teacher mrw

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Archive for the tag “Parent”

21 Jan 2012
2 Comments

I’m Done

Are you able to recall an incident which greatly disappointed you, but, logically, it really should not have greatly disappointed you?

My eighth grade Onesies greatly disappointed me recently, and, the situation is one that I really should not have taken so personally.

The Situation:  Approximately 50% of the class (there are 13 enrolled in said class) did not fully complete the assignment due, or completed none of it at all. The culprits: Two major assignments for two other courses due on the same day.  But, the larger issue, at least to me, is ineffectual time management, organization, planning, initiative and follow-through.  This particular group of students as a collective seems to be weak all of the aforementioned areas.

The Problem, #1:  I allowed The Situation to impact me to such an extent, I took it personally.  I really should not have, because, at the end of the proverbial day, it its the academic progress and results of the students in question that is going to suffer.  Until they get tired of low scores, perhaps at that time they’ll raise an eyebrow and make the necessary changes.

The Problem, #2: Where are parents in all of this? Learning support specialists cannot do it all, no more than the subject area teachers can.  Mel Levine once said, and I paraphrase here, getting the schoolwork completed is the job of the parent, and not the job of the teacher.  Naturally, I am in whole-hearted agreement with this statement, but frankly, too many parents are not doing their jobs.

I discussed the situation with my Dear Brother, who said that the reason I took the situation so personally is because I care.  But, at the same time, he agreed that the students in question need to get their ish together.

Anyway, short of after-school homework detention club (which doesn’t currently exist at my place of employ, but ought to), and communicating with parents when the work is completed (I send so many homework-related emails that it isn’t funny), the situation is really beyond my control.

So, short of what is within my power to control. I AM DONE. And, it is only January.  ::SIGH::

Posted in At the Schoolhouse Door and tagged , , , , , , ,
13 Nov 2011
1 Comment

The Culture of Expectation

I was talking with a friend recently – my asthetistician, to be exact, but I also consider her a friend – while getting my monthly professional facial treatment.  We talked about the recent days-long power outage, our parents – hers about the same age as mine- and life in general.  We then somehow got on the topic of high school, class reunions, and school life back in the day.  She and I are also about the same age.  I mentioned to her the struggles that I have with providing students with extra help.  There seems to be no culture of extra help at my place of employ.  I am constantly telling my students that there is rarely a time when I am not available to them for extra help.  However, students typically don’t seek me out on their own initiative.  Instead, they come by way of teacher or parent fiat.  Additionally, there isn’t time built into the school day for extra help, or after school for that matter.  Conversely, when my asthetistician and I were in high school, life after school was bustling with clubs, extra help, sports and band practices, and students doing research in the library or hanging out with their favorite teachers.  The “late bus” – the bus that served those who stayed after school – was even a culture all to its own.

Perhaps extra help just doesn’t happen in so-called, self-identified, progressive schools.  My previous place of employ was a progressive school, and there was no culture of extra help, or after-school activities, for that matter, save play rehearsal and sports, the two things which seem to dominate after-school life at my present school.  Mind you, my asthetistician and I attended garden variety, albeit good, public high schools, and extra help was a constant and regular part of the school day – before, during and after.  So, one would think that at an expensive, private, college-preparatory school, the same would be true.

Extra help, given the competing forces, seems to be offered on the proverbial catch-as-catch-can basis.  Do individual teachers offer extra help? Of course they do.  However, when there is no culture of extra help, how does this impact the culture of expectation for students and teachers?

Jaime Escalante, the great Bolivian-American educator who brought AP Calculus to an East Los Angeles high school populated largely with economically-disadvantaged Latino students, reportedly said that students will rise to the level of expectation that teachers set for them.  Mr. Escalante clearly had extremely high expectations for the students, despite the immense barriers the students faced on the basis of their race, ethnicity, linguistic heritage, and socio-economic status.

So…what are the barriers for well-to-do, predominately White, upper-middle class students who attend a very expensive, college-preparatory school? The dominant culture, i.e. White male culture, is a bankrupt culture in many respects.  Despite the immense privilege such a culture offers, it is fraught with a compromised value system, misplaced priorities, and ineffectual parenting which values neither education nor personal responsibility and accountability.  Therefore, extra help isn’t seen as  a way of doing better because it is the right thing, but more as a safety net for when things become so bad that extra help is the eleventh-hour solution.  Schools reflect the culture of the society in which they reside.  Private schools, despite the bubble shield they evoke, are not as immune as we may have been led to believe.  All of society’s ills exist with us as well.

I realize that my school isn’t going to resolve society’s many problems.  However, I would like for my school to find a way to make extra help part of a positive culture of expectation.  I would like to see more personal responsibility and accountability on the part of the students, and, to that end, we may have to teach these things to the students.  Additionally, I would like to see a school day that supports and values extra help so that teachers and students alike feel that it is not only an important part of the school day, but that it is also a necessary component to teaching and learning.

Without a culture of expectation, nothing else truly matters.

Posted in At the Schoolhouse Door, Independent School and tagged , , , , , , , , , , , , ,
24 Jan 2011
2 Comments

*Ante Up and Kick In!

I spend more time than I would like emailing parents about their children‘s low test/quiz scores, and/or their uncompleted homework assignments.  In fact, I did a fair amount of the aforementioned last evening.  As a result, I was frustrated.  I shared my frustration with my Dear Mom via telephone.  I then asked her if she believes a child’s success in school begins at home?  She said, “Yes.  Of course.” She then went on to say that too many parents are so wrapped up in their own that they are clueless as to what is going on with their children and their education.  So, here is my list of things that parents should consider doing in order to ensure their child’s success in school.  Success in school begins at home, and at a young age, with parents setting the tone for high expectations and excellence.

Please note: I am not a parent.  I am, however, a career teacher, and have observed a range of parenting skills during that time.  Additionally, I did run the following by my own Dear Mom, and she gives the list her Mother’s Seal of Approval.

1.  Make sure your kids do their homework. That way, I won’t need to send you an email asking you to make sure your kids do their homework.

2.  Establish structure, routines, and schedules at home.

3.  Ask your kids more than, “How’s it going?”  But, you can start there.

4.  If your kids need tutoring, get it for them.

5.  If your kids need to learn organization skills, study skills, time management skills, and/or strategies for managing their learning disability, get it for them.

6.  Ask your kids what has been assigned, when it’s due, and if they’ve begun the work. If it looks sloppy, ask them to re-do it.

7.  Ask to see your kids’ tests and quizzes. If they’ve scored below an 80%, ask if they’ve sought extra help. And, require them to correct the tests and quizzes.

8.  Have your child tested as soon as possible if you suspect issues with learning.  I’ve met too many kids who have never been tested, are getting ready to graduate from high school, and who’s learning progress screams, “learning disability.”

Sometimes, I want to be able to confront parents, like Rawlins confronts Trip.

*The title for this post is taken from a line spoken by Morgan Freeman’s character, Rawlins, in another favorite film, “Glory”.

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Posted in At the Schoolhouse Door and tagged , , , , ,
29 Dec 2010
2 Comments

Rethinking Student Accountability

The standard Swedish lunch. The crackers on th...

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After reading the following blog post, I began to reflect more earnestly about the ways in which I hold my students accountable for their learning.  The truth of the matter is, I don’t hold them nearly as accountable to the degree that I should.  When my students don’t complete assignments, I register the grade in the grade book – usually partial credit if the assignment comes at the next class  - my place of employ operates on a block schedule – or, if the assignment does not come in at the aforementioned time, I change the grade from partial credit to zero credit.  If the student in question is a chronic offender, I will communicate with the parent.   However, in this instance, I am merely holding the parent accountable for what his/her child has not done, which, to be certain, is important and necessary.  Yet, this is indirect accountability;  it is even more important and more necessary to hold the student him/herself directly accountable.

After talking with my Dear Mom, I have decided to implement the following after the New Year: When students don’t complete their assignments, we will enjoy lunch, together, in my classroom.  If I have to go and retrieve said student from the lunchroom, in the event he or she should “forget”, then I will do so.  If the student in question desires to have a meltdown, complete with tears and pouting, we will get through it together.  If a parent should feel the need to explain that his/her child needs his/her lunchtime to relax and to socialize with his/her friends, I will explain to the parent that the child made a choice, and that the choice has a consequence.   If the student did not complete the assignment because he/she did not understand the assignment, then even better reason to sit together to complete the work.

Upper school students have more flexibility.  They have a 30-minute period of time daily during which they can seek extra help, complete missing assignments, etc.  That said, a lunchtime meeting remains an option.

I have been reluctant to implement the aforementioned in light of the inevitable static it will produce. Especially if I am the proverbial lone wolf, which I will most certainly be.  My Dear Mom responded to my concern by saying that I should not decide against doing something merely because others are not.  Rather, I need to implement my own program in order to accomplish what I believe is important.  Dear Mom concluded by saying it is about encouraging the students to be the best they can be.

So, in the name of student accountability: Being the Best You Can Be.

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Posted in At the Schoolhouse Door and tagged , , , , ,
03 Oct 2010
2 Comments

And We Worry About The Black Male Child?

Why do we worry about the black male child, to the point of exhaustion and hyperventilation, when there are black mothers who do not?

I visited my local IHOP – International House of Pancakes – where I so desired to enjoy a reasonably quiet meal.  It had been a long day that had begun very early: My place of employ’s annual Open House for current families.  The Open House was fantastic, as it always is.  So, to my dismay, I had to endure a child – a black male child – being quite loud while he was interacting with his computer game.  From the noises he was making, I gathered it was some sort of race car video game.  To my greater dismay, the boy’s black mother was sitting across from him, not saying a word.  I found the kid, and his behavior, rude and obnoxious, and the mother’s lack of parenting disappointing, and her lack of interest in her child disturbing. In fact, the only conversation she did have while I was there was with the server.

When their meal finally arrived, the boy quieted down somewhat, but, when he talked, he was equally loud. Sigh…I was hoping that the mother would step up, and ask her son to put away the video game.  But, she allowed him to continue to play with the game while he ate his meal.

My question is this: Why would a parent permit her child to bring a video game into a restaurant, and permit him to continue to interact with the game while he ate, and why would she permit said child to be audibly loud, rude and obnoxious, at the risk of disturbing other customers?

Most parents with school-age children would use their precious time together to interact with each other, i.e. have a conversation, as family dinners – whether at home or in a restaurant – are becoming all too few and far between.  Not this mother and son.  The mother wasn’t at all interested  in interacting meaningfully with her son.  In fact, the only conversation she did have while  I was there was with the server.

I say again: Why do we worry about the black male child, to the point of exhaustion and hyperventilation, when there are black mothers who do not? The aforementioned black mother didn’t seem too concerned about her black male child.

Some might read this post and say, “Well, maybe the mother was tired.”  Don’t want to hear that. Really. I don’t. My mother was tired on many occasions, too many to count, and, she would never sit across from my brother and me, at a table, in a restaurant or at home, and allow us to play a video game, and be rude, loud and obnoxious, and not engage in conversation with us.

As my mother would say: Pitiful.  Agreed. And on so many levels.

Posted in My People, My People... and tagged , ,

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