It's That Time Again

[Townhallsavoy]

I most likely will actually blow a gasket this week.  I'll lay it all out somewhere on this site as usual.

Education Rant #Whatever:

Do you know what your children are doing this week at every high school in Alabama?

Well, if your child is a sophomore, they are taking the graduation exam.  If your child is a junior or senior that has failed the grad exam, they are taking the graduation exam.  If your child is a junior or senior that has passed the grad exam, they are checking in at 11am and doing absolutely nothing until 3pm.  If your child is a freshman, they are taking a practice grad exam in the morning and nothing all day. 

Why would nothing be going on besides the grad exam? 

Well, whoever planned the schedule decided to make benchmarks (nine weeks exams) LAST week.  So everything we study and grade for the report card had to be finished by March 9th.  Therefore, anything we do this week does not count.  Do you think the students give two shits about any assignments? 

So we have a choice.  Do a bunch of nothing (movies, coloring shit, free time, pointless brain teasers) or become total tyrannical assholes that give busy work to keep them quiet. 

Who's really hurt the most during all of this?

Me. 

I have to proctor the 9th grade practice exam, which doesn't count.  They are allotted three hours to take a test that requires an hour to complete if you try and five minutes if you don't care.  Most don't care. 

I have also been instructed to not let the 9th graders talk, sleep, pass notes, or move.  They don't get a bathroom break.  This lasts from 7:45 until 11:08. 

Your tax dollars at work.

Of course, I let them do whatever the fuck they want during this time.  But it's pretty boring. 

I tried to play heads up seven up this morning.  A dumbass boy decided to sprint front his desk and tripped.  Cut his head a little bit.  Game stopped there. 

A teacher friend next door tried to let the kids play hangman on the bored.  What word do you think 9th graders wanted to spell?  Penis of course. 

This lasts all week. 

If you're smirking at my plight because I'm just a whiney teacher, well, again.  YOUR tax dollars at work.

[dallaswareagle]

It could be worst. You could be some dipshit sucking at the Govt tit twice a month all the while working a regular job and posting on Auburn message boards. (oh wait)

[JR4AU]

I most likely will actually blow a gasket this week.  I'll lay it all out somewhere on this site as usual.

Education Rant #Whatever:

Do you know what your children are doing this week at every high school in Alabama?

Well, if your child is a sophomore, they are taking the graduation exam.  If your child is a junior or senior that has failed the grad exam, they are taking the graduation exam.  If your child is a junior or senior that has passed the grad exam, they are checking in at 11am and doing absolutely nothing until 3pm.  If your child is a freshman, they are taking a practice grad exam in the morning and nothing all day. 

Why would nothing be going on besides the grad exam? 

Well, whoever planned the schedule decided to make benchmarks (nine weeks exams) LAST week.  So everything we study and grade for the report card had to be finished by March 9th.  Therefore, anything we do this week does not count.  Do you think the students give two shits about any assignments? 

So we have a choice.  Do a bunch of nothing (movies, coloring shit, free time, pointless brain teasers) or become total tyrannical assholes that give busy work to keep them quiet. 

Who's really hurt the most during all of this?

Me. 

I have to proctor the 9th grade practice exam, which doesn't count.  They are allotted three hours to take a test that requires an hour to complete if you try and five minutes if you don't care.  Most don't care. 

I have also been instructed to not let the 9th graders talk, sleep, pass notes, or move.  They don't get a bathroom break.  This lasts from 7:45 until 11:08. 

Your tax dollars at work.

Of course, I let them do whatever the fuck they want during this time.  But it's pretty boring. 

I tried to play heads up seven up this morning.  A dumbass boy decided to sprint front his desk and tripped.  Cut his head a little bit.  Game stopped there. 

A teacher friend next door tried to let the kids play hangman on the bored.  What word do you think 9th graders wanted to spell?  Penis of course. 

This lasts all week. 

If you're smirking at my plight because I'm just a whiney teacher, well, again.  YOUR tax dollars at work.

So, when you gonna get busy and start "changing the world" and "making a difference"?

[Townhallsavoy]

I don't fucking know, man. 

I'm starting to get antsy.  I spoke to a friend yesterday about what it would take for true education reform to come to Alabama or the US.  He said I'd have to get into politics to really make a difference, and he encouraged law school if I was really wanting to go that route.  (He's a lawyer)

I'm not wanting to go that route.  I am planning on going back to school for something.  Not sure what. 

But I do know this - what's going on in the classroom is not working, and it's mainly a leadership issue. 

[JR4AU]

I don't fucking know, man. 

I'm starting to get antsy.  I spoke to a friend yesterday about what it would take for true education reform to come to Alabama or the US.  He said I'd have to get into politics to really make a difference, and he encouraged law school if I was really wanting to go that route.  (He's a lawyer)

I'm not wanting to go that route.  I am planning on going back to school for something.  Not sure what. 

But I do know this - what's going on in the classroom is not working, and it's mainly a leadership issue.

Did you have false illusions about teaching?  Do you want to get out of education?  What's funny, I've looked in to going back and getting my 5th year degree so I can teach.   I won't discourage law school, but here's some advice.  Don't go in to debt for it.  And right now is a terrible time to be hanging out a shingle.  Most lawyers will tell you lawyers normally flourish in bad economic times, but it's different this time around.  Lawyers are hurting.  If you simply want a law degree to further political ambition, then that's cool.  I don't think you need one to be in politics though. 

[Townhallsavoy]

I like teaching.  I really do despite my bitching. 

What I don't like is bad administrators, bad teachers, piss-poor parents, arrogant coaches, and enabled children.  I expected some.  What I'm seeing?  I'm surprised out of my socks regularly. 

For example - I just found out that a history teacher gives the answers to the kids on the day of a test.  They get to review the answer sheet for ten minutes and then take a multiple choice test.  It's already well known about this guy's class.  Take 15 minutes of notes off the projector and you get free time for the rest of class.  The kids love him!  They get to bring their phones, iPods, and drinks!  They can talk, play games, and sleep!  And what could be better than getting an easy A or B? 

Bad teacher.  Bad class.  A group of kids who - after I asked them directly - said that World War I was in the 1800s. 

We could hate on the teacher for being shitty, but who's to blame?  The administrators that never observe?  The principals that don't report it if they do observe?  I mean, everyone at the school knows what's going on in this guy's room.  Everyone.  But somehow, it goes unnoticed by those that can actually do something about it. 

Did I expect to be treated unprofessionally by my superiors?  Did I expect for them to literally make me babysit for a week because they didn't want to put in an extra twenty minutes to plan the 9th grade schedule for this week?  Nope.  Wasn't expecting that. 

All my other complaints are well documented. 

I really like the kids when we get time to ourselves.  But even that's rare with special ed inclusion, drills (tornado, fire, lockdown), and benchmarks. 

I wouldn't recommend it to anyone.  Not anyone that really wants to teach a subject and make an impact on kids. 

If you really want to do it, get a job at a wealthy, upper-middle class school or a private school like Altamont or Indian Springs.  OR know that your extracurricular activity will be valued.  If you want to impact kids, be a coach. 

I definitely don't want to go to law school or be a lawyer.  A friend of mine graduated two years ago with a law degree and just got a job.  He's $120k in debt.  And now that he got a job, he works 70 hours a week doing plaintiff work.  No thanks. 

But I would love to make some noise in Montgomery or Washington when it comes to education.

[AUJarhead]

Illinois told the teachers last week that from now on, pay raises will be tied directly to test scores, and that even if you have tenure, if you have shitty scores, you don't get a raise.

My wife hates it more and more each year.

[Townhallsavoy]

Illinois told the teachers last week that from now on, pay raises will be tied directly to test scores, and that even if you have tenure, if you have shitty scores, you don't get a raise.

My wife hates it more and more each year.

Merit pay is one of the worst ideas imaginable.

Tenure?  That needs to go away.

[AUJarhead]

Totally agree.

When we lived in GA, she taught 4th grade.  Had a student that came in one year, and couldn't read.  Not at a 1st Grade Level, not at a kindergarten level.  Flat out couldn't read.

By the end of the year, the kid was reading at a Kindergarten level.

Now, any intelligent person can look at that, and say that my wife had success with this student.  That she did her job.

But with merit pay, she gets penalized because the kid doesn't read at a 4th grade level.

And that's fucking stupid.

[Townhallsavoy]

Or you have a 9th grader reading at a 9th grade level, and in January, Mama tries to strangle him to death.  At the end of the 9th grade, he's still at a 9th grade reading level if not worse. 

Penalized!

[JR4AU]

I like teaching.  I really do despite my bitching. 

What I don't like is bad administrators, bad teachers, piss-poor parents, arrogant coaches, and enabled children.  I expected some.  What I'm seeing?  I'm surprised out of my socks regularly. 

For example - I just found out that a history teacher gives the answers to the kids on the day of a test.  They get to review the answer sheet for ten minutes and then take a multiple choice test.  It's already well known about this guy's class.  Take 15 minutes of notes off the projector and you get free time for the rest of class.  The kids love him!  They get to bring their phones, iPods, and drinks!  They can talk, play games, and sleep!  And what could be better than getting an easy A or B? 

Bad teacher.  Bad class.  A group of kids who - after I asked them directly - said that World War I was in the 1800s. 

We could hate on the teacher for being shitty, but who's to blame?  The administrators that never observe?  The principals that don't report it if they do observe?  I mean, everyone at the school knows what's going on in this guy's room.  Everyone.  But somehow, it goes unnoticed by those that can actually do something about it. 

Did I expect to be treated unprofessionally by my superiors?  Did I expect for them to literally make me babysit for a week because they didn't want to put in an extra twenty minutes to plan the 9th grade schedule for this week?  Nope.  Wasn't expecting that. 

All my other complaints are well documented. 

I really like the kids when we get time to ourselves.  But even that's rare with special ed inclusion, drills (tornado, fire, lockdown), and benchmarks. 

I wouldn't recommend it to anyone.  Not anyone that really wants to teach a subject and make an impact on kids. 

If you really want to do it, get a job at a wealthy, upper-middle class school or a private school like Altamont or Indian Springs.  OR know that your extracurricular activity will be valued.  If you want to impact kids, be a coach. 

I definitely don't want to go to law school or be a lawyer.  A friend of mine graduated two years ago with a law degree and just got a job.  He's $120k in debt.  And now that he got a job, he works 70 hours a week doing plaintiff work.  No thanks. 

But I would love to make some noise in Montgomery or Washington when it comes to education.

Coaching is actually what I want to do.   I could probably have a teaching job at the private school where I coach now if I got my certification, but it doesn't pay enough to pay the bills.

I attended an Over the Mtn school, and my daughter goes there too.  Top quality education, IF you're a good student.  They bend over backwards for the good students, but do nothing for the kids that can't bring the school any recognition through academics or athletics.  I barely graduated with a low C avg, yet when I went to UAB I sat in classes with valedictorians from rural or Birmingham City schools that were dumb or ignorant as fuck.  College work was a breeze for me.  The busy work of HS sucked.  College was easier because it was mostly learn then prove it on a test.  Law school, it was a snap.  One test for the entire semester grade!  I can learn, but I hate busy work.

[GH2001]

Thing is THS, its pretty much nationwide now. I stradle the stateline and work mostly in Ga and know several educators or spouses of educators there. Its just as bad there if not worse. Atlanta is more than likely worse than Montgomery when it comes to squandering money and being terribly inefficeint.  TarHeel can elaborate more but maybe the governors of Georgia (mainly fmr Gov Perdue) should pay more attention to being a well oiled machine with tax payer funds rather than spending millions on horse barns.

[Snaggletiger]

Part of this topic is something I'm passionate about.  Rant on....The wife had 19 years in the elementary public school system here until she literally couldn't take any more of it.  Been teaching at a local private school since.  She took a pretty good cut in pay and benefits but her only interest is teaching and making a difference in the kid's lives.  You might think where better to make a difference than in public school as opposed to teaching little Logan or Hampton?  Well first off, she put in her time trying to help Jaquaray and Taneshia and Shontay.  And before you go, "Das Raciss", know that the school had in fact become 80%-90% black and those were in fact, the names. 

As THS alluded to, there was ZERO parent involvement.  Her last year, she had 1...count em' ONE parent show up all year for scheduled parent/teacher conferences.  The last PTO meeting they had...school-wide now...NO ONE showed up.  Her last class had almost half the kids with IEP's.  She wasn't teaching, she was babysitting.  Enough was enough.

Now, private school is not without it's problems.  Kids are kids wherever you go.  But she's actually teaching now. If little Mary Kate comes to her and can't read real good and other stuff...her teacher from the year before is looked at and asked why?  When you have parent meetings, every child has one or both parents show up.  If she needs something for her classroom and the parents get wind of it....she's got it. Some of you teachers may be familiar with "Smart Boards".  Basically, a huge computer screen that all but replaces the old chalk board.  Her school is trying to equip every classroom with one.  My wife had one kid's parents flat out buy one for her room.  I think they're about $8K.  Week before last, we held an auction to raise money for the boards and raised right at $80,000.00.

What I see in public school today, is that schools have become a place to drop your kids off.  You've got a built in babysitter from 7:30 to 3:30 every week day.  You've got free breakfast and lunch.  No reason to put out the effort or care enough to try and get involved with your kid's education or the school itself.  My wife's school couldn't function without the incredible amount of parent involvement, through tuition, their time and contributions.  Are most of them in a better financial situation?  Probably. Overall, I'd say absolutely.  But you don't have to purchase an $8K piece of equipment to get involved in your child's education. You don't have to donate anything to or even buy anything at an auction to make a difference.  You can at least show up and take an interest in whether or not your kid is getting his/her work done.  You can at least sit down with your kid and make sure they're handling their school work. It's the parents that can hold their kids, the teachers and ultimately the school accountable for the level of education in their respective systems.  But unfortunately, we've long since passed that point.       

[AWK]

My kids are going to private school and I will beat them within an inch of their life if they don't have a Masters in Russian literature by the age of 18. 

[Townhallsavoy]

Part of this topic is something I'm passionate about.  Rant on....The wife had 19 years in the elementary public school system here until she literally couldn't take any more of it.  Been teaching at a local private school since.  She took a pretty good cut in pay and benefits but her only interest is teaching and making a difference in the kid's lives.  You might think where better to make a difference than in public school as opposed to teaching little Logan or Hampton?  Well first off, she put in her time trying to help Jaquaray and Taneshia and Shontay.  And before you go, "Das Raciss", know that the school had in fact become 80%-90% black and those were in fact, the names. 

As THS alluded to, there was ZERO parent involvement.  Her last year, she had 1...count em' ONE parent show up all year for scheduled parent/teacher conferences.  The last PTO meeting they had...school-wide now...NO ONE showed up.  Her last class had almost half the kids with IEP's.  She wasn't teaching, she was babysitting.  Enough was enough.

Now, private school is not without it's problems.  Kids are kids wherever you go.  But she's actually teaching now. If little Mary Kate comes to her and can't read real good and other stuff...her teacher from the year before is looked at and asked why?  When you have parent meetings, every child has one or both parents show up.  If she needs something for her classroom and the parents get wind of it....she's got it. Some of you teachers may be familiar with "Smart Boards".  Basically, a huge computer screen that all but replaces the old chalk board.  Her school is trying to equip every classroom with one.  My wife had one kid's parents flat out buy one for her room.  I think they're about $8K.  Week before last, we held an auction to raise money for the boards and raised right at $80,000.00.

What I see in public school today, is that schools have become a place to drop your kids off.  You've got a built in babysitter from 7:30 to 3:30 every week day.  You've got free breakfast and lunch.  No reason to put out the effort or care enough to try and get involved with your kid's education or the school itself.  My wife's school couldn't function without the incredible amount of parent involvement, through tuition, their time and contributions.  Are most of them in a better financial situation?  Probably. Overall, I'd say absolutely.  But you don't have to purchase an $8K piece of equipment to get involved in your child's education. You don't have to donate anything to or even buy anything at an auction to make a difference.  You can at least show up and take an interest in whether or not your kid is getting his/her work done.  You can at least sit down with your kid and make sure they're handling their school work. It's the parents that can hold their kids, the teachers and ultimately the school accountable for the level of education in their respective systems.  But unfortunately, we've long since passed that point.     

I've thought about private school, but the pay cut is unappealing.  I looked into Indian Springs, but I'm unqualified.  A lot of those teachers have doctorates, and they practically live there during the school year.  I make more money than they do especially when you count in the benefits. 

It's sad what's going on in blue collar world today.  I hear about schools like Mountain Brook and Vestavia.  Those preppy boys and sorority girls are just fine.  Most other places - especially as you get further inner city or further country - are seeing a drastic drop in student performance.  Standardized test scores may still be decent, but that doesn't mean much.  The grad exam is this week.  The magic number?  40%.  If you know 40% of the material on the test, you're considered a high school graduate candidate. 

Forty percent. 

[Townhallsavoy]

My kids are going to private school and I will beat them within an inch of their life if they don't have a Masters in Russian literature by the age of 18.

I work with a guy who damn near has that attitude with his kids (without the violence), and his kids are incredible.  A 4th grader and a 7th grader that are smarter than the majority of the seniors at my high school.

[wreckingball]

My kids are going to private school and I will beat them within an inch of their life if they don't have a Masters in Russian literature by the age of 18.

My public school kid is gonna kick your nerdy kids ass.