WEEKS 21 & 22 - Finals and New Semester

This post covers 2 weeks of work since I was unable to write my post last weekend. The semester ended on Thursday the 17th, and then the students were off for a 4 day weekend. On Friday the 18th, teachers had to come to school for record-keeping, then we all had Monday off for MLK day.

Even though we had 8 hours set aside to grade and get everything up to date, as you can see with my hours, it took me far longer than 8 hours to complete my grades. That Friday I spent 10.5 hours at the school getting things done, then I went home and graded for another hour at my house. I took Saturday off, then I did 4.5 hours of grading on Sunday and almost 5 hours of grading and preparing on Monday. This is on top of the 2 hours I did during my prep hour Wednesday, and the 1.5 hours my TA (teacher's assistant...a senior named Maya) did for me on Thursday.

I definitely could have made a final that took less time to grade, but then that's the conundrum I faced: do I give the students a smaller, less comprehensive test just so I don't spend all weekend grading, or do I give an assessment that accurately reflects their abilities in all areas of language even though it will take me a long time to grade? I chose the latter, and I am glad that I did because I feel like I have a better picture of what my students are able to do.

This does not mean that teachers who didn't give finals are bad teachers. Many teachers chose to spread their finals out over the course of the week, or broke up the different parts of the exam so that students took many smaller assessments throughout the quarter rather than a very large one at the end. My preference was to give a large assessment at the end of the semester (in addition to some smaller assessments throughout the quarter), partly because I wanted the students to take it seriously, partly because I felt like I needed to fill the 2 hour block (we normally have 1 hour classes), and partly because it was just a natural time to have a test (our last exam was over a month ago).

As a sidenote, this is the first week I have worked roughly 40 hours (even though I was only in the classroom 3 days this past week). There were 3 other weeks that I worked about 30 hours, but those were Thanksgiving week, a week I was sick, and Christmas. Otherwise all of my other weeks have been above 50 hours, with 4 weeks landing above 60.


Week 21:

Sun	1/13/2013	7:30 PM	11:30 PM	4
M	1/14/2013	7:45 AM	5:30 PM	9.75
T	1/15/2013	7:45 AM	6:30 PM	10.75
W	1/16/2013	8:00 AM	6:15 PM	10.25
Th	1/17/2013	8:00 AM	4:00 PM	8
		5:30 PM	6:00 PM	0.5
		8:45 PM	10:45 PM	2
F	1/18/2013	8:00 AM	6:30 PM	10.5
		7:00 PM	8:00 PM	1
Sat	1/19/2013			0
	Total			56.75

Week 22:

Sun	1/20/2013	4:45 PM	6:45 PM	2
		7:45 PM	10:15 PM	2.5
		10:45 PM	11:30 PM	0.75
M	1/21/2013	2:45 PM	4:30 PM	1.75
		5:30 PM	7:30 PM	2
		9:45 PM	10:45 PM	1
T	1/22/2013	7:15 AM	5:15 PM	10
W	1/23/2013	7:45 AM	5:15 PM	9.5
		10:00 PM	10:45 PM	0.75
Th	1/24/2013	10:15 AM	1:15 PM	3
		2:30 PM	4:30 PM	2
F	1/25/2013	8:00 AM	4:00 PM	8
Sat	1/26/2013			0
	Total			43.25

WEEK 20 - Mentally Disconnecting

One of the hardest thing about being a teacher is knowing how to mentally disconnect from work after the workday is over. Technically, our duty day is 8am-4pm, but we all know that most teachers work well beyond the official duty day, taking work home or arriving to school earlier than required.

Yet what most people don't realize is that even if teachers are not actually preparing or grading, many teachers are at least thinking about preparing or grading. While this sounds ludicrous, I find that very often while I am doing something "relaxing," my mind will inadvertently wander back to work, and I'll be thinking about how I can make a lesson better, how I can organize things better in my classroom, or how I can reach out more to particular students. I rarely feel like my "work" is left at work. In fact, this is the most "homework" I've ever had in my life (and I was a great student back in the day), and the busiest I've ever been (busier than when I was going to college full time and working 3 jobs at the same time).

Even if a teacher does the minimum required of him/her, the fact is that many students won't do the minimum required of them, which means that the teacher has to find new and creative ways to try and engage those students to make them want to do the work. While this is stressful enough by itself, it is compounded by the pressure from the community when people start saying that teachers "aren't doing their jobs" when their students fail.

Because a lot of teachers are completely wrapped up in their jobs, it takes a lot of effort and determination to actually plan in some relaxing, "fun" time. Many teachers think that they'll relax during spring/winter/summer break, but those who are able to physically and mentally put their work aside and incorporate regular exercise and relaxation are happier and healthier.

Fun fact: We are now 20 weeks into the school year, and I average 17 hours of over time every week.

My hours for week 20:

Day	Date	Start	End	Total Hours
Sun	1/6/2013	9:30 PM	11:15 PM	1.75
M	1/7/2013	7:45 AM	5:45 PM	10
		10:00 PM	11:00 PM	1
T	1/8/2013	7:15 AM	5:15 PM	10
		9:15 PM	10:15 PM	1
W	1/9/2013	7:30 AM	4:15 PM	8.75
Th	1/10/2013	7:30 AM	5:00 PM	9.5
F	1/11/2013	7:45 AM	3:45 PM	8
Sat	1/12/2013	8:30 PM	10:45 PM	2.25
	Total			52.25

WEEK 19 - Students and Social Media

This week I wanted to talk about how students communicate on social media. Since I don't communicate with students online, I am in no way an expert. However, with just a few clicks, I was surprisingly enlightened by online student behavior. 

The day we returned from break, I explained the #26acts/@26acts movement in which each class would compete to do 26 random acts of kindness in order to honor the 26 Sandy Hook victims. When I told them that they could hashtag their acts on Twitter, a student asked me if I had a Twitter account. A bit hesitant, I said yes. Then after class I quickly made sure that my actual name wasn't attached to my account (by the way, my Twitter account is @ateacherslife13). As I was monitoring my account, I got curious...

A simple search later, and...

WOW. High school students don't use Facebook; Twitter is how students communicate these days. I didn't want to be creepy by looking up some of my students, but so many kids have their accounts completely public. And many of the things they say on Twitter are things that would never fly in class or at home. 

I used to think that Twitter was only great for celebrities and politicians since it's a way for people to communicate directly without having their message filtered through the media, but what I realized is that Twitter has allowed "popular" students to become mini-celebrities. And some of these kids take it seriously, tweeting over 50 times a day (and many times during class, as I also realized). 

We've all read the stories about people being fired from their jobs or being implicated in crimes because of things they've said online, but I don't think these kids realize how permanent the internet is, and how if they post something online, it's out there forever, somewhere. I know that I surely wouldn't want something I said when I was 15 to come back and bite me somehow.

Maybe we should be teaching netiquette in schools? Kudos to the parents who make their kids lock their Facebook and Twitter accounts. 

My hours for week 19 (keep in mind we only had class 3 days this week):

Day	Date	Start	End	Total Hours
Sat	12/29/2012	6:45 PM	9:00 PM	2.25
Sun	12/30/2012			0
M	12/31/2012	3:00 PM	5:30 PM	2.5
		6:45 PM	8:15 PM	1.5
T	1/1/2013			0
W	1/2/2013	7:15 AM	6:15 PM	11
Th	1/3/2013	7:45 AM	4:15 PM	8.5
F	1/4/2013	7:45 AM	4:00 PM	8.25
Sat	1/5/2013			0
	Total			34

WEEK 18 - #26Acts

In the past week, there has been a movement gaining ground on Twitter and other social networking sites to have everyone do one random act of kindness for every victim of the Newtown shooting. I've decided that when I get back, I will have a competition between my classes to see which class can get to 26 acts first. There will be no prize and no extra credit given, just the joy of doing something nice for another person. We'll figure out how to write it in Spanish, then post it on the wall. Not only will the students learn new words (as well as the past tense "I" conjugation), it will also help to build a positive climate in the classroom and the school.

I encourage you all to also do 26 nice things for people!

Merry Christmas everyone!

Date	Start	End	Total Hours
12/16/2012	3:45 PM	5:45 PM	2
	7:15 PM	9:00 PM	1.75
	9:30 PM	10:30 PM	1
12/17/2012	8:15 AM	4:45 PM	8.5
12/18/2012	7:15 AM	5:30 PM	10.25
12/19/2012	7:30 AM	5:00 PM	9.5
	9:00 PM	10:30 PM	1.5
12/20/2012	7:30 AM	5:45 PM	10.25
12/21/2012	7:15 AM	3:45 PM	8.5
12/22/2012
Total			53.25

WEEK 17 - Code Red

Due to the tragedy in Newtown Connecticut this past Friday, I've decided that this week's post will be about Code Red drills.

For any of you older than...about...28-30 years old, you probably never had to do a Code Red drill while in school. Code Red was brought into schools as a safety measure shortly after the Columbine school shooting in 1999. During a Code Red drill, students are supposed to huddle in the safest area of the classroom (usually the corner furthest from the door or windows) while the teacher locks the door, pulls the shades, and turns off the lights. Then everyone is to stay as quiet and still as possible until the drill is over. The idea is that if a shooter doesn't see any movement in the classroom, he'll be more likely to assume the classroom is empty and move on.

For many classrooms, the Code Red practice that the Newtown teachers had prior to Friday paid off. One teacher huddled her students into the class bathroom and told them that the gunshots was actually hammering. Another gave her students coloring books to keep calm and occupied so they wouldn't make any noise. And of course there is the story of Victoria Soto, who hid her students in closets and cupboards before being gunned down herself. All of these teachers kept calm and led their students in what will probably be the most terrifying experience of their lives.

This year's freshmen were kindergarteners when I was a senior in high school. Likewise, this year's graduating class was in 3rd grade when I was in my last year of high school. The students of today don't remember a time when they didn't have Code Red drills, yet I have no memory of Code Red at PHS. I remember fire and tornado drills, but no Code Reds. In such a short time, we have gone from not even fathoming something like Columbine or Newtown to having a generation of kids who have constant reminders (5 drills per year) that gunmen in schools are a very real thing.

Forget the killer, remember the victims.

Charlotte Bacon 2/22/06

Daniel Barden 9/25/05

Rachel Davino 7/17/83

Olivia Engel 7/18/06

Josephine Gay 12/11/05

Ana Marquez-Greene 4/4/06

Dylan Hockley 3/8/06

Dawn Hocksprung 6/28/65

Madeleine Hsu 7/10/06

Catherine Hubbard 6/8/06

Chase Kowalski 10/31/05

Jesse Lewis 6/30/06

James Mattioli 3/22/06

Grace McDonnell 11/04/05

Anne Marie Murphy 7/25/60

Emilie Parker 5/12/06

Jack Pinto 5/6/06

Noah Pozner 11/20/06

Caroline Previdi 9/7/06

Jessica Rekos 5/10/06

Avielle Richman 10/17/06

Lauren Rousseau 6/82

Mary Sherlach 2/11/56

Victoria Soto 11/04/85

Benjamin Wheeler 9/12/06

Allison Wyatt 7/3/06

Nancy Lanza

Day	Date	Start	End	Total Hours
Sun	12/9/2012	7:15 PM	11:00 PM	3.75
M	12/10/2012	7:45 AM	4:30 PM	8.75
T	12/11/2012	7:45 AM	5:45 PM	10
W	12/12/2012	7:45 AM	5:45 PM	10
Th	12/13/2012	7:30 AM	7:30 PM	12
		8:30 PM	10:00 PM	1.5
F	12/14/2012	8:00 AM	3:45 PM	7.75
Sat	12/15/2012			0
	Total			53.75

WEEK 16 - Cell phones (and tests)

School has changed so much over the years. Not only are things like class sizes, standardized testing, and expectations different, but cheating has also evolved with the times. And cell phones have made cheating extremely easy. 

Ten years ago, when I was a senior in high school, only a very small handful of students had cell phones. Others had access to a cell phone, but it belonged to their parents. Nowadays, nearly every high school student has his or her own cell phone. And while most of the time the cell phones are used to communicate (via texting, not calling because that's such an antiquated way of communication) or play games, they are also used to cheat. 

How, you might ask? There are many different ways. First, there is the obvious texting somebody the answer during a test. Then there is the student that takes a bathroom pass and looks up the answer on their smartphone while out. 

If the student hasn't completed his homework, it's all too easy to text a buddy telling him to snap a picture of the homework and send it to him. I have caught students copying answers off of a picture of somebody else's homework.

I don't pretend to believe that I am aware of all of the different ways kids use their cell phones to cheat on hoemwork and tests, but I like to think that I have caught on to a few of these things and have put in place various policies that make it hard to cheat. First of all, no student is allowed to go to the bathroom during a test. Second, if I see a cell phone out during a test, I not only take the phone away, but I will also either give the student a grade reduction or make him/her take an alternate test. And finally, I make my homework worth sooooo little (shhh don't tell my students) that even if they copied from another person, it wouldn't matter since their true ability would show on test days. 

As a sidenote, I've also learned that when passing out a test, I have to personally hand each test to each student (as opposed to handing 6 tests to the first person in a row of 6 and having them pass them back) because I've had students grab a test, but it in their folders, then say that I didn't pass out enough tests. They will then have a copy of the test to show their friends who have class in later hours. 

My hours for week 16:

Day	Date	Start	End	Total Hours
Sun	12/2/2012	12:30 PM	2:30 PM	2
		4:30 PM	7:45 PM	3.25
		10:15 PM	11:45 AM	1.5
M	12/3/2012	7:45 AM	5:45 PM	10
T	12/4/2012	7:15 AM	5:45 PM	10.5
		9:00 PM	11:15 PM	2.25
W	12/5/2012	8:00 PM	5:30 PM	9.5
		8:15 PM	10:30 PM	2.25
Th	12/6/2012	7:15 AM	5:00 PM	9.75
		8:30 PM	10:15 PM	1.75
F	12/7/2012	7:45 AM	4:15 PM	8.5
		8:45 PM	10:30 PM	1.75
Sat	12/8/2012			0
	Total			63

WEEK 15 - Tardy in 1st hour

It's amazing how many students come late to 1st hour. Washburn starts school at 8:30, so it's not like it's an incredibly early start like some of the high schools in the area that start at 7:15. Yet, there's always a few students who just don't catch the bus on time and come anywhere from a minute late to missing 1st hour completely. Last year it wasn't really an issue, but this year, I always have 4-6 students who are late or miss class because they missed the bus. One day, 10 of my 29 students in 1st hour were not there by the time the bell rang. That's over 1/3 of the class. 

Sadly, the students who are consistently late are generally the students who need to be in class the most, and when you miss 20 minutes of class 2-3 times per week, it's inevitable that you'll fall behind. It's almost like for some students, they need to be very careful which class is scheduled in their 1st hour spot, because some kids keep on failing 1st hour, no matter what the class is. 

My hours for week 15:

Day	Date	Start	End	Total Hours
Sun	11/25/2012	9:00 PM	11:00 PM	2
M	11/26/2012	7:30 AM	6:00 PM	10.5
T	11/27/2012	7:45 AM	5:15 PM	9.5
W	11/28/2012	7:45 AM	6:45 PM	11
Th	11/29/2012	7:45 AM	4:00 PM	8.25
F	11/30/2012	7:45 AM	3:45 PM	8
		7:30 PM	9:45 PM	2.25
Sat	12/1/2012			0
	Total			51.5