Tag Archives: teachers live at school

>More than voting; staying active

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>I was disappointed; I’d offered to take other teachers to a political event, but none were willing. I’ve gone to this meet-up with legislators several times. It’s easy, painless, absolutely non-intimidating. The answers kept coming back No, no, no, no, no.
Deep sigh. Believe it or not, teaching is highly dependent on political decisions. Decision made in Madison affect our curriculum; decisions made in Washington, D.C. affect our assessments. That’s only the beginning.
But no one would go.

Soon after this non-event, a former colleague called to invite me to a meeting of Organizing for America, I thought it over and said, “Count me in.” Not just because of my disappointment in my professional colleagues, not just because the meeting was taking place at a local coffeehouse, but because it felt right.

The evening’s discussions were basic, describing the group’s purpose and structure and opportunities. We adjourned before my parking meter ran out, so the trip only cost me a few quarters and the price of a white chocolate raspberry mocha.

My future with this group? Unknown at this time. Phoning isn’t my strength. Instead, I predict I’ll be a letter writer, pamphlet creator, and (perhaps) blogger.

If I can’t recruit teaching colleagues to meet with legislators, I can work with other volunteers to inspire voters. Yes, I can.

You can, too. Establish an account on Organizing for America’s website and look for events in your area. You can do as little or as much as you wish. Each and every action, large or small, will make a difference to keep our country on track for the kind of change in which we still believe.

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>I heard it on the grapevine

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>1. If it weren’t for rumors, I’d have no news at all.
2. I read lips a bit, but I don’t read minds. Not much.

You might be a teacher if the above makes sense to you – too much sense. The news trail is totally logical — along with the desire for a medical salt lick (Prozac in the lounge, Ritalin in the cafeteria) and the urge to write on a progress report “Johnny is a bully, much like his mother.”

How much information underload can I accept? Well —

I could accept that I didn’t have all the IEP information yet. The student was due to start in my class three weeks in the future, and I had progress reports to write, benchmark reading assessments for my entire class, assignments for a graduate class and a study group due first. I skimmed the IEP with an eye to reading it fully before the child arrived.

I could accept that the special education teacher might have more information than I did at first, but knowing that she shared that information with a different teacher and didn’t tell me, that’s just wrong. Careless, too. The other teacher, at another grade level that has nothing whatsoever to do with my grade mentioned this information to me – casually, over lunch. “Oh, I just happened to know.”

I could almost accept that another teacher “just happened” to have information on my incoming new kiddo. Almost. But I cannot accept her attitude that I “should have known” and should have sought out this information on my own. Uh-huh, yeah. See #2 above.

Thank goodness for the grapevine; I should probably be grateful. If the gym teacher hadn’t mentioned this info in the first place (also casually, as we approached the copy machine), I’d have been totally in the dark. As it is, I’m only seething under a dark cloud of hard feelings. Direct communication? What a concept. See #1.

Now if only I can train the grapevine to bring me chocolate and coffee….

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>A Rough Day at School — Made Better

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It wasn’t a bad, bad day.
It wasn’t a terrible, horrible, no good very bad day.
It was just lousy. One lousy rotten piece of luck after another, each piled on the one previous, never letting up.
And there was a gentle snowfall, too – just enough to get the students bouncing off the (I wish they were padded sometimes) walls.

But through the clouds of my school day, a few rays of sunshine appeared. They didn’t stay long, but seeing them was enough for hope.

My wallet was empty. Empty!! I’d given La Petite and Amigo money for a movie and forgotten to refill it.
It was Starbucks day. One of my colleagues uses a strategically scheduled prep period to visit Starbucks. She takes all of our orders and collects the money and brings in, midday, a delectable and caffeinated treat.
But my wallet was empty.
She bought me a 16 oz. Pike Place blend anyway. I’ll pay her tomorrow. It’s like a hug with a little zip.

I rushed out the door, stopped in the bathroom to take off my turtleneck (flu shot clinic), reheated my Starbucks (see above), and zoomed down to the door where La Petite was waiting with the car.
She had French Fries from Wendy’s.
I forgot my purse.
But my wallet was empty, anyway. Did it matter? Yes. The flu shot consent forms were in it.
We had to come back to school.
But it gave daughter an extra minute or two to finish her Wendy’s sandwich, and we were close enough to school that it didn’t really put us behind.

On our way to the flu shot clinic downtown, we found a good parking space – with time on the meter!! We added a few coins in case there was a long line for the vaccine.
There was almost no line when we arrived.
The shots didn’t hurt – much. Public Health nurses are very good at this.
As we left, I noticed we were leaving 33 minutes on the meter for the next lucky person.

When we got home, I found an unexpected bonus in my purse: a slightly squashed snack size Almond Joy bar! The best thing about this? No one else in the house likes coconut; I didn’t have to share.

I think I can face school tomorrow after all. Just remind me to stop by the ATM to refill my wallet, okay?

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>Looking ahead: Challenges and growth

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I enjoy reading Problogger Blog Tips. I’m an amateur, not a professional, but Darren’s advice is applicable to creating and maintaining a quality blog of any kind or size. Lately he’s been taking the New Year’s Resolution approach, looking ahead and asking questions. Questions are valuable: they inspire thought, creativity, and help focus goals in any field, not just blogging.

In a recent post he asked: “As you look at your blog and the year ahead:

  • What is it that you feel is holding you back?
  • What problems do you face?
  • What questions do you have that you can’t get passed (sic)?
  • What issues do you keep coming up against that just hold you back?”

Here are the answers (the questions?), tentative though they might be, in terms of Compost Happens.

Holding me back: Time, reluctance to network in person Problems? Time, lack of HTML knowledge

Questions I can’t get past: I have a vision for a new edition of Compost Happens. It includes the main blog and the poetry site (A Mother’s Garden of Verses), and would expand to include a review (and potentially affiliate) page. The roadblocks (questions and issues, together) are as follows.

  1. I envision these not as separate blogs, but separate pages within one blog. This means major changes.
  2. Chuck is considering buying his own domain name and setting up his page on a new hosting provider. Right now he’s established his page as a guest on a friend’s site. Moving to his own space and combining with Compost Happens would potentially help increase the visibility of his site and mine.
  3. Would I lose the visibility I have now? I’d have to change the link in any directories that include me. That’s a lot of work, and a lot of (gasp) time.
  4. I’ve blogged under the pseudonym Daisy for years. Will the change identify me, causing potential risk to the family in any way?
  5. Do I need to attend blogging conferences? I keep wishing Blissdom would be held outside the school year (I’m a public school teacher). It sounds like an excellent conference for a blogger of my (smaller) stature, where BlogHer remains somewhat intimidating in cost and in size.

These questions have no simple answers. If I want to expand the Compost Happens world, I need to make an investment in time and money. If I plan it well, though, it will happen. One step at a time, I can focus my sites on my site and clarify my insights. Meanwhile, I think I’ll pour a cup of coffee and have a leftover Christmas cookie or two.

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>The What Decade? On names and labels

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>Let’s be clear: the next decade starts a year from now. But as long as people are seeking a moniker for years that began with the millennium, I might as well join in.

The aughts? No good. America suffered too much in this decade to allow it to be reduced to a synonym for nothing. The attacks of 9/11, the clueless leadership of G.W. Bush, two wars, the collapse of our economy — call it nothing? Not a chance.

The zeroes? The same. There are zeroes in the numbers 2001-2010, but those numbers do not describe the mood swings, political or financial, that made headlines and affected everyday people.

Changes defined these ten years more than any commonality. America can no longer feel invincible, thanks to Al-Qaeda’s actions in 2001. We’ve taken changes in airport security in stride, changes in mail security due to anthrax, and more. We’ve recognized a changing mission for our National Guard and Reserve units.

Changes in outlook are part of our recent past. We’re not reacting to 9/11 any more; we’re accustomed to the changes in our lives because of the attacks. Campuses, high school and college, practice new security drills due to the Columbine attack of 1999. That event, while not part of the current decade, defined a new term: “School Shooting” and defined a new set of safety procedures for all schools.

Another change is the soon-to-be-renewed Elementary and Secondary Education Act, often known as No Child Left Behind. This well-meaning but poorly written piece of legislation cost millions (billions?!) and left many children behind. In the years beyond 2001, School became synonymous with Tests rather than Learning, and those Tests carried an unreasonable amount of weight for all students and teachers.

Changes were both negative and positive. Wall Street fell, evoking fears of another Great Depression. Homelessness rose, unemployment became commonplace, and underemployment joined workers’ lexicon as well. American voters said “Enough, already!” and voted in a new administration, including the first African-American president of the United States and the first female Speaker of the House.

The biggest change, however, has been technological. Computers, after successfully weathering the dreaded Y2K, became no longer a luxury, but an everyday appliance. Cell phones. Text messages. MP3 players. Email – multiple emails. Smart phones! Blogs! Twitter! Plurk! To list and describe all of these changes would be an entire post or several posts, and by the time I’d write and post them, my words would be outdated or even obsolete, much like Brett Favre’s annual team status.

With that in mind (technology, not Favre), I suggest a name I ran across in the morning paper. Reflecting the numerical years and the rise in everyday technological changes, please consider:

Decade 2.0

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>Loads of Hope in the Classroom

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“Sometimes, you can make your own luck.” Was that Cher in Moonstruck? I’m not sure. I’m more sure that luck is only a small part of our destiny; action and hope are much stronger.

Hope isn’t limited to personal disasters, family, children, or close friends. Hope is important in the job arena, too. I’m fortunate (not just lucky) to have a secure job as a public school teacher. Earning that regular paycheck, however, takes a lot out of me physically and emotionally. As budgets tighten and we do more and more with less and less, it takes a lot out of many of us teachers.

Last school year was the Year From H-E-Double Hockey Sticks. Add a class full of unmedicated ADHD that exceeded any statistical average, an overload of students with problem behaviors placed with me because they “couldn’t handle” being in the combination class next door, and then multiply by an unsupportive administration. Insert parents who accused me of picking on their children because I dared hold them to a decent standard of responsibility for homework and called copying what it was: cheating. How does a teacher come back after a year like that?

I’m too young to retire and too old to change careers in an economy like the present. Some colleagues who experienced the same troubles decided to leave for other school buildings, other grade levels, other departments. I opted to stay in my school instead and look for long term options.

Training: I attended a behavior modification training just before school started. The training had some good information, but there was more value in being seen than in the actual presentation.
Education: Recognizing the prevalence of ADHD and the potential for parental denial, I took a class in teaching students with ADHD. Not only did I gain knowledge, I now have that specific topic on my official transcript.
Motivation: I applied to retake an excellent course I’d taken eleven years previously, a course I found highly valuable for methodology, with the goal of reinforcing what I’m doing well and increasing my motivation.
Combining all of the above also earned enough credits and clock hours to renew my teaching license when it comes due, and submitting the transcript lets me slide one lane upwards on the pay scale. It’s not much money, but it feels good seeing a small financial reward for my efforts.

Goals and action: if luck played a part, it was a small supporting role. Setting goals, looking forward, and putting time and energy into positive change: that’s what changed my outlook and brought me back into once again enjoying teaching, doing right by the kids in my class.

That’s what brings me hope: hope that these children will learn, grow, and feel hope of their own, and some day make a difference in the world in their own way.

Loads of Hope for the Holidays
Please join Blog Nosh Magazine as bloggers share stories of hope this holiday season in support of the Tide Loads of Hope program, a mobile laundromat offering laundry services to families affected by disasters.

Follow along with the live event in New Orleans, Sunday and Monday, December 13 and 14, as bloggers and others tweet stories of resilience from laundry recipients and volunteers on the ground. Follow along on twitter via #loadsofhope and be sure to follow @TideLoadsofHope.
Learn more about how you can extend hope to families affected by disasters by visiting http://www.tide.com/.
Blog carnival hosted by Blog Nosh Magazine, sponsored by Tide Loads of Hope.

Hope is not limited to the holidays. What fills you with loads of hope?

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>An Open Letter to Congress about Title I

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>When my principal asked us to email our congressional representative and state senators, she gave us a link to a form letter and suggested we send it ASAP.

Oops. District email isn’t supposed to be used for political purposes.

So I forwarded the email to my home and wrote from the comfort of my laptop in my cozy, warm den, after making cupcakes for my class’ Welcome Home Flat Stanley party. All the while I thought of the students who benefit from Title I funded programs: those kiddos who would consider a cozy, warm den in a single family home to be a luxury, and cupcakes in the oven a rare and special treat. Tomorrow, when they’re sharing Flat Stanley’s journals and travel stories, I’ll be thinking of how much they’ve learned – and also how much money is needed to keep them learning.

Dear Senators Feingold and Kohl;

I am shocked and dismayed to learn that Title I may be slashed a total of $700 million from its current fiscal year level. I understand the House has already voted to give no increase at all to Title I. If the Senate should succeed in cutting this program, many, many students will be harmed.

Please do your part to stop this cut immediately. Our district’s students have suffered too much already from lost local and state revenue. My students, tomorrow’s constituents, depend on you.

I look forward to your reply.

Sincerely,

Daisy
Frugal and Practical Teacher of 4th Grade
Advocate for students of low income
Advocate for students with disabilities
Lover of Reading, Science, and more

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>A Bad Day at School: Reality Show Edition

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>Assistant: Who was that guy who visited your classroom late in the afternoon?
Daisy: the Superintendent of Schools for our district.
Director (to photographer): I hope you got a good angle on him. He’s the big guy, the boss of the boss of the bosses.
Daisy: I hope you didn’t get the kid falling out of her chair while he was there on camera.
Assistant: That was funny! And the kids who kept giggling; didn’t get that this was an important guest.
Daisy: Funny? Hardly! He must think I’m a complete disaster; the kids were awful while he was here!
Director: We followed him next door. That class told him math is boring.
Daisy: Shakes head, hand on forehead. Is it Friday yet?

Back up, earlier in day.
Liaison officer: I need to talk to Johnny.
Daisy: Johnny, go with Officer Krumpke.
Director: Can we use that? He might be a juvenile offender. Those records would be sealed.
Daisy: No, no, no. He’s just a bully who needs a little, um, firm hand. One with a badge and handcuffs to impress the point.
Liaison officer (returning to room): We need someone who actually witnessed the incident.
Daisy (to class): That means someone who saw it happen, not someone who heard the rumors.
Officer Krumpke: Speaking of rumors, let me clear up a rumor that’s going around in your grade. I am not a school security guard; I’m a police officer.
Daisy (aside to Officer K, as they walk into the hallway, motions toward gun): That’s a heck of an arsenal for a security guard.
Officer K: (laughs out loud)

Back up, earlier in day
Daisy (quietly, turns microphone off): Carter, did you take your medicine at lunchtime?
Carter (bouncing on chair): What? What?! I didn’t do anything.
Daisy: I’ll give you a choice: show me which you choose. You can start reading here, quietly, or you can take some time to settle down in the office.
Carter: No way!
Daisy: Show me. You’re not in trouble; you just need to choose where you’re going to read.
(three minutes later)
Daisy (on phone to office): Carter’s on his way; he needs a little time to settle down before he comes back to class. He’s bringing his book and his reading log.
Assistant to director: Gee, all the other kids settled down now, too.
Daisy: It’s called removing the entertainment. Now back away with that camera and let me teach these kids to read!

Back up, shortly after sunrise
Assistant: Why do I have to ride in the mom-van with you and the photog?
Daisy: You drew the short straw. Oh, drat. Darn it!
Assistant: What happened? Did you forget your homework? Your lunch box? Ha-ha. Ha-ha.
Daisy: Worse. I forgot my coffee!!

Maybe that explains everything!

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>The Great Small Purse Drive

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Mocha Momma is who I want to be when I grow up. Oh, wait; she’s younger than I am. Oh, well, she’s wise beyond years and simultaneously young at heart. Did I mention generous? Creative? Resourceful?

She is a high school administrator in Springfield, IL, at a school with, well, lots of difficulties. Safety is a big concern, and with that in mind, students cannot carry backpacks around with them. Boys complained that girls were allowed to carry purses, and the policy was updated to limit purse size.

70% of the students in this high school live at or below the poverty rate. These girls can’t afford a second purse just to keep themselves together at school. Mocha Momma came up with a solution: the Great Small Purse Drive.

I’ve been reading Kelly’s blog for several years now, she’s read mine, and we’ve emailed back and forth. She’s a woman of integrity, with great taste in coffee and a great sense of what’s important in life. I trust she’ll get these purses into the hands of girls who need them.

Purses should be smaller than a standard 8.5 X 11 piece of copy paper. Send any donations to:

Kelly Wickham
P.O. Box 9465
Springfield, IL 62791
Let’s do it, readers. Pass the word and pass the purses. One big closet clean-up for you; one small purse for a young woman.

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