Teaching CS in Dallas

Early Start - Week 1 Done!

I'm loving this program, almost as much as I liked the program I did in June.

We have around 35 students who have come at least once and registered.  We have them split into 4 groupds.

It is SO nice to teach students and not have to worry about accountability.  Just do what you love to do. 

So we're doing Alice and most students are doing it and enjoying it.  Each day I start out by showing them something new, and then I get out of their way and work.  Most everyone is doing something, and it's fun to see how they make Alice and their world theirs.  I've got one kid that is recording rap stuff.  I've got kids asking about if they can do something, which has including blowing things up and having characters bleed. I point them in a direction and then get out of the way. 

In fact, that's really the way I like to teach.  I like to give an assignment:

Create an Alice world with at least two objects interacting and repeating actions without duplicating commands.

Then I like to get out of the way and let them be creative.  If they get stuck, I'll show them part of the answer -- like a kid wanted something to blow up so I showed him how to make a fire start out small and get big (using resizing) and suggested moving body parts. 

And yeah, I know they want to do violent stuff.

On the bad end, we have a group of boys who don't want to play.  I had to turn the internet off for that class, as they kept wasting time by going into a game.  We'll start with the internet off on Monday and see what happens.

I have a feeling that the game players are frequent flyers for the Assistant Principal's office.

Dallas ISD looking at expansion for college prep program | News for Dallas, Texas | Dallas Morning News | Latest News

 

Dallas school board members will decide today whether to pay $2 million to a Wichita Falls company to expand a program that grooms select students for Ivy League colleges.

Dallas ISD looking at expansion for college prep program | News for Dallas, Texas | Dallas Morning News | Latest News

This program has been going on at my school for two years and I have some major reservations about it. 

First, they have a bunch of the school computers in her office, I’ve not seen all of them being used.  However, they weren’t being used daily were they were previously at.  I’d like to place half of them somewhere where they would be used for more academic pursuits.

Second, students leave my room and other rooms during class time to work with her.

I know three students who have worked with her and I am quite sure that two of them would have got into the college of their choice – they were our valedictorian and our salutatorian and neither of them are first-generation college attendees.  I know for a fact , that both of those student’s parents went to college. 

She did help a Hispanic young lady get into TWU.  A young lady who has been in my class for two years and is very hard working.  However, I don’t think she really could afford the class time she took to work on the program.  She lost a letter grade, but that is typical of high school seniors.

I’ve attended the presentations given to the faculty and staff, and I have set down with the woman who does our program and talked to her about it privately.  Her office has been across from my room this year, so I do have an idea of what is going on.

I’d love to see them reach more than the select few we’re seeing help at our school, but again, I think we’re wasting the computer and time resources.

Weaver’s Rules of Getting Her Own Way

I love Alfred Thompson – I swear most of my blog posts come from his ideas.  Makes writing SO much easier.

So here’s my rules for getting your own way when it comes to teaching.

• Remember that being a quiet drop of water on rock will get you farther than if you rant and rave (though there is a time for that too).
• Take a page from Grace Hopper – it is easier to apologize than get permission. 
• Never ask a question that you haven’t provided an answer for.  In fact, that’s my favorite technique, ask a question, and provide an answer to the question.  Nine times out of time, administration is to busy to give an alternative.
• Have at least two plans of action:  Example:  I didn’t have enough enrollment for a full classroom teacher this year, and I needed to come up with something to do for at least two class periods.  Admin. wanted me free those three class periods but this economy and a new boss, I was afraid I’d be first to fire in that situation.  I gave them about three alternatives, and the one they picked was a win-win for both me and the school.  (See prior post)
• In matter what position you are given, pretend that it WAS your idea, embrace it full heartedly and find a way to shine.  Remember that it’s only 9 months out of your life, and that they will go long before you – that works really well at my school the longest we’ve had a principal is 4 years.  In the meantime, polish your resume and network just in case they don’t go away.
• Last but most important, always make them think it was their idea.  Don’t every worry about ownership.  In fact, that’s clicker training 101 – positively reinforce them for stealing your ideas.

Next Year -- Yes, I am Jazzed

Sadly my enrollment in computer science is REALLY down, but I am getting an opportunity to change that.

I will be teaching Math/Science TAKS and I will have a PAWS section. 

I truly believe that one of the reasons I haven't been successful recruiting is that I haven't been spending enough time with students and them getting to know me and what I do.

I also need to fix Java.  The kids really don't like the assignments we have been doing.

Substitutes

I am out today on jury duty. I've known for a month. I choose my subs carefully because I am anal about my room and about my students. I also treat my subs well.

We have some really bad subs and the one that is in my room now allowed a student to steal memory out of one of my computers. I was shocked at the time but the memory was gone and a student spoke up who witnessed it.

This same sub allowed a group of children tear up on of the business labs to the tune of 16 mice. I do mean tear up, the buttons were ripped off and any other detachable parts were ripped off too.

I rarely call in sick for an emergency and when I do I even plan that as much as possible.

The reason I am ranting is that it is not fair that I hand picked a good sub but because another teacher cannot take care of her business, my students are suffering!

Substitutes

I am out today on jury duty. I've known for a month. I choose my subs carefully because I am anal about my room and about my students. I also treat my subs well.

We have some really bad subs and the one that is in my room now allowed a student to steal memory out of one of my computers. I was shocked at the time but the memory was gone and a student spoke up who witnessed it.

This same sub allowed a group of children tear up on of the business labs to the tune of 16 mice. I do mean tear up, the buttons were ripped off and any other detachable parts were ripped off too.

I rarely call in sick for an emergency and when I do I even plan that as much as possible.

The reason I am ranting is that it is not fair that I hand picked a good sub but because another teacher cannot take care of her business, my students are suffering!

The good news? We are almost done.

D Magazine : How The Media Digs For DISD Dirt And How That Distorts Your View Of It

This is why working for Dallas ISD can be fun. And it's easier to look for the bad stuff than the good stuff.

Quoted from http://www.dmagazine.com/2009/03/23/How_The_Media_Digs_For_DISD_Dirt_And_How_That_Distorts_Your_View_Of_It.aspx?page=1:

D Magazine : How The Media Digs For DISD Dirt And How That Distorts Your View Of It

It’s these fishing expeditions that over the years have created a serious problem for the district in how the public perceives it.

Why I hate the Dell Foundation

Hate is a little too strong and while Michael and Susan Dell mean well, I don't think they get high schools.

They have been funding proograms to encourage small schools but hopefully didn't express the criteria well enough.

They think a small high school has around 250 students. However most communities think that it is more efficient to house 5000 in one building.

Solution: Break the 5000 into groups of 250 and call them separate schools. Then the community gets the grant money and are happy.

I honestly don't think that this solves the problems large schools have and I certainly hope it was not what The Dells meant.

By the way I think the perfect size is 1000. Big enough to offer good electives but small enough that everyone pretty well knows everyone. We're a bit larger right now and there are some students and even teachers I don't know.

Coping with Website Blocking

A lot of school districts have implemented some form of website blocking. Unfortunately, valuable teaching sites are blocked.  I've found several ways to keep blocking from stopping me.

The first way is to have a phone that tethers.  Tethering is the term for attaching a mobile phone to a computer, thus allowing the computer internet access.  You can do it with either cabling (mine uses a USB cable), or Bluetooth.  Unfortunately it is often an extra charge, but at the same time, being able to tether protects YOU!.  I often want to do non-work related activities during lunch or my planning period, and tethering allows me to do it legally.  Frankly, having the ability to tether has kept me a little more sane in a lot of non-campus situations, so it's worth it to me.  Think about it, as long as you have mobile phone access, you can tether.

The second way is to use some form of web page capturing.  I usually use Adobe Acrobat reader.  Anytime I see a website I want to use later in class, I put it in a PDF and save it.  That protects you from a lot of things besides blocking.  You can save just the webpage without the advertising, especially if the advertising isn't exactly what your students to see.  You can also make notes on it or highlight sections.  It is also helpful is the internet itself is down, as you can retrieve it and display it with your projector.  Or even worse, kill a tree and print it out -- something I hate to do, but occasionally everything is failing -- for exapmle, we had a school day where we started without power, recently.

I don't like to use a proxy, as I believe you are teaching your students to do something dishonest.  In fact, a well written Acceptable Use Policy will specify that you and your students are NOT to use proxies.  I will admit to using one in an extreme emergency -- at the end of the six weeks and the district had blocked my personal website so students couldn't turn in work. 

Certification/Education

Am watching CBS Sunday Morning and saw something that really disturbed me.  Cleveland has got someone running an Academy (small high school), who is neither certified or has education credentials.  At least he sees the value of standardized tests.  So many people with that background don't.

Now, I am not only certified, but have a Master's in Education -- Cognitive Studies and Computer Education.  However, when I first decided I wanted to be a teacher I tried to do it with out the credentials.  And I honestly don't think I would have lasted or made it if I had gone the road I wanted to go -- which was emergency certification.

Emergency certification in Texas places someone in the classroom without the education and credentials.  I think I would have fallen flat on my face.  Though I will admit that that teaching certification didn't do a whole lot for me when it comes to classroom management.  I mostly learned what not to do.  Teaching dog obedience classes taught me more.

We also have alternative certification where the teaching candidate pays someone, often a district but Region 10 does that too, to get trained to be a teacher.  I've not been very impressed with the abilities of those who come in that way -- there are missing a lot of skills and information that I had before the Master's, much less after.

Which also reminds me of a movie I saw this weekend -- which is Freedom Writers.  They never explained where she came from -- but man, oh man, was she not prepared those first few days.   It also bothered me that the actors were way too old for 9th graders, but beside the point.  I was glad to see at the end of the movie that the teacher acknowledged that she didn't know if she could duplicate her success with another group of kids.

Here's the deal:  when you teach high school you are influencing lives.  If you screw it up, you can screw up someone for life.  To this day, there are two teachers I remember the most: one is the idiot who taught Algebra II in Jackson, MS who claimed I couldn't do Computer Science because I couldn't do word problems.  The other is the Physics teacher at the same school who held an extreme prejudice against me because I was a Yankee.  He also wouldn't induct me into the National Honor Society even through I was in the top 10% of the class.  I have viewed NHS with suspicion ever since.  Both have added to my academic insecurity.

The whole point of my rant again is to explain why teaching without certification bugs me and while Freedom Writers bugs me.

An successful educator can duplicate their results.  Also successful curriculum has to work for every student, not just a few.   I think both the principal in Cleveland and the Freedom Writers' teacher have stumbled on a technique that is only going to affect a few.  Granted these are a few students that really need help, but if the technique depends on the educator's personality meshing with the personality of the students we're not accomplishing the task.  What happens if something happens to the teacher? 

Also the Freedom Writer's program was extremely impractical.  Who has the time and energy to work two jobs to support the main job, and why should you?  At lot of her funding issues should have been taken care of by the school -- books for example, but she had a lot of expenses that just were not practical no matter the neighborhood.  I love Randy Pausche's line from his book -- airline attendants give the best advice, put on your oxygen mask before you put on someone else's.  That's why I am taking off next Friday, I'm going to take care of myself.