April 2018

Chocolate 4 Teachers 2:55 PM No Comments

I have a great idea. Instead of throwing education money on positive programs and hiring numerous babysitters, let's build a school. A responsibility school. A school for kids AND parents. And, instead of paying paraprofessionals babysitter wages, let's pay them what they are worth. And, who would go to this school, you ask?

That parent. You know the one. The ones who speaks in shades of blue. Their child is never wrong. Their child was making straight A's until they got you for a teacher. Their child hates school for the first time in their life. You pick on their child. You don't like their child. You have favorites. You really shouldn't be teaching. You intimidate children. That parent that finds something wrong with everything.

That child. The one who talks back, argues, and never does anything wrong. The one who bites, scratches, kicks, and screams. The one who is an expert at throwing tantrums. Drama queen. Chief manipulator. Class disruptor. The child that doesn't allow you to teach. The child that keeps everyone else from learning.

I think these parents need to take responsibility for their children. After all, they created them. Children are not born throwing temper tantrums because they didn't get their way. They learn to do this so that they will get their way. They imitate the adults in their lives. They learn to manipulate their parents who either don't have the skills or the time to parent. Let's put them in the same school and teach them together.

Teach these parents how to be parents. Show them what happens when they don't take parenting seriously. Let them see firsthand how difficult it is to teach a child who doesn't want to learn. Let them accept responsibility for their child's test scores, attendance, and behavior. Let these children discover that tantrums do not solve all of their problems. Manipulation doesn't work on everyone. Not everyone is moved by their tears and pleas.

That's what we'll do. Build them a school. Give parents the same expectations that teachers have and give children the expectation to succeed. What a difference that would make! And... I'll venture to guess that some attitudes towards teachers and schools will change. For the better.

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Chocolate 4 Teachers

Chocolate 4 Teachers 2:34 PM No Comments

You can keep your E-Readers. Give me a book. I want to feel the weight in my hand. I want to turn the pages. I want to flip through to the end and take a sneak peak (yes, I'm one of those!). I want to put my finger on the print. Hear the crisp sound of paper turning.

I know there are those who disagree with me. Emphatically. They want digital or nothing. They want to download every title on their wishlist. Not me. I want to look at my book shelves and let my eyes gaze the titles before selecting my next adventure. I love being surrounded by my friends. There is a certain solace in the peace of a library.

Can you have too many books? NO. No way. Not at all. No such thing. Next best thing to a book??? A book catalog. Yep! A chance to drink in the pages and add to my library, pick out gifts, salivate. I'm like a kid in a candy store. And then the big day arrives. The box is delivered. My anticipation never wanes. It grows with each order. I open the box and imagine the look on the face of the recipient. Priceless.

Can you borrow a book? Ummm... did you notice the beautiful weather we're having? Can you borrow a book? How do I say no politely? I'd rather buy a copy for you than loan one of my 'kids' to you. To have my kids in your hands while you eat your late night snack or if you catch a cold. I can't even bear to think about it. I know you'll be careful, but accidents happen. Shudder. Just wait until I get my next catalog. Shipping only takes about 5 days.

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Coerr's Sadako and 1000 Paper Cranes

Rudyard Kipling's The Jungle Book

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Chocolate 4 Teachers

Chocolate 4 Teachers 2:36 PM No Comments

Student Empowerment. Ranks right up there with entitlement. Certainly this is not something a teacher devised. Had to be a non-educator to come up with such a ridiculous idea. Someone had an idea that kids needed a larger voice so they wrote an article and the phrase went like wildfire in the educational community. Empowering students became the goal of schools, administrators, and, sadly, some teachers. Sadly I say, because empowering students isn't teaching them responsibility. It is giving kids a false sense of power over things that are well beyond their years or ability to handle.

Student Empowerment. Let's give our kids the ability to choose the assignments they want to complete, the teacher that they want, and even give them the ability to weigh in on a teacher's rehire. Yeah, that's how far it has gone. We've taken empowerment to a new level.

I'll never forget a faculty meeting where the results of a student empowerment survey were revealed. To the entire staff. At once. Get the picture? Everyone had access to the information. Everyone. It was even available digitally.

First, there was silence. Then tears. Then a dull roar. Thankfully, I was seated to my common sense friend who points out that the comment, "She's mean because she makes me do my assignments," is not a bad thing. "You are teaching," she said, "and that is your job." Nor was my 8 out of 10 point for the 'my teacher cares' category, or the 7 out of 10 in the contacting parents category. "These are middle school kids who don't like doing assignments, so if you make them, you don't care about what they want. Most are not communicating with their parents so they never know how many phone calls you've made or emails you've sent." Her words of wisdom pointed me to reason in an epic administrative failure.

Then I looked around and took in the scene. My heart went out to the new teacher crying because the students had 'fired' her. A veteran teacher had big tears rolling down her cheeks because she had been deemed inadequate by her jury. The once-smug-administrators were looking for a rock to crawl under. Suddenly their idea of implementing student empowerment didn't seem so good. Maybe, just maybe, they shouldn't have sent out a survey to middle school kids that not only allowed, but also encouraged, them to bash their teachers. Maybe they shouldn't have made the information public. Maybe this wasn't such a good idea.

Students were also shaken by the results. What sounded brave with the crowd left them embarrassed when they were standing alone with their comments. There was no longer safety in numbers or anonymity. They were exposed. And the results made them look petty and mean. They didn't know what to do with their newfound power. It went from their hearts to their heads in less than 10 seconds. There was little thought about the power of their words. Or the end result. There was a huge staff turnover that year. This should come as no surprise.

Of course, this is an example where things were taken too far, but we have to ask ourselves how much empowerment should students have? Should students be empowered? If so, what can they handle?

Students should learn responsibility before they are put in control of anything or put in a position of authority. They need to learn how to be accountable for their own actions before they try to control the actions of the adults in their lives. They need to learn and practice respect. And adults need to understand what is age appropriate. Kids should never be allowed to weigh in on whether or not a teacher is rehired. There is only one time when kids should have any input in a teacher's job performance. Abuse. Teachers that abuse kids do not deserve respect.

Let's start by teaching our kids to be good citizens. Polite and respectful. Responsible. Then they can begin to practice empowerment by being responsible for themselves and their actions. No one wins when kids are given too much power without structure or guidance. The large voice that was supposed to be the end result of empowerment is lost in the chaos of a bad program.

I wish that before the next educational buzzword becomes all-the-rage someone would ask a teacher and see if the idea actually has merit. After all, no one knows our kids better than we do.

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Chocolate 4 Teachers

Chocolate 4 Teachers 4:22 PM 2 comments

We've all called in for a sub. And... we've all had someone that we would rather never set foot in our class again. I've had subs that I had to hide all of my snacks, pens, and pencils or they would disappear. I've had subs tell my kids that they knew more than the teacher. I'm sure we've all had those. But, we've also had the sub that graded our papers, kept the room neat, didn't fall for any of the "our teacher lets us do that", and were a great help to us.

How did we respond? I'm guilty of doing nothing. I'm guilty of taking that individual for granted. I hope that I was never rude or treated the sub like an intruder instead of a guest. I'm sure I didn't make them feel welcome at lunch or include them in my conversation. And, for that, I should be ashamed.

Now, I'm on the other side. I teach part-time and sub on other days. I do my best. Sometimes it isn't easy if I am unfamiliar with school practices or routines or I don't have a class roster. But I try. Sometimes it is hard for me to adjust to 'little people' since I spent my career in middle school. But I try. Sometimes I don't get through the lessons because I run out of time. But I give it my best shot.

Going into a strange situation is not easy. I don't know anyone. I hear the whispers, "Who is she? Is she new here? Wonder if she is looking for a job." Well, let me tell you who I am. A semi-retired teacher who loves kids. I'm not new. I've been here before. Subbing for the teacher across the hall or in the Middle School. I've been here when several of you were at a meeting or a case of the flu wiped out half the staff. I'm not looking for a job. I've been teaching since 1992, but I'm ready for a break. Part-time subbing is perfect for me. I'm not a threat to your job.

I was once in the trenches just like you. I know how to teach. I can learn names quickly. God gave me a gift and I try to use it faithfully every time I step into a classroom. No, I am not perfect. No, I don't do well every time I sub. I have good days and bad days just like any other human. No, I am not you. I will do things differently, but I will not undermine you. I try to be friendly. I smile and try to strike up a conversation. It would be nice if you responded in kind. Turning your back to me or making a snippy comment insinuating that I don't know what I am doing hurts me, and it makes me think you're a real jerk.

Subs get early morning and late night calls. We are there because the teacher cannot be there. If you have shown kindness by greeting me when I arrive, thank you. If you helped me find the resources I needed or lesson plans, thank you. If you gave me a schedule or a roster, thank you. If you smiled at me, thank you.

Is showing some appreciation all that hard? Shouldn't teachers be modeling respect? How do you treat your subs?

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