Well, testing is complete. The 3rd and 4th graders spent the last 2 days showing what they know, to the best of their ability. I really hate that they have it all come down to this final exam... Why can't they show what they know all year?? Some kids just don't test well, and some are just too nervous about this ONE STUPID TEST to do well. They're nauseous (if not throwing up), tired because their nerves kept them up at night worrying, hungry because they were too nervous to eat the last few days...
Oh well, there isn't anything we, as teachers, can do about it.
And best of all... They're done!
So today... Hmmmm... I don't know what they'll do today. After the last few days of torture, I hope their teachers let them go out and play! Which is how next week will be spent:
Monday: Field Day/Fun Day (half the school does field day, the other half does "fun" day, which is just non-competitive games). Also Ms. Boyer's Grant Reception, hosted in my Media Center in the afternoon. Her kids did such a great job!!
Tuesday: Inflatable City and the school-wide end-of-the-year barbecue (which I'm proud to say started a few years ago as a 2nd grade barbecue while I was there, then first grade did it, as well, the following year, and then my principal thought it was such a great idea that she got the whole school to do it together).
Wednesday: Field Day/Fun Day again! Switching off. Also the schoolwide talent show that afternoon, and then we'll also have a reception in the Media Center for the participants afterward.
Thursday: Awards Day
Friday: Pre-K, then Kindergarten Graduation, followed by... Fourth Grade Graduation (yes, our kids go to middle school as 5th graders -- there are a couple schools here who've had to do that because of overcrowding). And then it's early release at 1!! YAY!!!
Oh, and I'm almost done with planning next year out. So much for collaboration... Although I haven't gone so far as to choose books, and I planned it out keeping in mind what they kids will be studying at the time so it will tie back in without even having to go ask the teachers what they're working on. There are certain units they always do at the same time every year... I've got it saved as a Word document, but I'll upload it to my Google Drive and share the link in a later post.
Off to work! (I'm so jealous, my kids are off today -- my son's finished, and my daughter doesn't have to go in for another test until next week!)
Friday, May 31, 2013
Thursday, May 23, 2013
Researching and The Wall
Just realized this one never published... It was in my drafts. I was writing this at work on 4/10/13:
The Vietnam Memorial Wall has a smaller travelling display which is coming to the Wayne Community College Campus next week. My principal decided to take 2 children from each classroom in the 2nd, 3rd, and 4th grades out to see it. She asked me to pull these children into the media center to do research on the Vietnam War prior to the field trip so that they would have an understanding of what they're seeing. I didn't feel the Vietnam War itself was really an age-appropriate topic for such young children, so I began looking for aspects I was comfortable with teaching so that I wasn't flat-out defying her wishes, while still giving the students a meaningful and engaging experience.
One of the websites I came across was that of the Vietnam Veteran's Memorial Fund where you can search for names on the wall. I wanted to see how many men were from Goldsboro, just out of pure curiosity. There I found that we have 20 "Hometown Heroes" included on the Memorial. The database shows you their names, rank, branch of service, hometown, birthdate, casualty date, location, and a photograph.
Of the 20 local men listed, only 19 have been accounted for. One man is still lacking a photo. That sparked my interest.
At the local library, old newspapers are kept on microfiche and are searchable. There is a possibility that the newspaper ran his obituary since this was his hometown and he likely had family in the area. In another room of the library, they keep things like old High School Yearbooks from the area schools. I know when I think of my "hometown," it's where I lived when I went to high school that comes to mind (we moved every few years growing up). It's possible that he could be in one of the yearbooks at the library!
I spoke to my principal about what I wanted to do -- find this man's photo and add it in remembrance to the database -- and she was elated. I then approached the Director of the Wayne County Public Library and she was also excited about the opportunity to locate this man. I'm so excited to get started!!
I'm going to be bringing these students into the library to read them The Wall by Eve Bunting. I have a nonfiction book on the memorial as well, A Wall of Names: The Story of the Vietnam Veterans Memorial by Judy Donnelly. I'll then show them the website and show them the memorials to our hometown heroes.
** As a follow-up, we did go out to the public library to research SFC Frank Smith. The kids learned a lot about him, but still no picture. They learned he was an African American man from Goldsboro. He died in Vietnam, either from asphyxiation or drowning. He is buried at Ft. Benning, GA.
We then went out to the Wall to look at the names and find him. There was another man also a teacher was looking for. I can't think of his name now... He was also from Goldsboro... He enlisted at 15 (he lied about his age) and joined the Marine Corps. He was the youngest military person killed in Vietnam. Her church "remembers" him each year on Memorial Day. The kids really enjoyed this trip though, and they loved their time in the library. The History Room is off to the back, completely enclosed from the rest of the library, and it's like a whole different world in there. The kids LOVED it. My photos are all at school... I'll have to remember to edit this later so I can share. :)
The Vietnam Memorial Wall has a smaller travelling display which is coming to the Wayne Community College Campus next week. My principal decided to take 2 children from each classroom in the 2nd, 3rd, and 4th grades out to see it. She asked me to pull these children into the media center to do research on the Vietnam War prior to the field trip so that they would have an understanding of what they're seeing. I didn't feel the Vietnam War itself was really an age-appropriate topic for such young children, so I began looking for aspects I was comfortable with teaching so that I wasn't flat-out defying her wishes, while still giving the students a meaningful and engaging experience.
One of the websites I came across was that of the Vietnam Veteran's Memorial Fund where you can search for names on the wall. I wanted to see how many men were from Goldsboro, just out of pure curiosity. There I found that we have 20 "Hometown Heroes" included on the Memorial. The database shows you their names, rank, branch of service, hometown, birthdate, casualty date, location, and a photograph.
Of the 20 local men listed, only 19 have been accounted for. One man is still lacking a photo. That sparked my interest.
At the local library, old newspapers are kept on microfiche and are searchable. There is a possibility that the newspaper ran his obituary since this was his hometown and he likely had family in the area. In another room of the library, they keep things like old High School Yearbooks from the area schools. I know when I think of my "hometown," it's where I lived when I went to high school that comes to mind (we moved every few years growing up). It's possible that he could be in one of the yearbooks at the library!
I spoke to my principal about what I wanted to do -- find this man's photo and add it in remembrance to the database -- and she was elated. I then approached the Director of the Wayne County Public Library and she was also excited about the opportunity to locate this man. I'm so excited to get started!!
I'm going to be bringing these students into the library to read them The Wall by Eve Bunting. I have a nonfiction book on the memorial as well, A Wall of Names: The Story of the Vietnam Veterans Memorial by Judy Donnelly. I'll then show them the website and show them the memorials to our hometown heroes.
** As a follow-up, we did go out to the public library to research SFC Frank Smith. The kids learned a lot about him, but still no picture. They learned he was an African American man from Goldsboro. He died in Vietnam, either from asphyxiation or drowning. He is buried at Ft. Benning, GA.
We then went out to the Wall to look at the names and find him. There was another man also a teacher was looking for. I can't think of his name now... He was also from Goldsboro... He enlisted at 15 (he lied about his age) and joined the Marine Corps. He was the youngest military person killed in Vietnam. Her church "remembers" him each year on Memorial Day. The kids really enjoyed this trip though, and they loved their time in the library. The History Room is off to the back, completely enclosed from the rest of the library, and it's like a whole different world in there. The kids LOVED it. My photos are all at school... I'll have to remember to edit this later so I can share. :)
Home Early!!
It's 2:44 pm on a Thursday afternoon, and my butt is HOME! Our local Rotary Club hosted a luncheon today, featuring Dr. Lee Craig who wrote a wonderful biography titled Josephus Daniels: His Life and Times. This was a man I'd never heard of, who came from right here in my neck of the woods, and WOW! The impact he had on the country -- always in the background! It was an amazing lecture, I was fascinated.
Other than that, my morning had been spent testing and working on Battle of the Books questions for next year. I'm currently reading Ungifted by Gordon Korman. Another enjoyable read!! I'm really pleased with this year's selections thus far. :)
Well, with that being said, I should run off. I need to pick my daughter up from school and run back into town to meet my parents. They're passing through on their way to Minnesota from Florida and wanted to take us to dinner tonight to celebrate my mom's birthday, which is tomorrow. So much for being home early... But it was nice while it lasted.
Other than that, my morning had been spent testing and working on Battle of the Books questions for next year. I'm currently reading Ungifted by Gordon Korman. Another enjoyable read!! I'm really pleased with this year's selections thus far. :)
Well, with that being said, I should run off. I need to pick my daughter up from school and run back into town to meet my parents. They're passing through on their way to Minnesota from Florida and wanted to take us to dinner tonight to celebrate my mom's birthday, which is tomorrow. So much for being home early... But it was nice while it lasted.
Wednesday, May 22, 2013
How many posts can I have called "Update"?
So, I realized recently I haven't been blogging.
Well, I didn't JUST notice it... I have known I wasn't doing it for a while. But it was recently that I had the thought "Geez, I need to write something!" Earlier today I did a quickie, just to share my email, and maybe light a fire?
But anyway... What have I been up to?
It's the end of the school year. I have 10 1/2 more days left with kids at school. This week I've been testing the Extend II 3rd and 4th graders. Next week it's the "Ready EOG" exams. The Pep Rally is Tuesday, then we test Wednesday and Thursday. Friday is the makeup day for absences. The following week will consist of field day, fun day, inflatable city day, the school barbeque, and 4th grade graduation. And yes, they all "pass," whether they deserve to or not. Next year the EOG will be catching about 40% of our kids and forcing retention and we'll be MAJORLY overcrowded.
Honestly, this year hasn't been as hard or stressful as the past few. I worked my bootie off to get my inventory done. I'm down to about 21 missing items. Not bad considering my lack of walls to keep people from taking things. My annual AMTR report is done -- other than all the changes they keep giving us. For YEARS now it's been "Don't count things central office issues -- central office records those..." and "Don't count the TRI laptops and iPads, they aren't ours until the program ends..." Then, after I'm finished with my report and I get my principal to sign off my boss emails that we are now going to start counting all this stuff -- and more! UGH!!
Of course at the rate my tech person "loses" our computers... There aren't all that many to count anymore. How do you lose 60 some-odd desktop computers?? Really??? And all the laptops we've had? Gone. Over the summer she somehow lost all of their power cords, so none were given out this year. Now they're gone entirely. Um... is someone making some cash on the side pawning this stuff or what?
But anyway... I had science classes added to my list of things to do... I had to teach biomes and animal adaptations to 4th graders. Not all, just the ones on grade-level while they did remediation with the other kids. I put a Media twist on it, though. They were researching the biomes, and the plants and animals in them so they could decide for themselves about the interdependencies and adaptations. It was a nice little project I found on pinterest.
Speaking of pinterest... I'd discovered this a while ago... I got sucked in right away and noticed how it, like a vacuum, just sucked my day away. I don't know where the time goes, as I sit and scroll... But anyway, I haven't been sitting myself down at my computer at all much lately -- opting instead to hang with my daughter and do any surfing or whatnot on my iPhone. Well, then I noticed there's a pinterest app and that got me re-hooked. Now I'm back to using my computer to scroll through pinterest when I can't see stuff big enough on my phone. But I'm LOVING it!!
For dinner so far this week... Monday I just grilled chicken. Tuesday we made very unhealthy pepperoni rollups I found on pinterest, and then today it was funeral sandwiches... Easy, simple, delish...
Other than all this, I guess life is still the same. I work 7 days a week for a few more weeks... Then SUMMER!! I've been working on my lessons for next year. I'm ASSUMING I'll still be stuck teaching guided reading and acceleration, wasting half my day... The problems with this are:
1. I hate it.
2. I feel it's a HUGE waste of time.
3. I haaaaaaate it.
4. I can't teach as many classes because half my day is devoted to this 4 days/ week. Plus character ed...
5. I miss almost all my grade levels PLC meetings because I'm stuck with a reading group half the day when they're having their meetings so it's hard to collaborate, let alone get them signed up or even know what it is they're working on.
6. Did I mention that I haaaaate it and think it's a huge waste of time??
But anyway, I figured if I had a weekly plan, I could let my teachers know in advance that this is what skill I'll be working on. If they want to partake, sign up. If they don't, it's their responsibility to teach their kids that skill. So I've been working on a weekly plan. Not actual lesson plans, but more of a scope and sequence timeline. I'll probably post the link when I have it done. If I think of it. Maybe I'll actually have time once summer comes around. :)
OH! And Battle of the Books! I've been working on reading the books and writing questions. I just finished Belly Up by Stuart Gibbs. The kids are going to LOVE it!! Here's a cute glogster about it:
Well, it's late and I need to start thinking about bed... My dog's already passed out and hogging it. I take that back -- I just glanced over and he's abandoned me. So I should probably get while the getting's good. Good night, all! I'll try to be better about posting. :)
Well, I didn't JUST notice it... I have known I wasn't doing it for a while. But it was recently that I had the thought "Geez, I need to write something!" Earlier today I did a quickie, just to share my email, and maybe light a fire?
But anyway... What have I been up to?
It's the end of the school year. I have 10 1/2 more days left with kids at school. This week I've been testing the Extend II 3rd and 4th graders. Next week it's the "Ready EOG" exams. The Pep Rally is Tuesday, then we test Wednesday and Thursday. Friday is the makeup day for absences. The following week will consist of field day, fun day, inflatable city day, the school barbeque, and 4th grade graduation. And yes, they all "pass," whether they deserve to or not. Next year the EOG will be catching about 40% of our kids and forcing retention and we'll be MAJORLY overcrowded.
Honestly, this year hasn't been as hard or stressful as the past few. I worked my bootie off to get my inventory done. I'm down to about 21 missing items. Not bad considering my lack of walls to keep people from taking things. My annual AMTR report is done -- other than all the changes they keep giving us. For YEARS now it's been "Don't count things central office issues -- central office records those..." and "Don't count the TRI laptops and iPads, they aren't ours until the program ends..." Then, after I'm finished with my report and I get my principal to sign off my boss emails that we are now going to start counting all this stuff -- and more! UGH!!
Of course at the rate my tech person "loses" our computers... There aren't all that many to count anymore. How do you lose 60 some-odd desktop computers?? Really??? And all the laptops we've had? Gone. Over the summer she somehow lost all of their power cords, so none were given out this year. Now they're gone entirely. Um... is someone making some cash on the side pawning this stuff or what?
But anyway... I had science classes added to my list of things to do... I had to teach biomes and animal adaptations to 4th graders. Not all, just the ones on grade-level while they did remediation with the other kids. I put a Media twist on it, though. They were researching the biomes, and the plants and animals in them so they could decide for themselves about the interdependencies and adaptations. It was a nice little project I found on pinterest.
Speaking of pinterest... I'd discovered this a while ago... I got sucked in right away and noticed how it, like a vacuum, just sucked my day away. I don't know where the time goes, as I sit and scroll... But anyway, I haven't been sitting myself down at my computer at all much lately -- opting instead to hang with my daughter and do any surfing or whatnot on my iPhone. Well, then I noticed there's a pinterest app and that got me re-hooked. Now I'm back to using my computer to scroll through pinterest when I can't see stuff big enough on my phone. But I'm LOVING it!!
For dinner so far this week... Monday I just grilled chicken. Tuesday we made very unhealthy pepperoni rollups I found on pinterest, and then today it was funeral sandwiches... Easy, simple, delish...
Other than all this, I guess life is still the same. I work 7 days a week for a few more weeks... Then SUMMER!! I've been working on my lessons for next year. I'm ASSUMING I'll still be stuck teaching guided reading and acceleration, wasting half my day... The problems with this are:
1. I hate it.
2. I feel it's a HUGE waste of time.
3. I haaaaaaate it.
4. I can't teach as many classes because half my day is devoted to this 4 days/ week. Plus character ed...
5. I miss almost all my grade levels PLC meetings because I'm stuck with a reading group half the day when they're having their meetings so it's hard to collaborate, let alone get them signed up or even know what it is they're working on.
6. Did I mention that I haaaaate it and think it's a huge waste of time??
But anyway, I figured if I had a weekly plan, I could let my teachers know in advance that this is what skill I'll be working on. If they want to partake, sign up. If they don't, it's their responsibility to teach their kids that skill. So I've been working on a weekly plan. Not actual lesson plans, but more of a scope and sequence timeline. I'll probably post the link when I have it done. If I think of it. Maybe I'll actually have time once summer comes around. :)
OH! And Battle of the Books! I've been working on reading the books and writing questions. I just finished Belly Up by Stuart Gibbs. The kids are going to LOVE it!! Here's a cute glogster about it:
Well, it's late and I need to start thinking about bed... My dog's already passed out and hogging it. I take that back -- I just glanced over and he's abandoned me. So I should probably get while the getting's good. Good night, all! I'll try to be better about posting. :)
Venting to my local State Senator
My principal shot us a couple emails this week. The first one was to sign a petition against a new voucher system "the powers that be" would like to initiate here in North Carolina. They want to make private schools available to everyone -- not just those who can afford them. Great, right? Sure. Unless you take into consideration that they are going to take the money away from the public schools in order to fund this program. So the public/free schools are going to basically pay to fund private schools? Are these people insane??
The second one was asking us to email Senator Pate, advocating for our Instructional Assistants. They want to increase our class sizes here and take away our support. This is in addition to freezing our pay for how many years now, cutting our financial support (teachers at my school are issued a whopping 2 reams of paper a YEAR here!), changing our curriculum, giving us furlough days... The list of kicks to the teeth goes on and on....
Anyway, I thought I'd share my email I sent. I did a little venting in it:
Senator Pate,
How can you, as a representative of our state, be proud of the job you are doing when NC constantly comes up at the bottom of the barrel? We are currently 46th in teacher pay. How do you expect to lure in the best and brightest teachers, or to keep them? They will go where they are valued, where education is valued, where they feel they can do the best for themselves in a place where they matter. It's been made more than clear that educators, and education itself, are not valued in the great state of North Carolina. And we are 49th in student spending? You should be ashamed of yourself! If you're going to pay us so little that I (as a single mother who doesn't get any other form of support besides what I earn through my own blood, sweat, and tears) have to work a second job just to make ends meet, should be expected to buy my own paper, pencils, crayons, and other supplies that I need for my students? It's not fair! When my options are to pay my bills and feed my own children, or provide for my students, I have to choose my own children. It breaks my heart, however, knowing that my students go without on a day to day basis, and now they're going without at school because neither I, nor my school, can afford to provide for them.
Thank you for all you do,
The second one was asking us to email Senator Pate, advocating for our Instructional Assistants. They want to increase our class sizes here and take away our support. This is in addition to freezing our pay for how many years now, cutting our financial support (teachers at my school are issued a whopping 2 reams of paper a YEAR here!), changing our curriculum, giving us furlough days... The list of kicks to the teeth goes on and on....
Anyway, I thought I'd share my email I sent. I did a little venting in it:
Senator Pate,
As a public school educator I am writing to inform you of the fact that I, like my colleagues, do not want to lose our instructional assistants. They are a truly necessary part of our schools. Especially at the rate that class sizes have increased. We don't have seating, supplies, or materials for our children, now you want to take away our support, too?
I realize you are not, and have never been, an educator. I further realize that you have no idea what it is like to be a teacher. You have not spent time trying to reach, teach, and inspire young minds. You haven't dealt with the ramifications of what goes on in these children's home lives. You haven't dedicated years of your life to finding ways to make learning inviting and meaningful to children who would rather be at home playing on their Xboxes. I know you haven't an iota how much extraneous paperwork is required of us, let alone how overly assessed our students are. You don't see them come off the bus and throw up from nerves as they take a single test that will make or break their success for the entire school year. You don't have to try to teach the child who found a man shot in the head on their front doorstep on their way out to the school bus. You don't have to work with the child who spent the night trying to sleep on their floor because there were people shooting into houses overnight. But I do.
I am well aware of the fact that my school isn't like most others. I teach at a central-attendance school comprised of children who live in the projects -- if they have a home at all. I've had students who lived in their cars over the years. I've had a student who came to school after watching his father gunned down in the street the night before. We've dealt with children trading pot for PopTarts in the restrooms. Not every school deals with these issues, but mine does. And school is the one safe place for many of these children. The meals they are given here are, for many, the only meals they will get each day. The hugs they get from their teachers and instructional assistants may be the only hugs they get today. We make a far greater impact than you give us credit for, and the cuts you're making to their education is much more profound than you, perhaps, comprehend.
But I digress... My point in writing today is to suggest to you that at times when you are making decisions about education, a topic you are NOT an expert in, you should be looking to those of us who ARE for guidance. We DO know what schools need. We DO know what our children need. We DO see the big picture, and what all of the cuts to our education system are doing to our children and to the future.
How can you, as a representative of our state, be proud of the job you are doing when NC constantly comes up at the bottom of the barrel? We are currently 46th in teacher pay. How do you expect to lure in the best and brightest teachers, or to keep them? They will go where they are valued, where education is valued, where they feel they can do the best for themselves in a place where they matter. It's been made more than clear that educators, and education itself, are not valued in the great state of North Carolina. And we are 49th in student spending? You should be ashamed of yourself! If you're going to pay us so little that I (as a single mother who doesn't get any other form of support besides what I earn through my own blood, sweat, and tears) have to work a second job just to make ends meet, should be expected to buy my own paper, pencils, crayons, and other supplies that I need for my students? It's not fair! When my options are to pay my bills and feed my own children, or provide for my students, I have to choose my own children. It breaks my heart, however, knowing that my students go without on a day to day basis, and now they're going without at school because neither I, nor my school, can afford to provide for them.
Please be more conscientious of the decisions you make, and try listening to those of us who actually know about the educational system. Make better-informed decisions by listening to what your educators have to say.
Thank you for all you do,
"BiblioTechGal"
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