Sunday, April 28, 2019
Let's start with a little bit of education news that I came across will enjoying my morning cup of coffee before I head off to school. Here is the first one and it comes from a site called Go Banking Rates, "These jobs aren't worth the cost of their degrees" In the top ten is elementary school teacher. And the lowest life form there is, the politician, continues for form blue chip committees to study teacher pay with little or no results. And teacher unions continue to threaten to take action with little if any action is taken. Teachers, damn good teachers, have left my school and it saddens me. At the end of the school year my school is going to lose another damn good teacher so I have this to say to the politician and unions, quoting my mother, "It's time you people either shit or get off the pot."
Before I bring up my second bit of education news let me remind you of this. AnotherT4, both of them actually, failed to last even a quarter of the school year. They both left abruptly and then I read this from a site called Chalkbeat. There is a movement going on to eliminate the CASA (Core Academic Skills Assessment) test. This is a test that teacher candidates must pass prior to admission to a teacher education program. The requirement to pass this test ensures that teacher candidates have a proficiency in basic reading, mathematics, and writing. And they want to eliminate this test so that teacher candidates that are NOT proficient in basic reading, mathematics, and writing can enter a teacher education program. This falls into that category called, "what the hell are you people thinking."
I decided, although I felt guilty for doing it, to take a day off (a Wednesday) and go rake some leaves. Well, actually not some leaves but a lot of leaves out of flower beds and other landscaped areas. In the midst of raking these leaves, with a slight rain dropping from the clouds, I stopped to take a break, and to take in some fluids. With my blue tinted Gaterade thirst quencher in my hand this idea popped into my head. I'll make a selfie video of me raking leaves and send it to T4 and have her show it to the scholars. In the video I stated, "I'm old, I'm tired, and it's starting to rain so maybe some of the fourth grade scholars, that I help with math every day, would like to come out and help me rake up these leaves."
It's now Thursday morning and I thought I'd have a little fun with the scholars. When I walked into the classroom the scholars started saying, "Good morning." My response came quickly, "Don't talk to me. I had all of those leaves to rake, I'm old, I was tired, and no one came to help me. So for the next ten minutes I'm not helping with math and don't even talk to me." As soon as I stopped running my mouth T4 said to me, "you better change that to about two seconds." When I turned to look at T4 I saw them coming toward me. The scholars, bearing gifts, as it was volunteer appreciation day and they wanted to thank me for all the time I spent at school helping them. There is a picture of the gifts on the right side of the blog. In the silver tin was brownies. All of the flowers and other objects were made by the scholars while I was raking leaves.
They can frustrate you so much. They can be unruly, disrespectful, defiant, and test my ability to control my emotions and then it's volunteer appreciation day. There are thirty scholars in the room and every one of them was so excited at the opportunity to thank me. And once again I say to you, "Now you know why I keep doing what it do."
The state mandated IRead3 test reared up it's ugly head the other day. T4 brought it up and what she told me had me shaking my head. I'll start with the good part and then move onto the shaking my head part. Eleven of our fourth grade scholars had to retake the IRead3 test because they failed it the first time. Of the eleven that took the retest, three passed it. That is progress, for some of our scholars, huge progress. That is great news, all attributed to OtherT4 as she is the language arts teacher who has everyone on the right track to continue making progress. Then the progress breaker landed in OtherT4's lap. We lost AnotherT4 and three classrooms were consolidated into two classrooms with thirty scholars each. What we have now is a lose, lose, lose situation. OtherT4's eight scholars that still need to pass IRead3 will get less attention so they lose out. The new scholars, dumped into OtherT4's classroom, do to an inability to hire and retain teachers, will not get the attention they need so they lose out. And the biggest loss of all, the potential for someone in a position of authority to question OtherT4's teaching ability if these scholars failed to pass IRead3.
He is the saddest part of all when it comes to IRead3. In June the eight scholars that did not pass the retake IRead3 test get another chance. If they don't pass the test in June this scenario could play out. The scholars failed the IRead3 test in the third grade and were not retained. These same scholars are now in the fourth grade, have taken two retakes of the IRead3 test and still failed to pass it. So what happens to them. Are they retained in the fourth grade or do they move on to the fifth grade. I'll give you a hint. The chances that the June IRead3 retake test results would be made available to our school by the end of the school year are about zero so the scholars will probably move on.
One more bit of information and I'm going to call it a day. A new scholar arrived in T4's classroom a short while back. This further adds to a classroom that is already over crowded. When the scholar arrived T4 asked him, "What school did you come from?" He said he came from another school in our school corporation and that got my immediate attention. Why? My seven years of experience tells me that when scholars changes schools in the same school corporation, especially this late in the school year, the reason there was a need to change schools is not a good one. Hopefully I'm wrong about this and, I guess, we'll find out soon enough.
Thanks for following along. We are only a couple days short of May and do you know what that means? Camp is just around the corner. God, what was I thinking.
Sunday, April 28, 2019
Monday, April 15, 2019
The Last Forty-Five
Sunday, April 14, 2019
It's Monday, the first day after spring break. The classroom has been adjusted to accommodate thirty scholars. It's a tight fit. Morning work is being completed and I normally weave my way through the scholars to help were needed. Today I can't weave anywhere. All I can do is walk around the perimeter of the classroom because I'm too large to fit in the narrow gaps between the scholars when they are sitting at their desks. That is tight and even worse, the room is loud. Too much talking, not enough working. Then, in walks the LittleBigB#2. He is here to address the scholars, not only the fourth grade scholars, but eventually the majority of the scholars in all the other classrooms.
It took me a while to figure out what he was talking about but it finally registered. This was a social-emotional learning speech. This is a speech that belongs entirely to the parental units as it is about behavior and being respectful when at school. Unfortunately, numerous parental units failed to do their job. As a result, LittleBigB#2 has to address the scholars about behavior and respect and, in doing so, is taking a large block of T4's math academic time.
As I'm sitting, where I have a real nice view from the back of the classroom, and listening to the lecture on behavior and respect I hear this from the LittleBigB#2, "Stop talking and pay attention," "Get you heads up off of your desks and sit up straight." Then I hear this from the LittleBigB#2. "We are no longer going to put up with this inappropriate behavior." Really! We are now three fourths of the way through the school year and finally the school leadership decides to give a speech on behavior and respect and "With that being said," the LittleBigB#2 finished his little speech and headed off to his next classroom. How much of this lecture was retained by T4's scholar? Read on.
Finally some academics. Work sheets have been passed out. The scholars begin doing the assignment. The LittleBigB#2 has been out of the classroom less than five minutes when I heard it the first time. "You're too loud, be quiet, and get your work done." A short while later, with a little more voice inflection, "You're too loud, stop talking." Finally, and I could feel the tension in her voice, "Stop talking, how many times do I have to tell you to be quiet."
Were are three fourths of the way through the school year and T4 and OtherT4 are faced with the challenge of gaining control of their respective classes for the second time and I don't like it. They've both put too much effort into this school year to be placed in this situation. Worst of all, they are in this position because both AnotherT4's failed to do their job, then lost their jobs, and now all of their poorly behaved and disrespectful scholars have been divided in half and crammed into T4's and OtherT4's classrooms. This is a train wreck situation and you've only heard about what happened on the first day of school after spring break.
Here is some other information that I was told about on Monday. First, in an attempt to support T4 and OtherT4, a long term substitute teacher has been brought on board. That's nice but on the first day this long term substitute teacher was scheduled to arrive he/she was a no show. Second, and my personal favorite, our school has been assigned a pointy headed intellectual consultant with a PhD to support the school leadership's attempt to overcome our school's F rating. The lights in our school library have been off the majority of the school year as we don't have a media specialist (librarian), one of the fifth grades has only had a permanent teacher in the room for about three weeks, one of the fourth grade classes has been without a permanent teacher for easily over half of the school year. You can't find and keep teachers but money can be found to bring in a consultant. Sorry, that don't add up.
Tuesday, day two following spring break, and tension is still high. As it was on Monday, minus the visit from the BigB#2, the scholars are loud, not doing what they are supposed to be doing, and T4 again has to raise her voice a number of times to gain control of the classroom. Amidst all of this I realized that the long term substitute has a perfect batting average. Perfect in the sense that this person is zero for two when it comes actually showing up. The scholars are too loud, no support from the substitute teacher, and then the bane of every teacher's school year raises it's ugly head.
T4 speaking, "stop doing what your are doing and go get your laptops." I'm not sure what is going on so I take a seat. As the scholars are retrieving their laptops T4 opened hers and was logging in to something. When an image appeared on the big pull down screen in the front of the classroom I know what was next and all I can do is shake my head. On the screen it read, ILEARN review of blueprint standards for fourth grade math. ILEARN, formerly known as ISTEP, the state mandated test that costs the taxpayers of Indiana millions of dollars and accomplishes little, if anything at all, is rearing it's ugly head and the testing will occur in a couple weeks. What happens next is not made up by me. It is the reality that so many teachers face and it doesn't matter if it was ISTEP or is now ILEARN when you are taking a on-line test.
T4 to the scholars. "Look at the overhead screen and follow along with me. First, log in." A hand goes up, "Mrs. T4, I don't have a laptop." "Schultz, go across the hall and see if you can find this scholar a laptop." A second hand goes up, "Mrs. T4, I don't know my student ID." "What do you mean you don't know your student ID, you've been using it all year." "I forgot it." "Didn't you write it down so you won't forget it?" "No." "Schultz, go down to the main office and get this scholar's ID." Please note at this time that T4 is using her forty five minute math block to introduce the scholars to ILEARN and time is rapidly ticking away.
I'm back in the room with the ID information and I sense right away the tension. "Schultz, walk around the classroom and help any scholar that needs help." As I'm looking at laptop screens I see that the scholars are at the point that they need to be at to continue learning about ILEARN. Well, not all of the scholars. Three of them are waiting patiently for their computer to finish the boot up process to get to where they need to be. Twenty-six scholars went through the boot up process without incident. Why and the hell do three scholars have to wait an extended period of time to do the same thing? I raise my hand to let T4 know that the are boot up issues and then wait. Now it is decision time for T4. Does she wait for the three computers to boot up, it may take a while, or does she move on and work with the other twenty-six scholars who are where they are supposed to be. Note, the clock is ticking and soon the forty-five minutes block of time will be gone. She decides to move on.
One of the suggestions for the teachers, with ILEARN rapidly approaching, is to be sure the scholars are familiar with all of the tools available to them to do the math problems. Knowing this, T4 starts to show the scholars the tools that are available to them. The first one she put up on her screen was a number pad, the on-line version of the calculator. "Mrs. T4, I can't find my number pad. How did you do that?" "Mrs. T4, I'm totally lost." At this point the scholars are losing interest. Conversations are starting, heads are on the desk, they've have had enough for one day. T4 looks at the clock and announces, "Times up, log off, and get ready to go to specials."
In a couple of weeks I will watch the scholars take a state mandated test for the sixth time. For the last five years it was ISTEP. This year it will be the much improved, more user friendly ILEARN test. Here is the frustrating part with the supposedly more user friendly ILEARN test. The issues that T4 just had to deal with have been the same issues for the past six years. Student ID issues, system delays getting to the actual test, and confusion on how to find and use the tools, and most importantly, a complete failure on the part of the creators of this test to recognize that scholars can't key board and key boarding will play a larger role when it is time to take the ILEARN test. It's so frustrating to watch, the clock is ticking, and T4 never reached the point where she could do any of the math practice questions with the scholars because she ran out of time.
There you go. Two days back in an over crowded classroom and already tension levels are high. The next forty-three days will be a grind but I'm going to leave you with this T4, we will not be defeated.
T4 to the scholars. "Look at the overhead screen and follow along with me. First, log in." A hand goes up, "Mrs. T4, I don't have a laptop." "Schultz, go across the hall and see if you can find this scholar a laptop." A second hand goes up, "Mrs. T4, I don't know my student ID." "What do you mean you don't know your student ID, you've been using it all year." "I forgot it." "Didn't you write it down so you won't forget it?" "No." "Schultz, go down to the main office and get this scholar's ID." Please note at this time that T4 is using her forty five minute math block to introduce the scholars to ILEARN and time is rapidly ticking away.
I'm back in the room with the ID information and I sense right away the tension. "Schultz, walk around the classroom and help any scholar that needs help." As I'm looking at laptop screens I see that the scholars are at the point that they need to be at to continue learning about ILEARN. Well, not all of the scholars. Three of them are waiting patiently for their computer to finish the boot up process to get to where they need to be. Twenty-six scholars went through the boot up process without incident. Why and the hell do three scholars have to wait an extended period of time to do the same thing? I raise my hand to let T4 know that the are boot up issues and then wait. Now it is decision time for T4. Does she wait for the three computers to boot up, it may take a while, or does she move on and work with the other twenty-six scholars who are where they are supposed to be. Note, the clock is ticking and soon the forty-five minutes block of time will be gone. She decides to move on.
One of the suggestions for the teachers, with ILEARN rapidly approaching, is to be sure the scholars are familiar with all of the tools available to them to do the math problems. Knowing this, T4 starts to show the scholars the tools that are available to them. The first one she put up on her screen was a number pad, the on-line version of the calculator. "Mrs. T4, I can't find my number pad. How did you do that?" "Mrs. T4, I'm totally lost." At this point the scholars are losing interest. Conversations are starting, heads are on the desk, they've have had enough for one day. T4 looks at the clock and announces, "Times up, log off, and get ready to go to specials."
In a couple of weeks I will watch the scholars take a state mandated test for the sixth time. For the last five years it was ISTEP. This year it will be the much improved, more user friendly ILEARN test. Here is the frustrating part with the supposedly more user friendly ILEARN test. The issues that T4 just had to deal with have been the same issues for the past six years. Student ID issues, system delays getting to the actual test, and confusion on how to find and use the tools, and most importantly, a complete failure on the part of the creators of this test to recognize that scholars can't key board and key boarding will play a larger role when it is time to take the ILEARN test. It's so frustrating to watch, the clock is ticking, and T4 never reached the point where she could do any of the math practice questions with the scholars because she ran out of time.
There you go. Two days back in an over crowded classroom and already tension levels are high. The next forty-three days will be a grind but I'm going to leave you with this T4, we will not be defeated.
Sunday, April 7, 2019
Forty-five Days To Go
Saturday, April 6, 2019
This event occurred a couple days before Spring Break. "Schultz, I need you to make some copies of these works sheets for me." "How many copies?" I asked T4. "Sixty of each work sheet and put them in two groups of thirty." That sounds simple enough, right. I've been making copies for teachers for the entire school year and I've got the system down pat. However, this request came with a T4 facial expression that spoke volumes. You see, for almost the entire year, when I was asked to make copies, it was sixty and put them in three groups of twenty. Putting the copies in two groups rather than three groups seems simple enough until I tell you this. When I walk into the classroom on Monday, April 8th, at 8:55am, not 9:00am not 8:50am, but exactly at 8:55am, I'm walking into a classroom that will be occupied by thirty fourth grade scholars. So back to that T4 facial expression when she said, "sixty of each work sheet and put them in two groups of thirty." Try and visualize the look on her face when she knew, despite her strong objections, that she will have to teach thirty scholars in a classroom that is barely large enough to fit that many desks for the remainder of the school year.
Before I go any farther I'm going to remind you that I'm about to complete my seventh year in this school. Seven years, no regrets. Seven years and I've met so many great people, both teachers and support staff, that I plan on returning for year eight. Now I must tell you that this school has a serious hitch in it's giddy up and you are about to hear about it.
Let's start with the classroom that is to my immediate right when I arrive each day. With the exception of about two weeks there has been no permanent teacher in this classroom. How is that possible? Moving on to the classroom that is to my immediate left when I arrive each day. Two teachers have occupied this classroom. Their combined time in this classroom is less then half of the school year. How is it possible that these two recent graduates failed after only a limited time in the classroom? As it stands right now, and I know I'm not a teacher, there are only five classroom teachers in this school that have been in the building longer than I have. That would put me sixth on the teacher seniority list. Sixth, after only seven years, and I have reason to believe that I'm about to move from sixth on the seniority list up to fifth at the end of he school year. There is only one way to arrive at this point. There is a failure at the leadership level, both in the school and at the school corporation office, when they don't recognize the number of teachers that have left this school and ask themselves, why did this happen? So what are the immediate damages caused by this turnover? You are about to find out.
The first AnotherT4 departed at Christmas break. The second AnotherT4 departed at Spring break. There is no plan to replace these teachers so what are the damages. The damages are the facial expressions of T4 and OtherT4 when they were told that their class sizes will increase by at least ten scholars each. That will put both of them right at thirty scholars in their respective classrooms. Here is the part that really grinds at me. There are overhead teachers in this school that could have been placed in AnotherT4's classroom for the remainder of the school year and that didn't happen. When that didn't happen additional damages, damages to the scholars that I work with, will happen.
This took place several months ago. "Schultz," as T4 handed me a Post It note, "these are your scholars. Every day, no matter what is going on in this classroom, you help these scholars. Got it." "Got it," I responded as I looked at the note that had five names on it with an occasional sixth or seventh name hitting the list. So, who are these scholars? They are the bottom quartile. The ones that really struggle with math facts, and in this particular case, multiplication and division. T4 has the bulk of the classroom and that is the correct direction to go in. Assigning me the rest is also the right way to go for this reason. Small groups, sometimes one on one, and I can slow down the pace and it was working. You could see it in the scholars faces, it was working. They were catching on. They wanted to work with me. They would rather skip recess and stay inside with the gray haired wrinkly faced old guy and do math and their scores were improving. And then, BOOM! Blowed up and on April 8th, T4 will try and figure out how to regroup and start over simply because there is a problem attracting and retaining teachers and that is not her fault. That is a leadership fault. Everything about this situation stinks.
It's now Sunday, April 7th, at 2:00pm. We are at eighteen and a half hours and counting down until T4 and OtherT4 walk into a classroom with thirty scholars each. Here is what I know for sure. These are two damn good teachers, they've been busting their humps all year, they will make the adjustments needed, and academic progress will continue because there is no way in hell that they will be defeated.
There are forty-five days to go in the school year and it is going to be interesting, very, very, interesting. At some point I will know what teachers, if any, are leaving. What teachers will be changing roles. Will there be another leadership change. How will the current leadership change the academic day for the start of another school year. Best of all, how will I survive three days of camp with sixty or so four grade scholars. If you stick around I'll be glad to tell you about it.
This event occurred a couple days before Spring Break. "Schultz, I need you to make some copies of these works sheets for me." "How many copies?" I asked T4. "Sixty of each work sheet and put them in two groups of thirty." That sounds simple enough, right. I've been making copies for teachers for the entire school year and I've got the system down pat. However, this request came with a T4 facial expression that spoke volumes. You see, for almost the entire year, when I was asked to make copies, it was sixty and put them in three groups of twenty. Putting the copies in two groups rather than three groups seems simple enough until I tell you this. When I walk into the classroom on Monday, April 8th, at 8:55am, not 9:00am not 8:50am, but exactly at 8:55am, I'm walking into a classroom that will be occupied by thirty fourth grade scholars. So back to that T4 facial expression when she said, "sixty of each work sheet and put them in two groups of thirty." Try and visualize the look on her face when she knew, despite her strong objections, that she will have to teach thirty scholars in a classroom that is barely large enough to fit that many desks for the remainder of the school year.
Before I go any farther I'm going to remind you that I'm about to complete my seventh year in this school. Seven years, no regrets. Seven years and I've met so many great people, both teachers and support staff, that I plan on returning for year eight. Now I must tell you that this school has a serious hitch in it's giddy up and you are about to hear about it.
Let's start with the classroom that is to my immediate right when I arrive each day. With the exception of about two weeks there has been no permanent teacher in this classroom. How is that possible? Moving on to the classroom that is to my immediate left when I arrive each day. Two teachers have occupied this classroom. Their combined time in this classroom is less then half of the school year. How is it possible that these two recent graduates failed after only a limited time in the classroom? As it stands right now, and I know I'm not a teacher, there are only five classroom teachers in this school that have been in the building longer than I have. That would put me sixth on the teacher seniority list. Sixth, after only seven years, and I have reason to believe that I'm about to move from sixth on the seniority list up to fifth at the end of he school year. There is only one way to arrive at this point. There is a failure at the leadership level, both in the school and at the school corporation office, when they don't recognize the number of teachers that have left this school and ask themselves, why did this happen? So what are the immediate damages caused by this turnover? You are about to find out.
The first AnotherT4 departed at Christmas break. The second AnotherT4 departed at Spring break. There is no plan to replace these teachers so what are the damages. The damages are the facial expressions of T4 and OtherT4 when they were told that their class sizes will increase by at least ten scholars each. That will put both of them right at thirty scholars in their respective classrooms. Here is the part that really grinds at me. There are overhead teachers in this school that could have been placed in AnotherT4's classroom for the remainder of the school year and that didn't happen. When that didn't happen additional damages, damages to the scholars that I work with, will happen.
This took place several months ago. "Schultz," as T4 handed me a Post It note, "these are your scholars. Every day, no matter what is going on in this classroom, you help these scholars. Got it." "Got it," I responded as I looked at the note that had five names on it with an occasional sixth or seventh name hitting the list. So, who are these scholars? They are the bottom quartile. The ones that really struggle with math facts, and in this particular case, multiplication and division. T4 has the bulk of the classroom and that is the correct direction to go in. Assigning me the rest is also the right way to go for this reason. Small groups, sometimes one on one, and I can slow down the pace and it was working. You could see it in the scholars faces, it was working. They were catching on. They wanted to work with me. They would rather skip recess and stay inside with the gray haired wrinkly faced old guy and do math and their scores were improving. And then, BOOM! Blowed up and on April 8th, T4 will try and figure out how to regroup and start over simply because there is a problem attracting and retaining teachers and that is not her fault. That is a leadership fault. Everything about this situation stinks.
It's now Sunday, April 7th, at 2:00pm. We are at eighteen and a half hours and counting down until T4 and OtherT4 walk into a classroom with thirty scholars each. Here is what I know for sure. These are two damn good teachers, they've been busting their humps all year, they will make the adjustments needed, and academic progress will continue because there is no way in hell that they will be defeated.
There are forty-five days to go in the school year and it is going to be interesting, very, very, interesting. At some point I will know what teachers, if any, are leaving. What teachers will be changing roles. Will there be another leadership change. How will the current leadership change the academic day for the start of another school year. Best of all, how will I survive three days of camp with sixty or so four grade scholars. If you stick around I'll be glad to tell you about it.
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