Saturday, September 11, 2004
Feeling Committed
The hallways at Underwood High School have a quiet dignity to them during the summer. One walks around the corridors, hearing nothing but the sound of one's footsteps and the distant sound of the building's antique woodwork expanding and contracting. In these moments, whose echoes can be found in the early minutes of the school day (before 7:15 AM), it appears a place worthy of its legacy of famous alumni and academic excellence. Then the school day starts, and the whole atmosphere shifts.
Yep, the school year has started again, and in contrast to some of my fellow teachers, the whole affair left a sour taste in my mouth. This is the year it seems of well intended reforms having unexpected and unfortunate results, both on my part and the district's.
Some examples:
Let's give teachers a new core curriculum...
And then forget to obtain enough science textbooks for every student to use for homework.
Oh, and let's not include sections on things like the metric system. Scientists hardly use that these days anyway.
Let's cut down on student boredom by implementing a standard schedule...
But continue to assume that students will actually travel from class to class in a timely fashion. After all, more transitions will make students more likely to learn!
Let's implement a uniform dress code...
But then run out of school shirts for students to wear during the first week.
And on and on and on...
I'll be honest. I prefer my old schedule in many ways. Having students for 60 minutes rather than 90 is nice. No doubt about that...but unlike last year, there are no "do-overs". This time, I don't switch halfway through the year...I'm stuck with them. So that means more cracking down on rules and procedures in the early days to establish control. Also, last year, I had a very nice lunch/prep schedule allowing for a healthy 90 minute sized block in the middle of the day instead of a frustratingly short 60 minute prep after first period and a half hour lunch which segues into a three period deathwatch at the end of the day.
To clarify, my schedule now is as follows:
1. Class/Advisory
2. Prep.
3. Class
4. Lunch
5. Class
6. Class
7. Class
By the end of that last class, I'm generally so tired and dehydrated that it's hard to talk or even move. And you know that the worst classes come near to the end of the day. It's just an unwritten rule.
Up sides to this year?
Well...at least my lesson planning is easier with a core curriculum. They really do tell you what to say and how to say it. And I think I should be able to supplement it pretty well with my own already proven stuff from last year. (Rest assured kids, the dry ice and liquid nitrogen WILL be back!) And I'll be honest, despite the stifling frustration I feel in my last three classes, therea re good kids in every one who have the potential to be great science students.
Oh, and I've been eating better than last year too. Which is a big plus.
Speaking of which, time for supper...ciao.
(More on the first week later...)
The hallways at Underwood High School have a quiet dignity to them during the summer. One walks around the corridors, hearing nothing but the sound of one's footsteps and the distant sound of the building's antique woodwork expanding and contracting. In these moments, whose echoes can be found in the early minutes of the school day (before 7:15 AM), it appears a place worthy of its legacy of famous alumni and academic excellence. Then the school day starts, and the whole atmosphere shifts.
Yep, the school year has started again, and in contrast to some of my fellow teachers, the whole affair left a sour taste in my mouth. This is the year it seems of well intended reforms having unexpected and unfortunate results, both on my part and the district's.
Some examples:
Let's give teachers a new core curriculum...
And then forget to obtain enough science textbooks for every student to use for homework.
Oh, and let's not include sections on things like the metric system. Scientists hardly use that these days anyway.
Let's cut down on student boredom by implementing a standard schedule...
But continue to assume that students will actually travel from class to class in a timely fashion. After all, more transitions will make students more likely to learn!
Let's implement a uniform dress code...
But then run out of school shirts for students to wear during the first week.
And on and on and on...
I'll be honest. I prefer my old schedule in many ways. Having students for 60 minutes rather than 90 is nice. No doubt about that...but unlike last year, there are no "do-overs". This time, I don't switch halfway through the year...I'm stuck with them. So that means more cracking down on rules and procedures in the early days to establish control. Also, last year, I had a very nice lunch/prep schedule allowing for a healthy 90 minute sized block in the middle of the day instead of a frustratingly short 60 minute prep after first period and a half hour lunch which segues into a three period deathwatch at the end of the day.
To clarify, my schedule now is as follows:
1. Class/Advisory
2. Prep.
3. Class
4. Lunch
5. Class
6. Class
7. Class
By the end of that last class, I'm generally so tired and dehydrated that it's hard to talk or even move. And you know that the worst classes come near to the end of the day. It's just an unwritten rule.
Up sides to this year?
Well...at least my lesson planning is easier with a core curriculum. They really do tell you what to say and how to say it. And I think I should be able to supplement it pretty well with my own already proven stuff from last year. (Rest assured kids, the dry ice and liquid nitrogen WILL be back!) And I'll be honest, despite the stifling frustration I feel in my last three classes, therea re good kids in every one who have the potential to be great science students.
Oh, and I've been eating better than last year too. Which is a big plus.
Speaking of which, time for supper...ciao.
(More on the first week later...)
