What's The Point?

A recent news story has me questioning why some school districts even bother with going 1to1.  In Los Angeles, the district began a 1to1 ipad initiative in at least three high schools. They blocked access to all social media sites, both at school and at home. In about a week, over 300 students figured out how to breach the security on their ipads and surf the Web and get on Facebook and Twitter at home. The districts response was to no longer allow the ipads to go home with students and to postpone the rollout of ipads to other students until they were able "to ensure it has 100 percent control over what is accessible" on the ipads.

Check out the story here: http://www.foxnews.com/us/2013/09/25/program-halted-after-la-students-breach-school-ipads-security-in-week/

We are a 1to1 school this year. All students from kindergarten through 12th grade have an Apple device of some kind (K-5 have ipads, 6-12 have MacBook Airs). As teachers, we have talked about the distractions that present themselves when students have constant access to the internet. Discussion of cyberbullying, digital citizenship, and time management happen among teachers daily. The question has been asked, "What do you block?"

In our district, we have chosen not to block most sites in the high school.  Facebook, Twitter, YouTube, Pinterest are all accessible to students and staff. Yes, I have to remind students once in awhile to get off of those sites, but I also have students access those sites. I find that accessing social media is more of a classroom management issue (and sometimes a time management issue) rather than a technology issue. We must teach students when its's OK to use those sites and when it isn't.

In Creative Writing, students and I have been known to tweet out pieces of our writing. Students are now creating a Digital Storytelling project. They'll be creating a movie using pictures and videos they have created. Want to know where today's students archives most of their pictures and videos? Facebook, Twitter, Instagram, Vine..... How can they access those sites if we block things at school and at home?

Freshmen English students write blogs. We are now sharing those blogs with students in other parts of the state. I'd love to find classrooms in other parts of the country....the world.... to  connect with. They are beginning to get comments from people besides me. Remember your first blog comments from strangers?  It's pretty exciting.

Speech and Drama students create projects that require them to find information online, to access free images and sounds. They can't do that if we block their access to the internet or certain sites.

I'm not trying to say that going 1to1 is without it's hiccups, that everything is pie in the sky wonderful. It isn't. It takes work. You have some additional things to teach. But it is so totally worth it.

So, I don't understand handing your students the world in a device and then tell them not to explore and use that world. I don't understand limiting the resources they need to think about that world and get to know it. I don't understand not teaching them how to get along in that world. I'm sure there is fear involved, but fear needs to be conquered. No great discoveries were ever made locked inside a box.

I just don't understand.

But if you are going to hand them the world all the while telling them they can't be a part of it, spend your money on paper and pencils instead, and call it good.

Worth the Effort

A student's accident prompted my little rant today.  She's not a bad kid (and really, no one has said she is), but the first comment I heard from someone today was "I wonder if she'd been drinking?"  It kind of rankled me and it got me thinking about the double standard we apply to kids.

We get a little jaded in education.  We sometimes think we have it all figured out.  We think we know just how to reach kids. We think we know which ones are the "good" kids and worth the effort and we think we know which ones are the "bad" kids and we should just write them off.

Kids don't change, you see. Kids don't grow up and mature. Kids don't realize they need to step up.

The "good" kids,

• the ones worth the effort, 
• the ones that would never cheat 
• the ones that would never party on a Saturday night
• the ones that make us think school is their number one priority

if something happens to one of them, everyone is is a tizzy.  The whole school would be on alert.

• "Oh, the poor parents."
• "What can we do to help?"
• "I wonder what happened?"

But, the "bad" kids,

• the ones not worth the effort
• the ones that do whatever it takes to get through school because no one cares
• the ones that let loose on Saturday night
• the ones that let us know school is not the top thing on their list 

when something happens to them, the first words spoken are, "I wonder if he was drinking?  She must have been partying somewhere. Great. Now they'll be behind again." No one considers that they might have just been driving down the road.

But

let's not forget, that those "bad" kids, the ones not worth the effort, the ones that people write off, they are someone's kid. Someone loves them. Someone was scared senseless with a late night phone call. Someone thinks they are worth the effort.

And they are.

I Should Know Better

Really.

I should know better.

20  more days of school. The bitchers and complainers are in top form.  They band together like a pack of hungry wolves ready to pounce--or at least talk about pouncing.  They don't actually do anything. They just complain about it. Make up the rules they think they would like to have. But they won't do anything about anything because they don't want to get their hands dirty.

I should know better.

Bus evacuation drill this morning and for some reason, I stood with the B and C's.  WHY????

Just wasn't thinking.  But it didn't take long for the pouncing to start.

"Does anyone else see the shorts that are too short. Four of them, right in a row."
"Yep"
"Why do we have to tell them over and over again?"
"They are young adults. We should tell them once and expect them to remember."
"Yes. And if they wear them anyway, kick them out."
"We should have big baggy sweatpants for them."

You get the drift.  On and on.

But, not one of them stepped over to the girls and said anything about the shorts.

Not one.

Not one of them turned the girls in to the office.

Not one.

Because, evidently, it's more fun to complain about how nothing is ever done than it is to do something.

I left.  I suppose I should have said something, but I didn't think the shorts were bad.

How About a Little Cheese With That W(h)ine?

I got it. You hate to write. You enrolled in this class because the guidance department made you take another class and Drawing and Design was full.

I got it.

But do you really need to whine those words a million times a class period?

You whine about journal writing--even though I give you a topic to write about.
You whine when it's time to work on your draft--even though I gave you a topic to write about.
You whine when it's time to revise--even though I give you suggestions for revision.

You whine.

But you know what I think?

I think you are lazy. I think you don't want to think. I think that no matter what I say, you think Creative Writing should be a sluff class.

It's not.

In Creative Writing, WE WRITE  EVERY DAY.

Writing makes you think and feel and believe in something.  It strengthens brain muscles.
Writing helps you make sense of the world. It lets you explore the world around you.
Writing is joyful, and depressing, and illuminating. It is hard work.

There is no job out there where you will not have to write and communicate.  Suck it up and write.

"Twas the Weeks Before State Visit...."

'Twas the weeks before state visit and all through the school

All the committees were meeting and checking state rules.

The posters were hung by the doors with care,

In hopes that state visitors would see them hung there.

The teachers were prepped by administrative staff

While visions of data maps danced in their heads.

And principals in chairs and staff in attendance

Had just settled in for an inservice nap.

When out in the center there arose such a clatter

We woke from our naps to see what was the matter.

Away from my computer I flew like a flash

Shut down my Twitter and opened up my trash.

The glow on the screen in the front of the room

Gave a luster of midday to brighten the gloom.

When what to my wondering eyes should appear,

But a list of acronyms of which I should fear.

Now, CSIP! Now, SIAC! Now, SINA and MISIC. On ITEDS and Reading.

On, Vision and Mission!

To the top of the list! And not just in the fall.

Now test away, test away, test away all.

Ok--that's it. My creativity is gone. Spent eight hours today preparing for the site visit from the state.  My mind is mush.  I know our administration is doing the right thing by having this inservice and making sure we all have the information we need.  I am just a tad touchy about some things said by teachers during a couple of my meetings.  This is how I handle it.  I write silly things.  Because if I publish what I really think about what some people say (not my administration--really), I'll be in trouble. There will be a post about these things, I just need to figure out a way to say it tactfully....


I really almost linked my post from Sunday--check out my review of John Green's The Fault in Our Stars.  Terrific book!

Time

Time is what prevents everything from happening at once.  ~John Archibald Wheeler

My life is chaotic right now. I'm so tired at the end of the week, I can hardly wait for bed on Friday night. However, I put all the blame on the clocks in my life.  This is how this morning went as I tried to make it to school on time for a 7:30am rehearsal (anytime kids are willing to rehearse at 7:30, I am going to be there!).

• got up, according to my bedroom clock, at 6:14am (never mind that my dear hubby sets his clock 15 minutes ahead. So that clock is at 6:34!)
• walked downstairs and it was 6:21am  (I'm slow in the morning, but not that slow!) Start coffee and take a shower.  6:34 when I head to the living room, according to the clock on the stove--the one on the wall actually tells me it's 6:36
• After checking email, Facebook, Twitter, and drinking a cup of coffee while watching the morning news, I left the living room at 7:04am and walked to the bathroom to dry my hair--arrived there at 7:07 (again, not that slow).
• Got ready to leave the house. Kitchen clock said 7:21
• Started car. Clock said 7:17 (Oooo, I'm speeding up!)
• On school street the sign outside said 7:21(still good!  I'll make it on time. Understand I only live five blocks from school. I should make it on time.)
• Walked into school building. One cafeteria clock said 7:28 the other said 7:31 (really--I don't walk that slow!) 
• Office clock says 7:29
• First hallway clock I pass says 7:30
• Turn the corner to my room. Clock in my hallway--8:36!!!!!!  Arrrrgggghhhhh.

Really--I'm not making this stuff up.  I need to get my clocks together!

A Rant: Let's Just Take 'Em Out and Shoot 'Em

I know that teachers get tired of student behavior. I understand there needs to be consequences for "bad behavior". I believe consequences should make sense for the offense. But honestly--sometimes I believe all some think of is "How can I get this kid." As my (ex) roomie tweeted, "When did we forget we're here to help not hurt?"

side note:  I have found that tweeting my thoughts during inservice keeps me from going crazy.


Our new principal asked a simple question this afternoon.

(By the way--I love my new principal. He is doing good things in our building!) 

What did we think was an appropriate length of time for both in-school and out-of-school suspensions?  Talk about opening up a can of worms! The conversation led to what about the work that these students miss while they're not in class. Given? Not given? Graded? Not graded?

"People!"  I wanted to scream.  "We. Are. Educators."

But I didn't and I should have.  I let the loud ones believe they are right and that I agree with them. I won't do that again.  I hope.

Seriously.


(my first hour students would laugh at that word--they think I use it too much!)


Most of the students we are talking about (my wonderful SSB's, for the most part) need to be in school. They are having trouble in classes anyway!  So the best consequence we can come up with is to take them OUT of class??????  Arrrrggghhhhh! And in the "worst case", out of school altogether?????   Double Arrrrggghhh!

What does that accomplish?  We give them a "vacation"--one that deep down most don't want. We take them away from those people who do care about them. We put them further behind in their classes if they get to do the work. And if they don't get to do the work, we punish them twice.

Great.

Way to let students know we care.

And if we really don't know what to do about them--let's send them to the alternative school. At least we won't have to deal with them.

Excuse the rant, but blogging really does make me feel better!

Just Read

"One third of high school graduates never read another book for the rest of their lives.
Forty two percent of college graduates never read another book after college.
Eighty percent of U.S. families did not buy or read a book last year."  Jenkins Group

Our classroom library

Yesterday I posted that quote and a link to a blog post entitled "Time to Get Angry About Reading" on my Facebook page. It sparked a lot of response--mostly surprise by adult friends that people aren't reading ( I seem to surround myself with people who do read). But a former student posted that he probably won't read after his Freshman HONORS program because there are too many other things for him to do. Whatever reading he will do will be interesting things he finds on the internet.  YIKES!

But I know what I think is the cause of the problem. We teach reading to death. We kill whatever spark there is in a student by analyzing and comparing and talking and writing and lit circling and assigning... we take the joy out of reading.  I HATED that as a student. Teachers had terrible taste in what books students should read.  Teachers were slow to embrace Young Adult literature.Teachers thought if it was old, it must be good.  I rebelled. I read the Cliff Notes and whatever I could find on the public library's shelves.

I LOVED the public library. Especially after we moved to the other side of town and the BIG library was within walking distance of our house--important when you had a mom who didn't drive.  I loved the smell of dust and old stories as I walked through the front door. I loved climbing the stairs to the fiction section and losing myself in the stacks.  I loved that no one told me what to read. I could spend hours there.

I made friends with Scarlett and Francie Nolan. Jane Eyre and Scout.  Jo March and Rebecca.  And hundreds more.  My parents were readers and they didn't tell me I wasn't old enough for a book, they just let me read what I wanted.  And today, I am a reader--but I still hate to be told what to read (which is why I sometimes struggle with our book club books).

So, when given the freedom, I teach that way.  I rebell against the teaching of class novels and lit circles.  I encourage students to pick out their own books. I tell non-readers that I will find them at least one book that they will look back on and say, "Yea, that book didn't suck."  And then I do...

You see, I am a teacher who reads. I read adult books. I read young adult books. I read reviews of books. I talk about the books I am reading. I listen to kids talk about books they like.  I pass them on.

Roomie and I have close to 1000 books in our classroom library. Some the school bought for our second chance reading class, but MANY are ours. And we share... Teachers and students alike come to our room to check out books. Many are kept over the summer because they didn't get finished. We hear "Find me a book I will like" many times throughout the school year. And, we do.

We talk to them and ask them things like, "What do you like to do outside of school?" and "What was the last good book you read?"  I have sent them to sites to find new books. We give them LOTS of choices to look through. We make our book shelves user friendly.

So how do you get people to read? You let them read what they want. I know, you HAVE to teach the novel. But are you teaching the literary parts of the novel or are you teaching that particular novel? All novels have the same parts--let the kids choose what novel. Give students time to read without having to do anything with the book.

In these days of high stakes testing, it is easy to make the excuse that we have to get all our curriculum in. But I believe if we let students read what they want, they will read. And, they will surprise us.

Choices

photo © 2009 Felix | more info (via: Wylio)

I know that my speech class is not the favorite of every sophomore who comes through the door. And most of them who don't like it, are afraid of it. Face it, speaking in front of a group of people is a scary thing, particularly when you are sixteen years old.  I remember it well. I also know how good it is for people of any age to learn public speaking skills--especially the one about coping with nervousness.

I also know that sometimes kids try to take the easy way out and cheat. Now how do you cheat in speech class?  You plagiarize.

It has happened before, and, unfortunately, it will happen again.  The semester final is a commencement speech. Students have a week to write it. They have example speeches to watch on the internet and examples from former students to read. I will help any of them develop ideas. And the day I go over the requirements for this, I talk about plagiarism.

I don't know why, but this is the speech gets plagiarized the most. And it's the easiest one to catch them on. It has to sound like the student. It needs to be personal. I tell them how I find out they have cheated (Google is a wonderful thing!) Twice before, I have Googled speeches. It's hard to deny that you copied and pasted when the evidence is right in front of you.

Today was a different kind of plagiarism. A student in one class copied and pasted the speech of a student in another class into a word document and delivered it as his/her own. Really. And how did I find out? Two students who had read the original came and told me after class. I looked into it and found the evidence. Geez...everyone has to turn in a copy of their speech. Did he/she really think I wouldn't notice at some point?  My stupid sign must be flashing again!

The hard part of the whole scenario is this. The offending student will fail speech--a requirement for graduation--by having to take the zero. This class was very difficult for the student and I know it wouldn't be any easier the next time. My first instinct was to just let him/her fail ( (this was also the reaction of the parent when I called home). But, everybody makes stupid choices once in a while during their life. You make a decision you think will help you out and no one will be the wiser. . . unless you get caught.

  I cooled down and came up with a "solution".

Tomorrow morning, the student will come in and work on a new speech, which will need to be delivered by after school on Friday. If done, he/she will pass. If not, he/she will retake speech next year. I hope this time, a wise decision is made.





"Good decisions come from experience, and experience comes from bad decisions."  ~Author Unknown

Grand Funk--not Railroad

I can't seem to shake it, this funk I am in. I didn't even blog yesterday because I couldn't think of anything cheerful/uplifting/soul-satisfying to write about.  I tried to write about getting ready for the lake and even that didn't cheer me up.  What is going on?  Really, I am usually a very upbeat person...

I'm sitting here staring at the walls trying to think of things that would make me cheerful, but all I can think of are the things that are putting me in this funk.  This is bad. Usually, I can put things away in a little compartment in my brain that I save for the disappointing, the anger inducing, the ridiculous., especially those things that I can't do anything about.


 But not today. Today I want to pull them all out of their slumber....

Today I want to dwell on them. Roast them over a fire. Have screaming matches with them. Reduce them to a pile of dirt.  Today I want to reduce the powerful to whimpering puppies while I show them how it is supposed to be done.

Bullies--WATCH OUT in the hallways. I want to treat you like I see you treat others. I want to make you cry.  I want you to feel the pain I know others are feeling.

But, I won't because that is not the person I am.

So I will paste a fake smile on my face, be overly nice to the ridiculous people I meet, and do my job. Because I am a professional. Because what I do and say does make a difference. Because I will not sink into the abyss.

I do feel better after my rant.  Find some sunshine in your weekend