Teacher World

How many of you have ever had a student return after an absence and ask this most annoying of questions: “Did I miss anything yesterday?”

The evil side of me wants to reply in the most sarcastic tone I can muster, “No, we put education and all educational pursuits on hold while you were gone. School just isn’t school without you, and we spent the seven hours you were home mourning your absence. Lucky you! You have no work to make up as we accomplished nothing all day!” Of course, I refrain from such unconstructive comments and direct them instead to copy another student’s assignment book and give them the work they missed. I remind myself that kids believe that the world revolves around them, thus it is only natural for them to think that nothing could possibly transpire without their glowing presence.

Just as I am licking my wounds and practicing my counting to ten and breathing deeply routine, they hand me a letter from their parent. Assuming that it is the explanation for their recent absence, I curiously open the missive only to release a pained sigh. Because clutched in my unbelieving hand is the same inquiry that was so boldly asked just moments ago by their unsuspecting progeny. Can this parent really believe that in a seven hour time period nothing of consequence occurred? If the roles were reversed and I sent a letter to their place of employment asking them if they accomplished anything at all the day before, would they not be insulted? Now, the counting to ten and breathing deeply routine is simply not enough. I move to phase two in my calm-down routine. Making a quick excuse, I move to the hallway where I can sputter and spew to my heart’s content. Then I count to ten, breathe deeply, and return to my desk and the letter that requires a carefully constructed and very diplomatic answer. I forgive the cause of the sputtering and spewing as I need to get on with the work at hand because, in spite of rumors to the contrary, I actually have educational plans for the day.

Pet Peeves of Teaching, Substitute Teaching educational plans, parents, pet peeves, student absences, teacher

This year I volunteered to work with Resource Room children in a co-teaching classroom. I have taught the LD tutored students for years and was looking forward to a change. And what a change it has been! In many ways, I love it and it has taught me both patience and new teaching strategies. But it can also be very frustrating, and we find ourselves questioning whether some of the students would be better serviced in a traditional resource room.

First, the positives: A co-teaching classroom is ideal for those students who need less academic support and perform better when challenged by their peers. Their desire to be in a regular education classroom creates a strong work ethic, and they are extremely successful as a result. It is these students who have made significant growth in our classroom this year. It has been such a pleasure to see their growth and self confidence as the year has progressed. We are hopeful that the OAT tests will reflect their academic progress this year.

I also have had the honor of working with an excellent special education teacher who has taught me so much about how these children process or have difficulty processing information. The techniques she has taught me, her unbelievable patience, and her love for these children has helped me to see them through new eyes. There is an innocence and playfulness in many of them that we often don’t see in our traditional I-need-to-be-cool regular education students. It is refreshing, and I have appreciated their candid nature.

Now, the negative: One of the most pressing concerns of co-teaching is that it drives down test scores on state achievement tests in co-teaching homerooms, and this is a major consideration for teachers. We all know that our test scores are publically scrutinized, and there is no disclaimer that explains the wide range of academic potential in our classrooms. This simple fact is a huge deterrent for many teachers who work hard for good test scores.

Another legitimate concern of co-teaching is that it is not always the best model for reaching the needs of the special education student. We have at least two students this year who we feel would have made more progress in a traditional resource room setting. In retrospect, we wish that option had been available to these students.

I would love to hear from other teachers who have had the opportunity to be involved in a co-teaching classroom. What worked? What didn’t? What are the strengths and weaknesses of the co-teaching model? Let’s do what teachers do best and learn from each other.

Changes in Teaching assessment testing, co-teaching, Resource Room, special education, teaching strategies

Okay, forget about teacher’s pets. Let’s talk about the real issue; pet peeves. Has something like this ever happened in your classroom?

Bear with me as I set the scene for you. I’m teaching an economics unit, and today’s subject is competition. To hook my students, I decide to use Mario (whose name has been changed to protect the innocent) because he works at his family’s pizzeria most weekends (a subject we have discussed often as we feel strongly that we should be given the opportunity to sample their product). I inform the class that I have decided to open my own pizzeria just four blocks away from Mario’s. The question is posed: How do I draw customers from Mario’s restaurant to mine? I watch as the wheels start slowly turning and a student calls out, “Offer deserts, too.”

The class shows unanimous support of this idea, and I turn to Mario. “What are you going to do, Mario? Your customers are coming to me because I offer a wide variety of scrumptious deserts to compete for your business?” He ponders this briefly and says, “We’ll add a salad bar!”
The class can tell he’s very proud of himself, and now I see the light bulbs go on as they realize that this is going to be fun. The volley of ideas proceeds like a tennis match, back and forth. After several rounds, my ego is building. I am every teacher’s dream; a shoe-in for best teacher of the year.

The blood is pumping now as I inquire again what I should do next. A normally shy student calls out, “Offer sandwiches and appetizers.”

Without a second’s hesitation, Mario says boldly, “Patio and pasta!”

“Wow!” I think to myself. “This was an awesome idea. They are engaged. They really get it. This is what teaching is all about!” On a wave of euphoria, I turn to the class to hear what innovative ideas they have for me next. Susie (whose name has been changed to protect the guilty) is wildly waving her hand. I am amazed, as she is normally almost comatose in class, and with bated breath, I say. “Susie, what should we do to top that?”
As the whole class turns in shocked anticipation, Susie loudly asks, “Can I go to the restroom?”
Bam! Forget competition in the marketplace. Now, all my students can think about is competition in the peeing place. All eyes watch her leave wishing it was them, and so begins a steady stream of…well…pee-ers. And as I remind myself that we really were on a roll for awhile, I think to myself, “I think I have to pee, too!”

Pet Peeves of Teaching Add new tag, class, competition, economics, pet peeves, teacher

I am what is kindly referred to as a veteran teacher. With twenty-nine years under my belt, I find myself nostalgically reminiscing about “the good, old days” of teaching, when my profession was revered, administrators could be fearless, and teachers still possessed a precious gift; to teach children to better understand the world around them rather than to better understand how to pass their state tests. 

When did teachers slip from favor? When did we become the cause of education’s woes? Is it possible that we are the easy targets on which to pin the blame of education’s failures? What about society’s failures and the ripple effect it has in the classroom? Teachers are not only disseminators of information. We are counselors, mediators, and often, we are parents. We deal with parents who refuse to make their children accountable for what they do. We deal with children who are trying to cope with situations in their homes making it difficult to concentrate or care about what is happening in the classroom. We dedicate hours beyond the work day grading and planning. We spend hundreds of dollars out of our already small paychecks on educational materials, teacher development, and reward items for our students. Yet, in spite of our best efforts, we continue to lose society’s respect.

We live in a sue-crazy and “I’ve-got-an-advocate” crazy world, and the repercussions of this are also being felt in our schools. Many administrators are understandably reticent to be too harsh when disciplining students. Unfortunately, this creates a degree of chaos, as students begin to realize that threats are often just that; threats. Maintaining control as the year progresses becomes a constant challenge often left solely to the teachers to sort out on their own.

But, what I mourn the most is the ability to teach deeply and creatively. Let me give you an example. To prepare my fifth-graders for their Social Studies Ohio Achievement Test, I must teach the following by April: regions and geography of the U.S., U.S. history from the arrival of Native Americans to the expansion and industrialization of our country, government, citizen’s rights and responsibilities, economics, cultural differences and their impact on our society, and problem solving. In addition, I am expected to review Ohio history and hope that through ESP I am able to choose those specific concepts that might be tested from the myriad of items they learned the year before. There is no time to delve deeply or explore interesting events in great detail. I am sincerely sorry for new teachers who have only known this era of test-taking. It is robbing us of the pure joy of teaching and communicating that joy to our students.

So, here I am, a veteran teacher, who, in spite of it all, still loves teaching. But a big part of me is in mourning for “the good old days”.

Changes in Teaching classroom, discipline, state achievement tests, veteran teacher