OH but it has been a WEEK! The houses are coming along wonderfully but I am beat. The constant questions, the counting/measuring scales, trying to help draw plans of houses I have never seen... It becomes overwhelming after a few days.

Overall, I am thrilled with their progress. Every single student, with the exception of DR who has been suspended all week, has been working faithfully, engaged in their task at hand.

Some students are doing models that are simply incredible, with details, furniture, paint even. Others are doing models that are to scale and great! One of my hard core problem boys said today, "This is the hardest best work I have ever done in school!" He was proud of his efforts and so I am!!

Pictures to be posted later!!

We are starting one of my favorite projects of the year - the House Plan Project. It seems every year, it is a bit different, but the bottom line is always an experience, a real life experience in scale, scale factor, and scale models.

I start to generate excitement by hanging blueprints around the room. We talk about different elevations, or views, shown on the prints. We explore the site plans/landscape plans. I share with them entire blueprint books from big commerical projects from nearby towns.

The next part of the assignment is where things start to get a bit tough. I send students home to measure their own home. I loan measuring tapes to those who need one. I try to give a week to get the measurements taken, since it can be a time-consuming task, one that is easier done with a partner. Every day I remind them about taking measurements, encouraging them to use a sunny day, one that is a bit warmer, since they will be climbing over snowbanks outside to measure.

Inevitably though, the first day of the project, a few show up with no measurements. I could, in theory, give them some. But this defeats much of the purpose of the assignment, having them visualize their home and create a scale model of it. Being given a floor plan to follow takes their creativity out of the mix, turns it into an assignment rather than a project, and is in no way challenging or stimulating.

Then, not only do those students miss out on the experience of completing this project, the learning part, they are disruptive and tough to handle the days we are working in class.

Others students are engaged, drawing, making models, drawing elevation views, learning, sharing, and experiencing.

How do I get these other students to engage?

This is the first year we have truly tracked for math. The jury is still out as to the success of the schedule.

I do like the fact that my prealgebra students can move along without worry we are leaving some of the students behind. These are students with at or above grade level math kids when they come to me, so we spend very little time reviewing concepts taught in previous years. I am free to teach content relevant to 7th grade not things they should have learned before.

The class I struggle the most with is not suprisedly, the low group. The makeup of this group is by design, the students who for whatever reason, just do not have the background from 6th grade, or even before, they need to accomplish what the prealgebra kids are doing. About a third of these students are hard workers, ones who always do what is asked of them, always make their best efforts, and are never discpline problems. Another third are fringe kids, those with frequent absences or other issues which make it difficult for them to be successful, but they are not hard core discpline cases, and can do the work, just hard a tough time keeping up. The last third are hard core discpline students, those who are frequently suspended, and when here, do everything possible to avoid working. They are disruptive, refuse to work, are unmotivated, and just simply do not care. One day one student might work some, but the others are loud and disruptive. Another day, you think you have almost connected with another one, but any gains made with the one from the day before are gone.

It feels like I am walking up a slippery slope, one step forward, three steps back.

I try to make class engaging. I try to plan fun, hands on activities when appropriate. However, these are the students who throw things, intentionally wreck supplies, crumple their garbage into the cubbies instead of using the trash can, despite several trips to the can during class. They come to class without a pencil, their book, or paper. They have no ideas where anything is, nor do they care.

I truly do believe every student CAN learn. Some of these are the brightest kids in the school. I just struggle with the every student WILL learn motto. Too often, second hour, I feel like that is out of my control.

Despite my best efforts to engage, to work individually with them, to make those personal connections, nothing seems to make a lasting impact.

Friday the 13th at MAMSE was a lucky day. I started out in the session Healing a Staff in Conflict. Nic Cooper did an excellent job of explaining conflict, why it is a good thing, how it can be used productively, and gave some easy strategies to ease the pain of these situations. I would love to have him come to our school to implement some of his strategies.

Session 2 was my only disappointment. The guy meant well, but almost his entire presentation, word for word, was on his PowerPoint. The content was fluff, and I left looking to make sure I was NOT attending any of his other sessions.

My next session was probably my favorite overall, though it is hard to choose just one. Active Learning Strategies in the Middle School Classroom sounded great on paper, but it was a presentation from a Glencoe textbook rep so I was a bit leary. WOW! I am thrilled I went. DJ West gave us a plethora of activites to use with kids. Some of these I had used, but others were completely exciting and new. His active reading strategies will be engaging for my kids and help them remember content. He described some activites like foldables I already use, but showed new ideas I will apply. The entire 55 minutes, he had us working, engaged and excited. His short, quick ideas will keep middle schoolers wondering what is coming next!

Lunch time was spent in the wonderful cafeteria at White Pine Middle School. I love the setup of this school. The sprawling grounds, the separate buildings, the large gym and cafeteria... It just feels welcoming, despite the fact it is an older facility.

After lunch I was able to meet my regional director, Tim Hall, who is the Sault Middle School principal. It was fun to connect with him, talking about the various people we know as our networks overlap.

The last session of the day was a Web 2.0 session, with William Merrill from Central Michigan University. What an energetic speaker he was! He has a dry wit that captured the attention of everyone in the audience as he explored using blogs, wikis, social bookmarking sites, podcasts, mashups, etc.. with us. When he was still talking at the magic minute the session should have ended, no one got up to leave. I left thinking, "Wow, I should be doing some of this stuff more often. My kids would be so geeked."

Overall, MAMSE was a wonderful 2 days of making new friends, catching up with old ones, and putting faces to virtual ones. I left energized for the last stretch of the school year, ready to go back to the classroom and try the new ideas I learned.

A comment on a previous post asked for classroom management ideas for subs. Off the top of my head, here are a few:

Get to school early if at all possible. Too often, I see subs, who knew they were subbing that day, walking into the building with students. I realize subbing is not a high pay position, but getting there a few minutes early to look over lesson plans for the day helps you get off to an easier start.

Remember that students probably miss their real teacher - especially for elementary and middle school kids, they do not adjust well to change, so just having you there sets them off. Talk to them, and assure them you plan to have a great day with them. No threats, no ultimatums about behavior, just talk as if you are looking forward to spending the day with them.

Follow the lesson plan left! If you run into a problem with content, do the best you can, encourage students to help out, and move on. Leave a note for the teacher about the problems you encountered. But NEVER, ever, allow students' "We don't get this" to thwart your efforts. They do that to US as well. Encourage them to look at examples, and get help from each other. Do NOT allow them to convince you to not do to assignment!

Carry some tricks and fun stuff with you. A couple of sets of Brain Quest cards can go a long way. They do not have to be for the exact age group for which you are subbing. My 7th graders love the 4th grade questions. These can be used for end of hour fillers, or in an emergency situation with no lesson plans, make for a great competitive game that can easily fill an hour.

Take the trouble makers aside and talk to them instead of blowing up and kicking them out. Talk quietly, privately and calmly and ask them what you can do to help them be successful while you are there today. Try to engage them in the lesson personally if necessary. Some kids just freak out when a sub comes, and get goofy and overreact without meaning to.

Do not waste the entire hour in small talk. The kids really don't like it, and the teacher will have lost a day of instruction upon coming back.

Have the kids clean up at the end of hour. Make sure supplies are taken care of, garbage is picked up, chairs are pushed in... Don't leave a mess for the teacher to come back to. 99% of the time, the kids would have had to pick up with that teacher there, they are just waiting for you to push them to do it as well. Don't let them be slackers with you.

Encourage by motivating with students who are working. Point out behaviors that align with the protocol for the day. Be supportive.

Surfing the internet is not what you are here for today. When your nose is to the screen, kids sense an opportunity to be sneaky. Before you realize it, things are out of control. Too often, I see subs who are online all day, sitting at the teacher desk, and they wonder why they run into behavior issues.

Don't get into a shouting match with a student. Be the adult! Be calm!

Don't make sweeping accusations - "you guys are stupid" "how can you not know how to do this" "what, are you kindergarteners?" Students will bristle when you threaten or demean them.

Those are a few of the ideas I thought of initially. Hopefully, it helps! Good luck. Good teachers need great subs to take care of their classes when they must be away! We appreciate your hard work and efforts.

Today was a great day at the MAMSE conference!

We started out with keynote speaker Ron Clark. I was skeptical of Clark and his "fame" but watching him and listening to him, I KNOW why middle schoolers love him! He is energetic, funny, and motivating. I thoroughly loved listening to him speak.

My first session was cancelled which usually would mean just scoot to another session, but since Clark's keynote had run over, we thought initially the speaker was running late. By the time we realized no one was coming, it was too late to get into any other sessions.

I was disgruntled and went to get lunch. Then I headed to a session presented by 2 teachers from White Pine Middle School where the conference was held. They presented a variety of techniques for working with struggling students. It was an interesting session, but many of their ideas would not work in my small school which has fewer students in all three grades than they have in one grade. Still, overall, I got some good ideas to try with my students.

The next session I went to was a hands on math session. It was intended to reach all middle level teachers, with a strategy for each grade level to take back and use. The 3 presenters did a great job. I learned a very easy trick for teaching students to balance 2 step equations. I can't wait to get back on Monday and share it with my kids!

I had planned to attend a session on social studies next thinking I would get some ideas for incorporating some new strategies in the one section I teach. When I got the handout, the speaker had constantly used "GLIC" instead of "GLCE". I decided quickly, this was not where I needed to be.... maybe I was wrong, but a Michigan teacher who does not understand GLCE stands for GRADE LEVEL CONTENT EXPECTATIONS.... I just do not think she is going to teach me anything.

Heading into a packed room, I wondered if I should have stayed where I was. This session was supposed to a presenation on Kagan cooperative strategies presented by CMU middle level preservice teachers. It was GREAT! I left with some ideas of how to use these tried and true methods in new and exciting ways.

Off to my last session, I was curious to see the presentation that had been recommended to me as a good one. The session on tiered assignments was relevant and interesting, using many of Rick Wormeli's ideas. Having been a Wormeli fan for a long time, I was thrilled to see his work cited and used practically. One vocab activity was especially intriguing and I will use it in my social studies class!

The day ended talking with MAMSE president Teresa Sutherland and Shawn McGirr. Then off to dinner with a crowd of MAMSE attendees.

All in all... a worthwhile, educational day!

Yesterday was an in-house PD day for our district. I went into the process a bit discontented. A speaker from somewhere else was coming to talk, part 2 of something I had missed part 1 of. I was somewhat going into it with a bad attitude.

The speaker was Anita Kishel from Ruby Payne's aha Process Inc. We started the day half an hour late, no fault of the speaker, just a miscommunication from our administration. This only served to further annoy me as I sat in the cafeteria thinking of all the things I needed to be doing in my room.

Once Ms. Kishel got started, she spent the morning reviewing ideas from the first workshop, and having us jigsaw this book we were given. It was tedious and boring and I was annoyed. I had read some of Dr. Payne's work before, and while I find it interesting and relevant to my teaching, I really wasn't learning anything new.

Finally, after lunch, Ms. Kishel starting giving us strategies to use with students. I was immediately drawn in. I LOVE things I can use, new ideas, new tools to reach and teach kids. Of course, all the ideas she presented won't work for me, but I came away with several I can't wait to use!

I think my favorite..... it is a kind of word wall of sorts.... This is a somewhat adapted version of hers.... I am going to post the alphabet on a large laminated sheet, and as we study units in social studies, students will scrounge for words that represent that region for each letter. I think it will be engaging and fun, and will grab the interest of some of the lower level students I have.

The day did seem to drag on, what should have taken half a day was drug out all day... but I left excited with new cool ideas, so overall, I give it a B+!

There is little more frustrating to me than wasted time out of my classroom. I love to go to a conference or PD day that is worthwhile, inspiring and leads me to a new revelation for my teaching.

I am on the Math Curriculum Review Team at my intermediate school district. Much of the time spent at those meetings is worthwhile, and I have gained much by my involvement in the group. Yesterday was not one of those days I left the meeting feeling positive.

We started the day with this problem, the Ron Castleman problem. In and of itself, the problem and the process was a worthwhile one. First we worked out our own solutions to the problem, a simple percent problem. We were instructed to try to come up with more than one solution to the problem, including using diagrams. Then we shared with a partner, and then shared with the large group.

We were then given an article discussing this problem in great detail. (I would give the link to the work we read but unfortunately, there was no reference on the handout. It simply says "Chapter 5, Linking Fractions, Decimals and Percents Using an Area Model".) We were given highlighters to mark things that struck us as particularly enlightening, or that we had questions about. The article was worthwhile, and I highlighted many interesting quotes I hoped to discuss further.

Then we were told we were going to blog about this article. We were instructed how to get to our newly created MCRT blog space. We then began posting our comments. This is where the activity really started downhill. The person in charge had not explored the blogging experience completely, so in essence, all we did was write a comment, which then had to be approved before it was posted. By the time she got our comments posted, we had moved on to another task in our meeting.

What could have been a wonder exploration of using a blog for discussion, was simply a busy work task. The article we read is not posted there, there is a simple list of our first names and our brief comment. Yes we posted to a blog, but did we learn about how blogging can be used in our classrooms? Did we learn how blogging could be used in our own group to further conversation? Do you really think any of those 20+ people are going to go back to our comments and read them, and further comment?

This was one of those instances of using technology for the sake of using technology. There was nothing gained from the experience. A conversation in the room would have been more productive.

Perhaps the most ironic part of the day? Next door the local superintendents were in a meeting learning about the new technologies coming down the pike. I spoke briefly with one of my former superintendents who now works in a neighboring district. He was excited to share some of the cutting edge things he was learning about: blogs, wikis, zoomerang, myspace....

One of the most common areas of concern for teachers is classroom management. Every one seems to be looking for a perfect way to control students while they try to teach.

While I sometimes I have problem students who do not conform to my expectations readily, usually, my classroom runs smoothly. Shhh... don't tell anyone else, and I will share my secrets with you!

The #1 way to keep your classroom under control is to have a well organized plan for the day. Know exactly what you want to accomplish, how you want to accomplish it, and what materials you need in order to pull it off. Don't wait until the bell is ringing to whip off copies. Don't wonder what to do if the activity takes less time than you thought. Always have a backup plan in mind. It is said that a dog can smell fear. Students can smell disorganization. Its scent spurs them to churn and churtle. Don't let it happen in your classroom! A few extra minutes spent planning will make your day smoother and easier.

Teach students your expectations and expect them to meet them, every day, every hour. "But in Mrs. Smith's room we can..... " is met with "we don't do that in this classroom". Have something to keep students busy and engaged every moment. Students like to know what to expect. If they know what is happening next, they will be ready and waiting for it to happen. That repetition in your routine is comforting and sets the tone for every day. Walk in, grab your notebook, do the problems on the projector, group activity, partner time, independent learning time. Some days may vary but there is comfort in knowing things will be the same.


Keep it fast paced and interesting, shifting from something quiet, to something active, always changing things up. Realize that all students learn differently. Some work better with a partner, some work better alone. Some like music, some like quiet. Try to meet the needs of all with varied activities.

Have a sense of humor in all that you do. One boy I had asked repeatedly to be quiet once day responded, "I bet you want to strangle me don't you." I laughed and responded, "Do it yourself so I don't have to!" He wrapped his hands around neck, made gurgling noises, bugged his eyes out. We all laughed, he settled down to work, and all was good. That kind of good natured teasing and rapport with students goes a long way in keeping control.

When faced with defiance, repetition can be a lifesaver. Do not argue or engage the student. Simply and calmly repeat your request, wait time, repeat your request, wait time, repeat your request. By this time, most students will have complied, and you can move on without engaging in battle.

The last and most important trick is to be human. Allow yourself to make mistakes and allow your students to make mistakes. Mistakes can be laughed off, and learned from. Let your students see you as you learn and grow from your own debacles and they will be more likely to take their own in stride.

A classroom should be a home, a place of comfort and consistency, one you and your students all enjoy being. Don't let managing it manage you!

Someone in a different education forum posed the question: Should teacher leadership courses be included in a preservice teacher's classes?

Here is my answer, in part:

Being a leader in your building or district is NOT about the title. All teachers, new or experienced, have the potential to become powerful leaders. Empowering preservice teachers with those leadership skills and aspirations should be a critical component of the teacher prep process.

What does it take to be an effective teacher leader?

~ a strong personal vision of your own goals and the conviction to stand by them

~a willingness to listen and learn alongside those around you

~the courage to be right, the courage to be wrong

~a dedication to empowering others - a non-need to be the one in control/with the title, but a desire to manifest change
~commitment to modeling professionalism

All teachers can and should be leaders in some way. It might be curriculum work, technology, working with students outside the structured school day in sports or extracurriculars, or simply leading by professionalism.

Given this necessity for all to be leaders, yes, teacher prep programs should teach and prepare for leadership roles.

Often, the most effective leaders, the ones who make the most positive changes in a school, are not the ones with the "power". Let's work to facilitate this skill!

It is the time of year we start planning for 7th grade camp. Along with the obvious planning - class schedules, staffing, etc... the subject of who to take and who not to take comes up.

The initial philosophy of camp was always to take everyone, and part of me agrees 100% with that.

However...... what about some accountability for students? Is it OK to get suspended over and over again, for a variety of issues from truancy to fighting to insubordination, and still be allowed to go? For some of the students, the issue is fairly clear cut - too many issues, period. End of discussion.

For others though, the question rides a wavery gray line for me.

Is it a matter of the ones I like and the ones I don't like?

Should it be based on what our predictions will be for that student's success while at camp?

Should it be based only on past performance at school behavior-wise?

Is it acceptable to not include a student because you know s/he will not survive the experience because of maturity issues?

Can exceptions be made for those who are showing dramatic improvement, but had serious issues early on?

Should we create more clear cut black and white rules to enforce?

Every year I struggle to think through these questions for the students I love dearly and want to take along but for reasons outside my realm of control, are being excluded.

The student who misses school so frequently he struggles to keep up despite being incredibly bright and working hard while he is there. I would love to take this little guy. He is so funny, so smart, so likeable. But he misses school so often. When he does come to school, most of the time he is tardy. But these issues are out of his control. It is a parenting issue. Does that mean he should be excluded from camp?

The girl who lives with grandpa and skips school more days than not. When she is there, she is amazing - bright, talented, a real knack for learning, pleasant, friendly. She does have some other issues - bullying, smoking.... But I like her, I enjoy her. Camp would be a wonderful experience for her.

Then the ones I simply do not want to take. The mouthy, sneaky one who seems to usually avoid trouble himself but is central to almost every issue in the class or hall. I *know* he will cause problems in his cabin at camp. He will be the one throwing food in the lodge at meal time, refusing to pick up trash on the greens, and jumping up to break branches off trees on hikes.

How do we justify camp, period? Is it truly a worthwhile educational endeavor anymore?

Not many answers..... just lots of questions....

Do you ever wonder if you are having an impact on your students? I think all teachers do. We wonder if we are getting our content across, certainly, but more importantly, we wonder if our students know we care about them, and will remember us as a teacher they liked having.

On those days students are annoyed with me for the work load, or my expectations for behavior, or the chunk of parent phone calls I made the night before, I often remind them I am not paid to be their friend, I am not here for them to like me, I am here to teach them, and I will do whatever it takes to make that possible.

In reality though, I am not that hard hearted. I want my students to realize how very much I do care about each and every one of them. I want them to feel like I tried to personally touch them in some way, even if they struggled academically in my classes.

I love Alfie Kohn's article, Unconditional Teaching. His message is important for all of us to remember:

"If some children matter more to us than others, then all children are valued only conditionally. Regardless of the criteria we happen to be using, or the number of students who meet those criteria, every student gets the message that our acceptance is never a sure thing. They learn that their worth hinges on their performance."

Every time I read Kohn's words, the faces of past students I am sure I have slighted come to mind.

"Teaching in this way is not just a matter of how we respond to children after they do something wrong, of course. It’s about the countless gestures that let them know we’re glad to see them, that we trust and respect them, that we care what happens to them. It’s about the real (and unconditional) respect we show by asking all students what they think about how things are going, and how we might do things differently, not the selective reinforcement we offer to some students when they please us."

I hope each day, each hour, there are enough of those countless gestures I bestow upon my students to help them understand how valuable each of them was to me.

"Imagine that your students are invited to respond to a questionnaire several years after leaving the school. They’re asked to indicate whether they agree or disagree – and how strongly – with statements such as: “Even when I wasn’t proud of how I acted, even when I didn’t do the homework, even when I got low test scores or didn’t seem interested in what was being taught, I knew that [insert your name here] still cared about me.”
How would you like your students to answer that sort of question? How do you think they will answer it?"

I know that some of my students know how very much I cared for them, but I worry about those few who slipped between the cracks. I worry that my frustrations with them overshadow the true feelings I felt for them.

Another teacher came to talk to me about the problems she has had with cheating in her classroom with our group of 7th graders this year. It was a timely conversation, echoing one I had yesterday with another teacher.

I think we have created a culture among students where they do not think sharing or giving answers is cheating.

The social aspect of learning has been at the forefront of education recently. We encourage students to talk it out; we establish group learning/projects as the norm; we seat students in closer proximity to each other trying to facilitate these protocols.

Have we gone too far? Are we creating students who cannot think independently? Where is the line between working together and cheating?

As a general rule, in my classes, students are allowed to confer when working on independent work. The only time I usually implement 'silence' in during a final assessment/test situation. I find students better able to explain to each other the problems they encounter, and it is obviously easier for me to not have to help each individual student. I know the students who are "teaching" are cementing the learning in their minds more securely, and like to think both parties are gaining from the experience.

However, I am begining to question my philosophy. Are the slackers just coasting along, stealing answers from the others? Are they really learning?

I find it more and more difficult to keep students quiet during an assessment situation. They are so intune to talking to each other, they seem to struggle to silence themselves. Is that bad? If they are learning in a social situation, should they also be assessed in that situation? If so, how will I ever know that Student A really does get it?

Students seem unable to differentiate between what is actually cheating and what is not. They think letting someone else copy their answer is 'helping' and showing them how to work a problem is just 'assisting'.

How do I learn to draw the learn for them, and for me? How can I ever be certain each and every child is grasping the content we cover if I am not assessing accurately?

Does it all matter in the scheme of life?

Dear President Obama,
You are coming into office at one of the most tumultous times in history.

Our country's economy is in shambles. Jobs and homes are being lost daily. Once relatively stable components of our economy are crumbling before our eyes. Watching the evening news is depressing and scary.

We are spending phenomenal amounts of money daily fighting a never-ending war in a far away country, a war most of the country does not understand or support. Lives are being lost, without a tangible reward apparent.

While I realize those things, as well as the others on your plate being handed you tomorrow are important, I ask you to look instead first at what I see as the biggest impending crisis for our country: education.

No Child Left Behind, I have to believe, started with good intentions. However, the small snowball it started with has become an avalanche thundering downhill, leaving in its wake little real improvement, and much confusion and disaster.

We, as a nation, need to make our children our first priority. Test scores are just one small indicator of the "worth" of a child. Accountability has become a word that makes teachers and educators shudder. It doesn't mean accountability for educating the child; it means accountability for them filling in the correct bubbles on that one magical day in space and time. These tests that measure our worth as educators, and the child's worth in society, do not measure every aspect of a quality eduation. They do not measure problem solving skills, technology skills, nor communication skills.

Tests scores are not being used to improve the child's education, but to punish the school. Test scores should be a tool for gauging "what next for this child". Children are not robots, in a one size fits all package. Some learn math quickly but struggle to read. Some are voracious readers but find math a challenge. Others are gifted musicians or athletes, but find academics overwhelming.

Instead of looking at these strengths and capitalizing on them, high stakes tests are forcing teachers and schools to shove each and every student into the same small bubble at the same time. It just doesn't work that way!

Many students have no support at home. Others have no home. Some are caregivers after school for siblings. These children struggle to keep up with the students who go home to a healthy snack and a stay-at-home mom eager to help with homework.

Educators should be held accountable, yes. YES! But measuring that accountability with one test score per year, compared to a different group of students, makes no sense.

Shore up teacher prepartion programs in universities, provide additional monies to schools to work with struggling students, create community outreach programs to educate parents on how to best help their students, and demand adequate and ongoing professional development for learning communites among teachers.

Help US help THEM! Until we make education a true priority in this country, we will never meet our full potential. Please listen to teachers as they reach to you with concerns. Please make our priorities your priorities!

Sincerely,
Cossondra George

Middle School Doesn’t Matter & Other Old School Tales

Teaching 7th graders is tenuous. Even the best student, on her best day, is far from a model student by high school standards. Homework tends to mean scurry around in the hall before school work, lessons learned yesterday are often forgotten, and studying for a test consists of shoving the notes in the textbook. Parents and students both know the grades earned these years won’t show on the ever-feared “permanent” record. These transitional years are viewed as a time to get ready for high school, but without any real consequences for mistakes or failures.

As a result, middle school academics are seen as something to get through instead of crucial to success later in life. With more stringent standards in place, however, this is changing. Algebra 1 seems to be the bottleneck where the failures start in high school. Without this course, not only can students not progress in the math sequence of Geometry, Algebra 2, and whatever other math courses they may need, they are locked out of many science courses as well.

Much time and effort is given to shoring up high school math programs to help struggling students meet with adequate achievement to move on. I think if instead we educated parents and students early on about the importance of math skills, perhaps this bottleneck could be avoided altogether.

Retention has its negative connotations and consequences, socially and emotionally. It is often viewed by parents and students as negative. I do not see giving a struggling child another year to grasp the skills they need in order to be successful at all punitive. I see it as an opportunity to learn and move on with ease.

At other points in our lives, we meet with similar struggles. If we are unsuccessful on our first attempt to learn to drive, we practice, and try again. For our extra efforts, we are rewarded with safer driving skills, and that magical driver’s license. If we cannot shoot the hoops as fast or consistent as others trying out for the team, we are not given an automatic pass onto the varsity team. We are told, try again next year. Practice those skills, get them up to par, and then you can play.

Why then, is it acceptable to send on a 4th grader who still does not know his multiplication facts with automaticity, or a first grader who cannot count to 10? Why is it expected that a 6th grader who still cannot simply a basic fraction like 10/20 to ½, should progress to 7th grade?
Perhaps traditional retention as has been practiced in the past is not the answer. I will be the first to concede that.

Instead, why can’t we develop a non-graded educational program where students work on skills according to where they are, whether it is math or written language? We allow them to move to the next level only when they are ready to move on. This system would allow students to work at their level, mastering those essential skills before we throw them to the wolves at the next grade level, unprepared, intimidated and destined for failure.

The phone rang this afternoon, the school number showing on the caller ID. I answered to hear the voice of my 7th grade language arts colleague asking if I had been listening to the radio. She then tells me one of our girls is missing, one of the ones I would so love to bring home and give a real family to, the one who cuts herself, the one who lives with grandparents who make it clear they are not keen on raising a second family. As the teacher runs down the story quickly for me, telling me of her search of the girl's locker, finding several notes with stray bits of info on them, and how the school counselor is involved, I panic, imagining the worst possible scenarios. The state police are looking for her, but there are no immediate answers.

Is she hitchhiking to mom who lives 1000+ miles away? Is she hiding out in town with some boy seeking comfort where she can find it?? Is she OK? Did a stranger grab her?

Just let her be OK... my heart cries out....

The joys of middle school.... the saga continues....

Let's see.... where oh where should I begin??

Tootie Frootie projects? Sure, why not... They had 6 days in class to make 2 bar graphs, 2 circle graphs, show how they calculated the degrees of their circle graphs, and answer a short group of questions about the project. A reasonable student, who worked faithfully, was easily done in 4 days. However, out of the kindness of my teacher heart... and in an effort to get everyone to turn in every project.... I gave them over Christmas break to finish up, and even 2 days beyond break, outside of class, to complete this project. YET.... I still have kids who need "one more day", "just need to color it", or "can't I glue it on the poster board".... Yes, I know they NEED to do the assignment in order to have met those standards, I know they should be allowed to complete things at their own pace... I know all the buzzwords and philosophical reasons to give them one more day.... BUT NO!!! At what point is a deadline a deadline, and you have to take things home and work on them if you are not going to make good use of your classtime??? At what point do students have to be held accountable for their effort or lack thereof??

Moving on....
MP drove me nuts today. He needed to take an AR test. fine.. grab a laptop with the AR sticker on it and take the test. no.. not for MP! Once he unplugged that particular laptop, it would not work. Instead of simply plugging it into the power cord ON THE TABLE IN FRONT OF HIM... DUH... he takes the battery out to do lord only knows what. He went over to the tub of batteries waiting for the tech person to recalibrate and tried one of those. Of course, it didn't work either. For crying out loud... it is the middle of the school year, you are a 7th grader, PROBLEM SOLVE!

In prealgebra, MP couldn't find his paper, which he swore he turned into the basket. I have no idea where it is, but I am not holding up the other 20 kids in class to help him look for it. But after class, I did find it.. in the SOCIAL STUDIES basket. No, it is not next to the prealgebra basket so it is easily mistaken, it is on a different shelf, and even metal instead of plastic, and it is brown instead of blue! Again, it is the middle of the school year. Why are these things so complicated??

During social studies, he comes to me for a pencil. I point to the cup on my desk. He grabs one, but it is not sharpened. "What do you want me to do?" he asks quizzically. Trying desperately not to strangle him, I point calmly to the pencil sharpener.....

Sitting now at my desk, at least half the laptops are unplugged. Why? Is it so difficult to not unplug it to begin with, or at the very least, plug it back in when you are done with it???

Maybe I am getting old and impatient.. I don't know... but it seems this year, I have large numbers of students who are unwilling, or unable, to be independent about anything. They need handholding for every simple thing, from what to bring to class (even when it is written on the board by the door) to how to answer a problem on their homework (which if they just read the directions and gave it a minute bit of thought, they could solve on their own) to constantly forgetting to bring paper, pencil, book, to class. Usually by this time in the year, they are getting into the routine of school and maturing. This year... no...

Sitting here, bored, as my students take a social studies test, once again I am intriguied with how much testing has permeating the school day. I wonder if it does result in increased learning, or if we are just wasting time.

Before all the high stakes testing pressure, my classes were less about assessment and more about time on task learning. I like to think we accomplished more without all the class time spent on reviewing before a test, taking tests, looking at how well they did, analyzing what went wrong with instruction, reteaching, retesting....

The flipside is, were they really retaining information long term before? Does regular summative assessment help students retain information better?

I think it does. Never before did I see students studying, really studying, committing those learned skills and information to their long term memory. It was like we learned it, did it in class, and then moved on. Sure, some of them may have grasped enough to retrieve those skills in the future when needed, but often, it was a skate-by proposition at best.

A fair number of students still struggle, for a variety of reasons - lack of prerequisite skills, lack of parental support, lack of personal motivation - and yes, some simply because they do not click with me and my style of teaching. But honestly, it seems to me, more students are learning and retaining more than ever before.

When I first started teaching math 8 years ago, I seldom gave even chapter tests, never gave quizzes. Now, at least once a week, sometimes more often, we have a quiz over a small amount of material. This gives me a chance to stop and address misconceptions before moving too far past. I seldom skip a chapter test, feeling that the review and testing process somehow reinforce those skills one more time into students' long term memory vault.

Is it a perfect system? No, not even close... Is it a process headed in the right direction? I like to think so!

Am I conceding that all the high stakes NCLB testing is relevant and necessary? Heavens NO!! I am just coming to realize that in my own classroom, more assessment embedded into instruction is a good thing, a step in the right direction.

A new year….. the time for resolutions… new beginnings… Maybe instead of resolutions, we should write goals, the difference being, a resolution not met seems a failure, while a goal is simply being still worked towards.

With this in mind, this year, I shall write goals for my teaching rather than resolutions. I will view them as a work in progress so if I do not meet them, I will be encouraged to continue the journey instead of abandoning it in perceived failure.

Goal #1:Provide more opportunities for students to learn independently. Too often, learning is structured with me being the guide, leaving little room for individuality, failure, or straying from the intended course. I would like my students to have more opportunities to become responsible for their own learning, pushing themselves to reach beyond what is required, exploring on their own.
In social studies, I find this teaching approach easy. Projects are fun and rewarding both for students and me. Giving them a basic skeleton of what they should learn allows them to explore on their own, while still meeting the requirements I know they need.
In math, however, I find this approach more difficult. Not only do the grade level content expectations seem restrictive, students often need direct instruction in math content to grasp the topics covered. It seems complicated to provide independent learning experiences for students.
My goal will be to provide students at least one independent learning experience per unit in math. These might be online learning explorations, or some sort of project in class. This will require me to be proactive in seeking /developing this type of math lessons.

Goal #2:Due to a variety of circumstances, I have not been on top of sending positive communications home for students this year. Most years, I try to send out postcards about once a marking period praising student successes in my room. I have yet to send out one postcard this year. Therefore, Goal #2 is to send positive postcards on students, hopefully, at least one to each student twice before the end of the school year.

Goal #3: Strive to be a more effective leader among teachers on my staff. I want to always be a positive role model in dealing with students, parents, and adminstrators. Often we find ourselves caught in a rut of complaining and negativity. I want to constantly remind myself to remain positive and find the good in others and situations. By keeping an upbeat outlook, I can be a source of renewable for those around me.

Christmas break.... ahhh.... the peaceful 2 weeks between the crazy December hullabaloos, and the dark and dreary January funk, to be followed by the even more dismal February weeks of never-ending day after day after day.

Winter has set in solid and hard, with snow on the ground since the begining of November. The days are long and cold, snowy and dark, with no respite on the horizon. The first snowfall excites me and students, usually in the middle of October. We see those huge, wet, soft flakes drifting lazily by the window and our blood races thinking SLEDS, SKIS, SNOWSHOES, SNOWMOBILES.

By January, the novelty has worn off, and we see the snowflakes blurring horizontal past the window thinking, where is the sun, why is it snowing again, how long until summer.

Aside from the obvious weather challenges of driving and shoveling, these days mean as a classroom teacher, my lessons have to sparkle and shine, to make up for the lack of outdoor contentment. Students are in a midyear rut, the routines of 7th grade now keeping them complacent in their work habits. It becomes almost like starting the year anew in many ways, as I try to capture their attention.

With all that in mind, as my vacation time stretches far ahead, my thoughts are pulling back to the classroom, wondering how to make monomials and square roots and radicals, something to capture the interest of even the most reluctant of my students. How can I somehow make prealgebra magical and enticing? I need something hands on and meaninful, engaging and motivating, quick paced and easy. hmmm............... so much for vacation, eh?