1 post from August 2009

The first week, the week without teachers, was a little nerve racking.  I was nervous about what was to come.  We had a lot of random PD, but it seemed like too much to take in at one time, and on the other hand not enough free time to get things done.

I was really nervous about the first day.  It was my third first day of school, so it seems like I should have it down somewhat, but I seemed to have blocked out, or merely forgotten all of my other first day experiences.  And then there was the issue of time difference.  Classes here are 60 minutes instead of the 90 minutes I'm used to.  On the first day, there was an assembly so classes were cut down to 50 minutes.  I didn't know if I was going to be able to fill that time, with just going over the syllabus.... but- boy, could I!  Apparently I can ramble on for hours about classroom rules and procedures.  I was surprised by many of the students questions.  Students wanted to know my expectations of them exactly, especially when it came to what supplies the needed and how I would be grading.  They had questions about everything really.

I definitely had a "honeymoon period" the first week or two.  There was some small side chatter with the students, but things were pretty much on task.  All of the students completed their homework.  All of the 10th graders passed their first quiz.

However, there were some worrisome parts too.  The ninth graders bombed the pretest I gave them.  All that was on it was basic operations with real numbers, and some basic algebra stuff, like distributive property and 1 and 2-step equations.  Much to everyone's dismay, they sucked it up on the test.  I was really surprised by their lack of ability.  In Mississippi I knew my students wouldn't know how to add or subtract fractions, or even really have a very good idea of what a fraction is.  Here I thought things would be different.  A teacher friend let me in on a secret: "No one in the world knows how to do fractions."  Oh.

Then I made the mistake of thinking that the students just needed a quick review to catch up on those things.  Class ended up as follows: me doing example problems on the bored, them taking notes, me assigning homework, them f***ing up the homework and coming to class with 30 homework questions, them losing concentration half way through question 2, me moving on to the next topic, repeat.  All throughout this process, kids were getting more and more discouraged.  

I think next year I will not start out with fractions.  I will start out with a review of distributive property and one and two step equations with real numbers only.  The are okay at this, and having some success will help them build confidence and enjoy the class.  We will get to the fractions, decimals, and exponents later.

Also I have learned that when it comes to doing hard new stuff, most of it has to be done in class, because many students need me there to tutor them.  I still want to assign homework, so that they don't get out of the habit of doing it, but only a nominal amount.

The tenth graders have shown themselves to be much more up to grade level in math.  I can hold them accountable for knowing what they should have learned in Alg I and Alg II.  If they don't completely remember something, a quick review at the begin of class suffices.  Also, they are good at helping each other out, when someone has a question.  However, in the third week of class I have noticed a lot more talking and off task behaviors in the tenth graders as well.  I am thinking that perhaps I have not been strict enough.  In fact, I am really not sure.  Sometimes I think I'm not actually cut out for this whole "teaching" thing.  maybe i suck.

Teaching at Jim Hill definitely undermined my classroom management abilities.  Why?  The one thing they stress in any class on management is that consistency is the key.  At Jim Hill there was no consistency. I put up with whatever behaviors were going on, until I couldn't take it anymore, and then sent the kid out because that was really the only consequence available.  Students learned after about the 4th week of school, if they didn't go to detention nothing happened.

At my current school, I actually have consequences at my disposal, but i forget to use them.  We can dock points for misbehavior and we can assign lunch, recess, and after school detention.  There is even a Friday detention for more extreme cases.  But like I said it has been a struggle for me to get back in to the habit of using these so I fear I may come off as unfair or inconsistent.

On a positive side, my Kimmel Dollars ARE indeed effective here.  I was worried the kids wouldn't take to them.  They do.  Students are constantly informing me that they think they should get one.  The kids loved the cookies I brought in, and asked me all week if I was going to bring in more.  Even better, since all of the students have I-pods, I can make them use their Kimmel Dollars for the privilege of listening to them in class.  Free and hassle-free reward.

So I am frustrated about the low level of my ninth graders and some of the disrespect that my students have shown me.  On the other hand, no one has thrown anything on the floor, cussed me out to my face, skipped class, shown up high, or told me they didn't care when i assigned them a consequence.  My principal can complete the sentences he starts, feels it is important not to undermine my authority in the classroom, and has the time and energy to be genuinely concerned about my well being in the classroom.  my fellow teachers care about the kids and know their subject matter.  yes!

I gave my tenth graders their first test and I just finished grading it. The questions ranged greatly in difficulty level.  Anyway, the highest grade was a 105, the lowest grades were in the 50's except for one girl who scored a 32%.  The mean score was 78% with a s.d. of 15.  Yep, i calculated all of that data.  But i don't know what it means.  11 out 45 failed.  Should I add some points on to curve it?  78% actually seems like a pretty good average to me, but I don't know what the expectation are here.  I really don't know what to do.  So far I am not adding points.  Especially because homework and sociocultural grades count for a combined 35% of their grade.  So even students who failed the test are still passing the class, for the most part.

My lesson plans are extremely routine and boring.  Several factors are adding to this.  The tenth grade text book is quite advanced; something that could be done at the college level.  It really lends itself to lecture/practice type structure.  Furthermore, the students are prepared for this sort of class, and this type of structure is what they will see in calculus.  The ninth graders on the other hand could perhaps use some more diverse teaching methods and activities.  However, I am hoping to get done with this basic stuff as soon as possible so that we can move on.  Furthermore, we have only one hour-- by the time we get done with homework, questions, and notes, there isn't time to start an activity, especially if I want them to have a little time to start their homework in class.  I am feeling a little guilty about the whole situation tho.  And like a bad teacher....

enough rambling for now.... coffee time.