View of the "Think Tank" in action.
This is where the magic happens, or rather where I force kids to read- or at least look like they're reading. Pretty convincing, aren't they?
Tuesday, January 29, 2008
Technology Bites!
Not really, but I'm feeling the pain of learning a new skill. The first official Blackboard post was due this last Friday and the majority of my students had no problem completing the assignment. There are a few who waited until the last minute and never got their post on the forum. Now I need to figure out how to personally tutor each of these students so they can get their assignment where it needs to be online with only two available computers and only one overly stressed teacher! It's a lesson in time management and some of my kiddos just don't get that yet.
"But Mrs. Jaeger, I couldn't remember my password so it's not my fault that I didn't get it done."
"My computer crashed." Guess what you and fifteen other kids had crashed computers last night, sounds like a technical bug is going around.
"I did it and then the computer deleted it all." Damn those evil computers that have their own minds. Odds are you pushed a button, deleted your work, and figured you'd get full credit for trying.
The clock's ticking for these late posters, hopefully they can get their stuff together before the next required post!
"But Mrs. Jaeger, I couldn't remember my password so it's not my fault that I didn't get it done."
"My computer crashed." Guess what you and fifteen other kids had crashed computers last night, sounds like a technical bug is going around.
"I did it and then the computer deleted it all." Damn those evil computers that have their own minds. Odds are you pushed a button, deleted your work, and figured you'd get full credit for trying.
The clock's ticking for these late posters, hopefully they can get their stuff together before the next required post!
Friday, January 4, 2008
It's not the kids
It's not the kids that make this job difficult at times. It's all the other stuff, the parents, the assessments, the silly requirements...
If you let me be with my students, teach them as I want and help them realize their potential that'd be great. I hate having to assign a point value to their achievement. I hate keeping track of who completed what and who needs to stay after for homework help. I want to inspire, not force kids to learn. Why can't education be compelling enough in itself? We have to assign grades, track kids, and give them a certain ranking in the order of things.
Some of my greatest successes this year have come out of my more struggling students. They're not fabulous readers but now they are starting to care, they are more interested than they originally were, they take risks and try. What will that F or D- do to their effort and motivation?
It's also hard for me to handle parents that do all the work for their child. I receive some pretty regular communication from some parents that want their child to have more extra credit, to have an opportunity to earn more points, to get a second chance on a project. Don't they get it, it's not about points or some letter- it's about growth, achievement, an inner yearning to know more. Some kids will always be C students, there's no getting around it, that's where they are. As long as they work their butts off for that C why the hell should it matter?
Being a teacher makes me think a lot about what I'll be like as a parent. It will be tempting to e-mail that teacher and try and get my child another chance when they've failed to give their best effort or worse, to even try at all. But when does my kid learn how to assert for themselves? When do they learn the weight of consequence or the value of responsibility?
I guess I best get off this soapbox for now. Truly, if I could cut away the garbage and just work with students, things would look so different...
If you let me be with my students, teach them as I want and help them realize their potential that'd be great. I hate having to assign a point value to their achievement. I hate keeping track of who completed what and who needs to stay after for homework help. I want to inspire, not force kids to learn. Why can't education be compelling enough in itself? We have to assign grades, track kids, and give them a certain ranking in the order of things.
Some of my greatest successes this year have come out of my more struggling students. They're not fabulous readers but now they are starting to care, they are more interested than they originally were, they take risks and try. What will that F or D- do to their effort and motivation?
It's also hard for me to handle parents that do all the work for their child. I receive some pretty regular communication from some parents that want their child to have more extra credit, to have an opportunity to earn more points, to get a second chance on a project. Don't they get it, it's not about points or some letter- it's about growth, achievement, an inner yearning to know more. Some kids will always be C students, there's no getting around it, that's where they are. As long as they work their butts off for that C why the hell should it matter?
Being a teacher makes me think a lot about what I'll be like as a parent. It will be tempting to e-mail that teacher and try and get my child another chance when they've failed to give their best effort or worse, to even try at all. But when does my kid learn how to assert for themselves? When do they learn the weight of consequence or the value of responsibility?
I guess I best get off this soapbox for now. Truly, if I could cut away the garbage and just work with students, things would look so different...
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