TGIF!!!!!!!!!!

Thank God it's Friday because:

• It's not Thursday again (a la Ground Hogs Day)

A Few Good Shots

Staff meetings....oh what fun it is to listen to them whine....the parents aren't supportive...these kids don't respect me....the administration/district/(insert monolithic bureaucratic entity) does nothing to help me...

I guess I am just surprised that some people expect rock heads to miraculously turn into brain surgeons and rocket scientists or upstanding citizens just because they are lucky enough to be a student of theirs. 

To me the students I have are the students I have. The parents that the students have are the parents they have. The administration/district/(insert monolithic bureaucratic entity) I work for is what it is. I can't pick my students, change their lineage, or get my administration/district/(insert monolithic bureaucratic entity) to do as I wish. All I can do is the best I can with who I have and where I have them. Complaining is a colossal waste of energy and time.

Teaching is a bit like a round of golf. I may not have broken par (or maybe even 100) today but, there was a few shots I felt pretty good about and that is why I will play again. I may not mentor the next president, but a few of my former students seem to be doing well.

Thanks to my Union

Unions are sort of a necessary evil in the world of education. I appreciate that the union seeks the best possible pay and benefits for me and my fellow educators. But, what they do with my dues greatly concerns me. For example they give large sums of money to a group that seek homosexual rights. No problem. Except I have never in 21 years seen these people in support of teachers. I have never heard from them in support of teachers politically. To me, it is just money to keep them from hassling us.

They are also a great guide for me when I vote. Whatever my union recommends, I vote the opposite. Since most unions make no pretense of being open minded or neutral it makes it easy for me.

Thanks.

The Good, The Bad and the Goofy?

I have this little theory. The theory is that in every class 95% of the students are good kids and 5% are bad, either goofy or evil. My problems occur when I let the 5% take up 95% of my time. 

This year I have one class that is challenging those assumptions. I think the balance is off. It may be 60/40 rather than 95/5. Most students have something they want. Something they care about. But, what do I do with those who actually don't care? What do I do with someone who has not come to the realization that doing nothing will result in nothing? 

My other classes prove the theory true. When I work the 95% who are good, the 5% who are not eventually come in line. 

Maybe I just believe...

It's funny how our choices, even in Middle School can so effect the rest of our lives. 

Who Are Schools Designed for?

After teaching for a few years and seeing so many students struggle I wondered who schools are designed for. I knew for sure that they were not designed for me. As a teacher I am thoroughly convinced that they are not designed for the vast majority of students. Schools have been custom designed for those who can teach themselves.

My oldest son was a great student. A freak of nature actually, my wife and I never had to tell him to do his homework (my other three children are normal).   In high school his second year Spanish teacher thought she was quite good. She even played tapes of herself teaching lessons from the past and used them as lessons in the present. She never moved from behind her desk, not even during a parent conference or Open House! According to my son she would inform the class of the chapter(s) to be covered and then quiz the students. My son received an A. He taught himself well.

My second son said he usually did not understand his Trigonometry teacher. I asked him if would like a tutor because I knew I would be unable to help. He said, “No, thanks. If I read the chapter I can figure it out.” Another A. He taught himself.

I have spent time outside the classroom the last 5 years and have listened to many a complaint by parents like my wife and I concerning teachers who are not teaching their children. These teachers usually point to the one or two students who are doing well and use them as proof of their own viability as an educator.

“A” students teach themselves most of the time.

So, as a teacher I ask myself, “Who is my class designed for?”