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.