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.

 

The Dallas school district has discovered that it’s short about $64 million from last year’s budget and will have to reach into its reserve fund, which will dip dangerously low.

Dallas ISD announces $64M budget shortfall | News for Dallas, Texas | Dallas Morning News | Latest News

Great...

It's been really good working with the Finance department over the past year -- let's see, they didn't pay for an AP Workshop I took even though I filled out the paperwork to get the district reimbursed by the state.

They haven't paid me for a course I taught.

And I'm betting we don't get new computers in my lab this year.

Too bad I'm 7 years from retirement.

I started out the day with the librarian trying to talk to me at the beginning of first period about not being able to print, even though she had a ticket out.

The one of the other teachers wanted to know which European country produces the most/best chocolate at the beginning of second period.

Both of these professional adults were doing this AFTER the bell rang.  Okay, first was while.

I am really protective of my students time, especially since we lost two days last week, and the AP kids lost 2 weeks total since the start of school was moved, but the tests are on the same day.

Plus taking attendance and giving instructions during the first few minutes REALLY helps on classroom disclipine -- and right now, I have a whole room of students on task.

ARGH!

I do believe strongly that taking care of yourself means that you can take better care of your students.  Sometimes my students and my duties get in the way of that.

The most important thing I do to recharge is train and show my dogs in dog agility.  What does that have to do with computer science?  Well, training a dog isn't all that different than programming a computer.  Seriously, but you'd have to try it and think about it before you get it.

I took a teacher workday off to go to a dog agility trial and boy, am I glad I did.  My new dog, Macy took two first places in Jumpers with Weaves and she was good enough in Standard that I can figure out what it takes to fix it.

One of the reasons I have dogs, is that they give me unconditional love -- well Macy does, I'm not sure Maggie has the capacity to love, but she is an insane rescue dog - I can prove it, Xanax makes her behave better.  After a tough day at school, I feel instantly happy when I come home and am greeted by my dogs.

Training them gives them more of a personality, and it gives me a release.  Every Monday night I'm at dog agility and very few things can interrupt that.  I only do local trials, though fortunately I live in an area where I can get a decent dog fix.  We have two trials in August, a couple in October, a few in November and December.  We start up again in February and have trials in March and April.  I only do AKC, so that does cut down the number of trials I attend.  I might try Teacup, but haven't had time to do that.

My advice, if you don't do it already, is find an activity that you love, and that takes you away from school.  And if it shows unconditionally love, all the better.

And yes, I'm quite sure the "unconditional love" is truly love, but a inherited behavior that occurred because of natural selection.

It still feels good to come home to it.

This is JUST nuts. Also some of these policies have gotten me in diabetes trouble in the past -- I've learned to keep candy in my room, well hidden, just because some days it can be impossible to find sugar, even on our campus.  At least they came to their senses.

 

Quoted from http://www.cnn.com/2008/US/03/13/skittles.suspension.ap/index.html?eref=rss_topstories:

 

School clears kids in contraband candy caper - CNN.com

The New Haven school system banned candy sales in 2003 as part of a districtwide school wellness policy, school spokeswoman Catherine Sullivan-DeCarlo said.

This is REALLY true in the computer science classroom. I am not out often, and try to keep it to one day at a time. I went to TCEA for a week once, and found my classroom in complete chaos when I came back.

I can't find anyone who can instruct the students at all. My criteria for a sub: there hasn't been a fight when she's been in the room, there hasn't been major equipment missing -- this year, whenever I'm out a mouse disappears. It's happened twice. Weird, but I think it is a student punishing me.

I'm worried about the Game workshop, I'll be out three days, at the end of the six weeks.

Teacher absences are hurting learning - Education- msnbc.com
Duke University economist Charles Clotfelter, among a handful of researchers who have closely studied the issue, says the image of spitballs flying past a daily substitute often reflects reality. "Many times substitutes don't have the plan in front of them," Clotfelter said. "They don't have all the behavioral expectations that the regular teachers have established, so it's basically a holding pattern."

This is REALLY true in the computer science classroom. I am not out often, and try to keep it to one day at a time. I went to TCEA for a week once, and found my classroom in complete chaos when I came back.

 

I can't find anyone who can instruct the students at all.  My criteria for a sub:  there hasn't been a fight when she's been in the room, there hasn't been major equipment missing -- this year, whenever I'm out a mouse disappears.  It's happened twice.   Weird, but I think it is a student punishing me.

 

I'm worried about the Game workshop, I'll be out three days, at the end of the six weeks.

 

 

Teacher absences are hurting learning - Education- msnbc.com

Duke University economist Charles Clotfelter, among a handful of researchers who have closely studied the issue, says the image of spitballs flying past a daily substitute often reflects reality. "Many times substitutes don't have the plan in front of them," Clotfelter said. "They don't have all the behavioral expectations that the regular teachers have established, so it's basically a holding pattern."

What is it with educators and binders?  I swear to god, some idiot either gives us one, or makes us keep up with them.

I hate binders.

Seriously.

Nothing is worse than having to pull something out of a binder, use it and then have to put it back in.

My system:  folders

Seriously, folders are much easier.  When I had a real job, worked real hours, and made real money, everything was kept in a file cabinet.  I loved my last cube.  I had a nice square cube, with a really nice horizontal file cabinet.  Everything went in it.  My purse, my files, everything.  When I went to a meeting, I pulled out the hanging folder that contained that project with all the materials that went with it.  When I came back, I just dropped it all into the cabinet. 

I just went into a huge hissy fit over the binder we are required to keep this year.  We are up for cycle 3 for the Texas Educators Grant and we have to document everything we do to death.  They've given us a binder, dividers and tabs for it.  <ARGH!!!!>

My solution?  A file box.  They make lots of different sizes.  So I have hanging folder for each portion of the things we have to document -- like the task force I'm in.  Then I use separate folders for things individual items I have to keep up with.  When I come back from a meeting, I toss the stuff in the box and periodically file it (I never have time to file).   I even toss the binder in the box just in case someone wants it some day and when it comes time to turn in the binder, I'm putting a big rubber band around the files and putting them in the binder and turning it in that way.

It appalled our department chair until she saw it and then she agreed it was better than a binder.

And when people give me a binder in the future, I'm just going to do the same thing.

This really irritates me.   

By December, administrators reported their conclusions: The supplemental system operated with little oversight amid a "culture of entitlement."

Extra pay a boost for DISD workers | Dallas Morning News | News for Dallas, Texas | Dallas News

Yes, I make lots of extra money. 

In the past year, I taught an online course -- oh, by the way, I haven't been paid for that yet.

I ran a tutorial program on some Saturdays for TAKS.

I presented at an AP tutorial session.

I wrote curriculum.

I wrote district finals.

I'm part of the AP Incentive program.

None of the above is part of my base pay.  I should get paid extra, and guess what I get $20.00 an hour!  They really should be paying me more.

And even more -- they don't seem to want us to have our longevity pay.  This is the first year I'm eligible.

Here's the deal.  You have 3 teachers in teaching area 1 and one is retiring.  You have 4 teachers in teaching area 2 and none are leaving.  Both areas are electives.  You have to reduce head count because your school is downsizing.

So here are your choices:

Keep everyone who wants to stay at your school and move the students you can not accommodate in teaching area 1 into teaching area 2.

RIF a teacher from area 2 and hire a new teacher for area 2.  And here are your choices in the RIF:  You have two 20+ year teachers, one of which will probably retire next year.  Of course, she said that last year.  One has been in the school for three years, for two of those years his nickname was coach and he hasn't changed his teaching style.  The fourth is a very hard worker, and pitches in when she is needed.

In my opinion you're better off keeping what you have and know, rather than bringing someone new, especially since turn over is high in both areas.

Sadly, the people in teaching area 1 can't see the forest for the trees.

Like I said, I'm glad it isn't my job.