Be prepared for intervention from the principal.
The first year I taught, I made it my mission to demand and expect excellence in everything they did. It was much tougher on me, but I thought it would benefit the kids.
I taught history. They got notes. I gave them my outline to study by, but told them that the outline was only the skeleton, that the meat and muscle was in what we discussed in class, the films we watched, the assignments I gave them.
When I gave them tests they had 50 multiple choice questions and then had to choose from a set of topics on which to write.
The multiple choice was 50% of the grade. The essay portion was 50%. They had to write on two topics. Of the 25 points available for each, 19 points came from content the other six came from grammar and spelling.
I made them do in and out of class writings, each graded the same way -- content, grammar and spelling.
We were on the block system, so I only had them until Christmas that year and then got another set of kids in January.
Before school started back I had to go to a meeting with the principal. He was "adjusting" the grade of one of the kids who thought she deserved a C, but had gotten a D. He added back all the points I had taken away for spelling and grammar to give it to her.
When she and her mom left, I was told to "cut out all that kind of shit. Just teach history. You're not an English teacher."
And we wonder why our kids are lazy dumbasses.
How long ago did you stop teaching?
If you didn't teach during No Child Left Behind, you have no idea how bad it's gotten. Essentially, we've now decided that too many minorities are special ed. The statistics need to even out, so we've created BBSST. BBSST is purgatory for special ed. The student in BBSST basically gets most of the accomodations of a special ed student, but they're still on a regular diploma. The idea is that as long as that student gets those few accomodations, he/she is just as capable as a regular student. And God forbid if you're a teacher that has lower level classes like I do because I teach 27 BBSST students along with my 21 special ed inclusion students and my 23 ESL students.
BBSST students make my life a living hell if I decide to do my job correctly. Every time they fart out a failing grade on a quiz, test, or project or if they forget to do two homework assignments, I have to document all behavior of the student for that grading period and document a conversation with the parent. I then have to implement tier 2 intervention plans, which include reteaching, alternate assignments, and allowing retakes of a test. If that student can pass the test the second time, it needs to be counted the same as the first.
The biggest problem is the requirement to make contact with the parent. Considering I teach a lot of lower level classes, I have a lot of BBSST phone calls to go along with my behavior phone calls. That's another glorious idea I've encountered - I'm not allowed to write a kid up until I've given the student a warning AND made contact with a parent. A girl slammed one of my Scarlet Letter books up against the wall because she didn't want to read it. Is that a write up? Not until I call the parent and it happens a second time. A few other teachers and I calculated how much time I would spend phoning parents if I really did every requirement of my job and it added up to 8 hours a week if I spent merely ten minutes on the phone with each parent.
I really want to document all the shit that goes on in a public school and write a book about it. I'm sure it would be looked down upon by many since there is the common misconception that teaching is an easy job, but if you want to know why they country is going to hell, check out the education system. My kids are dumb as bricks. A few other incidents that have happened this year:
1. I was asked what country did we fight in the Civil War. Another student tried explaining the OBVIOUS answer to that student. Their explanation? Russia. It was the war that didn't have any real battles.
2. First week of school - to warm up, I did an easy noun activity just for an easy grade. Half of my students didn't know what a noun was. A NOUN. No clue what they were taught in middle school, but it wasn't nouns.
3. No one needs English class because texting is the language of the future. (This one's more typical high school ignorance)
4. After reading through the entirety of The Scarlet Letter and having notes, in depth discussions, lectures, activites, I had many students say that the scarlet letter was a letter written in red ink. It was multiple choice. The right answer was a red "A" that stood for adultery.
Sorry for venting, but there is a lot wrong with education. And as for the grade changing bullshit, I've had it happen. The problem is that you were doing exactly what you were supposed to. However, there are so many accomodations made for children these days that no one cares about the relevancy of your test. It's all about making every aspect of education fair to each student based on their particular needs. Little Jenny couldn't handle grammar because she struggles in English class so that means history teacher Kaos needs to make his test less strenuous.
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