I have had an interesting as well as very busy time since my last posting.
My chemistry classes are moving right along. Students are comprehending the material we are covering, even though they have some problems with the tests. I believe they have problems with the tests because they simply don’t know how to prepare for a test. Hopefully they will master that skill by the time they enter college. Meanwhile my physics students are still having problems with the mathematics part of the course. Since it is what should be simple math for them, I believe it is due to a lack of skill in reading a problem and deciding which math to use to solve it. There are two possible reasons for this problem: students don’t have the mental maturity to have the insights needed to relate the appropriate mathematics to the problem and secondly, the way students are taught mathematics emphasizes the mechanics of problem solving over the interpretive skills required for mathematics applications needed for science.
A few weeks ago we decided to modify my ninth grade natural resources class to serve students who have failed the tenth grade biology end of course exam. We were told that students graduating in 2013 or later had to pass this test. Now the state may move it to the class of 2017 and later. These are mixed signals similar to what happened in math. We have also been prewarned that students will have to take three years of science to graduate from high school.
Budget cuts mean that schools will be laying off (furloughing) teachers and class sizes will be going up, so I guess this is a perfect time to increase graduation requirements and push more students into the sciences. I don’t know where the additional science teachers will originate and I wonder what will happen to the teachers who teach electives. Students are able to take fewer and fewer electives as more requirements are dumped onto them.
The state is experimenting with a new system of evaluating teachers. Students’ test results will be part of a teacher’s evaluation. I am not sure how this system will work. One of the big falicies of public education is that all students can be successful. There are always students who will make no effort to be successful and use the school for socialization time. Most administrators will criticise the teacher for not engaging such a student. Now the test scores of such a student will have a negative effect on the student’s teachers. I am also interested in how much of the new system will be objective and how much will be subjective. One big fear teachers have is that the principal will use administrative powers to create a feifdom in the district. Teachers would not be so adamant about merit pay and job seniority if a fair method of evaluations could be devised. Unfortunately no such method has appeared.
I am wondering if I should move to Wisconsin. I understand from the Tea Party crowd that the average state worker makes over $100,000 a year. I think I’ll go there and drive a school bus so that I can afford to own two houses and drive a Lexus. They have decertified their public employees unions and basically took away many of their job protections, using money as the reason (bogus). There are plenty of public service employees who are next to worthless but going after everyone is hardly the best solution.
Next week I’ll write about my natural resources class.
My chemistry classes are moving right along. Students are comprehending the material we are covering, even though they have some problems with the tests. I believe they have problems with the tests because they simply don’t know how to prepare for a test. Hopefully they will master that skill by the time they enter college. Meanwhile my physics students are still having problems with the mathematics part of the course. Since it is what should be simple math for them, I believe it is due to a lack of skill in reading a problem and deciding which math to use to solve it. There are two possible reasons for this problem: students don’t have the mental maturity to have the insights needed to relate the appropriate mathematics to the problem and secondly, the way students are taught mathematics emphasizes the mechanics of problem solving over the interpretive skills required for mathematics applications needed for science.
A few weeks ago we decided to modify my ninth grade natural resources class to serve students who have failed the tenth grade biology end of course exam. We were told that students graduating in 2013 or later had to pass this test. Now the state may move it to the class of 2017 and later. These are mixed signals similar to what happened in math. We have also been prewarned that students will have to take three years of science to graduate from high school.
Budget cuts mean that schools will be laying off (furloughing) teachers and class sizes will be going up, so I guess this is a perfect time to increase graduation requirements and push more students into the sciences. I don’t know where the additional science teachers will originate and I wonder what will happen to the teachers who teach electives. Students are able to take fewer and fewer electives as more requirements are dumped onto them.
The state is experimenting with a new system of evaluating teachers. Students’ test results will be part of a teacher’s evaluation. I am not sure how this system will work. One of the big falicies of public education is that all students can be successful. There are always students who will make no effort to be successful and use the school for socialization time. Most administrators will criticise the teacher for not engaging such a student. Now the test scores of such a student will have a negative effect on the student’s teachers. I am also interested in how much of the new system will be objective and how much will be subjective. One big fear teachers have is that the principal will use administrative powers to create a feifdom in the district. Teachers would not be so adamant about merit pay and job seniority if a fair method of evaluations could be devised. Unfortunately no such method has appeared.
I am wondering if I should move to Wisconsin. I understand from the Tea Party crowd that the average state worker makes over $100,000 a year. I think I’ll go there and drive a school bus so that I can afford to own two houses and drive a Lexus. They have decertified their public employees unions and basically took away many of their job protections, using money as the reason (bogus). There are plenty of public service employees who are next to worthless but going after everyone is hardly the best solution.
Next week I’ll write about my natural resources class.
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