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.
They will need more than a speech...
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