A Letter From Your Dance Teacher
huffingtonpost.comWhen you are asked to work at something because that is simply what one does, many of you ask “Why should I? So-and-so made this thing and it went mad viral.” A few people are genuine overnight sensations — results of our spectacle-hungry, media-addicted culture.
Honestly, I think this can be applied to regular teaching as well. It struck a chord with me because it was dance related but the teacher in me felt the need to share with you and say, If a teacher works to help you, it’s because they care. The good ones, want you to succeed and that may mean pushing you a bit.
I can't believe you read our essays!
Isn’t it disappointing, shocking even, that the majority of my 10th graders were floored to discover I actually read their essays/quizzes/assignments?!
I’m dismayed that their perception and sometimes reality is that their work isn’t read or appreciated by teachers. This has led to a few students becoming emboldened to turn in work that is not their own and goes beyond plagiarism. Last week, one student’s response to a prompt resulted in her copying the first few paragraphs of an article used to aid them in their response. She didn’t even try to pretend to answer the question. At a (VERY) quick glance it looked like she responded thoughtfully to the prompt, but if you take a few more seconds to read over a sentence or two it is clear the work is not her own.
I’m left with a scarily indifferent feeling, numb maybe? Some people might blame the student for a lack of effort and cheeky stunt. While I’m not impressed with her I’m also not angry. Others might direct their frustration toward her other teachers. I suppose I’m somewhere in the middle. To be clear, I think it is unacceptable for a teacher to shirk their assessment responsibilities.
However, I believe this situation is evidence of a larger problem. Teachers spend too much of their own time (weekends, evenings, incredibly early mornings, and ultimately time away from their family/friends) to do our jobs as well as we would like. I spend countless hours planning, grading, and thinking about my students and classroom when I should probably be walking my dog, making a nice meal, or catching up with friends. None of this is compensated and has led me down a scary path this school year. I thought my second year teaching would be easier and in some ways it is. BUT, and this is a big but, I struggled this year with anxiety and burn out. April, my very least favorite month of the school year, was the culprit. My husband became worried about me and nervously expressed his worry over dinner one night. We’ve talked about having kids in the near future and he was curious to know how my job (stress, anxiety, frustration, exhaustion) affects me now and might affect us in the future. He recognized before I did how unhappy and burnt out I was. My work/life balance has been unhealthy to say the least.
I have no solutions here but hope that I am lucky enough to surround myself with loving and supportive family, friends, and colleagues. Life is a constant balancing act and I know my own (future) children will throw me off balance daily, hourly? As the school year winds down and summer looms in the not-so-distant future remember to take care of yourself as we struggle to finalize grades and read those damn essays!
I made a decision last week...
Last week, when my students were exhausted, when the heat in the school was unbearable and I was losing momentum I had a conflict with a student.
He was being rude, disruptive and petulant. His attitude was terrible and I wanted to tell him how I really felt about his behavior and his progress on our final project. I almost yelled, I almost insulted and I almost said what I wanted to say.
But then I made a decision…
I sat next to him and asked him how his day was going. I asked how his project was and I told him that I felt like he did. I felt lazy, I felt unwilling to work and I felt like giving up.
I decided to game plan with him. I asked him to tell me three things he could do to be a productive member of his group. In turn, he told me three students that I should check-in with because he thought they were struggling with the project.
We worked together. We were honest and our relationship was maintained.
This morning that same student gave a brilliant final presentation. It was organized, it was confident and it was rehearsed. He was excellent.
I could not help but wonder what would have happened if I did tell him what I thought of his attitude last week. What would have happened if I let my frustration get the best of me? What would have happened if I gave up on him?
My decision was the right one and also the hardest one to make. I hope that all teachers who are winding down their year can make decisions to stop, breath and talk to their students. To not let the stress, exhaustion and frustration get the best of them and to maintain strong relationships that have been built for a whole year.
I grew a lot from that decision not to get mad and not to turn my back and I hope I can continue to do the same in all my years teaching.
I'm Not Engaging.
I’m not engaging in your comment on my Facebook status that mentions my feelings about 49 schools being closed in Chicago Public Schools.
I’m not answering your question that asks if I would take a pay cut to help “debt ridden CPS system to keep them open”.
Instead, I will sit back and not argue with you. We are on opposite sides, and that has been clear since the strike. Because I’m a teacher I’m supposed to fix the debt problem brought on by crappy mayors, stupid spending, and all around mismanagement of the 3rd largest school district in the country? It’s my job to say no to a raise that helps me put money away later in life because the state is stealing my pension and older people will get to the funds first. It’s my job to say “Yes! Take my money. I don’t need it. Close that debt gap!” No, that’s not my job. My job is to teach. My job is to think about your child, about their education, well-being, who they are, where they are going. My job is to be there for your child and support them, not fix the debt crisis by taking a pay cut. Maybe you should ask the alderman to do that. Maybe they could use part of their $100,000+ a year salary for their part time jobs could be split among their schools. (http://media.apps.chicagotribune.com/tables/alderman-salaries.html) Maybe our mayor could not be paying for a park for Maggie Daley that’s expected to cost $55 million (http://articles.chicagotribune.com/2012-08-26/news/ct-met-maggie-daley-park-20120826_1_programs-for-chicago-children-maggie-daley-grant-park). Maybe that 55 million could go towards the schools and one gets named after her? Maybe our mayor could not be planning a 300 million dollar tourism project ( http://articles.chicagotribune.com/2013-05-17/business/ct-biz-0517-depaul-arena-20130517_1_convention-expert-heywood-sanders-arena-mccormick-place) both the park and the tourism project are funded by tax payers.
We gladly spend money on things like that, but we starve our schools. The union had to bargain for textbooks on time. Parents have to have fundraisers to pay for ancillary teachers. And god forbid we give them a classroom. We’d be considered underutilized and would be threatened with closing. I’m just unclear why our city government is so against investing in our youth? Won’t that make our fair city better? You might say that tourism will bring us more money…money to invest in schools! I’m just wondering if that’s where the money will actually go?
I understand that CPS has about 100.000 seats open. I understand that there has to be some consolidation. I do not think they are going the right way about it. Why not a plan that goes over few years. A plan that gives schools time to adjust, to plan, and support.
But, what do I know? I’m just a teacher who should take a pay cut.
May mumblings.
I’m still processing and reflecting on everything that happened this year. It was definitely a very long, difficult one. I’m sure there are all kinds of things I should have learned from it, but I can only recall being extremely tired. Summer school starts in less than two weeks and I have a lot going on between now and then, so I’m not sure I will get a chance to really think about all of it, but it’s definitely on my to-do list.
We had a little end-of-the-year lunch today sponsored by administration. This was the first one they ever had and it was very nice. Sometimes (most of the time) I really love working in such a small environment because it really does feel like a big happy (sometimes dysfunctional!) family. I really do work with great people.
Next week I will be going with some of my co-workers on a curriculum “retreat” to map out curriculum for next year. We write all of our own curriculum over two campuses with little by way of guidelines, so it should make things run a lot more smoothly with some kind of map. Writing curriculum, in my opinion, is both fun and overwhelming. I love doing it, but sometimes I get lost in all the possibilities of it. It is definitely one of the best parts of working for an alternative school.. I get to be really creative in my teaching.
I hope you are all hanging in there and making the most of the time you have left with your students! I know this time of the year is tiring, but remember that your students are just as tired as you. If you stay positive, they will follow your lead.
My seniors are leaving tomorrow.
As much as I’m ready for them to be done, or rather I’m done with their being done, I grew really attached to this group of kids. They cracked me up, they challenged me, they loved me unconditionally even when I was replacing a legendary teacher in the school who was beloved by all. Their class was a really, really, great group (thank goodness I get to keep my juniors!) Because of all that, this will be me tomorrow:
"This is a test, not a learning activity"
That may or may not be directly quoted from the official proctoring materials of my state’s standardized exams.
Sums it up, doesn’t it?
In addition to missing class time to test, and missing planning time to proctor, I’ve also been missing my paraeducator on days when my own students have been in my class because he is busy working the accommodations testing room. Meanwhile, I have a classroom full of IEP students who are also entitled to accommodations…
And I just got an e-mail from my ESOL co-teacher telling me she’s missing Friday because of testing and a couple of days next week. So that means this Friday I will have neither special education support or ESOL support in a classroom where literally every single student receives one or both of those services.
A brief senior prank tutorial
A senior prank is:
- humorous without being offensive
- clever and creative without being destructive
- well-thought out without being too twee
- memorable without being infamous
- inclusive without being cliquish
A senior prank is not:
- giving the already-overwhelmed janitorial staff any more work or stress
- setting out to deface and destroy school property
- causing your peers and teachers to feel ashamed to come to campus
- creating an environment where learning cannot happen
- making anyone feel unsafe or fearful as a result of your actions
