I thought that maybe my readers might like to follow me for a typical day at school, especially those who are not educators themselves. Of course I might be just writing this for myself, but even so, it is good therapy.
I generally arrive at school between 7:00 and 7:15 in the morning. That gives me about a half hour to prepare for my first class. The kids start showing up about 7:30 and trickle in for the next ten minutes or so. Then they would “hang out” in the back of the room until the tardy bell rings. After all, they have to catch up on what happened since yesterday. These things are very important to ninth grade students. However, my expectation is that they are in their seats and ready to go when the tardy bells rings. Since these are CP Science nine students, grade threats are very effective. Now they are ready to go when I expect it.
My CP students are working on a chemistry unit right now. I do some interesting demonstrations that hold their interest. Friday I gave them an elements/symbols quiz and reminded them that they can earn extra credit points by singing the elements song in 1.5 minutes. Some kids think extra credit is S.O.P. at the high school. It must be an acquired expectation from the middle school days.
When class ends, my 30 ninth graders leave when the bell rings and 18 new ones enter the room. It is almost disconcerting to operate under an educational system where so many things are regimented and yet we want to encourage independent thinking. This class consists of students who are either turned off to school or just find learning to be an onerous chore. They are a real challenge. It is my goal to make them better all round students. We built and smashed craft stick bridges. That was moderately successful. Now we are also doing some chemistry, but in a different way from my CP class. After an hour of discussing elements and symbols and a demonstration of mixtures and compounds with sulfur and iron filings as an example, the kids leave for their next class.
Now I have my planning period. I patrol the halls to keep an eye on things and watch for problems. So far the only things I have seen involve what we call PDA (public display of affection). I usually stop it by telling the kids to stop swapping spit. Speaking of patrolling, I remember when I taught at a middle school and we had a bomb scare. We evacuated the buildings. Then the principal asked the male teachers to go back in and search for the bomb. Stupidly we did just that (I guess some principals think we are shock troops).
I visited the boys’ lavatory but didn’t find any smokers. I am not surprised since smokeless tobacco appears to be more popular in this area. In one district I was actually assigned to patrol the girls’ lavatory. The principal told me that since I was a married man, I could shout a warning and enter if I suspected anything (yeah, sure, like I would do that).
I spent the rest of my planning period grading papers and organizing some lesson plans, and ten minutes blasting some pocket tanks.
My fourth period class of ninth graders came trouping in and reluctantly took their seats. A few of these kids think they are in school for socializing and that the educational process is an intrusive act on their lives. The curse of the cell phone is very active in the class. A few of these students text at every opportunity and concentrate on ways to avoid detection by the teacher, instead of focusing on the lesson.
Parents look on the cell phone as a great way to stay in touch with their children. I consider the student cell phone an educational disaster. Any parent who allows a child to take a cell phone to school is working against the educational process and shouldn’t be surprised when grades start to “tank”.
The kids are interested in my sulfur/iron demonstration and overall the lesson is a success. I expect Monday’s quiz on the elements and their symbols to be a disaster. They are teachable students. They just won’t or can’t memorize information for a test. I tend to avoid using tests or homework with my fundamentals students since I know it will guarantee failure.
My fifth period class of juniors and seniors trouped in ready to learn some physics. We are in the middle of a triangulation lab but rain has messed up the schedule. I have two theodolites on permanent loan from a surveying company and a transit I purchased on eBay. I also have my own rods and tapes. We are determining the height of a flag pole and the distance from the campus to Mount Rainier.
Today we focused on vector solutions and looked at some youtube videos on vectors and Newton’s Laws. Then we discussed taking part in an engineering contest this coming February. The contest will involve building and destroying craft stick bridges.
My last class of the day is a CP Science nine class. The kids are bundles of energy and there are 31 of them. They are attentive and only once do I do a cell phone warning. However, they have the same problem as my first period group. Their study skills are very poor. Most of them do not take notes during class. Few of them really know how to study for a test. None of them knew how to properly outline a chapter from a text book so it could be used as a tool for test preparation. Even though I require them to follow an outline format and to outline each chapter studied, only a few have actually used it as a tool. Most consider the outline as “just another assignment”.
At the end of class, the students put their chairs on top of their tables so the custodians can easily sweep the room. After the students leave, I catch up on some work, blast a few more pocket tanks, and organize things for tomorrow’s lessons.
Then I pack up and head home with any uncompleted work in my bag. It is 3:00 and another school day has ended. As I walk to my car I think of the kids I connected with and the ones who remain elusively disconnected with school. I’ll get through to them tomorrow.
Sunday, November 22, 2009
Saturday, November 14, 2009
Everybody Has a Story
Whenever I meet somebody for the first time and we have a conversation, I often hear a school related story. It seems that all of us like to tell stories about things that happened to us when we were in school. It is even more common when talking to a school teacher.
For example: last week I was at a tire shop talking about some new tires and wheels with the manager. When I mentioned that I am a science teacher, he told me a story about his “good old days” in high school. He graduated from the school where I presently teach.
He and three other guys were in shop class standing around a 50 gallon garbage can chewing tobacco and spitting into the can. The principal caught them and after dealing out some consequences, he ended up giving my new friend a ride home. To this day they are good friends.
Four guys in a shop class standing around a barrel and spitting tobacco juice into it do create a rather incongruous picture. But then this was a shop class where on some days students would have contests throwing axes at a target on a board. There was even a time when kids in the science class above the shop would tie a piece of candy onto a string and dangle it down into the shop through a hole in the floor. When a kid would grab for it, the candy was pulled up to the shop ceiling.
We all have stories to share about our days in high school. I see my students living out their future stories and I often think about some of my own. Like the time I parted Harry’s hair with a paper clip shot from a rubber band. I was lucky I didn’t hit him in the face. Or when I pushed David’s face down into a water fountain to get him all wet and ended up having him cut his gum on the water shield. We booby trapped lockers and were really fascinated with girls, who were at least two years ahead of us in many different ways. I remember another Dave driving his father’s car to some kind of a meeting with Jimmy and me as passengers. He was driving about 100 mph and kicking the dashboard with his right foot because the radio wasn’t working properly. He must have had his left foot on the gas. Later that year another boy became half vegetative after being badly injured in a crash along that same road. Sometimes I wonder how I ever survived school. Some of us were lucky. Some of us were not.
We had fun in school, sometimes got into trouble, and were never vindictive in our actions. All but a few of graduated and most lived good, successful lives. A few did not. Ned committed suicide a few years after graduation (I never found out why.). John had a heart attack and died before he was 30. Jimmy had a nervous breakdown in college and lived at home until a fatal accident. Judy passed away in her early fifties while Bernie, my best friend, died in his early sixties. Most of us still chug along and tell stories to anyone who will listen about “the good old days” with a Mr. Dubs or a Prof Meyers or a Coach Kline or a Mr. Potera or ……
I bet everyone who reads this blog could tell an interesting short story about their school days in the comments section. In fact, feel free to do so.
What we do in school stays with us throughout life in many ways. We don’t only learn academics and fine arts. We don’t just pass standardized tests. We also become members of society. School helps us develop emotionally through our interactions with teachers and our peers while teaching us to use our minds. Too many people in authority forget that school is more than scoring high on tests and preparing for college. Who gives a damn if Japanese kids are smarter than American kids in math? There is a lot more to education than being a math whiz.
For example: last week I was at a tire shop talking about some new tires and wheels with the manager. When I mentioned that I am a science teacher, he told me a story about his “good old days” in high school. He graduated from the school where I presently teach.
He and three other guys were in shop class standing around a 50 gallon garbage can chewing tobacco and spitting into the can. The principal caught them and after dealing out some consequences, he ended up giving my new friend a ride home. To this day they are good friends.
Four guys in a shop class standing around a barrel and spitting tobacco juice into it do create a rather incongruous picture. But then this was a shop class where on some days students would have contests throwing axes at a target on a board. There was even a time when kids in the science class above the shop would tie a piece of candy onto a string and dangle it down into the shop through a hole in the floor. When a kid would grab for it, the candy was pulled up to the shop ceiling.
We all have stories to share about our days in high school. I see my students living out their future stories and I often think about some of my own. Like the time I parted Harry’s hair with a paper clip shot from a rubber band. I was lucky I didn’t hit him in the face. Or when I pushed David’s face down into a water fountain to get him all wet and ended up having him cut his gum on the water shield. We booby trapped lockers and were really fascinated with girls, who were at least two years ahead of us in many different ways. I remember another Dave driving his father’s car to some kind of a meeting with Jimmy and me as passengers. He was driving about 100 mph and kicking the dashboard with his right foot because the radio wasn’t working properly. He must have had his left foot on the gas. Later that year another boy became half vegetative after being badly injured in a crash along that same road. Sometimes I wonder how I ever survived school. Some of us were lucky. Some of us were not.
We had fun in school, sometimes got into trouble, and were never vindictive in our actions. All but a few of graduated and most lived good, successful lives. A few did not. Ned committed suicide a few years after graduation (I never found out why.). John had a heart attack and died before he was 30. Jimmy had a nervous breakdown in college and lived at home until a fatal accident. Judy passed away in her early fifties while Bernie, my best friend, died in his early sixties. Most of us still chug along and tell stories to anyone who will listen about “the good old days” with a Mr. Dubs or a Prof Meyers or a Coach Kline or a Mr. Potera or ……
I bet everyone who reads this blog could tell an interesting short story about their school days in the comments section. In fact, feel free to do so.
What we do in school stays with us throughout life in many ways. We don’t only learn academics and fine arts. We don’t just pass standardized tests. We also become members of society. School helps us develop emotionally through our interactions with teachers and our peers while teaching us to use our minds. Too many people in authority forget that school is more than scoring high on tests and preparing for college. Who gives a damn if Japanese kids are smarter than American kids in math? There is a lot more to education than being a math whiz.
Monday, November 9, 2009
How Stupid are They?
Today I had some visitors in my classroom. Second period a girl was kicked out of her class for being a wiseass to her teacher. The teacher asked to put her into my room rather than the office. Sixth period another girl was placed in my room by another teacher for repeatedly using foul language in the classroom. I even had a problem with a young lady in one of my classes who consistently ignored everything I asked her to do unless I got right into her face. Is the full moon out tonight????
My kids were amazed at the stupidity of these people. Antagonizing someone who has authority over you is stupid. Unfortunately some students have to learn that lesson the hard way. Even more unfortunately, some never learn that lesson. High school is a time to learn and create lifelong memories. Causing grief to others and yourself makes for bad memories and a painful time that will often carry over into greater problems in adult life.
What incentive does a teacher have to cut a kid a break who has been antagonistic during the school year? I can answer that in one word- NONE! It is like poking a tiger with a sharp stick, except the student won't be physically mauled. Only his reputation will be mauled.
I remember one kid in Pennsylvania who jumped onto the hood of his own car in front of the high school with some sort of a weapon and wanted the Vice Principal to come out and fight him. What a smart thing to do! After the police were called, he became a nonentity on the school campus. I hope he is getting along okay as the "village idiot".
I ask kids why when they dislike a certain class or teacher, they deliberately fail the class. It only means they will be in the class again. The response is invariably a shrug and a quizzical smile that says "So what if I act that stupid. I'm just a kid."
Some kids outgrow their stupidity. Too many don't. As long as there have been schools, kids have been getting kicked out of classes. I will just keep an extra chair in the back of my room for visitors. At least that way they won't be cluttering up the office.
My kids were amazed at the stupidity of these people. Antagonizing someone who has authority over you is stupid. Unfortunately some students have to learn that lesson the hard way. Even more unfortunately, some never learn that lesson. High school is a time to learn and create lifelong memories. Causing grief to others and yourself makes for bad memories and a painful time that will often carry over into greater problems in adult life.
What incentive does a teacher have to cut a kid a break who has been antagonistic during the school year? I can answer that in one word- NONE! It is like poking a tiger with a sharp stick, except the student won't be physically mauled. Only his reputation will be mauled.
I remember one kid in Pennsylvania who jumped onto the hood of his own car in front of the high school with some sort of a weapon and wanted the Vice Principal to come out and fight him. What a smart thing to do! After the police were called, he became a nonentity on the school campus. I hope he is getting along okay as the "village idiot".
I ask kids why when they dislike a certain class or teacher, they deliberately fail the class. It only means they will be in the class again. The response is invariably a shrug and a quizzical smile that says "So what if I act that stupid. I'm just a kid."
Some kids outgrow their stupidity. Too many don't. As long as there have been schools, kids have been getting kicked out of classes. I will just keep an extra chair in the back of my room for visitors. At least that way they won't be cluttering up the office.
Thursday, November 5, 2009
Your Cheating Heart
Cheating is not an unusual phenomenon in any classroom. Even the best kids will do it on occasion; especially when they are under pressure to get good grades from their parents.
When I was in high school, I had a science teacher who taught all of the science- biology, chemistry, and physics. He gave all of his tests out of test books. We were able to look ahead at the upcoming tests for the whole year. So a group of us got together and we each copied three different questions from the next test onto our desks and later put them onto paper. Then I compiled them and put together all of the answers, which I then gave back to the group members. Then we would punch pinholes indicating the answers into a pencil the day of the test. The funny thing was that I knew all of the answers anyway. The teacher got suspicious when everyone in the class got 96% or higher except for one girl who scored a 40%. He never did figure out how it was done. The teacher was replaced soon after I graduated. During three years of science, I never did one lab. Everything was done out of a textbook. Eventually that caught up with him. He was a nice guy but a terrible teacher.
Kids think they are too smart for us teachers. They don't realize that every trick they pull has been done hundreds of times before and that many of them I had even done myself.
From my early years in Tamaqua I remember many students. However, one made a lasting impression on me that leads to many stories. Joe M. was a big guy who was just cruising along through school happy with D's and once in a while earning a C. He was taking a short course with me in oceanography and showing no effort at all. I noticed one day that he was chewing tobacco and spitting into a cup that he thought he was keeping well hidden. I made him throw the cup away and told him that he was not allowed to spit into anything in my room and I figured that was the end of it. A few days later I caught him chewing again and was prepared to lay into him when I discovered he wasn't spitting into anything. I asked him what he was doing with the juice. His response was "I'm just swallowing it." and he gave me a big grin. In those days there were rules against smoking but nobody had thought about chewing tobacco. So I just shook my head and continued with the lesson.
Joe scored a "B" on our first test. When I discussed the test with the class, he couldn't answer any of the questions orally. I knew then he was copying from his neighbor. The next test I gave was a big unit test. I made two difefrent versions and made certain Joe's copy was different from his neightbors. No one knew they were different. After the test was given and graded I read off the scores. I read the score of the student next to Joe and it was a 98%. Joe broke into this big grin and looked me right in the eye. Then I read his score of 8% and he almost fell off his seat. Then I explained what I had done. Joe told me "You got me good on that one." and gave me a big, yellow-toothed grin.
The following year I taught the class again and Joe was right in the front row making up the "F" he had from the previous year. We actually got along quite well together and he earned an honest "C" or "D" and did graduate with his class.
A kid like Joe who is lazy and content to just scrape through with minimal effort but at the same time bears no grudges and takes whatever consequences are earned for his behavior is someone who can be a lot of fun to have in the classroom while providing a challenge to the instructor. After all, not everyone will go on to higher education.
I don't know what Joe is up to today but I think I would enjoy sitting down with him in a bar somewhere, sharing a couple beers, and reliving some of his school days. I always felt he would become that kind of a man. After all, only a real man can swallow his chew.
Back to cheating-
I remember one test I gave in a class where the whole test was true-false. Half the class had all true questions and the other half had all false questions. One student had an all true test and marked every answer false (his neighbor had an all false test).
With computers I am able to always give two different versions of the same test. Copying almost completely disappears under those conditions. Unless I am missing something, I don't have much copying going on. I know it goes on in other classes because kids tell me stories. Whenever kids copy or cheat during a test, it is the fault of the teacher. If the teacher is not vigilant or smart enough to prevent cheating, the kids will do it, even if they know the material covered in the test.
Cheating on homework, etc. is another whole topic for s future blog.
When I was in high school, I had a science teacher who taught all of the science- biology, chemistry, and physics. He gave all of his tests out of test books. We were able to look ahead at the upcoming tests for the whole year. So a group of us got together and we each copied three different questions from the next test onto our desks and later put them onto paper. Then I compiled them and put together all of the answers, which I then gave back to the group members. Then we would punch pinholes indicating the answers into a pencil the day of the test. The funny thing was that I knew all of the answers anyway. The teacher got suspicious when everyone in the class got 96% or higher except for one girl who scored a 40%. He never did figure out how it was done. The teacher was replaced soon after I graduated. During three years of science, I never did one lab. Everything was done out of a textbook. Eventually that caught up with him. He was a nice guy but a terrible teacher.
Kids think they are too smart for us teachers. They don't realize that every trick they pull has been done hundreds of times before and that many of them I had even done myself.
From my early years in Tamaqua I remember many students. However, one made a lasting impression on me that leads to many stories. Joe M. was a big guy who was just cruising along through school happy with D's and once in a while earning a C. He was taking a short course with me in oceanography and showing no effort at all. I noticed one day that he was chewing tobacco and spitting into a cup that he thought he was keeping well hidden. I made him throw the cup away and told him that he was not allowed to spit into anything in my room and I figured that was the end of it. A few days later I caught him chewing again and was prepared to lay into him when I discovered he wasn't spitting into anything. I asked him what he was doing with the juice. His response was "I'm just swallowing it." and he gave me a big grin. In those days there were rules against smoking but nobody had thought about chewing tobacco. So I just shook my head and continued with the lesson.
Joe scored a "B" on our first test. When I discussed the test with the class, he couldn't answer any of the questions orally. I knew then he was copying from his neighbor. The next test I gave was a big unit test. I made two difefrent versions and made certain Joe's copy was different from his neightbors. No one knew they were different. After the test was given and graded I read off the scores. I read the score of the student next to Joe and it was a 98%. Joe broke into this big grin and looked me right in the eye. Then I read his score of 8% and he almost fell off his seat. Then I explained what I had done. Joe told me "You got me good on that one." and gave me a big, yellow-toothed grin.
The following year I taught the class again and Joe was right in the front row making up the "F" he had from the previous year. We actually got along quite well together and he earned an honest "C" or "D" and did graduate with his class.
A kid like Joe who is lazy and content to just scrape through with minimal effort but at the same time bears no grudges and takes whatever consequences are earned for his behavior is someone who can be a lot of fun to have in the classroom while providing a challenge to the instructor. After all, not everyone will go on to higher education.
I don't know what Joe is up to today but I think I would enjoy sitting down with him in a bar somewhere, sharing a couple beers, and reliving some of his school days. I always felt he would become that kind of a man. After all, only a real man can swallow his chew.
Back to cheating-
I remember one test I gave in a class where the whole test was true-false. Half the class had all true questions and the other half had all false questions. One student had an all true test and marked every answer false (his neighbor had an all false test).
With computers I am able to always give two different versions of the same test. Copying almost completely disappears under those conditions. Unless I am missing something, I don't have much copying going on. I know it goes on in other classes because kids tell me stories. Whenever kids copy or cheat during a test, it is the fault of the teacher. If the teacher is not vigilant or smart enough to prevent cheating, the kids will do it, even if they know the material covered in the test.
Cheating on homework, etc. is another whole topic for s future blog.
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