Woohoo! I made it past 100 days with only a few bumps and bruises. I don't want to jinx myself though so I'm not going to make that big of a deal about it.
But I did have some good news yesterday. One of the assistant principals came and watched me teach yesterday to evaluate how I'm doing and to see if I needed any pointers or help in any areas. Since I love getting feedback--from those who have experience--I welcomed the chance to have her in there. In the interview afterward, she said she had nothing in the "con" section of the booklet she needed to fill out. She said that I was doing a super job and that she was impressed with the sense of control I had in the classroom, especially a classroom filled with freshman who weren't on their best behavior yesterday. She liked how I ignored a lot of the random comments that they were making and how I continued to steer things back into the topic at hand. And when they became rowdy I quickly took care of it. I felt a little better about the job that I have been doing when I heard her saying all those things. I asked her to be critical and she said that there really wasn't anything that she could see that I was doing wrong or that needed to change. But she said that she would come back and see another class on another day and see if there is anything then that she can help me with.
She then asked me if I liked teaching and I answered truthfully that some days are harder than others but overall it is fun. I then brought up the fact that since I'm only on a 1 year contract I was hoping that if the position was opened again after the school year I would be able to interview for it. She said that the fact I wasn't here permanently had totally slipped her mind and that if I ever came up in review she would put in a good word for me to stay. From some of the feedback that she's received from the parents, the students tend to like me and think that I'm doing a good job.
That brings me to my next point. Wednesday during my film class the students did something that I thought I'd never hear out of that class. A few of the students asked if I was coming back next year and when I said that I wasn't sure because I'm only supposed to be here for a year, they asked if there was anything that they could do to help keep me here. I was touched. I just told them that I would let them know in April/May and if they wanted to write some feedback or a letter to the administration about me, they are more than welcome to. One of my students, Musical Theater, said that he was going to do that. He liked me better than the other teacher and he said that "She would grade us like we were professionals and would stifle our creativity. You teach and grade like we're students but we could always do better. You don't stifle us but you do keep us in check." I thought it was a bit weird to be hearing something like that, but I was grateful for any of the feedback that I received.
But I am happy for it being a Friday. 2 of my classes I'm not looking forward to too much because there is a lot of teaching involved today and my voice is beginning to hurt. I don't do a lot of talking unless I have to, but I have a pretty loud voice and I usually try to use my diaphragm when I project, but when I'm in a hurry or if I really need to get their attention, I just use my lungs and I think that is where I am hurting my voice. I really need this weekend to let my voice feel better. The next coming weeks I've got a lot of teaching that I've got to talk, plus I'm going to a conference that I really need my voice at.
Friday, January 29, 2010
Wednesday, January 27, 2010
Day 99
I have come to the conclusion that I can be too soft-hearted at times. I just had a student come in and ask why his last term grade was an F. We've been in the new semester for almost 2 weeks and he comes now to talk with me about that? It is amazing what students will try and go. He is one of the Swim Boys I had. He would screw around in class all the time, talking, off task, no wonder he received the grade that he did. He's telling me that the last time he looked it was a B- and he didn't have to worry about turning anything else in, so he didn't. Now he has to retake the last term of Comp Tech just because he didn't turn anything in during the last week or so of class. It is amazing that he thinks he could come in and try and change my mind. But unfortunately I have given in a bit and am going to allow him to hand in his interview he had to do. No, I'm not going to give him full points, just enough so he has a 70% and doesn't have to bother any of the computer tech teachers again. He really is a hard student to work with. He doesn't mind during class, it seems that he wants to hear his voice more than anyone elses, he'd rather talk and walk around than do his work. I'd rather have him out of here and not have to retake the class then having him again in the class.
But on a lighter note, I have a very international class for one of my computer tech periods. It is interesting to see the difference between these students and the "american" students. This class always says "thank you" after the class is over. They are willing to talk with me if they don't understand something. They tend to be a bit more respectful than some of my other classes. It is interesting. But there are some downsides to everything as well. For instance, there are 5 languages spoken in this class. Most are at the "proficient" level of ESL to be in mainstream classes and feel okay, however this being technology there are terms that are specific and unfamiliar and I have no idea how to make it a bit more comfortable for those students. I try my best to make sure they understand it at least a little by putting pictures up on everything and trying to make references to what we have in the lab.
My film class still has its goof-offs, but I think they are beginning to realize that I mean business and buckle down. They have to have ideas drawn out and ready to go by the beginning of class today, which is in about 40 minutes. I wonder how many of them are going to be doing that during their lunch break. I still have a few that think the class is a bird course, but this second semester tends to run quickly because it is all project based and they have a focus in mind.
But on a lighter note, I have a very international class for one of my computer tech periods. It is interesting to see the difference between these students and the "american" students. This class always says "thank you" after the class is over. They are willing to talk with me if they don't understand something. They tend to be a bit more respectful than some of my other classes. It is interesting. But there are some downsides to everything as well. For instance, there are 5 languages spoken in this class. Most are at the "proficient" level of ESL to be in mainstream classes and feel okay, however this being technology there are terms that are specific and unfamiliar and I have no idea how to make it a bit more comfortable for those students. I try my best to make sure they understand it at least a little by putting pictures up on everything and trying to make references to what we have in the lab.
My film class still has its goof-offs, but I think they are beginning to realize that I mean business and buckle down. They have to have ideas drawn out and ready to go by the beginning of class today, which is in about 40 minutes. I wonder how many of them are going to be doing that during their lunch break. I still have a few that think the class is a bird course, but this second semester tends to run quickly because it is all project based and they have a focus in mind.
Tuesday, January 26, 2010
Day 98
And the saga continues.
If you read back a little bit, B-Ball Boy and his mother had e-mailed me saying that my grading practices were "a bit unfair" and that they think he should have gotten a better grade than what he earned. Now, they've contacted the administration and started complaining to them. What is so wrong with earning a B? The boys didn't do anything spectacular to show me that they earned anything more. Playing games in class? Not being on task when they should have been? When a project is designed for 5-7 hours of work and then being able to turn that in and I gave them close to 10 hours of work time and they still couldn't get it in? That is not my problem nor my fault. Now, I just learned that he told one of the administrators that he turned in "extra credit" to make up for those points. I don't offer extra credit. Never had. The only thing that I said they could possibly get "extra" on was if they did 4 scenes instead of 3. They didn't. They didn't even turn in their commercial(s), but I gave them points for it. Gah! This is just getting dragged out more and more. I can't believe that someone would fight me over getting a B. Do they still think that this is a "bird course" and they can just fly right through it? I'm not that type of teacher. If the student is in class, then that is what they should be doing.
Aren't you in school for Academics first and Sports second? I would understand if the student had an IEP or something along those lines, but none of these students did plus it was a group assignment. Even if 3 members of your group are on a sports team, that leaves the other 2 to do work while you are missing. That doesn't mean you can just come in and play games and let the other people get on with the work that you are supposed to be doing. GAH! Frustrating!
There are times that I just want to throw up my hands and say "That's it!" because of the stupidity and ignorance of some of the students and their parents. Some parents it seems like feel that they can bully the teachers into getting what they want even if their student really didn't do the work. I'm not going to give in and if that means that I take it to the school board or I say what needs to be said to the administration, then that is what I will do. Yes, that may be career suicide, but if it doesn't change now, then when will it? There is no way that I would have done what these boys did, and when I discussed it with other teachers and family members, they all said that there is no way they would be fighting over getting a B in a class where they really didn't do the work. They would just have to accept it and move on. Just because you're on a sports team doesn't mean you can get away with not doing any work.
Sorry for the rant, but it needed to be said. This is one of the reasons I'm not a big fan of the Public School System the way it is right now. I'm all for fairness and for defending your right to learn, but in my opinion, the American school system needs to take a hint from other school systems and start putting focus on Academics instead of Sports. When they start doing that then maybe we can start moving in the right direction and have educated and respectful people instead of what we have today. Maybe people would start to put a focus on Academics and leave sports for what they should be . . . extra-curricular and not attached to anything school related.
If you read back a little bit, B-Ball Boy and his mother had e-mailed me saying that my grading practices were "a bit unfair" and that they think he should have gotten a better grade than what he earned. Now, they've contacted the administration and started complaining to them. What is so wrong with earning a B? The boys didn't do anything spectacular to show me that they earned anything more. Playing games in class? Not being on task when they should have been? When a project is designed for 5-7 hours of work and then being able to turn that in and I gave them close to 10 hours of work time and they still couldn't get it in? That is not my problem nor my fault. Now, I just learned that he told one of the administrators that he turned in "extra credit" to make up for those points. I don't offer extra credit. Never had. The only thing that I said they could possibly get "extra" on was if they did 4 scenes instead of 3. They didn't. They didn't even turn in their commercial(s), but I gave them points for it. Gah! This is just getting dragged out more and more. I can't believe that someone would fight me over getting a B. Do they still think that this is a "bird course" and they can just fly right through it? I'm not that type of teacher. If the student is in class, then that is what they should be doing.
Aren't you in school for Academics first and Sports second? I would understand if the student had an IEP or something along those lines, but none of these students did plus it was a group assignment. Even if 3 members of your group are on a sports team, that leaves the other 2 to do work while you are missing. That doesn't mean you can just come in and play games and let the other people get on with the work that you are supposed to be doing. GAH! Frustrating!
There are times that I just want to throw up my hands and say "That's it!" because of the stupidity and ignorance of some of the students and their parents. Some parents it seems like feel that they can bully the teachers into getting what they want even if their student really didn't do the work. I'm not going to give in and if that means that I take it to the school board or I say what needs to be said to the administration, then that is what I will do. Yes, that may be career suicide, but if it doesn't change now, then when will it? There is no way that I would have done what these boys did, and when I discussed it with other teachers and family members, they all said that there is no way they would be fighting over getting a B in a class where they really didn't do the work. They would just have to accept it and move on. Just because you're on a sports team doesn't mean you can get away with not doing any work.
Sorry for the rant, but it needed to be said. This is one of the reasons I'm not a big fan of the Public School System the way it is right now. I'm all for fairness and for defending your right to learn, but in my opinion, the American school system needs to take a hint from other school systems and start putting focus on Academics instead of Sports. When they start doing that then maybe we can start moving in the right direction and have educated and respectful people instead of what we have today. Maybe people would start to put a focus on Academics and leave sports for what they should be . . . extra-curricular and not attached to anything school related.
Friday, January 22, 2010
Day 96-2
The bell has just finished ringing when a student comes in and just walks in my office. No knocking, nothing. He comes in and asks to see his last term grades progress because there must be some mistake. I ask him if his grade seemed normal to him and he said no. So I opened up the gradebook and took a look at what I had entered. He had a A-. He was complaining about an A-? Really? He said there must be some mistake that I made (yes, he did stress the fact that I was the one that made the mistake) and if I could change it. If I had looked in the grade book and seen that I had missed putting in an assignment that he finished or something along those lines, I would have been happy to change the grade. But I'm not changing the grade from an A- to an A just because he thinks he deserved more points. My grades are weighted and the students all know that because it is in their disclosure documents and I say it all the time. So if you get 40 out of 50 points and the category is weighted for 5% of your grade, yes, things will be different than if it was just a total amount of points. He tried to argue with me saying that he shouldn't have lost the participation points that he did that it "wasn't his fault". I just let him talk and talk. What was really interesting is that he wouldn't meet my eye. He really wouldn't look at me. He was looking at the computer or at the board behind my desk.
I wonder how many other students will come up and try to "persuade" me that their grade isn't right. This'll be interesting.
I wonder how many other students will come up and try to "persuade" me that their grade isn't right. This'll be interesting.
Day 96
Start of a new semester means 4 new classes of new students. This week has been kind of an interesting one. First, they took away one of my Film 2 classes and put everyone into one class. I was kind of looking forward to having a couple of small classes where I could be able to work 1-on-1 with the students and they could have time to express themselves on a more individual basis with their film making. But they took 1 class away and added another Computer Tech class in its place. That class is still relatively small (I'm 7 away from full), so there is room for movement. The other 3 classes of Computer Tech are full and overflowed by 1 student in each class. I can't have 33 students in a classroom that only has 32 computers. I'm working with the counseling office to see if I can remove or exchange students to the open class. I'm not the only teacher feeling the crunch. It seems that most of the other classes around the school are also being overloaded. We had a HUGE freshman class this year and the classrooms aren't built to hold that many students. What I'm afraid of is that they'll take my lab space away from me and try and cram me into one of the other rooms and break this room into 2 or 3 rooms and put more classes in. It wouldn't be fair to me or to the students, but I have no say in anything. I doubt that will happen, but you never know the thinking of some people.
Other than that, the Digital Media class is moving along. I have a few students in there that I really wish would have dropped the class, but I can't actually tell them that. They are in the middle of learning Flash, so that should keep most busy for a while. We're going into 3D objects and Animation next. Not a forte of mine, but I think I'll be able to muddle my way through everything. All they need is a working knowledge of the programs. They don't actually need to be proficient completely in them. That is for the level 2 class which I'm not teaching this year. Perhaps next year if I'm still here.
The Film class still has a few students who I wish would disappear, but I've seen a little attitude shift in some of them. I think they realize that I'm serious when I say that things are due and I will take away points if it isn't in. Grades are coming out today, so it may come as a shock to some of them what their final grade was.
There was this interesting little incident that happened with B-Ball Boy and his mother. The last assignment due before winter break was a short scene assignment. I told them from the start that they needed to have it in or it would be a 0. I wasn't going to take late projects. I wanted to start treating them like the workforce tends to. So the day comes when the project is due and no project is turned in from this group. Next day, still no project. Break comes and goes and when we got back in January, NOW they realize that I was serious. The group comes over and says that they need to turn in their project and give me a story that "I wasn't available for them to turn in their project" and "It isn't fair that I gave them a 0" . . . and on and on and on. I listened and then said that since it had tanked their grade, I would give them another shot. If they had the video done, they could turn it in, but I wouldn't be able to give them full points on it. They all agreed and they turned in part of the assignment. They said that they would turn in the rest of it the next day (they were missing 2 commercials). So I watched it and gave them a grade based on what I saw and then halfed the points. I then gave them a quarter of the points that they were missing on the commercials and said I would give the remainder to them when they turned it in. Guess what? They never turned it in. So last week, I get an e-mail from B-Ball Boy's mother and she says that she thinks its unfair to the basketball boys my late work policy and that it is hurting her son's gpa to have a B in my class. Well, I explained the whole situation to her, without saying what I wanted to say about my thoughts on High School related sports, and sent it on its merry way.
Then, I get a reply back saying that when she talked with her son he thought the video was turned in and wanted me to reconsider. What I got out of her e-mails was that she wanted me to take "special consideration" on the sports players and give them some leniency. Now, I didn't say this, but I really wanted to say that they are in high school first to LEARN, not play sports first and learn second. I had about 4 or 5 basketball players in that class and they were on top of things and would communicate with me if there was a problem. B-Ball Boy never sent me an e-mail asking if I had received the assignment. He never communicated with me until the day we got back from break and was with the rest of his group. He really didn't talk much either when the group was talking. If he would have communicated with me, then maybe there would have been a better outcome. But a bunch of the basketball players dropped my class. I don't know what they are taking now, but that really isn't much of my concern. I was looking out for what I had set up in my class and if the student really did have a problem, I wish he would've come and spoken with me instead of asking his mother to.
But 1 semester down, 1 more to go. This last one is actually a bit shorter than the first semester. For some people it feels longer, but when you look at actually class days and seat time, it is missing about 5 or 6 days from what 1 semester had to offer. I'm just looking forward to the week of spring break and the fact that in February, I've got about 2 weeks of shortened schedules or extended weekends.
Other than that, the Digital Media class is moving along. I have a few students in there that I really wish would have dropped the class, but I can't actually tell them that. They are in the middle of learning Flash, so that should keep most busy for a while. We're going into 3D objects and Animation next. Not a forte of mine, but I think I'll be able to muddle my way through everything. All they need is a working knowledge of the programs. They don't actually need to be proficient completely in them. That is for the level 2 class which I'm not teaching this year. Perhaps next year if I'm still here.
The Film class still has a few students who I wish would disappear, but I've seen a little attitude shift in some of them. I think they realize that I'm serious when I say that things are due and I will take away points if it isn't in. Grades are coming out today, so it may come as a shock to some of them what their final grade was.
There was this interesting little incident that happened with B-Ball Boy and his mother. The last assignment due before winter break was a short scene assignment. I told them from the start that they needed to have it in or it would be a 0. I wasn't going to take late projects. I wanted to start treating them like the workforce tends to. So the day comes when the project is due and no project is turned in from this group. Next day, still no project. Break comes and goes and when we got back in January, NOW they realize that I was serious. The group comes over and says that they need to turn in their project and give me a story that "I wasn't available for them to turn in their project" and "It isn't fair that I gave them a 0" . . . and on and on and on. I listened and then said that since it had tanked their grade, I would give them another shot. If they had the video done, they could turn it in, but I wouldn't be able to give them full points on it. They all agreed and they turned in part of the assignment. They said that they would turn in the rest of it the next day (they were missing 2 commercials). So I watched it and gave them a grade based on what I saw and then halfed the points. I then gave them a quarter of the points that they were missing on the commercials and said I would give the remainder to them when they turned it in. Guess what? They never turned it in. So last week, I get an e-mail from B-Ball Boy's mother and she says that she thinks its unfair to the basketball boys my late work policy and that it is hurting her son's gpa to have a B in my class. Well, I explained the whole situation to her, without saying what I wanted to say about my thoughts on High School related sports, and sent it on its merry way.
Then, I get a reply back saying that when she talked with her son he thought the video was turned in and wanted me to reconsider. What I got out of her e-mails was that she wanted me to take "special consideration" on the sports players and give them some leniency. Now, I didn't say this, but I really wanted to say that they are in high school first to LEARN, not play sports first and learn second. I had about 4 or 5 basketball players in that class and they were on top of things and would communicate with me if there was a problem. B-Ball Boy never sent me an e-mail asking if I had received the assignment. He never communicated with me until the day we got back from break and was with the rest of his group. He really didn't talk much either when the group was talking. If he would have communicated with me, then maybe there would have been a better outcome. But a bunch of the basketball players dropped my class. I don't know what they are taking now, but that really isn't much of my concern. I was looking out for what I had set up in my class and if the student really did have a problem, I wish he would've come and spoken with me instead of asking his mother to.
But 1 semester down, 1 more to go. This last one is actually a bit shorter than the first semester. For some people it feels longer, but when you look at actually class days and seat time, it is missing about 5 or 6 days from what 1 semester had to offer. I'm just looking forward to the week of spring break and the fact that in February, I've got about 2 weeks of shortened schedules or extended weekends.
Thursday, January 14, 2010
Day 91
Almost done with the semester. You have no idea how excited I am to see everything finish. I get a new set of students next week (in most of my classes). The one that I'm not too excited about is the fact that they've taken away one of my film classes and added another computer tech class. So now I'm teaching 4 computer technology classes, 1 multimedia, and 1 film class. I didn't think I was going to mind it all that much, but now that I'm thinking of it, I'm not all that excited. It'll be interesting to see how things play out now.
As for end of term/semester stuff, it is amazing what students want me to do for them. I've had so many students come up and ask if they could come in and do something for me in order to re-adjust their attendance. They want to do attendance make-up and I've said all semester that I don't do attendance make-up. That isn't something I really have to do for my students. I'm not a fan of when other teachers do it and then the students expect the rest of the teachers to do it for them as well. I don't mind being here after school and letting them work on their projects and assignments, but I'm not going to give them other work and other things to do in order for them to make up their attendance. They are the ones that should be controlling that and they should be on top of things like that, but never the less they aren't and I'm the one that they blame.
Students are funny that way. There are times that I really like being a teacher and I enjoy seeing my students and seeing what they are capable of. There are other times that I really just want to pull my hair out by the roots and yell at them to leave me alone, that I'm not in the mood to deal with them. I guess everyone has those moments though.
It was kind of interesting yesterday in my meeting. We started talking about group work and how some teachers really tend to shy away from it stating that it is too much of a hassle and "student's really don't need to do group work". Do I just think differently? I think that group work is really essential. Students need to know how to work with different personalities and deadlines and organization and people. My group work tends to work for me. I have a combination of things that I do. First, if I let them pick their groups, they know the warning that if I don't see work happening, I can disband their group and assign them to another group or make them do the project on their own. Another thing is I have a confidentiality report submitted by the students on how they think the group worked together. I also have a section for comments in case there is something that they want to say about the person or in case they want to say something about the assignment. They then get the comments back once everything has been graded, along with any comments I had to say. I mix mine in with the other student feedback, so they really don't know which are mine and which aren't. Also, if I am the one that picks their groups, I tend to mix up a lot of the personalities and not always put students with their friends. It is interesting to see the dynamic that happens when I do that. Another thing I do with group work is to just do a random pick. Either I pull the names, or I pull one name and have them chose _______ names more and that is their group. They tend to have mixed emotions about that one. Sometimes it is funny to see them "willing/wishing" their friends to pick them.
But I think I'll have more to say once tomorrow is over and I have my grades submitted. I'm not taking late work from this semester, so they have to have everything in to my by Friday at Noon. We'll see how many of them actually do that.
As for end of term/semester stuff, it is amazing what students want me to do for them. I've had so many students come up and ask if they could come in and do something for me in order to re-adjust their attendance. They want to do attendance make-up and I've said all semester that I don't do attendance make-up. That isn't something I really have to do for my students. I'm not a fan of when other teachers do it and then the students expect the rest of the teachers to do it for them as well. I don't mind being here after school and letting them work on their projects and assignments, but I'm not going to give them other work and other things to do in order for them to make up their attendance. They are the ones that should be controlling that and they should be on top of things like that, but never the less they aren't and I'm the one that they blame.
Students are funny that way. There are times that I really like being a teacher and I enjoy seeing my students and seeing what they are capable of. There are other times that I really just want to pull my hair out by the roots and yell at them to leave me alone, that I'm not in the mood to deal with them. I guess everyone has those moments though.
It was kind of interesting yesterday in my meeting. We started talking about group work and how some teachers really tend to shy away from it stating that it is too much of a hassle and "student's really don't need to do group work". Do I just think differently? I think that group work is really essential. Students need to know how to work with different personalities and deadlines and organization and people. My group work tends to work for me. I have a combination of things that I do. First, if I let them pick their groups, they know the warning that if I don't see work happening, I can disband their group and assign them to another group or make them do the project on their own. Another thing is I have a confidentiality report submitted by the students on how they think the group worked together. I also have a section for comments in case there is something that they want to say about the person or in case they want to say something about the assignment. They then get the comments back once everything has been graded, along with any comments I had to say. I mix mine in with the other student feedback, so they really don't know which are mine and which aren't. Also, if I am the one that picks their groups, I tend to mix up a lot of the personalities and not always put students with their friends. It is interesting to see the dynamic that happens when I do that. Another thing I do with group work is to just do a random pick. Either I pull the names, or I pull one name and have them chose _______ names more and that is their group. They tend to have mixed emotions about that one. Sometimes it is funny to see them "willing/wishing" their friends to pick them.
But I think I'll have more to say once tomorrow is over and I have my grades submitted. I'm not taking late work from this semester, so they have to have everything in to my by Friday at Noon. We'll see how many of them actually do that.
Monday, January 11, 2010
Day 88
Well, new year, almost new semester.
State Testing started right as we came back from winter break and I have to say that I'm not a fan of the system right now. I have had 2 class successes with submitting their tests for scoring. Otherwise I'm sitting here not knowing which class needs to get their tests scored and which have been submitted because the system's server is down. You would think they would have done a load test or something to make sure that the system could handle the amount of data and users that they've experienced. It doesn't help that testing is supposed to end on Wednesday the 13th and the semester ends on Friday the 15th. Yeah, I'm not a fan of State Testing right now.
In years past they have always done it by scantron, but I guess they wanted to try out something new this year and this is supposed to be the "fix" from systems past.
Other than that, it is nice to know that I will be getting a new set of students next week in the majority of my classes. I'm learning as I go what to do and what not to do and I know now how I want to run my classroom next semester. In the film class, I will not be taking late work. Not at all. There isn't any individual work going on, so they will be working in groups. I want to see if they can keep each other on task and on topic and within rules. It may be hard for some of them, but I really want this to be a wake up call that they need to pay attention to dates and to what I have to say and that this isn't a bird course. In digital media they'll pretty much be staying the same students and we'll be working on the same system. I think they're doing pretty well. We're about to start Flash Animation and that always seems to be a hit. In computer tech I have a brand new set of students in all 3 classes, so that means learning names again and starting all over with everything. Hopefully I can remember what it is I need to do.
But as it is getting closer to May, I am beginning to wonder where I am going to be next year at this time. I may be right where I am teaching here, or I may be teaching in another district. I may not be teaching at all and go back to be a tech support person. I hope that isn't the case since I need to be able to pay my mortgage, but I wouldn't mind being a tech person. I liked it because I had my schedule and I could work on what I wanted to work on until there was something that really needed to be done. I guess we'll see what the district and the school decide to do.
State Testing started right as we came back from winter break and I have to say that I'm not a fan of the system right now. I have had 2 class successes with submitting their tests for scoring. Otherwise I'm sitting here not knowing which class needs to get their tests scored and which have been submitted because the system's server is down. You would think they would have done a load test or something to make sure that the system could handle the amount of data and users that they've experienced. It doesn't help that testing is supposed to end on Wednesday the 13th and the semester ends on Friday the 15th. Yeah, I'm not a fan of State Testing right now.
In years past they have always done it by scantron, but I guess they wanted to try out something new this year and this is supposed to be the "fix" from systems past.
Other than that, it is nice to know that I will be getting a new set of students next week in the majority of my classes. I'm learning as I go what to do and what not to do and I know now how I want to run my classroom next semester. In the film class, I will not be taking late work. Not at all. There isn't any individual work going on, so they will be working in groups. I want to see if they can keep each other on task and on topic and within rules. It may be hard for some of them, but I really want this to be a wake up call that they need to pay attention to dates and to what I have to say and that this isn't a bird course. In digital media they'll pretty much be staying the same students and we'll be working on the same system. I think they're doing pretty well. We're about to start Flash Animation and that always seems to be a hit. In computer tech I have a brand new set of students in all 3 classes, so that means learning names again and starting all over with everything. Hopefully I can remember what it is I need to do.
But as it is getting closer to May, I am beginning to wonder where I am going to be next year at this time. I may be right where I am teaching here, or I may be teaching in another district. I may not be teaching at all and go back to be a tech support person. I hope that isn't the case since I need to be able to pay my mortgage, but I wouldn't mind being a tech person. I liked it because I had my schedule and I could work on what I wanted to work on until there was something that really needed to be done. I guess we'll see what the district and the school decide to do.
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