I need to vent: This time of year blows.

[Catshrink]

Most of the kids have checked out mentally. Smart-assing and acting out are on the rise. Just let me teach already! I told the kids they could use a 3x5 card on their next exam. One kid said "how big is that?" Another asked "where do I get those?" They were just trying to disrupt the class and interfere with the lesson. In retrospect, I should have sent 3 students to the nurse's office for a "wellness check" -- a euphemism for I think they're high or drunk -- please check it out. It's always the class right after lunch that gives everyone the most trouble. Why do kids think it's okay to put their feet up on the tables? To whistle why I'm lecturing? To squeak their chairs deliberately? I finally sent one kid out because he wouldn't shut up. As he left he said "I hate this fucking class. I don't care, write me up."

There are 28 kids in the class and 3 real "problems." 5 others egg them on. The other 20 kids unfortunately do nothing. It's as if they're afraid of the others even though they are annoyed.

Like I said, I needed to vent. It was a very frustrating day.

I haven't decided whether to write up detentions for all of the kids who gave me crap today. Writing referrals doesn't do much good -- the assistant principal is so overloaded that he doesn't have time to address these annoyances. The parents of these kids don't believe their child could do anything wrong.

We're supposed to submit "assignments" for extra pay. We're all done them but our district just found out the money isn't there to pay us for all of it. That's $800 gone but oh, yeah, they got the work out of us anyway. We'll be lucky if we don't have a pay cut next year -- and we're told to be happy we have a job.

And people wonder why teachers quit.

[Tangerine LaBamba]

1. The most valuable people in our society

get paid the least.

That sucks.............................

[Catshrink]

2. Thanks

My basic salary isn't bad, not great, and certainly not commenserate with my education and experience. But it isn't bad. What really pisses me off is the games politicians and administrators play with our salaries. They treat us like volleyballs. It's a damn hard job to do and adding the uncertainty of salary on top just adds to the stress. But they don't give a shit. We're a volleyball.

Wingnuts from the Libertarian wing of the Republican party whose goal is to decimate public educaiton. They see an opportunity for big business to get involved. It's all about th fucking dollar signs they and their buddies can make.

[WannaJumpMyScooter]

3. what grade?

sounds like my daughter's 8th grade science class... every day she comes home with horror stories from it

[Catshrink]

4. HS

That's what's tough is when the good kids complain to their parents about the bad kids. This particular group has "ganged up" on a couple of teachers before and managed to harrass the poor ladies into quitting. They pounced like a lion on a weak gazelle. They have no manners and no respect. Luckily for me, they've developed reputations over the years and given other teachers the same kind of bull crap.

I guess detentions are in order. At least it will get their attention.

[msongs]

5. get permission to run a vocal or video recorder during that class AND...

don't you have a union? take it to the union for assistance with this issue. It is harrassment by students AND it undermines the education of other students.

you do have a union that's good for something is it not?

Msongs

[midnight]

6. I hope you don't mind that your scenario made me giggle.

But this phrase did me in:Smart-assing and acting out are on the rise. The schools have you teacher's overloaded in the classrooms. The schools have to get serious about reducing the class sizes. Does it help to have a union? I hope tomorrow is a much better day for you.

[Dogmudgeon]

7. April is the cruelest month

from http://www.bartleby.com/201/1.html">The Waste Land (1922)
by T.S. Eliot

--d!

[Reader Rabbit]

8. Sounds like the crop of kids I had two years ago.

A core of turds with enabling or negligent parents pretty much acted as a cancer and brought the whole bunch down. It was damn depressing, I can tell you!

My current crop are getting squirrelly with spring fever, but luckily for me, the threat of a phone call home does all the good in the world. It's amazing what teachers can accomplish when they have parental support.

[LWolf]

9. I call it "spring fever,"

when the weather finally turns, they see summer on the horizon, and they "check out." It's hard for both teachers and students not to be burned out by this point in the year.

Which is why I've always thought single-track year round schedules, which offer more frequent, shorter, breaks, were preferable.

[Reader Rabbit]

10. I agree about the year-round schools.

Every teacher I've ever spoken to who participated in such a schedule said it was great—even those who started out not wanting to do it!

[Catshrink]

11. Update:

I talked to our asst. principal this morning. He managed to corner the ringleaders during the day and apparently let them have it big time. Needless to say, class was rather pleasant today.

Thanks for your support. Yesterday was rough.

[Taitertots]

12. How many of them are you going to fail? n/t

[YvonneCa]

14. Teachers have little say in retaining...

...a student. It's a district process.

[Catshrink]

16. In HS, they need a certain number of credits to graduate.

They are usually said to belong to the class of their "cohort" group regardless of the number of credits. Some kids make them up during summer school or attend our after school program for credit recovery. And some of them never walk because they don't make an effort and do no work.

[Catshrink]

15. I'm not going to fail any students.

3-5% of them have chosen to do no work, make no effort to come in for help before or after school, and basically just waste the oxygen in the classroom. They have chosen to fail.

Students in my class who show effort and do their work usually do no fail my class.

[Taitertots]

22. Either way, hold them back

and get known as the teacher who won't let substandard students advance.

I don't believe in the show effort and do work method. Make exams and if students are not passing all of them they should be held back. Students who show effort but not sufficient progress need to be held back. I think 10% of every class should be held back on principal because they are the lowest scoring.

[Catshrink]

23. Some kids don't test well

and then there are the sped kids. I do think that assessments measure students' individual mastery/learning of content. But -- I've had students who visibly shake during exams. One particular student knew what she was doing -- she eagerly and regularly participated in class discussions showing that she got it. She asked questions that showed me she knew what she was doing yet, during tests, she fell apart. Her hands shook, she stuttered when asking me questions, and she scored very poorly on the test. In that case, anecdotal evidence justified changing her grade from the hard cold numbers.

I have another student who tries his best to do the work but just can't do the math. Really, he shouldn't be in my class due to not meeting prerequisites. Although I tried to have him placed in a lower level class where he had a chance of at least being on level with his classmates, the parents overroad my recommendation. Yeah, I could bubble the F based on the raw numbers, that would show the parents all right! But, I respect the fact that this kid has struggled and tried, done well on a few quizzes, been willing to come in after school for help and to explain the general idea of the assignment without the operational math that holds him back. He will not fail.

But -- there is so much copying of homework that I can't really take those grades seriously. I have a boss who judges me by the number of failures. One way I can justify to him that kids don't deserve a passing grade is a large number of missing assignments and low scoring assignments.

Next year... we have changed the preresquisite for my class from simple passing Algebra and Intro Physics to actually getting a C or better. This is in line with other districts in the area. Based on this new requirement, that made it through the admins and board (!), we have moved 30 kids who registered for my class to the lower level class. The kids and their parents don't know about it yet and I anticipate a lot of flak. But, I have 6 years of numbers to show that kids without those prereqs generally don't do better than a D. It's a way of raising the standards and telling kids to stop screwing off and get to work. This will help the regular chem classes go more at grade level and raise the level of the lower level applied chem course. That's the plan. Of course, parents have the right to override us -- and I think I will play super-hard ass next year about grades.

Problem is, I'm a softie at heart, one of those bleeding heart libruls who, in the end, caves. Once I get tenure in the district, I can buck the admins and not cave. One more year, then I'm safe. Yeah it's a compromise, but that's how the game is played. Too many teachers have lost their jobs this year due to budget cuts by our irresponsible repug legislature for me to buck the system. I couldn't get a job subbing because of all the unemployed people now filling the sub rosters.

Sorry for the long response.

[Taitertots]

25. You gotta fail more

Anyone you give a D instead of an F is a disservice to the system. I'm a believer of can't pass the test can't advance. People who have test problems that bad need more psychological help than watered down standards.

It is the problem of the system. High failure rates are frowned upon, and teachers are punished. So they pass them along. Instead of missed assignments, use low test scores to justify failures.

Part of my outlook has to do with my learning method. I never do any homework and hardly ever study. Yet somehow I always pass tests. It has gotten me just over halfway to an engineering degree so far. I can't really explain it but it just works out for me. The best way to explain it would be that I learn without effort.

[noamnety]

13. I am feeling you here today

I think one of our teachers quit today because of abuse by students (after falling down the stairs because of their actions). Not a good day.

[Catshrink]

17. That is horrible!

I hope the kids will be held accountable for their behavior.

[noamnety]

18. I wouldn't bet any money on it, to be honest.

Some students who should be expelled probably won't be, because we're painfully aware that if we kick a student out, it costs us $7,000 ... which means cutting a teacher's hours to fund the expulsion, and forcing a kid out (even when they need to be, for the safety of others) affects graduation rates, which affects AYP. With school funding being in such a crisis, so many of these decisions come down to dollars - and NCLB standards.

[proud2BlibKansan]

19. And we test in April!

Smart plan, eh?

[Catshrink]

20. Is that another of those political decision?

You know, the kind made by people who have little educational experience but think that since they've been a student they know all about teaching?

[proud2BlibKansan]

21. I honestly don't know who made this decision

But it goes down in my book as one of the dumbest.

[southerncrone]

24. Well, crap. I was hoping this type of thing was isolated to MY school.

I also teach HS & not only does this behavior that you talk about go on this time of year, but ALL year at our school. I was soooooo hoping it was just my school & that I might find a better situation elsewhere. Daily survival is getting harder & harder. I can't seem to find anything that works for these kids. Everyday is like "Lord of the Flies".

You've now burst my bubble, Catshrink! Now I fear this is a universal problem, and I won't find happiness in my chosen profession anywhere again. I was considering moving to another state to "find greener pastures".

You nailed the problem:
the assistant principal is so overloaded that he doesn't have time to address these annoyances. The parents of these kids don't believe their child could do anything wrong. OR they have no idea what their kid is doing. We have a large number of kids who are living w/boyfriend or girlfriend's family, or their older boyfriend/girlfriend. The parents just want them out of their lives, because they don't want to fool with them. It is SAD.

Now that "the economy" is in shambles, central office feels they have us by the tail & can treat us anyway they please because we can't readily find other employment. And this job has become not only dangerous, but impossible. Until parents take responsibility for their kids & stop expecting teachers & the schools to "fix" the kids they have screwed up, things are not going to improve.

Frankly, I fear for our society's future. :(