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March 14, 2004
Bad week at work, honey?
Last week wasn't bad like some of the weeks (months, years) of last year, but it definitely enters the pantheon of bad teaching weeks. Here's the first day:
Our school is under registration review, as our test scores reek like month old soy milk. We have ten people visiting our school from wealthier white districts in the state to tell us how to fix our school. Unlike previous years, schools under registration review this year get no extra moneys or support, just loads of advice.
Two of these observers come into my 7th grade class just after lunch. They get to observe my worst class, directly after a playground time. Things that go wrong-
1) My lesson plan involves new rulers that have hinges. Children view them as toys and slap each other with them.
2) My lesson plan involves basic elements that should have been taught in 4th grade, such as measuring angles, making triangles, etc. My children were in comas at that point of their development.
3) My lesson plan assumes that children have pencils, papers, and medication. I am pretty sure that the observation isn't going well when V jumps up and begins screaming 'duck, duck, goose!' while simultaneously smacking the other childrens' heads. The new rulers are flying around the room, children are cursing and fighitng, and I've decided that I REALLY NEED TO RELOCATE TO ANOTHER SCHOOL.
Posted by G at March 14, 2004 11:18 PM
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Comments
About time! Moveon.glenn
Posted by: JP at March 15, 2004 01:11 PM
You are a brave, brave man. I'm glad I have to deal with errant commas, not truant comas.
OK, that was dumb, but...wow. You oughta write a book about the stuff you deal with in the classroom. Seriously.
Posted by: Jen at March 17, 2004 02:07 PM
O, the Schadenfreude!
Kinda makes you want to support Bloomie on that social promotion issue, eh? OTOH, it seems to me that school policy is never really about the kids.
My most dramatic moment so far with my 9th graders came last semester was when a boy and girl faced off, possibly over some gang issue (not that we have gangs, of course), stood yelling at each other, then the girl took off a string of beads, held them out to the boy, and yelled, "You want this?? Here!" whereupon the boy grabbed the necklace and pulled it apart, spewing beads everywhere. At least they had the decency to run out into the hall and were intercepted by security before either actually jumped the other.
As for the preggers, I know of one girl I had last semester who is, and I suspect she won't be the last one.
Hang in there -- wrangling 7th graders must be God's work. Or something.
Posted by: Cohort 6 Fellow at March 17, 2004 10:45 PM