It's a Shame

Today students are completing a reading/writing long-term assignment. The first two classes have been very good and I was able to have individual conferences with most students as I checked their progress. It feels good to do real teaching and feel that I'm making a difference. The problem is, there are too many students to be able to work one-on-one with each one during a class period. I want to give all students the time they deserve. It's a shame.

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Period 7 has a few student "viruses" that spread "infection" among the entire class with students who have low resistance to disruptions. Some days I wind up spending all my time disciplining and not teaching this particular class. Although an average level class, they are not willing to try to tackle problems independently. In fact, they are unwilling to even pretend to work some days. The students who are out of control at home, continue their rudeness and disruptions at school. It's a shame that some students who might have done well in my first or second period class are learning much less as a result of placement in my seventh period class.

Teach? I'd Love to!

Teach subject matter? I'd love to do that but there are so many other matters to deal with.

Seventh period today, several girls were a few seconds late to class. I didn't make an issue of it. The class was even more talkative than usual. I put Mike out in the hall because he was trying to be class clown again. Meanwhile, Katie and Krista, the few seconds late girls, began with, "I have to go to the bathroom." Since they had just come from the same hall and had five minutes to use the bathroom, I refused to let them go. Les, our permanent sub, then said that Mike was misbehaving during his time out in the hall. I told Mike to go to the office. Then Katie walked out saying she was going to the bathroom anyway. Now long after that, Krista walked out saying she was going to the bathroom. When they returned, I sent them to the office. I wrote referrals on all three of them. When I checked in the office, the two girls had never shown up in the office.

I told the class that tomorrow, I was not talking to them. They are to come in, sit down, be quiet and work.

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Too Little Too Late

There are 20 days left in the school year. In the past two days, we've seen parents of four children who are very concerned that their children are failing. It amazes me that none of these parents were heard from the entire school year, in spite of a number of E's on their children's report cards for the first three marking quarters. Not only are they showing concern too late, but they are blaming the teachers and school for not notifying them.

Where have these parents been?!!!!

Students take home one interim report and one report card each marking quarter. The parents were notified six times!!!!

When we reminded the parents of this, they retaliated by saying their children were not reliable in bringing things home and that it is the teachers' responsibility to make sure their irresponsible children do what they are supposed to do. They also are demanding that we call them every time their children don't turn in homework or misbehave. I'm sorry but with 140 students every day and more than a full day, there's no way we even have time to do this if we were so inclined.

The climate is such that everything is the responsibility of the teachers. If students don't learn, it's because the teacher is doing something wrong. If students misbehave, it's because the teacher is using the wrong techniques. Of course, we are very limited with what we can do. We can't touch them. Detention only Tuesdays or Wednesdays and then too many times parents hear one side of the story and tell their child that they don't have to serve detention for that nasty teacher.

Nothing is going to change in education until students are held accountable for their role in their own education.

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It Never Stops

7th period. Mike has been told 8 times to stop being rude and keep quiet. Now he's pushing desks in the row and bothering students in front of him. More reminders. It continues.

I finally go behind him, catch him in the middle of the act and pull him and his desk back with a jerk. He is surprised and the class is awed at the strength of their language arts teacher. Mike is now threatening to sue me for whip lash.

Danger!

Unseen dangers lurk. At the end of last week, Carol (science teacher) entered her room in the morning and noticed gas controls were turned on. She flicked the light switch which was not a good idea because a small spark might have set off an explosion if enough gas were in the room. She discovered that it could not have been an accident because several had been turned on. She quickly turned them off and left the room. By that time, she was feeling alarmingly dizzy and called her husband and doctor. The advice was to keep moving and NOT to go to sleep. She had to work the gas out of her system.

The gas had been on all night long. The police were not called. The fire department was not called. The building was not evacuated. MSPAP testing continued that day with no interuptions. Is there a message here?

There was no clue as to who had done it until the next day when one of her students bragged about it. He was taken to the office and given three days suspension. Many are outraged at the lack of punishment over such a serious matter. It should be considered as serious as bringing a weapon to school because of the potential for dangerous consequences.

Blood

Tuesday. Excitement 6th period. I was in the hall on hall duty when one of the students came out in the hall with blood running down her face. Another student had thrown an eraser (chalkboard variety with wood) at her and gashed her head. I sent both to the office and got eye witness accounts. Then I sent the best communicator in this below average class to give a description to the vice principal.

Details: Amanda was busy doing her assigned classroom chores. Mike said something to her that she didn't like. She threw a pen at him. He retaliated and threw the chalkboard eraser at her, causing injury to her face and narrowly missing her eye.

Mike was back in my classroom before the end of the class period.

Stress?

It's Monday. Another week. It's near the end of the school year and many of the kids are choosing to do no work and to bring no books. During 7th period I asked Nicole to "please" clear the aisle and put her things under her desk. She responded, "That's called walk over it." I sent her out on a referral. Average class.

Sixth period, Tiffany was bent on loudly announcing the latest rumors to the class and when I told her to stop and be quiet, she continued and announced to me that she had told the class anyway. Below average class. I changed her seat. When I reminded her to get started with her work, she sat there, didn't open her book and continued talking. I sent her to the office.

Fifth period. Above average. When I came in from hall duty, Ken said his books that had been on his desk had disappeared. His notebook was found under my desk but his class novel was gone. I talked with Zach who had found his notebook. He said he didn't do it and didn't know where the novel was. I checked all the numbers of everyone else's books and they were not using Kevin's. Somehow, between 6th and 7th periods, it wound up on a chair in back of my room. I took it to him in Phyllis's class. This class doesn't usually do this and I'm going to talk to them tomorrow.

After school today we had a stress in-service that was really an infomercial given by a chiropractor. I believe in chiropractors but resent the way this was done.