This Monday was better than the last

I woke up this morning in a cold sweat. I drove to school with a huge knot in my stomach. I was more nervous to start the second week of school than I was to start the first day of school. What if the kids went buck-wild crazy over the weekend and forgot how I expected them to behave?!

All that worrying was for nothing. My students were, for the most part, wonderful today. All classes came into the classroom and got straight to work on their warm-ups, 2nd period behaved beautifully during the fire drill,  and the students actually learned some content today. I am thrilled.

I am also amazed at how some of my students accept responsibility for their actions. I had to assign a few kids silent lunch today, and when I told them, they accepted the punishment without backtalk, attitude, or whining. I was very proud of them. Then one student had to break out in song in the middle of my lesson and ruin it all.

When I prayed last night, I asked God to give me the strength to handle whatever happens this week. I don’t pretend to know what to expect from my students, but I need to be able to deal with whatever arises. Like a student doing a cartwheel in the lunchroom. It happened. I think that’s what I love so much about teaching this middle school students: they are never, ever, boring. Even on days when I’m teaching phrases and clauses.

I had a few small victories today. Allow me to share:

1. Ms. Thang came to school on the first day with a huge attitude. She was the stuff, and she wanted everyone to know it. For the first few days, she communicated with me through rolled eyes and the sucking of teeth. By Wednesday, I noticed her opening up a little in my class. By Thursday, she was somewhat-smiling. This morning, she SKIPPED up to me and said (with a big toothy grin), “Good morning, Mrs. Strangenewteacher!” I was floored. She was a different child all day long.

2. I introduced the story we will be using as our warm-ups this year to my classes. I informed them the story was about five 7th grade students who had two different kinds of teachers at their school: mean grumps who assigned lots and lots of homework and lectured all class period, and creative teachers who came up with fun and exciting lessons for the students. As I was describing the creative teachers, one of my students pointed to me. I asked him what he was doing, and he told me he thought I was one of those teachers. Now I am, by no means, overly concerned with whether or not 7th graders like me (it changes daily) or how much fun my kids are having, but I was flattered that this student thought of me in this way. It does feel good to have my students appreciate my hard work.

You Might Have Seen Me Around …

I’m that chicken with its head cut off. At least, that’s how I feel.

I have officially survived my first first week of school as a teacher. Looking back, I don’t know how I survived a few of those days. I have learned A LOT: about myself, how I want to run my classroom, and how I want to relate with others.

I knew I was going to have a few challenges at Open House when 6th grade AP brought a student in my classroom and told me he was my student, but he had been in her office every day last year. Anger issues. Swell. Then Leader of the Pack’s father approached me and told me to keep his son in the front of my classroom for every class. Yes, I have him more than once. In fact, I have him for 3 classes. In the front. Right next to me. It’s the highlight of my day. Overall, I have a few students who are going to prove to be challenges, but most of them are sweet. At least, they are sweet right now.

I’m doing great at the teaching thing. I teach 4 language arts classes, and I feel they are well managed and running smoothly. My homeroom is giving me issues simply because there is no structure to homeroom. Kids are up and yelling and basically just out of control. I have to escort my students to lunch and their connections class, and I am supposed to enforce silent transitions in the hallways. Have you ever tried to keep 45 12 year olds silent in a hallway? It’s near impossible, especially after 5 hours of academic classes.

By Thursday, I had had enough of the stress. Friday morning, students came into my homeroom to a message on the whiteboard;

“Good morning, Homeroom Students. You may go to your locker once during Homeroom. You may get up once to put away your bookbag. After that, you must sit in your desk and whisper with your tablemates. Your failure to follow these directions will result in a conduct cut.”

I was amazed at how smoothly homeroom ran. There was no yelling across the room, no mass of students huddled around a desk doing God-knows-what. Kids were calm and well-behaved. Friday started off great. I have also required all students who transition with me to carry their agendas in the hallways. If they talk, they get a conduct cut on the spot. I only had to give 1 conduct cut, then the rest of the 45 students quickly took me seriously. Fabulous.

Overall, I had a great week. I’m struggling with the administrative side of teaching. I get overwhelmed by all the dates I’m supposed to remember. I get frustrated when I spend all my planning time sorting through 100 emails. I’m confused by the actions of one of my teammates. But I love teaching. And I love most of my kids. There is one who I’m really trying to like, but he’s working my last nerve. There are issues with him I don’t even pretend to understand.

I’m exhausted. This week, I spent an average of 12 hours a day at school. I can’t continue that. My feet hurt. I have to re-work my bathroom schedule. I don’t realize how bad I have to pee or how starving I am until the kids leave my classroom. But worst of all, I have become a morning person. So here’s to one week down. 185 contractual days to go.

And so it begins …

The classroom has been set up. Open House has come and gone. A week’s worth of lesson plans have been created and turned in to my AP. Relationships have been formed with some really amazing teachers. All the help and advice you could imagine has been offered. The official school tshirt has been issued. The PTA fee has been paid just so I can wear jeans on Friday. Preplanning is over. School starts on Monday.

I think I’m ready. I hope so, at least. We’ll know for sure on Monday.

Celebrate Good Times, Come On!

Monday was the beginning of preplanning at my school. I was supposed to arrive at the school at 8AM for a breakfast and faculty meeting. Of course, I got there at 7AM. Besides the custodial staff and the administration, I was the first person in the building. One of my APs commented on my early arrival, and she laughed when I told her I had to fight myself from coming in earlier. I’m that big of a dork.

I had been waking up earlier and earlier each day for the past week. I wake up in a cold sweat thinking of things I need to do before the students come next Monday. The past few mornings, I wake up around 5AM and cannot fall back asleep. So I tiptoe downstairs (my husband has threatened to take away my chocolate if I wake him up that early) and twidle my thumbs for about an hour. Then I get dressed and head on into school. I may be known as the over-achieving brown noser, but dadgumit, my anxiety level is much lower now.

I expected Monday to run similarly to the way things ran at Student Teaching Middle School: slow, uneventful, and slightly boring. Boy, was I wrong! Let me tell you how the events of the day proceeded:

Around 7:30AM, other teachers began filing into the school. There was a lot of hugging and squealing and catching up; then someone put on some techno music, and the 7th grade hall became a literal dance floor. At 7:30AM. A few minutes later, we all decided to make our way to the cafeteria (“we” being the huge and happy 7th grade family; I guess that makes 7th Grade AP the “Big Daddy.” That’s what I will call him from now on — he would like that). The cafeteria is located in a separate building, so as we entered the building, all you could see was pitch black darkness. Then a disco ball. And a strobe light. Then you realize that ringing in your ears is School Improvement AP blowing a party favor in your face. And you see a few more APs whitegirldancing to “Celebrate Good Times”. And there’s another AP taking everyone’s picture as they file in. And they’re all wearing sequined top hats and silly vests. And I thought it would be boring.

Fast foward through an amazing breakfast and a series of introductions from people who realized I was new and seriously overwhelmed – my principal starts the faculty meeting (but not before she and the other 7 APs do the “Cupid Shuffle”. Don’t ask me why). It seems my school did not make AYP last year due to a very small number of SWD not passing the Math CRCT. Principal informs us that a very brave special education teacher volunteered to tutor 36 students and have them retake the Math CRCT later in the summer. Principal then tells us she has the results from the retake in this envelope. She opens the envelope, and … the students had all passed the CRCT! The state will review the information and give us AYP for last year. Heck, let’s do some more celebrating. 

That afternoon, I met with my teammates to discuss how we want our team to operate this year. I love my team. Ms. Math and Ms. History are about my age, so we get along really well. Ms. Science is older then us, and she is practically a genius. They are all incredibly helpful and make a serious effort to not laugh at all my stupid questions.

Next we had a grade-level meeting, hosted by Big Daddy himself. I met the 27 other 7th grade teachers, and Big Daddy gave us a little pep talk about doing as much as we could to take care of behavior problems before we send the kids to him. 2 years ago, the 7th grade teachers made 1,612 referrals. Last year, they made 632. This year, we’re shooting for 200. Go team.

Today was very much the same: I’ve finished setting up my classroom (which looks really good, by the way. My principal came in today and complimented me on a good job) and attended a few more meetings — including a cirriculum meeting. I was a little lost in the meeting, so my mentor teacher (who rocks) has offered to plan with me on Thursday.

I am so pysched for the school year to begin. I know it’s going to be a challenging year with many ups and downs, but it has started off so well. The homeroom lists went out yesterday, and they’re now posted on the front doors of the school. So now, every time I walk out of my classroom, I see eager seventh grade eyes peeking in, trying to get a glimpse of their homeroom classroom. I get very excited thinking some of those eyes belong to my students. I hope they stay that bright all year long.

They got me — hook, line, and sinker!

Today was the final day of New Teacher Training in my county: a big hoo-rah involving the Big Cheese Superintendant and the director of the county’s Chamber of Commerce. The past week, I have been working with the new teachers at my school (there are about 20 of us), so I was shocked to find myself in a crowd of 1,048 newbies (that’s the exact number) to the county. That’s a ton of new teachers! I guess I should not have been surprised since rumor has it that about 10,000 applicants showed up for the job fair in March.

The past few days, I’ve learned all about the new teacher mentor program, I’ve met my mentor (who’s freakin’ awesome, by the way), I’ve undergone technology training (but don’t ask me how to use any of the software on my laptop — I’m totally lost! Whatever happened to recording grades and attendance on paper?), and I’ve been given a brief overview of my school and its values. From Day 1 on, I have been in love with my school and the leadership. I’m hooked.

Fast forward to this morning’s orientation at Huge County Convention Center. I was introduced to the Big Cheese and members of the board. I was told that Huge District is actually the largest (and best, in their humble opinion) district in the state — and it ranks up there in the country. I was welcomed to the family and told over and over again how awesome I must be to be asked to join such a world-class school system. I bought into the whole thing, and I cried. Yes, I cried like a fool. As I was sitting in the auditorium hearing all the wonderful things people had to say about my school system, I realized (perhaps for the first time) that I am a real teacher. Finally. It’s taken 6 years, but I have arrived. Pass the tissues.

So, my friends, I finish this incredibly intimidating week sold on what I’m doing with my life and where I’m doing it. I’ve bought into it. I’m their’s. I report to school first thing on Monday morning to begin my week of preplanning, and then my littles come! I am both stupidly excited and terrified at the same time. I am so ready to jump in and get started, but I am fighting back feelings of dread at the same time.  When I think about the very near future, I tear up and belly-laugh at the same time. The life of this new teacher is full of contridiction.

Holy Crap!

 

This realization hit me hard this morning:

In 2 weeks, I will finally be wih my students. Alone. With no one to bail me out in times of trouble.

Eek.

The Secret To Classroom Management Is … a Scowl?

There is something about a harried-looking woman buying school supplies in bulk that makes people ask said woman if she is a teacher. I visited four different stores today trying to finish up my school shopping, and at each store, at least one person asked me if I was a teacher. People seemed thrilled to learn that I was a first-year teacher, and, of course, they just had to offer their sage advice. Do you want to know what advice each layperson gave me? Don’t smile until Christmas.

 

While I can understand the thought process behind it (start out tough and loosen up as the year progresses), I think this is quite possibly the worst piece of teacher advice I’ve heard. And I hear it A LOT. If I were a student in a classroom in which the teacher refused to smile for months on end, I would come to hate the time I spent in that classroom, but I wouldn’t be a better behaved student. If I were a teacher who refused to smile for four months, I would hate my job and my time in that classroom, and I wouldn’t be a great teacher.

 

I make a motion that we abolish the “Don’t Smile Until Christmas” rule and come up with a better, more humane approach to establishing our authority as teachers. How about “Develop and introduce rules and procedures that students can understand and respect, present a consistent discipline policy (and make sure all students fully understand the policy), and establish quality and positive relationships with students?” The title is a little lengthy, I’ll give you that, but let’s give it a try.

 

Here is why I believe it will work:

 

1. Rules and procedures are the heart of any teacher’s classroom management plan. Each rule and procedure is set in place to make both the teacher’s and the students’ lives more pleasant, but many times, students don’t understand this. Instead of just telling students, “Raise your hand for permission to speak,” I would argue a better approach would be to tell the students, “Raise your hand for permission to speak. This is an important rule in our classroom, because it allows for everyone to have the opportunity to speak and be heard. When you have something to say, raise your hand. When you are acknowledged, you may then speak. This keeps the order in our classroom, and it lets everyone in the room know that it is your turn to speak. When it is your turn to speak, no one else will be talking. That way all ears will be on you.” Now students know your reasoning for this rule, and they can respect it because they understand how it applies to them.

 

2. Nothing makes (middle school) students angrier than feeling like they are being treated unfairly or are being disrespected. That is a guaranteed way to obliterate any semblance of student cooperation. And isn’t student cooperation what we really want? Effective discipline is not about penance but about remediation and a change of behavior. So, above all else, teachers should have an appropriate discipline procedure set in place. Appropriate discipline is not punishment; appropriate discipline is giving students the opportunity to realize what they did wrong, how it affected others, and what they could do better in the future. Another element of appropriate discipline is consistency on the part of the teacher. I have a poster in my classroom that lists the steps of my discipline procedure. The poster helps me to stay consistent from student to student and reminds students that they are being treated fairly. Students also know that once they’ve been warned, the next step is a conference, followed by a parent phone call, silent lunch, and detention. Not only does this keep students accountable, but students also develop a sense of ownership of the discipline when it is given consistently.

 

3. One teacher in my county once said, “I, for one, have found [building relationships with students] a sucessful method. So tell your kids about yourself and listen to them tell about themselves. They are far less likely to trample someone they find interesting.” I love what this teacher said. Students love to hear crazy or interesting stories about their teachers (last year, I told my 6th graders about my family’s tradition of shopping on Black Friday. I told them stores have lots of great sales, and you can usually find people fighting over $5 toasters at Wal-Mart. They loved that story and brought it up all semester long. When we returned from Thanksgiving break, they all wanted to know how many fights I saw on my shopping adventure. By sharing the $5 toaster story, I became more human in the eyes of my students. Not only that, but I became an interesting person. I attribute the relationships I had with my students to my great experience in that classroom. Of course, kids are going to test boundries and see how far they can get (they’re kids!), but the prospect of an all-out student revolt dwindles the more a teacher becomes a person in the students’ eyes.

 

Mmmm … the smell of books.

I saw this over at Mildly Meloncholy, and I thought I’d play, too.

“The Big Read reckons that the average adult has only read 6 of the top 100 books they’ve printed.”
1) Bold those you have read.
2) Italicize those you intend to read.
3) Underline the books you LOVE
4) Reprint this list in your own blog.

1 Pride and Prejudice – Jane Austen
2 The Lord of the Rings – JRR Tolkien — I have absolutely no interest in reading this.
3 Jane Eyre – Charlotte Bronte
4 Harry Potter series – JK Rowling — I have never had any desire to read this series in the past, but I’ve heard that it’s a great series. At the moment, it just seems like too much of a fad.

5 To Kill a Mockingbird – Harper Lee — Is it sad that the first time I read this book was to teach it during an internship? I LOVE this book, and Harper Lee’s life is fascinating to me.
6 The Bible–I’ve read the Bible in its entirity a couple of times, both as an historical text and as a religious text.
7 Wuthering Heights – Emily Bronte
8 Nineteen Eighty Four – George Orwell– This book and Animal Farm are seriously the two most fascinating books on any shelf.
9 His Dark Materials – Philip Pullman
10 Great Expectations – Charles Dickens
11 Little Women – Louisa M Alcott–I read this book cover-to-cover at least 6 times when I was a kid. This is a fantastic read.
12 Tess of the D’Urbervilles – Thomas Hardy–Read it in AP English in high school. This book made me hate my life.

13 Catch 22 – Joseph Heller–I read it because I heard too many people rave over it. I didn’t get the hype.
14 Complete Works of Shakespeare–With the exception of a few sonnets, I have, in fact, read the complete works of Mr. Shakespeare. And I owe it all to Dr. Collins, who made it a requirement to pass Shakespeare class. I hated life that semester, too.
15 Rebecca – Daphne Du Maurier
16 The Hobbit – JRR Tolkien–Another never. Sorry.
17 Birdsong – Sebastian Faulks
18 Catcher in the Rye – JD Salinger
19 The Time Traveller’s Wife – Audrey Niffenegger
20 Middlemarch – George Eliott
21 Gone With The Wind – Margaret Mitchell–I really should read this book. I love stories set in this period, and the movie is one of my all-time favorites, so I’m wondering why I’ve never read the book.
22 The Great Gatsby – F Scott Fitzgerald — This is one of the best things I took away from college.
23 Bleak House – Charles Dickens
24 War and Peace – Leo Tolstoy–No freaking way.
25 The Hitchhiker’s Guide to the Galaxy – Douglas Adams
26 Brideshead Revisited – Evelyn Waugh
27 Crime and Punishment – Fyodor Dostoyevsky — this was actually a really intriguing book.
28 Grapes of Wrath – John Steinbeck– I probably read this book once a year. It is my absolute favorite (along with East of Eden and Of Mice and Men — yes, I have three absolute favorites) of Steinbeck’s.
29 Alice in Wonderland – Lewis Carroll

30 The Wind in the Willows – Kenneth Grahame
31 Anna Karenina – Leo Tolstoy
32 David Copperfield – Charles Dickens
33 Chronicles of Narnia – CS Lewis
34 Emma – Jane Austen
35 Persuasion – Jane Austen
36 The Lion, The Witch and The Wardrobe – CS Lewis
37 The Kite Runner – Khaled Hosseini
38 Captain Corelli’s Mandolin – Louis De Bernieres–Maybe someday; I heard it’s really good.
39 Memoirs of a Geisha – Arthur Golden–I love the movie, so I guess I should try the book
40 Winnie the Pooh – AA Milne
41 Animal Farm – George Orwell
42 The Da Vinci Code – Dan Brown — no interest
43 One Hundred Years of Solitude – Gabriel Garcia Marquez–Also been on my list for years.
44 A Prayer for Owen Meaney – John Irving– Apparently this is a good book, so now my interest is sparked.
45 The Woman in White – Wilkie Collins

46 Anne of Green Gables – LM Montgomery–This series was the staple of my childhood.
47 Far From The Madding Crowd – Thomas Hardy
48 The Handmaid’s Tale – Margaret Atwood
49 Lord of the Flies – William Golding — another staple in my library

50 Atonement – Ian McEwan
51 Life of Pi – Yann Martel
52 Dune – Frank Herbert
53 Cold Comfort Farm – Stella Gibbons
54 Sense and Sensibility – Jane Austen
55 A Suitable Boy – Vikram Seth
56 The Shadow of the Wind – Carlos Ruiz Zafon
57 A Tale Of Two Cities – Charles Dickens
58 Brave New World – Aldous Huxley
59. The Curious Incident of the Dog in the Nighttime — Mark Haddon — I really loved this book
60 Love In The Time Of Cholera – Gabriel Garcia Marquez–Heard it’s good.
61 Of Mice and Men – John Steinbeck–Oh, Lennie, couldn’t you doing anything right?! Why do you have to go and make me cry that way?
62 Lolita – Vladimir Nabokov
63 The Secret History – Donna Tartt
64 The Lovely Bones – Alice Sebold

65 Count of Monte Cristo – Alexandre Dumas
66 On The Road – Jack Kerouac– MY Intro To English Studies professor raved about this book, so I’ve always been interested in giving it a try.
67 Jude the Obscure – Thomas Hardy

68 Bridget Jones’s Diary – Helen Fielding–Again, loved the movie(s), so why not? 
69 Midnight’s Children – Salman Rushdie
70 Moby Dick – Herman Melville — blech
71 Oliver Twist – Charles Dickens — I have to say, I’m not a huge Dickens fan, but this one would probably be my favorite of his.
72 Dracula – Bram Stoker
73 The Secret Garden – Frances Hodgson Burnett–Childhood classic.
74 Notes From A Small Island – Bill Bryson

75 Ulysses – James Joyce
76 The Bell Jar – Sylvia Plath
77 Swallows and Amazons – Arthur Ransome
78 Germinal – Emile Zola
79 Vanity Fair – William Makepeace Thackeray
80 Possession – AS Byatt
81 A Christmas Carol – Charles Dickens
82 Cloud Atlas – David Mitchell
83 The Color Purple – Alice Walker–I would marry this book if that kind of thing were legal

84 The Remains of the Day – Kazuo Ishiguro
85 Madame Bovary – Gustave Flaubert

86 A Fine Balance – Rohinton Mistry
87 Charlotte’s Web – EB White–Another childhood classic
88 The Five People You Meet In Heaven – Mitch Albom–Blah. Too overhyped.
89 Adventures of Sherlock Holmes – Sir Arthur Conan Doyle

90 The Faraway Tree Collection – Enid Blyton
91 Heart of Darkness – Joseph Conrad
92 The Little Prince – Antoine De Saint-Exupery

93 The Wasp Factory – Iain Banks
94 Watership Down – Richard Adams
95 A Confederacy of Dunces – John Kennedy Toole
96 A Town Like Alice – Nevil Shute
97 The Three Musketeers – Alexandre Dumas
98 Hamlet – William Shakespeare
99 Charlie and the Chocolate Factory – Roald Dahl–I was a huge Dahl fan as a kid. I guess I still am. But he’s got better books out than this. The movie gives me the creeps.
100 Les Miserables – Victor Hugo

Preparing Students for the State Writing Assessment … and never argue with a teacher

About a month ago, my Language Arts AP approached me about an opportunity to attend a seminar on my state’s 8th grade writing assessment. The director of assessment would be speaking, and she thought it might be a good idea for me to go, even though I will not be teaching 8th graders. I agreed, partly because it was something to do with school (and I am so ready to start!) and partly because I was interested in hearing what this man had to say. He does, after all, grade the all-important assessments.

The seminar was available to any teacher in Huge School District who wanted to attend, but it was focused mainly towards middle school Language Arts teachers. Huge School District lives up to its name, so I was surprised to see only about 50 teachers in attendance, 4 (myself included) from my school. I guess other teachers aren’t as excited about starting the new school year. On a sidenote: I sat with two sixth grade LA teachers from my school. I probably will not become best friends with them (waaaaay too gossip-y), but they were nice to me, nonetheless.

My state’s writing assessment focuses on two genres: expository and persuasive. Students are given a prompt  and allowed 120 minutes to write a 1-2 page essay. Student writing is then assessed based on four criteria: Ideas, Organization, Style, and Conventions, with Ideas worth twice as many points as the other criteria. Student writing is graded by two raters on a 5-point scale (1 = lowest, 5 = highest) for each criteria, and the scores are added together. The lowest passing grade is 24, and the highest grade possible is a 50.

Ideas

For an essay to earn the lowest passing score, students need to demonstrate limited to generally consistant focus on the assigned topic and purpose, limited to generally consistant ability to develop a controlling idea, and a demonstration of genre awareness.  Passing score-point essays also contain supporting ideas that support the writer’s controlling idea.

For an essay to earn a high passing grade, students must demonstrate consistant focus on the topic and purpose, well to fully developed controlling ideas, strong supporting ideas, and few to multiple specific ideas to support the supporting ideas. In fact, body paragraphs with lots of specific details (draw on personal experinces is a plus) will allow students to score well on the Ideas component of the exam.

Organization

For an essay to earn the lowest passing score, students must demonstrate a generally clear sequence of events, an introduction, body, and conclusion, and related ideas that are generally grouped together  within paragraphs. They may or man not contain appropriate transitions.

For an essay to earn a high passing score, students demonstrate the ability to craft an effective introduction, body, and conclusion, logically group ideas within paragraphs and across the paper, and include varied and effective transitions (explicit and implicit).

Formulaic writing will drastically lower a writer’s Organization score.

Style

For an essay to earn the lowest passing score, students establish language and tone that are generally consistant with the writer’s purpose and appropriate to the assigned genre. Word choice will rage from simple and ordinary to generally engaging with occaisional lapses into simple and ordinary language. The student will demonstrate a limited awareness of the audience, inconsistant to clear and appropriate voice, and little to some variation in sentence length and structure.

For an essay to earn a high passing score, students demonstrate carefully crafted phrases and sentences that create a sustained tone and engage the audience. Students use varied, precise, and engaging language appropriate to the genre. Students also exhibit an evocative or authoritative voice that is sustained throughout the response.

Conventions

For an essay to earn the lowest passing score, students craft simple and compound sentences that range from sometimes to generally correct with generally correct end punctuation. Students demonstrate generally correct usage, but may have errors in subject-verb agreement, word forms, etc. Students also demonstrate generally correct mechanics (some errors in spelling, capitalization, paragraph indention, and punctuation within sentences).

For an essay to earn a high passing score, students must demonstrate clear and correct simple, compound, and complex sentences with correct end punctuation, a variety iof subordination and coordination strategies, and correct usage and mechanics with few errors.

Correctly written compound and complex sentences will earn students higher scores on Conventions.

 Of course, with so much discussion of what teachers need to teach students in order from them to be sucessful on the writing assessment, you know there would be some teachers who just had to voice their opinions on (what I consider) useless crap.

For instance, one teacher claimed it was unfair for students to earn a 1 on the Organization component of the test if they include an introduction but no conclusion, or vice versa. She claimed they should earn a score-point 2.  Uhm, the last time I checked, essays contain introductions, bodies, and conclusion. That’s basic writing — especially in formal writing. Besides, a score-point 2 is still a failing score, so what difference does it make? The student will still fail that component. Just teach your students the correct way to write an essay, and you won’t have to have this discussion. But this particular teacher had to harp on this perceived injustice for more than 10 minutes. And do you know why? Because she just couldn’t be wrong — which makes me to my revelation of the week: if you want to strike up an argument with someone, don’t pick a teacher — we’re always right.

The best Freestyle Friday ever!

Though he’s not appropriate for the classroom, this man is a genius with words, so I decided to post my favorite poem of his. If you like this poem, I encourage you to look up his other poems, “Kite”, “Compliment”, “Op Talk”, and “Hobo”.  They are my other favorites. Oh yeah, and “Mockingbird” rocks, too. Seriously, he’s that good.

Enjoy!

P.S. I got so excited I forgot to mention that his name is Rives. So if you want to look any of his other poems up, now you know his name