Rigorous Classes and Blob's Park - These subjects are not related.

This Tuesday I missed school to attend the College Board Middle States Regional Forum. It was pretty nice outside so I decided to walk from Fells Point to the Renaissance Hotel, which made me wish that I could walk to work every day. The morning workshop/lecture was called "Rigor without Rigor Mortis," and the speaker made some pretty good points about making classes more rigorous (which is one of the education world's favorite words of the moment). The big thing that she talked about was providing support when you amp up how challenging your courses are.

What she didn't talk about -- which is my biggest problem, is motivating students to take advantage of the support.

Case in point: On Monday my geometry students took a quiz. Only 10 students achieved more than an 80%. Bad. So I reviewed the answers to the quiz on Wednesday and I am offering a "retake" of the quiz tomorrow during lunch. I told students that I would be available every day during lunch and after school to answer any questions. When I asked students how many students would come to these sessions, about 2/3 of the class's hands shot up. And how many students have actually shown up for help?

Zero.

Seriously.

I talked to my fifth period class today about aspiration vs. perspiration. They all aspire to do well, but so few of them are actually willing to put in the effort to achieve their goals. It seemed like students were listening (really! I swear!) But still, no one showed up after school. We'll see how many show up to retake the quiz tomorrow. I have high hopes, though I know I shouldn't.


In other recent news, a few weeks ago I had a great time at a polka/beer hall in Jessup. You can read all about Blob's Park (I'm not even kidding, that is actually the name of the place) here at my friend's totally cool food and wine blog. The best part of Blob's Park (seriously, that name is so weird) is that elderly gentlemen ask the ladies to dance. I danced with two such gentlemen and had a great time. So all you Baltimorons should check it out.

Urban Reform + The Office = Awesome

My first year of teaching was a study in classroom management, culture shock, becoming comfortable in an authoritative role, and the act of desperately throwing things at the proverbial wall to see if they stuck. Certainly, during the first half of the year, my day-to-day focus was survival.

In my second year, my focus has been the curriculum of my new AP Stats class, as well as improving (greatly, I hope) upon my skills as a geometry teacher. While I cannot say that my classroom management skills are perfect, “controlling” my classes is no longer something that I think about during every waking moment – or often at all. I no longer feel the need to vent for hours to my boyfriend, my parents, or, let’s face it, anyone who would even pretend to listen, about the stresses of my day.

I’ve even branched out beyond my classroom – thinking a lot about the math department as a whole – successfully pushing to change Geometry and Algebra II to full year, rather than semester long classes, and spending a lot of time brainstorming ways to improve my school’s new AP program.

Up to now though, my department has really been the extent of my educational thoughts. Of course, I read the Baltimore Sun and the NYTimes and Detention Slip (ahem), for updates about education as a whole, and I greatly enjoy reading other blogger’s input about major issues going on in Baltimore. But, for the most part, I’ve never felt informed enough about these issues to express my own opinions.

Which is part of the reason why I am so, so glad to be taking an urban school reform course this semester. Now I'll get to go all Hermione Granger on everyone and tell you all what is RIGHT!

I think I may have just officially announced what a nerd I am -- full disclosure: I love Lord of the Rings, Star Wars, Star Trek, the Dune novels, His Dark Materials, regularly wear a math t-shirt, Shakespeare t-shirt, and evolution t-shirt, majored in chemistry, play kakuro fairly obsessively, and calculate how to get more pizza at Iggie's when on a date (split the 14 inch pizza rather than getting individual 8 incher. This is not to be more romantic but rather to eat more delicious pizza. Also, order the Alice).

Now, enough about nerdiness. Let's get back to the important topic of Urban Reform. I am very excited that not only will I be learning about reform in urban schools, I will also get to blog about it -- and not just here! I’m sure a lot of you already know about The Challenge to Care in Charm City blog, and will be happy to know that it’s starting up again for the spring semester. I think the first post is supposed to be up next Monday.

So, Thursday is shaping up to be my favorite day of the week this spring. My Urban Reform class is on Thursday nights and so is The Office. Enough said.

Two days before Christmas complaining

I got to school late today (well, late for me, not actually late) because I was exhausted from staying up late making a packet for my AP students to complete over the break. Don't worry, it's not that bad -- and it's all review for the midterm. I'm not THAT evil.

As soon as I got to school I tried to print out the packet. My printer was working fine and then, suddenly, in the middle of the last page, it stopped working. And then a cockroach crawled out of my printer. Please let me repeat. A COCKROACH CRAWLED OUT OF MY PRINTER.

Then it crawled back in. I had a student kill it -- but he was unsuccessful in getting the thing back OUT of my printer. So I have a dead cockroach in my printer. Eh, at least it works.

Then, I went downstairs to make copies of said winter break packet only to find that someone had jammed the copier and then just left it like that (bastard). At this point I have about 8 minutes until first period. I unjammed the copier, made my copies in record time, and then sprinted back up to my classroom. Good thing I had sneakers on.

And then only 3 students showed up to 1st period -- there are 33 on roll.

Six students (out of nine) showed up to AP Stats.

Four out of 33 students showed up to 5th period.

So I saw 13 students today. The geometry classes were a complete waste -- kids just did make up work or worked on an activity from the show Numb3rs. At least Stats was successful -- I sold the kids on doing the packet and they wanted to get right to work on it.

I'll leave here today at exactly 3:05, run home to pack, and then a long drive to Massachusetts. If we hadn't had "school" today, I'd be home by now.

Thanksgiving "break"

I would like to jump on the complaining-about-not-having-the-day-before-Thanksgiving-off train. I wrote three office referrals on Wednesday because the kids were all kinds of wound up about the impending holiday. I left work at exactly 3:10, ran home to pack and left Baltimore at about 4:45. I arrived at the Cape (Cod, that is) at about 3 am. I am exhausted. I need to do some major lesson planning for the coming weeks. The first part of my Hopkins portfolio is due on Monday (resume, professional goals, educational philosophy).

BUT, Monday is also the day that I can upgrade to an iPhone. So, it's all good.

In case you were wondering...

This, my friends, is what happens when a student gets SO excited that he knows the answer to a question (specifically, a question whose correct answer will earn him a mini Snickers bar) that he jumps out of his chair and knocks over his desk onto your foot.

Just in case you were wondering.


P.S. X-Rays show that my foot is not broken.

Why technology sucks (or maybe it's just me...)

Some days are disasters. Today was one of those days.

Last night I spent a few hours creating a game of Jeopardy on powerpoint, to be shown via my LCD projector. I made said game on my macbook (this mention of my computer is important, I promise -- I am not Kanye West blogging about typing away on my Mac Air).

At school, I realized that I didn’t have the adaptor cord that connects my Mac to the LCD projector. In fact, I have no idea where it is and haven’t seen it all year. That’s fine – I also have a regular old PC laptop (thanks Baltimore City), which connects to the projector. So I emailed the powerpoint to myself and was ready to go. Ha. I wish it was that easy.

All the figures and pictures that I had put in the powerpoint wouldn’t show up – instead, they showed some message about Quicktime and a decompressor. A quick Google search (I did a google) told me that even if I downloaded those things the pictures still wouldn’t show up. GREAT. At this point it was about 8:08 am. First period starts at 8:15 am.

I ended up taking screen shots of EVERY SLIDE (which DO translate from Mac to PC). But that took a while, and I did it while reviewing the review packet that students had done for homework (watch me teach! Watch me juggle ten things at once!) While I’m reviewing the packet and fixing Jeopardy, one of the assistant principal walks in, apparently to make sure that I’ve made sure that students are in uniform -- which I am diligent about (to the point that students really complain about how crazy I am) EVERY DAY except, of course, today – because I’m teaching and fixing my computer AT THE SAME TIME.

Real life students!

My geometry students are performing phenomenally well. As I look around after I’ve assigned a problem, I see a real classroom – almost every child working hard on getting the answer – asking each other how they got their answers, and then listening alertly as I go over the problem, or even better, listening alertly and politely as another student goes to the board and reviews the problem.

Last year, I cried after I graded the first unit test. The test was easy and yet, so many students failed it. This year, the test was significantly more difficult – with algebra problems that the students had to set up and solve – and covered more content. And yet, only 5 students, out of the 31 who took it, failed. And those students have very spotty attendance. In my first period class, five students earned a 99%.

There are a number of things that are different this year – I have a year of teaching (and classroom management!) under my belt, we’re on a semester schedule, so I have the kids for 60 minutes every day instead of 80 minutes every other day, I’m giving them partially filled in Cornell notes – which include the geometry figures already on the page so we don’t waste time drawing them, I’m assigning homework every night, I have a system for passing out/turning in papers that saves time, and I’m teaching study skills (like the Cornell notes and flashcards). But it’s definitely not just me and my amazing teaching skills (though I’d love to take all the credit).

Our students just seem more like students this year. They are doing their homework (for the most part) and they are really engaged and interested in doing well. I have had kids at coach class during lunch and after school every day. Attendance is much better (although 1st period continues to be a problem). They are studying for their quizzes and tests. When we played Geometry Jeopardy, they told me that the questions that I made up were too easy and that I had to make them harder next time.

I’ve raised my expectations and the students are not only rising to meet them, they’re asking me to raise them even more. Damn, maybe the first test will make me cry this year too – but I’ll take that kind of crying.