Seriously? It is only 10:50 in the morning and already I've had issues.
~2 students had a "melt-down" when I wouldn't pass them so they "wouldn't be grounded anymore" instead of actually doing their missing work.
~1 student decide that permanent marker goes well with the computer screen.
~1 student tripped another, causing him to crack his nose on the kid's head.
~2 students yelling "it isn't fair!" when I told them that if they didn't save their work, there was nothing I could do if the computer decided to freeze/shut down. I'm not going to spend my time trying to recover their work when I tell them multiple times to save!
~Another student decided it would be 'funny' to go around and unplug the keyboards and mice from the back of each computer and swap them with the computer next to them. . . this happened while I was talking with a parent who just couldn't wait another 10 minutes for class to get over because (and I quote) "My time is much more valuable than a teacher's time".
~1 parent emailed me to tell me that her son needed more time on an assignment that they've had 3 weeks of class time to work on (and they could have taken it home as homework as well). When I replied with the timeline of what he was actually doing in class, she called me a liar and that she was going to go to the Principal because I was being such a "horrible teacher. I can't believe they let you keep your license".
I understand that it is a Thursday and the students are about as antsy as I am to get out of here, but come on! Really?
Does this mean that the rest of the day will be smooth or is this a preview of the remaining 5 classes I have to teach?
Thursday, February 27, 2014
Monday, February 24, 2014
PTC
Yeah, it came and went. And I think this may have been the worst one yet. I've always of the mind that PTCs don't work. You rarely get the parents that you need to talk to, and frankly, I get paid to watch a movie, read a book, or sketch. Because I'm not "core", parents usually don't see the need to come chat with me. . . unless their student is failing. Then I am the one that gets chewed out. Yeah, happened at this last one as well--multiple times. Too many instances to write about, but here are the "tamest" of them all.
1st story--We'll call her Crocodile Tears. Crocodile Tears is a chronic liar. She's accused most of her teachers of losing her assignments (which she just doesn't turn in), she has accused the school of being demeaning and bullying her (yes, the school; not individual people). Example--the math teacher she had, she kept saying that when she would hand him her assignments, he would rip them or throw them away or shred them right in front of her and the class yet nobody in the class can confirm that. For me, she is constantly missing class, so I mark her absent. Even if she comes in with 5 minutes remaining in class, I mark her absent--she wasn't there for the majority of class. Apparently, she has been telling her parents that we are picking on h er and making her late. Yes, me as a teacher, I am making her late; not just a few minutes late but almost a whole period late. She didn't tell her parents about the PTC last week but they found out because one of the teachers called them and asked them to come.
Now, the parents speak little to no English, so they had a translator go around with them--a school provided one. I understand Spanish, but I don't let on about it and I certainly don't speak it with the students. Crocodile Tears and her family stopped by my table and she instantly started accusing me about the latest absence, that she was in class and even turned in missing assignments (which she didn't). I explained to her that even through she may have came in, if she came in at all, if it was after a certain point, then it would remain an absence. She started turning on the tears and her father shot me a look. This is the one point that I am glad that we have all the teachers in the same room and I happened to be sitting by the Special Ed coordinator. C.T. is in Special Ed for speech only, but the Coordinator can pull up all her records and she did. I was not the only teacher that marked her absent for that day. I have her 2nd period and she was "gone" until 4th. That many teachers made "mistakes" as she put it and she wanted us to change it. I told her flat out No and the tears started again. I just sighed and told her that tears weren't going to work so she could knock off the fakery right then and there. And of course she stopped and shot me a look. Again I told her that all the looks in the world were not going to change anything, that she had been ditching my class and I was not going to change the absence. She's passing, just be aware of that. The parents demanded to see the Principal, so the Coordinator said that she would go get him. While she went, C.T. and her parents started talking in Spanish, saying horrible things about me and accusing me of things that just didn't happen. A few minutes later Coordinator came back saying that the Principal was not available and they would have to set up a time to meet with him. I told them all that there is nothing more to discuss at the moment and there are 2 other people waiting in line, so we were done. Have a good day. Yet they kept sitting there. The translator started getting up but the parents weren't budging. I actually had to say it again in Spanish and give them and shooing motion with my hand before they realized that I wasn't going to talk with them anymore.
Needless to say, the next day she went and complained to the counseling office that she was physically shoved away from my table (I didn't even get up from my chair, let alone touch them across a table and I have 4 other teachers around that can collaborate). And again, she was hung up on the fact that she had the absences in my class and I was just "out to get her". Again, she is still passing and when she is in class, she gets the work done. It is a few days later and I'm still dealing with the crap that C.T. is saying. No I'm not going to give in and change her absences the way that other teachers have, but I am getting sick and tired of what is going on and I am a little worried about the repercussions that could happen. I don't know what the family is into or who they know.
2nd story--It seems that some parents are just fools when it comes to what their student actually acts like when they aren't around. I sometimes video tape my classes, many times to I can see how I am actually coming off towards the students; but a few times it is because of the way that a student(s) are acting. And I keep the footage when necessary. Luckily I had some footage of a student on my laptop when this parent came in. RubicCube's dad didn't believe me that his son was being rude, belligerent, and off task consistently. He had the whole "My son isn't like that and you're just picking on him" kind of attitude. . .that is until I showed him the week's worth of footage of that class and how his son was acting. "He knew the camera was there, that's why he was acting the way he was" was the excuse he gave me for every clip. The students do know that my class is being filmed (I told them at the beginning of the year and it is in my disclosure), so if that is the way that he acts when the camera is actually recording, imagine how he acts when it isn't.
3rd story--This year we added a T.V. Broadcasting class to my schedule. I like teaching film and broadcasting, but as the year is going on, it is getting worse and worse to deal with some of the students and worst off, their parents, when they think that the grade I give them for their work ethic and segments is "wrong". One in particular is TrashCan. TrashCan is a 7th grader but has the social skills and mentality of a 4th grader. He is CONSTANTLY talking, telling stories, arguing with people that their ideas are wrong and his are the only ones that are right, etc. Yeah, not a good combination in a class that is self driven and group orientated. I have tried numerous times to get him out of the class but there is no where else to put him (elective wise), so I've got to deal with him until the end of the year and I think that is going to drive me batty. Anyway, I'm getting off the point.
TrashCan's mother came and sat at my table while I was trying to talk to another parent. She just kept glaring at me and him, thinking that it would finish up our conversation faster. Finally I think the guy just started getting really uncomfortable and finished and left. She slid over with a "finally" and then started berating me for "giving" her son a B+ and wanted to know what I would do to fix it. I must have sat there for a moment because she repeated her statement. I know that my face gave it away that I wasn't amused with that and she continued to say that this class was supposed to just be an easy class that they didn't get graded on. THAT I had an issue with and I asked her where did she read that. She said it's in your disclosure. I replied with an alright and proceeded to pull up my disclosure from my website and asked her to find in there where I said that. Of course, she looked taken back but played the game and tried to find it. It isn't in there. She continued to say that I must have changed the disclosure and that it was in there, she knew it and that I was calling her a liar to her face wasn't very "teacherly" of me. (Yep, she used that word). Then I tried to find out what she really wanted to talk about with TrashCan's performance in class. She said that my grading practices were unfair and that I should let the students decide on how and when they get graded, if at all. "School shouldn't be about grades and you all are ruining the learning experience for them." Since this was near the end of the time, I scoffed. Yep, out loud and to her face. "If that is how you feel, then perhaps you should homeschool him." "I don't have time or the energy for that nor would I want to." I just shook my head and tried to explain that TrashCan's behavior and attitude is what holds him back in class and causes friction in the groups. I don't put them in groups, they choose and I've had multiple students say that they don't want to work with him because he takes over and then tries to sabotage their efforts when they 'don't listen'. She got all offended with that, stood up and seriously stormed off. . . straight over to the counselors (who weren't that far off from me) and I could hear her berate them about me. Few minutes later, she was practically dragging the counselor over and told the counselor to tell me that her son is an A student and that he doesn't deserve the treatment that I was giving him and if they didn't do something to change my attitude towards him and his grade that she would take it to the district level. Luckily at that point the Principal came over the P.A. system and said that PTCs were over. I started putting my computer away and she grabbed at it. I calmly asked her to remove her hand or I would do it for her. She started screaming that I was threatening her and she wouldn't stand for it.
I don't like it when other teachers have to come to my "rescue", but this time I was grateful for the two teachers who stepped up and between the two of us. Even the counselor decided to act and "led" me out and away while the other two corralled her.
And why do I call this student TrashCan? Well, during the first segment he did, he asked his group to throw him into the large trash can outside the school. The refused multiple times until he started throwing stuff at them so one of the boys did as he requested. . . and TrashCan went home and complained that his clothes were ruined because there was 'fresh trash in the can'.
1st story--We'll call her Crocodile Tears. Crocodile Tears is a chronic liar. She's accused most of her teachers of losing her assignments (which she just doesn't turn in), she has accused the school of being demeaning and bullying her (yes, the school; not individual people). Example--the math teacher she had, she kept saying that when she would hand him her assignments, he would rip them or throw them away or shred them right in front of her and the class yet nobody in the class can confirm that. For me, she is constantly missing class, so I mark her absent. Even if she comes in with 5 minutes remaining in class, I mark her absent--she wasn't there for the majority of class. Apparently, she has been telling her parents that we are picking on h er and making her late. Yes, me as a teacher, I am making her late; not just a few minutes late but almost a whole period late. She didn't tell her parents about the PTC last week but they found out because one of the teachers called them and asked them to come.
Now, the parents speak little to no English, so they had a translator go around with them--a school provided one. I understand Spanish, but I don't let on about it and I certainly don't speak it with the students. Crocodile Tears and her family stopped by my table and she instantly started accusing me about the latest absence, that she was in class and even turned in missing assignments (which she didn't). I explained to her that even through she may have came in, if she came in at all, if it was after a certain point, then it would remain an absence. She started turning on the tears and her father shot me a look. This is the one point that I am glad that we have all the teachers in the same room and I happened to be sitting by the Special Ed coordinator. C.T. is in Special Ed for speech only, but the Coordinator can pull up all her records and she did. I was not the only teacher that marked her absent for that day. I have her 2nd period and she was "gone" until 4th. That many teachers made "mistakes" as she put it and she wanted us to change it. I told her flat out No and the tears started again. I just sighed and told her that tears weren't going to work so she could knock off the fakery right then and there. And of course she stopped and shot me a look. Again I told her that all the looks in the world were not going to change anything, that she had been ditching my class and I was not going to change the absence. She's passing, just be aware of that. The parents demanded to see the Principal, so the Coordinator said that she would go get him. While she went, C.T. and her parents started talking in Spanish, saying horrible things about me and accusing me of things that just didn't happen. A few minutes later Coordinator came back saying that the Principal was not available and they would have to set up a time to meet with him. I told them all that there is nothing more to discuss at the moment and there are 2 other people waiting in line, so we were done. Have a good day. Yet they kept sitting there. The translator started getting up but the parents weren't budging. I actually had to say it again in Spanish and give them and shooing motion with my hand before they realized that I wasn't going to talk with them anymore.
Needless to say, the next day she went and complained to the counseling office that she was physically shoved away from my table (I didn't even get up from my chair, let alone touch them across a table and I have 4 other teachers around that can collaborate). And again, she was hung up on the fact that she had the absences in my class and I was just "out to get her". Again, she is still passing and when she is in class, she gets the work done. It is a few days later and I'm still dealing with the crap that C.T. is saying. No I'm not going to give in and change her absences the way that other teachers have, but I am getting sick and tired of what is going on and I am a little worried about the repercussions that could happen. I don't know what the family is into or who they know.
2nd story--It seems that some parents are just fools when it comes to what their student actually acts like when they aren't around. I sometimes video tape my classes, many times to I can see how I am actually coming off towards the students; but a few times it is because of the way that a student(s) are acting. And I keep the footage when necessary. Luckily I had some footage of a student on my laptop when this parent came in. RubicCube's dad didn't believe me that his son was being rude, belligerent, and off task consistently. He had the whole "My son isn't like that and you're just picking on him" kind of attitude. . .that is until I showed him the week's worth of footage of that class and how his son was acting. "He knew the camera was there, that's why he was acting the way he was" was the excuse he gave me for every clip. The students do know that my class is being filmed (I told them at the beginning of the year and it is in my disclosure), so if that is the way that he acts when the camera is actually recording, imagine how he acts when it isn't.
3rd story--This year we added a T.V. Broadcasting class to my schedule. I like teaching film and broadcasting, but as the year is going on, it is getting worse and worse to deal with some of the students and worst off, their parents, when they think that the grade I give them for their work ethic and segments is "wrong". One in particular is TrashCan. TrashCan is a 7th grader but has the social skills and mentality of a 4th grader. He is CONSTANTLY talking, telling stories, arguing with people that their ideas are wrong and his are the only ones that are right, etc. Yeah, not a good combination in a class that is self driven and group orientated. I have tried numerous times to get him out of the class but there is no where else to put him (elective wise), so I've got to deal with him until the end of the year and I think that is going to drive me batty. Anyway, I'm getting off the point.
TrashCan's mother came and sat at my table while I was trying to talk to another parent. She just kept glaring at me and him, thinking that it would finish up our conversation faster. Finally I think the guy just started getting really uncomfortable and finished and left. She slid over with a "finally" and then started berating me for "giving" her son a B+ and wanted to know what I would do to fix it. I must have sat there for a moment because she repeated her statement. I know that my face gave it away that I wasn't amused with that and she continued to say that this class was supposed to just be an easy class that they didn't get graded on. THAT I had an issue with and I asked her where did she read that. She said it's in your disclosure. I replied with an alright and proceeded to pull up my disclosure from my website and asked her to find in there where I said that. Of course, she looked taken back but played the game and tried to find it. It isn't in there. She continued to say that I must have changed the disclosure and that it was in there, she knew it and that I was calling her a liar to her face wasn't very "teacherly" of me. (Yep, she used that word). Then I tried to find out what she really wanted to talk about with TrashCan's performance in class. She said that my grading practices were unfair and that I should let the students decide on how and when they get graded, if at all. "School shouldn't be about grades and you all are ruining the learning experience for them." Since this was near the end of the time, I scoffed. Yep, out loud and to her face. "If that is how you feel, then perhaps you should homeschool him." "I don't have time or the energy for that nor would I want to." I just shook my head and tried to explain that TrashCan's behavior and attitude is what holds him back in class and causes friction in the groups. I don't put them in groups, they choose and I've had multiple students say that they don't want to work with him because he takes over and then tries to sabotage their efforts when they 'don't listen'. She got all offended with that, stood up and seriously stormed off. . . straight over to the counselors (who weren't that far off from me) and I could hear her berate them about me. Few minutes later, she was practically dragging the counselor over and told the counselor to tell me that her son is an A student and that he doesn't deserve the treatment that I was giving him and if they didn't do something to change my attitude towards him and his grade that she would take it to the district level. Luckily at that point the Principal came over the P.A. system and said that PTCs were over. I started putting my computer away and she grabbed at it. I calmly asked her to remove her hand or I would do it for her. She started screaming that I was threatening her and she wouldn't stand for it.
I don't like it when other teachers have to come to my "rescue", but this time I was grateful for the two teachers who stepped up and between the two of us. Even the counselor decided to act and "led" me out and away while the other two corralled her.
And why do I call this student TrashCan? Well, during the first segment he did, he asked his group to throw him into the large trash can outside the school. The refused multiple times until he started throwing stuff at them so one of the boys did as he requested. . . and TrashCan went home and complained that his clothes were ruined because there was 'fresh trash in the can'.
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