Thursday, January 29, 2004
And why are you so happy?
So yesterday (Wednesday) was a miserably icy day. So miserable and so icy in fact that 27 (!) teachers decided to call out absent. What ramifications did that have on daily life at Underwood High School? Well...in addition to a complete lack of teacher coverage and the impossibility of recruiting substitute teachers on short notice, approximately half the student body decided not to show up. Or they assumed the schools were closed. Or both.
In any event, that was why at around 8:00 on Wednesday morning my principal issued an announcement that all teachers were to go to the auditorium. Halfway filled and this the entire school? Yup. For about an hour and a half we sat there (or stood there) and watched as the mob of freshmen stewed through another talk from the principal about standardized test achievement, the dangers of marijuana, and upcoming performance events at the school. And we, the teachers stared on in awe trying to appraise the exact number of absences and wondered if we would have first period.
We didn't.
I only met my new first period class today.
Such is life, I guess.
Anyhow, the new kids bring the old adage to mind: Same manure, different sack.
No one seems as extremely disruptive as in my last semester, but one can never tell this early.
So what's with the title of this blog entry? Why am I happy?
Two words: Diagnostic Friday!
3 great things about diagnostic Friday:
1. No real lesson planning--I just distribute a diagnostic to see how my students are doing.
2. It's a short day--professional development does have its benefits.
3. It's also payday!
Anyhow, more comments on the new guys later...but I thought that I would mention this stuff while I'm in a relatively good mood.
So yesterday (Wednesday) was a miserably icy day. So miserable and so icy in fact that 27 (!) teachers decided to call out absent. What ramifications did that have on daily life at Underwood High School? Well...in addition to a complete lack of teacher coverage and the impossibility of recruiting substitute teachers on short notice, approximately half the student body decided not to show up. Or they assumed the schools were closed. Or both.
In any event, that was why at around 8:00 on Wednesday morning my principal issued an announcement that all teachers were to go to the auditorium. Halfway filled and this the entire school? Yup. For about an hour and a half we sat there (or stood there) and watched as the mob of freshmen stewed through another talk from the principal about standardized test achievement, the dangers of marijuana, and upcoming performance events at the school. And we, the teachers stared on in awe trying to appraise the exact number of absences and wondered if we would have first period.
We didn't.
I only met my new first period class today.
Such is life, I guess.
Anyhow, the new kids bring the old adage to mind: Same manure, different sack.
No one seems as extremely disruptive as in my last semester, but one can never tell this early.
So what's with the title of this blog entry? Why am I happy?
Two words: Diagnostic Friday!
3 great things about diagnostic Friday:
1. No real lesson planning--I just distribute a diagnostic to see how my students are doing.
2. It's a short day--professional development does have its benefits.
3. It's also payday!
Anyhow, more comments on the new guys later...but I thought that I would mention this stuff while I'm in a relatively good mood.
