Last Time

The real estate agent told us she couldn't believe some of the things she found in apartments up for sale. Many were full of photographs, religious items and other personal items. Some of these things had real worth, others sentimental value. She said she found closets full of food. I am finding many of these things as I clean out my parents home. There are clothes that still have tags on them. The cabinets are stocked with enough canned goods to sustain the entire development in case of a disaster. My parents never believed that when they left, they were leaving for the last time. They wanted things ready for their return, a trip that never happened. I filled garbage bag after garbage bag with expired food. I packed up clothes to give to charity. An extra suitcase is filled with momentos I can't bring myself to part with. It is so sad. I watch my purchases now. I wonder what I will be leaving behind for others to clean.

Over The Line

I promised Rosie's mom I would call her any time Rosie was not in class. Friday afternoon I was forced to make my first call.

Surprisingly, Rosie answered the phone and when she realized I was on the other end, she put her mom right on. Rosie's mom was quite upset with Rosie. She thanked me for calling and asked for my e-mail address, which I readily gave her. Imagine my surprise when I opened an e-mail from her a few minutes ago and saw this:

Rosie's mom wants to stay in better touch using some of Google's coolest new products.

If you already have Gmail or Google Talk, visit: (I am omitting the website)
You'll need to click this link to be able to chat with Rosie's mom.

I replied with this:

Thank you for your e-mail. I do not chat on line but will be happy to address your concerns in an e-mail or on the phone.

I don't mind answering the e-mails. I don't mind the school phone calls or even an occasional evening phone call, but this one hit me by surprise.

I am not a KIPP teacher and I do have a life outside of school. Chatting online with parents is not something I want to do or care to do. Talk about stepping over the line.

All Kids Need Help--Not Just The Ones With IEPs

I didn't think the IEP post would cause so much outrage. Thank you teachers for all your support.

I just checked. It is only November and I have already written 25 individual letters of recommendation for my students. I'm only counting the letters, each letter has at least 3 or 4 applications attached so the amount of work involved is incredible. There have also been countless forms filled out for the college office. That number will increase once scholarship applications begin.

Before I write a letter of recommendation, I read over the student's resume and personal statement. I also question them as to their goals and interests and try to find the one or two things that will make the subject of the recommendation stand out from all the others.

As I was writing this post an e-mail came from Macaulay Honors Program. They are collecting all their recommendations online this year. So that is another thing I must do. Since I have no computer access at work, those are done at home.

As for brighter kids not needing attention, think again. Would you be happy if your honor child came home from school saying the teacher had no time to help him with a problem? Or, how about, forget that scholarship, Johnny needs me more and I don't have time to fill out your recommendation. Bright kids are just as time consuming, albeit in a different form.

So, all you parents out there with kids with special needs--I feel for you but I feel for these other kids too. They are just as entitled to help and special treatment as everyone else. Too bad there is no federal law protecting them. Don't judge me without having a clue as to what I do! And, as for telling me what I would do if your child was in my class, SORRY, THAT IS NOT GOING TO HAPPEN!

Playing Cards

I come from a working class family. We didn't have much money so mom and dad entertained my sister and me with games. We played card games for hours. I learned to count and to recognize numbers from a deck of cards. I learned how to order my numbers from playing rummy and I learned addition from casino. My mom introduced casino with subtraction to enforce teach those skills. Maybe that is why I've always loved math.

Kids today don't play cards with their parents. Teaching probability is a problem when we get to the card questions because many have never touched a deck of cards in their lives. They have no idea how many cards are in the deck, the suits or even the colors of black and red. They say that their parents don't like gambling.

How sad that a simple thing like playing cards with your child is considered bad? Is it a cultural thing? Many of my students are foreign born. Or, are parents today just too busy to enjoy this simple pleasure with their children?

Wild Ride

My geometry classes are comprised of weak math students. All the kids have failed math at least once in the past. Too many are still failing. I was happy to see quite a few parents of these kids today. The parents were concerned and wanted to help. Quite a few parents said, "My child does well when he likes the teacher. This term XXX is coming home happy."

It's going slow, but I am making progress with these kids. Today they all worked great. Yesterday, they were even quiet for a while. Sometimes I feel like I am on a wild ride and other times I feel that I can make a difference.

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.

Sad Shape of the World

Bullet-proof Backpack

DANVERS, Mass. - New for this U.S. schoolchildren this
fall -- stylish yet functional -- it's a backpack with
a bulletproof lining. The item is being marketed by MJ
Safety Solutions, a company founded by Mike Pelonzi and
Joe Curran of Massachusetts. "I'm a parent and so is Joe
and we wanted a way of keeping kids safe at school and
this is what we came up with," Pelonzi told The Staten
Island Advance. The company sells two sizes, one for
books and the other for laptop computers. Both have a
light metal plate sewn into the back, guaranteed to stop
bullets although weighing no more than a bottle of water.
The MJ Solutions Web site says there have been 328 school
shootings since 1999, with 229 dead and 422 injured. "In
almost 97 percent of these documented incidents, MJ Safety
Solutions' backpack could have provided the ballistic
protection that could have saved lives," the site claims.
The makers say the backpacks will also protect against
knives and other weapons

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Laziness

I tutor a girl whose family has a lot of money, I mean a real lot of money and they don't mind spending it on their kids. The girl I tutor goes to a ritzy private school in Manhattan, a school that probably rivals Harvard in price. So, why am I writing about her? This girl is bright, but needs extra help in math. The family values education so they hired me to tutor her. Originally I was supposed to tutor her once a week, but she didn't need that much help then and I told her parents so. I don't care how much money they have, I don't want to take money from them under false pretenses. However, as the term progressed, the work got harder and she needed more and more help. What I don't understand is why they waited until the week before the final to call me? Since money is not a problem and education is very valued I can only conclude it is laziness on their part. A few years ago I decided that I am a good tutor and if the kids want my help, they have to come to my house for it. I guess the parents just didn't want to make the trip. I haven't heard from her yet. I hope she did okay on the exam.