Coming Back
Getting back to teaching after two weeks of virtually no-stress (well, some...) up in Colorado with the family and friends was a little tough. I only really had to teach for 3 days, since the first two days of the week were training and inservice days. I do love those inservice days.
The kids were pretty calm, and I was happy to take advantage of their rejuvenated spirits. We got back to reading our novels, recapping the stories, and getting set for next week's Six Weeks/Semester Exam. It's very strange, down here, with a winter break BEFORE the semester is over. I don't know why that happened, but I'm not going to ask too many questions.
Over the break I got to thinking about how much trouble I could have gotten into at school, yet didn't. I know that I was a good kid, but there was the occasional day where I would goof off a little in class, or make up new games to play while getting work done. I tried to compare my 9th grade year to my students, and felt like I should cut them a little bit more slack in some areas, (namely certain types of behavior), but still find myself in awe of the differences. If I assign homework, I have to spend the next two weeks reminding the students and collecting assignments just to make sure my students don't fail for having not turned in work. I can have a completely orderly classroom where 95% of assignments are completed and turned in, but homework assignments are treated like junk mail. The story is the same in all of their classes too, and for just about all students. I get the feeling that homework was never really stressed early on, and it's now somewhat of a joke. The only problem is... I don't see it as a joke, and I do my best to make sure my kids know that in education, they should ALWAYS be learning, not just in school. If they have to get a few zeroes and make up class credits because they fail to turn in classwork/homework projects, then that's a lesson that they need to learn. Ugh... I just wish I didn't have to sound like a broken record to get things in three weeks after they were due... (Seriously, I NEVER missed a homework assignment, and to the best of my knowledge, my friends didn't either.)
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A recent graduate takes two years to find life as a teacher.
2 comments:
Thanks for the update on your week! I'm glad you have good results from assignments done in class. That is a blessing! But, I am sorry about the attitude toward homework. Since it seems to be school-wide, it is obviously not something you are doing/not doing. Should your school staff and principal address this in a letter to parents or in a teacher meeting? I do know that there are some students that take a very dim view of homework, just as there are some adult workers that do not do an "extra" thing at their jobs. If you consider homework assignments essential, however, then your students, if they want to do well in your class, will too. Good luck on this, Mark!
Love from Mom
What happened is the amusement parks weren't getting enough money in the summer and wanted to extend the season, so they lobbied the state to change the school year to better match their summer schedules. Seriously.
Schools only take money, and amusement parks make money, so ...they switched the schedule. This is the first year for this bizarre schedule, but I don't think it'll be changing anytime soon.
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