So recently I was told that I am treading a very fine line with what I write here and that I risk distancing other teachers by sounding disgruntled. I don't want readers to believe that I am that type of person and that I hate what I do. I love teaching; if I didn't I would take my English degree and go elsewhere. To combat the idea that I am just a teacher who loves to complain I would like to intermix some positive stories into my blog as well. To start I will talk about why I do what I do everyday.
Most teachers enter the education field because they have brilliant notions of imparting wisdom to children and of making a difference in the lives of those they teach. I myself and no different, in fact up until approximately my junior year of high school my career goal was to become a veterinarian at a zoo (something my mother still wishes I had done). It was during this time that a song came out called "Youth of the Nation" by a group called P.O.D. For readers who are unfamiliar with this song it was written after school shootings continued to become a common theme in the news. It tells the tale of a student killed in a school shooting, a girl who turns to sex to deal with her pain, and a boy who commits suicide. It was while listening to this song on the radio that a felt a tug at my heart that I needed to try and make a difference and in my mind this was the best way to do this. For me I figured teaching would one day eventually lead to a career as a guidance counselor (and hopefully it still will if I can ever make enough money to pay for graduate school in this area).
Why did I tell this story? Because about a week ago I had one of those "this is why I do my job" moments. Most of the time these moments are few and far between but every once in awhile they come slamming into you and you feel that you are making a difference if only a small one. Right before the end of the marking period my students took a test on the novel we had just finished reading. To help boost their grades a little I gave them a small gimme extra credit. All they had to answer was "What have you liked about Language Arts so far this year? Use complete sentences." Many of my students told me they had liked the book they just finished (not surprising as "The Outsiders" will always be a classic for teens). Others said they liked certain activities we had done or the day we went outside. While all of these things helped me to know they had been paying attention in class so far this year it was one student's extra credit that really made me smile. This student is one who many see as a behavior problem but who I truly like because underneath the boisterous personality is a genuinely sweet kid. On his test he wrote (in many misspellings) that his favorite thing about Language Arts was the teacher because "she showed us she cared. Yup, she did. She really wanted to see us succeed" (all spelling has been corrected). It is the things like this that mean the world to me and I hope other teachers get to have these moments too!
Saturday, April 9, 2011
Friday, April 8, 2011
It's Been Awhile
I apologize for the gap in postings but we just recently ended our 3rd marking period and in order to get my grades in on time I had to read and grade 50 journals. Since the topic of grades is fresh in my mind and to respond to a comment left on my page I want to talk about parental responsibility tonight.
Over the past week or so I have been taking the time to try and connect with parents whose children earned an E in my class this 3rd marking period of the school year. For those who don't know, in Maryland our school years are broken into 4 marking periods; each equaling 9 weeks worth of school hours. One parent in particular was incensed that she didn't know about her child's grade sooner. She was of the opinion that I should be calling her often to tell her how her child is doing. As an 8th grade teacher on the down swing of the year I believe that my students need to learn a level of responsibility toward managing their education. I told her that she was sent an interim report half-way through the marking period that reflected the student's grade and that a separate grade sheet was sent home a few weeks after that. This did not appease her either. So I also indicated that numerous times the school has promoted our new ParentConnect system that allows parents to access their student's grades on the internet. She still wants a phone call!
At what point is it no longer the teacher's responsibility but the parent's and student's responsibility to be aware of what is going on? As a parent I will make it my business to know not only when interim reports and report cards come out but also to sporadically find out how my daughter is doing in her classes. If a parent is not going to take charge of their child's education they should not expect others to do it for them. We say we want our children to be independent learners but we allow parents to bully teachers into bending over backward for them. In what sense does this create independence? Instead we create a generation of children who believe that whatever goes wrong is never their fault but rather everyone else is to blame and mommy and daddy will make it all better. It is no wonder our nation has trouble competing globally when we are raising children who do not know how to manage their own lives.
Over the past week or so I have been taking the time to try and connect with parents whose children earned an E in my class this 3rd marking period of the school year. For those who don't know, in Maryland our school years are broken into 4 marking periods; each equaling 9 weeks worth of school hours. One parent in particular was incensed that she didn't know about her child's grade sooner. She was of the opinion that I should be calling her often to tell her how her child is doing. As an 8th grade teacher on the down swing of the year I believe that my students need to learn a level of responsibility toward managing their education. I told her that she was sent an interim report half-way through the marking period that reflected the student's grade and that a separate grade sheet was sent home a few weeks after that. This did not appease her either. So I also indicated that numerous times the school has promoted our new ParentConnect system that allows parents to access their student's grades on the internet. She still wants a phone call!
At what point is it no longer the teacher's responsibility but the parent's and student's responsibility to be aware of what is going on? As a parent I will make it my business to know not only when interim reports and report cards come out but also to sporadically find out how my daughter is doing in her classes. If a parent is not going to take charge of their child's education they should not expect others to do it for them. We say we want our children to be independent learners but we allow parents to bully teachers into bending over backward for them. In what sense does this create independence? Instead we create a generation of children who believe that whatever goes wrong is never their fault but rather everyone else is to blame and mommy and daddy will make it all better. It is no wonder our nation has trouble competing globally when we are raising children who do not know how to manage their own lives.
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