She could continue taking math, go to tutoring and even if she could not pass, she could pick up skills she would need in college. Besides, Abbie has always been a come-from-behind student in math and she always passed in the end and did not expect trigonometry to be any different. Doing this risked her being banned from the prom. Her other choice was to drop trig (she did not need it for graduation), pass all her subjects and be assured admission to the prom.

Being a teenager does not always mean making the best decisions. Abbie followed her dream and dropped the trigonometry class. She's going to the prom. She sacrificed her future for the present, something many of us, not just teenagers do.

Why was Abbie forced to make this choice? I understand punishing kids who don't do the right thing, but punishing a kid who tried? To me, this is just wrong. Way back in time, when I was a teenager, kids failed. My best friend failed thegeometry regents although she worked harder than anyone I ever met. There are plenty of kids out there that just can't "get" it. These kids feel bad enough about their limitations and now we are topping off the hurt by taking away things they love. I know the reason behind this rule and it makes sense when you are dealing with some elements but a rule like this hurts our avearage students. It is time to rethink this consequence of failing even one subject.

Children Last

The post about Kim brought a few comments suggesting he might be better off with an online course and individual instruction. Too bad things like data analysis and quality reviews (both real and mock) use up all the money that could pay for these things.

Children last is alive and well in NYC, at least until Bloomberg and his henchman Klein are dethroned.

Turning The Table

We teachers are always being observed so I decided to turn the table and observe Mr. Principal during our recent faculty conference. I think if more of us did things like this, these conferences might be more meaningful, productive and engaging.

Mr. Principal

Faculty Conference

Period XX

May 3, 2010

Mr. Principal was at the front of the room greeting a very tired group of people with enthusiasm, making them feel welcome and making them feel their attendance was appreciated. He waited a few minutes until everyone was seated and then began the presentation. Several minutes into the presentation, the pledge began and he respectfully stopped talking and asked people to rise. He must be commended for not reprimanding people who did not stand. He waited until the announcements were over to begin again.

Mr. Principal began by discussing the upcoming regents and explaining the difference between teaching to the test, which he does not believe in, and test prep, which he is strongly in favor of. He emphasized how important it is for the students to be preparing constantly and to not wait until the last minute for studying to begin. He then discussed what we, as educators, could do to promote positive regents results, even if we were not teaching a course that terminated in a regents.

Mr. Principal then broke us up into smaller groups, smartly using the tables where we were seated so no tired individual had to get up and move. Each table was given a poster size sheet of paper and a marker and told to come up with 5 ways to help our students. The tables had teachers of various disciplines and the discussions were across content area.

After 8 minutes, Mr. Principal brought the groups back together and had one member of each group come to the front and share their group's conclusions with everyone present. Many good ideas were discussed. Guidance counselors and physical education teachers, teachers usually not involved in regents prep provided valuable ways they could be of assistance. All presenters were praised and thanked.

Mr. Principal summarized all the ideas, mentioned the end term party and then thanked everyone for participating before dismissing the meeting, almost exactly on time.

The meeting was well planned and thought out. The discussion was entertaining as well as thought provoking and informative. Mr. Principal should be commended for engaging a group of people that did not want to be engaged.

Recommendations:

1. Try to encourage different people to speak, instead of the usual group. This is the only way to know how well everyone in the room understands what has been going on.

2. Try to manage time a little better to end the discussion promptly at the end of the period.

3. Provide refreshments.

4. Try attaching a note to the bottom of one chair giving the person in that seat immunity from the next faculty conference and then surprise the staff with this announcement as they look under their seat..

Overall, Mr. Principal presented a well thought out conference. His objectives were clear, his development precise. He used various techniques to keep the group moving. A summary was given at the end. This meeting is rated satisfactory.

(And this is exactly how the meeting went down.)

Wonders

From one of my ninth period wonders:

"Ms, I finished my probation. I don't have to go back to court anymore. Now, I can stop listening to my mother."

Heaven help us all when our paychecks depends on kids like this one succeeding.

Lots Of Questions

Kim stopped coming to school in October and decided to return in May. Guess whose math class he ended up in? (If you guessed mine, you win the grand prize.)

I asked Kim where he's been all this time. He was a student of mine in the fall. He said he was home watching television.

So now he's back. He is far behind the weakest students in the class. What chance does he have? What chance is there for him to make it until June? How soon will it take for him to become the disturbance in was before? Why do we even have to take this kids back?

We would all be better off if he kept watching television.

Much Needed E-mail

I felt kind of bad that only 15 kids showed up for help on Saturday. We did accomplish quite a bit. Small group instruction works well. I just got this e-mail from a girl in my class and it made my night.

Hello,
I could not make it in Saturday, and so I studied on my own. I can now honestly say that Calculus is easy!!! I was looking over the final (calculator section) and it is upsetting to me that I wasn't able to show off that I know it. When I was re-taking the exam at home, I realized that I could have got almost everything correct. I hope that i will be able to show off my skills on the AP exam, because honestly I feel smarter than I was before. (I was scared of calc before). Your reassurrance helped a lot. Thank you!
-

Anniversary

I can't believe that it has been three years since my mom died. I still miss her.

Senioritis

The kids know I'm like a hawk and I prowl the room, looking to pounce on slackers. They thought they could outsmart me by opening the packet to the third page and putting some numbers next to example 15. They thought I would be impressed with how far they got and I would leave them alone. They thought wrong.

The best kid in the class was only up to the fifth question when I got to them, so I turned their booklet back to the first page to see how they did the previous problems. (Or at least that is what I told them.) I was not surprised to see blanks in all previous problems. They were shocked to be caught.

These kids are bright, some of the brightest kids in the school and in the city but senioritis has taken hold of their brains and they are producing nothing. If only they could channel the energy they use trying to get away with things into the energy they need to actually do something, they would be unstoppable. Hopefully by college they will learn to do the right thing.

Not A Big Deal

She didn't wear a jacket because being a teenager means you don't listen to the weather forecast. I don't go out without listening so of course I had one.

She was going to visit a college in Manhattan, traveling by bus and train and would get home late.

My car was half a block away and I was going straight home.

I made her take my jacket.

She thought it was a big deal.

It was nothing. I knew she would return it the next day.

Such A Help

Dear Ms. POd

Your referral of Smith, John to the Guidance Department has been received.

The action taken to this point is as follows:

---------------
I've been working with John throughout the year. It's unfortunate that John's behavior and attitude hasn't improved even after our interventions with Ms. APPS, Mr. AP Security and Mr. Dean. His mother has told us that she cannot control John. Regardless, I will continue to work with John. You can contact his mother at (xxx)xxx-xxxx. Please keep me updated.

Additionally, you may want to pursue this as a disciplinary issue through the Deans Office, maybe they can arrange a conference with all of his teachers and along with his mother to find a solution to this situation.
---------------

Regards,
Mr. Guidance Counselor

John has already been suspended due to actions in my classroom. Any idea as to how to deal with this one? Strange as it seems, there is something likeable inside this kid and I would love to be able to help him.

Thought Of The Day

From my daily calendar (http://www.pageaday.com/)

Unfortunately, we have been taught that to get ahead one must compare, compete, and take advantage of others.

Comparison and competition are forms of external referencing that are only illusions of the mind. When did we come to believe that they are real?

Take some time to see how destructive comparisons and competitions are in your life.

(I know a few people at work who really need to take these words to heart.)

Right Of Privacy

No AP should follow a teacher into the toilet and no AP should be addressing a teacher while the teacher is sitting on the pot. The teacher has the right to a peaceful pee which is exactly what she told the AP.

I guess they don't teach you this in buy your diploma administration school.

Wimps

They had the opportunity to express how they really felt about her and they wimped out. It was very disappointing.

His Balls Were In An Uproar

" Her panties were in a knot", and "his shorts were too tight", are both expressions I've heard and used many times. "His balls were in an uproar" is a new expression to me. A colleague used to describe an individual we were with this week. Just thinking about this gives me the giggles.

City Pushing Major Changes In Special Education

According to an article in today's NY Times, the city is pushing for more special education students to be enrolled in regular regular high schools and by 2011 principals of all but the most severely disabled students will be expected to enroll these students.

You can and should read the entire article for yourself, but I had to comment on it here . The Bloomberg administration is swearing up and down that they are not doing this to save money, they are doing this as an effort to improve results for special education students.

While graduation rates have risen over all, for example, the rates for special education students have remained stubbornly low — fewer than 25 percent received a regular diploma last year, compared with more than double that for
traditional students.

Hello!!!! Doesn't anyone out there realize there is a reason for this? Special education means special needs. There is a reason these kids don't graduate and that more often than not this has little to do with the programs they are in (unless they are forced into academic programs beyond their capacity to learn.)

More and more ISS students are mainstreamed every day. This is good when they have the ability, with a little extra assistance, to succeed. For these kids, we have a moral and a legal obligation to provide for them in the least restrictive environment possible. But, there are kids that just can't make it here. A child who enters high school reading and doing math on a third grade (or lower) level cannot possibly succeed. Put these kids in a class with 34 other kids and look out. They will probably just get swallowed up in the crowd. In just a year, the schools will not be equipped to handle the needs of these children. Not only will principals not be ready, teachers will not be ready either.

“If kids are stuck in schools that don’t have the capacity to serve them and are denied requests to move elsewhere, that would be falling worse than flat.”

The second page of the article goes on to discuss some of the issues I am bring up here. There is a poignant story from a parent of a special needs child who succeeded because he was first enrolled in a special program and by a principal and by the Principal's union.

I'm Not A Good Teacher

Good teachers let their students know how they will be graded and report card marks are not surprises to their students.

I'm not a good teacher. My ninth period students expect grades of 90 when their highest test grade all semester has been a 65. I have a student who doesn't understand why he cannot pass in spite of the fact he hasn't opened a notebook since day one and he has never done more than put his name on an exam. The boy who comes and stares off into space but managed to get a 67 on one exam also feels he should be passing. Some of my college students are just as bad. They don't do homework, fail exams, come to class late and leave early but need the class to graduate and they expect to pass.

If my grading rubric was 40% attendance, 40% socialization with friends, 10% playing with a cell phone, and 10% everything else, I would understand their shock at not making it. I don't think that is what I told them I expected them to do, but I guess I am wrong.

I'm not a very good teacher.

Advice

I have some unsolicited advice for some of my colleagues who are flipping out about things administrators are saying to them lately. I have said these things in person, and people have not always reacted well, but I still think they are worth repeating here.

1. An admin asking to talk to you is not always a reason to worry. Amazingly, they do say things that are not disciplinary.

2. Admins are supervisors and as such have the right and the obligation to make comments, suggestions and even criticisms of your lesson. Most of these comments do not lead to "U" ratings (at least in my school for the majority of teachers) so smile, agree and say you will do your best to implement these ideas. Try their suggestions, after all, they might not know their ass from their elbow, but they are the bosses and the ones who will be evaluating you..

3. Do not agonize over anything said. As long as the bottom line has the word satisfactory in it (whether it is minimally, marginally, barely or anything else they can come up with) don't sweat it.

4. Grab a pen and a pad and go observe your AP teaching. I guarantee you will make that person as uncomfortable as you are if you write, look up, and then write again. No one likes being put on the hot seat.

5. Don't show fear. If your admin is a bully, she will pounce on this weakness. Don't show too much arrogance either. Just stay firm, agree with as much as possible and try to leave smiling, even if you are seething inside.

Bottom line, you can't change anyone but yourself. There are lots of evil people in this world, but not all are harmful to your livelihood or your income and sometimes you have to just grin and bear it. Believe me, I've worked for some of the worst. The guy who used to be in charge of the ISS department hated me before he knew me, threw me out of his department and spread terrible rumors about me and my teaching ability. It took years of hard work to prove his stories false. These were words, nasty hurtful words but never once was my job in danger.

The admins you hate are not nice. Deal with it. Have faith and confidence in yourself and ignore the sometimes hurtful words that come out of their mouths. You can't change them. You can change the way you look at them.

3 Mo' Divas

Saturday night I had the opportunity to see Three Mo' Divas at Queens College. Our English AP has connections that allow her to offer us free tickets to some pretty wonderful events.

The only regret I have is that the tickets were not available earlier. What a wonderful opportunity it would have been for our students to see these three classically trained singers at work. This performance was part of the Black Cultural Arts Series. The audience represented every race and the show was loved by all.

Ms Bigmouth And The AP

Ms. Bigmouth stopped the AP in the hall today after another department meeting where senior teachers were constantly being berated and accused of not being effective. She pulled the AP aside and asked to speak, as a friend, prefacing her comments with "You will probably not be happy with what I am about to say, but I am going to say it anyway." Then she began:

You made some wonderful points at the meeting. I know there were things you said that I need to work on but, all anyone hears at the meeting is "senior teacher this, and senior teacher that" and quite frankly, we can't get past that. (The AP offered defense but Ms. Bigmouth wanted no part of it.) I am telling you what we hear and because of that, nothing else registers and we have no desire to try to implement any of your suggestions. The way you talk about teachers is wrong. We all know who you are referring to in your generalities and its not nice and its not appropriate. You have to express everything you said in more general terms and on a more positive note. When we met after you observed me, you began the meeting on a very positive, respectful note. Because of that, I listened to what you had to say, realized what I did and what I need to do differently and I have been attempting to do them. You can catch more flies with honey than vinegar and some teachers, like students need the extra TLC.

For once, the AP listened. Ms. Bigmouth evaluated the situation and was sure the AP did get it and would make an effort to do things differently in the future. Ms. Bigmouth went home feeling good about herself. She just finished telling me this story and asked me to write what she hopes will be a happy ending for all.

Lip Service

I filed my first grievance in over 25 years last week. I've never needed to file one before as I've always been able to work out problems without going through this procedure. I probably could have this time as well, but, this one on needs to be on record.

I won't settle for a lip service answer.

Ed Reform

From NEA Today -- read the article here

Favorite Period Of The Day

I'm working on this project which involves kids giving up their lunch period one day a week. I approached one of the young ladies in the group and told her we were going to start this week and that she could bring her lunch up to the room we would be working in. She just looked at me and said, "But Ms, I love my lunch period."

I know how she feels. She's is a lovely, hard working young lady in the bottom third of the school. She has a full academic load and it is hard for her. And now, I am going to be stealing the one period she has to relax. I'm going to bring the kids donuts and try to make it fun but, work is work. I hope she doesn't start hating me.

Nasty Words

My colleague's AP said "In a few years, when all you senior teachers are gone, I will finally have the kind of department I want."

Teachers better not lose seniority rights with administrators like this around.

Bloomberg and Company Discussing Education Statistics

Dumping and Merit Pay

My friend Ricochet in Georgia is very worried about merit pay as she, and all teachers should be.

She doesn't mention anything about "dumping" so dumping might not be done in her district but it is done in mine. "Dumping" occurs when kids failing one class are suddenly put in another class with another teacher. Certain teachers are always permitted to "dump" kids and their statistics are always good. Certain teachers are always given the "dumped" kids and their statistics show this as well.

At our union meeting we discussed this dumping and one teacher felt it was a good thing because "some kids do better with certain teachers." While this is true, it is not fair. These certain teachers don't deserve the problems just because they can handle them and they certainly should not be taking hits in the pocketbook because they do a good job.

I'm known as the 60% woman because I am one of the certain teachers. I always resented being dumped on but lately it has gotten out of hand, particularly when we are constantly being compared and put down when our stats don't measure up.

Merit pay will do nothing to improve education and in my opinion, it will only make it worse. The teachers that have a choice will never voluntarily work with problem and struggling students. These kids will always be left with the inexperienced teachers and the teachers without the ability to say no.

You can't get water from a stone and you can't get everyone to learn everything.

The Queen

She makes the rules but doesn't follow them herself. The kids are still getting shafted as far as this is concerned. But, she's queen, she says she can do as she wishes and she does.

Another Crazy In My Class

She looked like an angel, but I new she was trouble the minute she walked into my ninth period class last week. Cathy, a new admit to the school, came into the class, notebook in hand, and sat down ready to work amidst the normal lunacy. Little by little, the cell phone made an appearance and it became a constant battle to get her to put it away.

Yesterday I asked her where she transferred from. When she mentioned the school (which is less than two miles from Packemin) I knew I was right but tried not to be too judgemental. My husband came up with all kinds of good reasons she transferred now, but we all know kids don't change schools in April without cause.

Today, I walked into the room and saw Cathy standing over Kevin, a huge boy of a different race and she was going crazy, cursing, swinging her arms and looking for a fight. Kevin just sat there but I know him well enough to know he was not an innocent bystander. Being chicken, I stayed in front of the room and called Mr. AP and security. Luckily, they all came running and the fight was averted.

I came home and told the story to my husband who said, "Of course she ended up in your class. All the crazies end up there." Oh well, 34 days until the end of classes.

Delivered As Promised

I bitched, I got what I wanted and I wimped out.

The school is offering Smart Board training and I signed up immediately but when I got the acceptance letter, I saw it involved 17 hours, some days for two hours at a time, others for three hours. I wanted to do it but these old bones can't handle that many hours after a full day of work so I turned it down.

I heard there is a waiting list so I don't feel so bad. At least someone will learn use it wisely.

(I am still green with envy every time I walk by a room where someone is using one.)

The Chihuahua and BooBoo

The chihuahua was little but that did not mean she wasn't evil. She snarled and growled and sunk her teeth into anyone who did not conform to her idea of perfection.

Poor little BooBoo was recently rescued and brought to the chihuahua's shelter. Chihuahua took an immediate dislike to BooBoo because BooBoo did not act like the other dogs. BooBoo came from a home where she was beaten regularly and subject to all sorts of abuses. The other dogs felt sorry for BooBoo and tried to ease her pain. Chihuahua objected to their being nice to her. Chihuahua said the shelter was no place for coddling and it was not there to make up for the shortcomings of Booboo's previous existence. Chihuahua took a huge bite out of Cindy's leg when Cindy tried to help Booboo. Cindy cried out in pain. The other dogs ran away. Chihuahua then turned her evilness full force on Booboo who will never be able to lead a normal life again.

(Look at little BooBoo's face. Can you imagine anything that looks like this being treated so poorly?

The Buffoon Does It Again

The buffoon has not learned. He still expects everyone to jump through his hoops when he needs a form filled out. Again he e-mailed the form and accused everyone who did not fill it in of misplacing it.

I told the stuffed suit I would only fill out a hard copy and he got pissy and started talking about all the kids on his caseload (as if I have none of my own to worry about.) He told me I am the only one with a problem doing it his way. I told him I guess I am not as good as everyone else. He walked out in a huff. I sat down at a cafeteria computer feeling victorious.

Stop Looking For The Nazis Under Your Bed

My Aunt Ida is afraid of everything, and has been for as long as I can remember. She was a young adult during World War II and always worried about the Nazis coming to get her, even though she lived her entire life in Brooklyn and the Bronx.

There are lots of teachers with 20 or more years experience and no negative file letters who share the same mentality. Fear is emitted from every pore of their body after every encounter with an administrator, no matter how harmless or meaningless it is. They have simple requests, but are afraid to voice them. They worry when an admin walks in their room but are afraid to ask why. They agonize and fantasize the worst case scenarios but do nothing to help alleviate the pain.

A group of teachers planned a meeting with an admin to discuss a relevant issue. At first, they were all gung ho. They started getting nervous and little by little, they dropped out of the discussion and claimed they were not a part of it to begin with and did not want to get on any body's bad side. They all waited for someone else to do the deed.

The fact of the matter is that bad things happen to good people and teachers are no exception. But, hiding in a closet is not going to keep the Nazis away. If they want someone, they will get them. Me, I'm a resistance fighter. I might have some fears but I will not show them and if I lose, I'll make sure I cause some injury on the way down. We wonder how the teaching profession has changed so drastically but it is obvious when you look around.

I started teaching a zillion years ago, in the 70's. I went on strike, risked my job, jail and got hit with Taylor Law penalties. The economy wasn't so great then, but it was the right thing to do. I have no regrets. I had an AP that was the devil herself. As a department, we united and fought her. We refused to speak at meetings. Our CL, with our support, lived in the Principal's office. The principal fought hard and got her to retire. We won because we stood together and were not afraid.

Standing up is not easy but it is the only way. The only person anyone can depend upon is themselves and if everyone does this, think of the strong group we would create. We could stop hiding and defeat those Nazis under the bed.

I really need to send this, but don't have the courage to do so yet. I need to get things off my chest and this is as good a place as any. She doesn't read this blog so she won't know it is here,

To My former friend:

We were friends, good friends but gradually things changed. Two summers ago you told me you had no time to get together, even for a cup of coffee. Last summer it took you a month to return my first phone call, another month to return my second phone call and my third phone call you ignored. You dropped out of our birthday group without an explanation and only bothered to tell one person whose job it was to pass on your message. You ignored the birthday card I sent and the phone call I made on your birthday and you forgot I even had one. On the day of my birthday celebration you discussed, in my face, how you were going to celebrate thr birthday of someone else. You've let me know loud and clear you have no time for my friendship and though it bothers me, I will move on. I've learned you can't control anything but yourself so I won't bother trying.

Now, you pass me in the hall and want to chat. You see me at after school activities and retirement parties and act like everything is the same as it has always been . It is easy for you to be friendly at these events, it requires no exertion on your part. It is not the same for me. I can't be phony and pretend everything is honky dory when its not. You see, I have a busy life too and I don't have time for people who don't have time for me.

A mutual friend told me to talk to you but since you don't return phone calls, this is impossible. Besides, there is nothing more to be said. By saying nothing, you've said it all. I know you are a good person with a good heart and I wish you all the best. I always enjoyed your company and your friendship and I think you used to feel the same about mine. I don't know what changed. I do know that I wish you all the best.

Your former friend,

POd

Buffoon In A Suit

He didn't answer my last e-mail which is good. I got the last word in and that was all I wanted.

I'll decide how and when a conversation is to take place.

Bitching Again

We are finally getting the ceiling fixed (after all the wait, insurance isn't even covering the job) so I knew I would have no access to my printer and decided to do a bunch of work for tomorrow in school. Guess what? The printer in the cafeteria is not working again. The printer in the teachers' work room was out of paper and is only working with a manual feed.

This is what happens when over 300 people have two printers available for use.

Thanks Bloomberg. Keep spending that money on Acuity tests. It is really helping us all out.

McGraw Hill Stockhold Shows Big Gains

At a time when money is tight, the DOE is spending a fortune on Acuity tests for the students scheduled to take the integrated algebra regents in June. The test is designed (supposedly) to point out the areas the students need more work in because teachers are not capable of figuring this out on their own. (We only test and assess our students daily but this is obviously not good enough.) Teachers have only done this by themselves since the beginning of time but the big shot politicians have to take care of their wealthy friends and these lucrative contracts must be given out. School budgets are being cut all over the place, services to children are being withdrawn, but McGraw Hill stockholders are still bringing in the big bucks. When I think of the waste involved with this testing I get physically ill. To add insult to this injury, teacher salaries, pensions and unions are still being blamed for the financial woes of the system.

Aside from the financial strain, there was the waste of time component. A full period was spent administering this exam, a period that could have better been spent on learning. Some of the topics on the exam have not even been taught yet. No computer program is needed to tell a breathing teacher that the kids will not know these topics.

It is time for the general public to wake up and realize that politicians do not care one iota about improving education. They care about making themselves look good and about increasing the spending money of their cronies. We've got to take a stand, for us, for our children and for future generations.

Losers

The AP of a very prestigious school in a "B" borough has decided that all incoming students should take geometry or a more advanced course, even if they never took algebra. The AP wants all the students to be able to take calculus before they graduate.
This sounds good, but there is a major problem. THE KIDS KNOW NO ALGEBRA! They can barely solve a linear equation, let alone a quadratic one. They know nothing of polynomials, like terms, or radicals.

The saddest part of all this is that they will probably pass the geometry regents. I just read a statistic that says 74% of the kids who took it last year passed and since these kids are very bright, they will pass. The school might even be able to pull off some miracle and get them into calculus, but at what cost? And, with all the pressure being put on teachers, these kids will pass calculus as well. Following an education plan like this will surely make NYC school children "Race To The Top" losers.

If You Want To Share Some Love....

This guys owner died and he needs a new home. The staff is confident he will find one soon.

This baby is just so sweet. Someone is bound to bring her home soon.

This one just wanted out of that cage.

Casey was yelping like a wild man.

Petey is 6 years old and has been in the shelter for 2.5 years. He is so sweet. He just watched his surroundings without making a sound.

Bobbi and the Strays rescues pets, provides care and tries to find the loving homes that they deserve. If you are looking for a new addition to your family, give them a look. They are in the Atlas Mall, in Queens.

They Deserve The Risk Of Failure

Some kids in the second term of a four term algebra class I was covered last week asked me to teach them some advanced stuff. They felt the material they were being taught was too easy and they wanted to move ahead. They asked for proofs and I assumed they were referring to the ones the kids do in geometry. I also knew there was no way to get them to understand those in such a short period of time. And, then I thought, why not show them the proof where 1 = 2. This proof involves factoring and fractions, two topics they were currently studying. The strange part (for me) was that many of them were interested in it (unlike my class of the same level that is interested in nothing) and several of the kids actually got it.

One girl, Isabella, really got to me. She wanted her class changed to the two term algebra, the class she had started the year in. She told me she had a lot of trouble last term, got a 55 in January but has since gotten a tutor and was doing much better. She told me she and her parents feel that she is wasting her time in the current class and because of the extra year being spent in algebra, she knows she will never make it to high school calculus or pre-calculus. I only spent a short time with her, but the feeling I had was that she was right, she was wasting her time. She might not have gotten 90's but she would have made it through. She needed time to adjust to high school and was moved way too fast. Isabella is ambitious. She wants to get back on track. She's willing to do the extra work. The worse thing that could happen to her is that she fails and, if that happens, she can always go into a four term class in September. I don't know if this is a possibility. Kids are still being moved around, I got a new one last week. It would be great if she can be moved too. I hope she,and her parents follow through, fidn someone with the authority to make the change, and insist on her making the move.

The wholesale dumping we do has got to stop. On the record, kids are no longer being tracked in school. Off the record, tracking is as strong now as ever.

Had To Post This One

I don't know if this is considered to be a good photo or not, my husband says its too blurred, but I loved the fuzzy look of the kid in the air.