Fun Times as the Trimester Winds Down... With Stress Mixed In...

Well, the first trimester is winding down, which is bittersweet.  I have to admit that I'm happy the school year is starting to fly by.  It's not that I don't love teaching, but this school year is already SO stressful!!  Before I tell about the stressful stuff, let me tell you about some fun things.


Last week my government classes did mock trials.  SO MUCH FUN!!  They were absolutely amazing.  The kids dressed up as lawyers, a judge, witnesses, etc.  We had a blast, and they did such a phenomenal time analyzing and synthesizing all their case information.  They had great opening and closing statements and played excellent plaintiffs and defendants.  What a blast!  Now, we're working on classroom timelines. The students are making timelines of the American Government for all three branches.  How great and such fun!!


Now a few stressful things:
Big Brother is still hanging over our heads.  The new policy?  We need to do lesson plans using the same templates and and turn them in for points.  Micro-managing to the fullest.
District tests are coming back again, which means I will be nice and stressed making sure I do everything correctly and worrying that I haven't taught my students everything they need for the tests.
School has been so bad one of our teachers almost fainted today.  She is already in a weakened state, as she has brain cancer, but the fact that things are so stressed her blood pressure plummeted in the middle of the day is not okay.  That means something is wrong.  Very wrong.
Here's the problem... our district is taking the art out of teaching.  It's attempting to turn us into robotic machines.  We do what we do because we are creative and we love finding fun ways to teach students.  I work at an alternative school so I don't have to always be told the "right" way to do things.  I want to be able to try new and fun things and not always be told I have to do things according to a formula.


Yet to come... Parent-Teacher Conferences this Thursday and Friday...

Classroom discussion

My government class and I had a great time today discussing the current Supreme Court oral arguments for the Snyder v. Phelps case.  It's amazing how passionate and concerned my students get.  We're alternative, and a lot of people wrongfully assume that my students are selfish and violent and delinquents.  To be honest, they often are more expressive and emotional than most people.  The problem is that they often can't filter their emotions.  They were SO passionate about how immoral it is to allow people to protest at funerals, but still concerned to have our Freedom of Speech limited.


So here's the question...
How do you protect mourners at a funeral (any funeral) without over-limiting speech?  Sadly, this is not a moral question.  Although I strongly believe that it is WRONG to protest at funerals, America has been built on our civil liberties.  Our forefathers STRONGLY believed that we have the right to say whatever we want... no matter if others like it or not.  It brings up and old, yet famous, quote from Voltaire that I will close with...


"I disagree with what you say, but I will defend to the death your right to say it."

7 weeks in and a curriculum change???

So here's the tale of the day.  It's seven weeks into our school year.  By this point, as teachers, we've planned out our lessons/units.  So what happens last night?  Our math teachers are called to a mandatory meeting in which the superintendent drops the bomb that the math curriculum has COMPLETELY changed.  There was 1 thing from the old curriculum map that was still the same... the rest was different.  As for the next unit, there were 2 things the same. 
Some classic comments our superintendent said:
When asked when the curriculum was to be implemented and when teachers were suppose to plan for all these changes, he responded with saying, "Tomorrow.  If it was me, I'd go home and write up 3 lessons for the rest of the week and then spend the weekend planning for the next few weeks.  Now, I know that many of you don't like to work on the weekend and have lives outside of school..."  SERIOUSLY?!  Is he implying that all his teachers are lazy?!  We work each night and each weekend, but that's not good enough for him.
Another comment was that he could "come in tomorrow and teach all your classes" because teaching is just that easy.
He is SOOOOOOO frustrating.  I don't think he could answer a question with a straight answer to save his life.  Such a politician!!!!!  He should just get out of education before he ruins our school district anymore.  If he pushes any more PHENOMENAL teachers away from out district, our poor students will suffer the consequences.  This is very upsetting.  I wish I could find a way to protest...

A Week without a Principal

I know it's sad to have enjoyed this past week, but I can't lie... knowing there wasn't going to be an administrator popping into my room to judge whether or not I'm doing a good job was AMAZING!!  I felt so relaxed and really felt like I was enjoying teaching again!  Sad... but true.

Upon return this week, my principal was moody and grumpy... NOT what we needed to have in school... ESPECIALLY since there's more district testing coming up this week. 

Here's my thought on this whole thing:  I cannot do anything about a lot of things in the educational system.  What I CAN do is make sure I'm teaching to the best of my ability; work with the kids and ensure they are learning what is important regardless of what will be tested this week.  I can go to work and smile and laugh and have fun with my students while they learn.  Looking back on this week, I really did have some amazing things happen.  One student told me I was really smart. :)  A few others told me I was a good teacher and they never learned any of these things about Government from their other schoolteachers.  I was so happy and proud.  I am so glad to be able to help these students and actually TEACH them something.  As a teacher, you always wonder whether or not the students are learning anything, whether or not they'll remember what you've talked about it class.  It's reassuring to know that some do.  

So I'm preparing for another week, with two days of testing, and all I can do is go into the week with high hopes and confidence that my students will do well and we'll have fun beginning to learn about the Judicial Branch and North Africa, Southwest Asia, and Central Asia. :)  

Good stuff!!! :)

Quote for the end of one week and the beginning of another:

"Remember, Red, hope is a good thing, maybe the best of things, and no good thing ever dies."  -Shawshank Redemption

A Day to Remember

It's a day that is remembered throughout all America.  Prior to September 11, 2001, Americans don't remember being attacked by other countries, with the exception of those who lived through the bombing of Pearl Harbor. 


And because this is a day of remembrance, it should not be filled with heavy words.  I will simply remind people of two quotes from President Ronald Reagan that still ring true today:

"Above all, we must realize that no arsenal, or no weapon in the arsenals of the world, is so formidable as the will and moral courage of free men and women. It is a weapon our adversaries in today's world do not have."


"Freedom is never more than one generation away from extinction. We didn't pass it to our children in the bloodstream. It must be fought for, protected, and handed on for them to do the same."


Thank you to all our brave Americans: military, fireman, police officers, civilians... everyone.

Exciting part about teaching... OPPORTUNITIES!!

8 hours of teaching plus grading at home and lesson planning, 5 days a week, 180 days a year.  Summertime’s dedicated to professional development and taking classes to earn credits in order to renew your license and stay on top of all the changes being made in the educational field.

In my opinion, this is the typical life of a teacher.  Well, as with all jobs, there are perks.  For teachers, days off of work, watching students graduate, and sometimes some REALLY great educational grants that fall into your lap.

Let me tell you a brief tale:  Two years ago, my first full year teaching in my school, I was introduced to a man who represented the Teaching American History grant that my school district was involved in.  Being that I am the only Social Studies teacher in my building, no one had mentioned this program to me.  I totally thought it was a hoax.  I mean, here’s this guy telling me that if I attend a week class in the summer about using primary sources from local achieves in my classroom, plus created a few assignments on my own, I would be paid a $1000 stipend and earn 2 graduate credits for $125!  THEN, I could also attend a school year class, once a month, dealing with a specific topic, earn 3 credits AND get paid $600!  I thought this guy was crazy!!  (I should mention, up to this point, I’ve never worked with a grant before, so I didn’t totally accept that the government just gives you money to learn).  Well, the “crazy” man mentioned a teacher at a local high school that had attended the class last summer, so I realized that maybe this was a legitimate thing.  So, I sign up.  One of my greatest ideas EVER!! 

At the end of the summer class, we were assigned to go to our local achieves, find 5 primary sources and write questions to be able to be used in a classroom.  The 5 people who have most of their assignments published in our book (yes… we created a book) would win a free trip to the annual NCHE (National Council for History Education) conference.  Well, last year, I won!  And I had the unique opportunity to present at the conference with the other people who won!

Of course I took the fall class as well and then the summer class again.  (By the way, this grant has brought me 3 credits away from my Masters in Education!!)  Well… I must be very blessed, because I won the contest AGAIN!  I get to go to Charleston, South Carolina for this years NCHE conference and we’re talking about submitting a proposal to speak again!!!  Two years in a row I will be published and rub elbows with some of the greats in my field!!  It’s amazing!!!  I am ridiculously excited and so happy that I have chosen this profession… even with all the stress and drama that has been occurring.  A shining light has reminded me why I love teaching… again. 

The Week After...

It’s been a full week since all of the district drama, and I must say that I have been clearly reminded of why I love teaching.  My students have been working extremely hard in class, and are still as goofy as ever.  The other day, my co-worker, Charisma, was teaching the Kite Runner in literacy class.  She was discussing Islam and realized that a bunch of students already had a good base knowledge on the Islamic religion… and NOT just racist comments about wearing turbans and being members of the Taliban.  Later that night, I was talking to Charisma about the fantastic chair meeting I just went to (not sarcasm) and she asked me if I teach about Islam in World History.  Well, I do.  In fact that’s my first unit every year… the Rise of Islam.  She continued on about everything her students remembered from my class and I was so proud.  I couldn’t believe how much information my students remembered from the year before!!  I was so happy… It was a clear demonstration to me that there are some students that do remember the things they learn, who want to be in class, and that makes the biggest difference in the world to a teacher who has been tried by the strains of teaching.

I still haven’t decided what to do next year… whether I’ll return to my school or not.  I know that I can’t go back to a school just to have a job.  That won’t be beneficial to either me or the students.  BUT I still want to be a teacher, and finding a social studies job is not always the easiest thing.  I guess I’ll just have to make it through the year and see how I feel...