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RE: Ask a teacher on Summer Break
July 9, 2017 at 1:14 pm
(July 9, 2017 at 11:57 am)Jesster Wrote: Do you have any fun stories about your students or their parents? (leaving names out, of course)
I've had some silly answers on quizzes and tests before. Like "The boston tea party was a tea party that didn't go very well."
I also had a student who once insisted on being called "The Oncoming Storm".
(July 9, 2017 at 12:04 pm)vorlon13 Wrote: what's the most fanciful and outrageous demise of a student you have ever imagined ?
I don't think I've ever imagined the demise of a student. Even though some of them have gotten on my every last nerve. I'd like to see them all succeed. Their parents on the other hand... oh gosh. I've imagined them being forced to teach kids who's parents are JUST LIKE THEM. Especially the parents who are like "You get summers off, so I don't see what there is to complain about!"
(July 9, 2017 at 12:19 pm)Minimalist Wrote: You're being very polite. I regard what is happening as a national catastrophe.
Reports like this are commonplace. We are already there.
http://www.tampabay.com/news/education/c...nd/2327610
I think that the problem will continue to be exacerbated. It's a sad world when nobody gets upset about the pentagon buying yet another bomber they'll never use, but can't invest in the education of our children.
(July 9, 2017 at 12:46 pm)mh.brewer Wrote: What do you typically do during summer breaks? Any fav activities?
I spend some much needed alone time with my husband, lol. I also get to spend more time with my daughters. They're growing up so fast. I spend a lot of time swimming and tanning out by our pool. My uncle had it installed as a wedding gift, and I've used it every summer since. I could spend all day swimming!
Occasionally I take courses to further my education too. A couple of years ago I took two courses so that I could earn my masters. I plan on taking more either next year or the year after that.
In August, I run a cheerleading camp for the cheerleaders at our high school. (I also coach the JV Cheer squad, which is a lot of fun!)
(July 9, 2017 at 1:04 pm)Aoi Magi Wrote: Do you poop?
No! We teachers don't go to the bathroom or eat. We also live in our classrooms, and during the summer we hibernate. (Kids everywhere are like "I KNEW IT!")
The whole tone of Church teaching in regard to woman is, to the last degree, contemptuous and degrading. - Elizabeth Cady Stanton
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RE: Ask a teacher on Summer Break
July 9, 2017 at 1:33 pm
(July 9, 2017 at 11:24 am)Cecelia Wrote: I'm a high school history teacher, and currently on summer vacation. So I figure I have time for one of these now.
What was Switzerland's position on "war loot" entering the country during WWII?
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RE: Ask a teacher on Summer Break
July 9, 2017 at 1:33 pm
(July 9, 2017 at 1:14 pm)Cecelia Wrote: (July 9, 2017 at 12:46 pm)mh.brewer Wrote: What do you typically do during summer breaks? Any fav activities?
I spend some much needed alone time with my husband, lol. I also get to spend more time with my daughters. They're growing up so fast. I spend a lot of time swimming and tanning out by our pool. My uncle had it installed as a wedding gift, and I've used it every summer since. I could spend all day swimming!
Occasionally I take courses to further my education too. A couple of years ago I took two courses so that I could earn my masters. I plan on taking more either next year or the year after that.
In August, I run a cheerleading camp for the cheerleaders at our high school. (I also coach the JV Cheer squad, which is a lot of fun!)
My mom got her masters in reading(? is that a thing?), three consecutive summers, maybe four. Then went back and became the high mucky muck for one of the Title funded programs in our town for kids falling behind in elementary age reading and math. She did still have some kids at the Jr. high age group. I remember her writing a lot of grant proposals.
Being told you're delusional does not necessarily mean you're mental.
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RE: Ask a teacher on Summer Break
July 9, 2017 at 1:46 pm
I taught in Berkeley, California. After No Child Left Behind we started getting a new breed of administrator. Any collegiality between administration and teachers pretty quickly evaporated. When I started teaching, no one in administration had a clue about math education and the district didn't set very clear goals. So I've experienced rudderless administration and I've experienced top/down, micro management. Neither is ideal of course.
How is the administration at your school and district and has it changed since you started?
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RE: Ask a teacher on Summer Break
July 13, 2017 at 11:34 am
(July 9, 2017 at 1:33 pm)Gawdzilla Sama Wrote: What was Switzerland's position on "war loot" entering the country during WWII?
I'm on summer break! Not in a classroom!
Generally though, Swiss Banks didn't question transfer orders from German banks, which made it even easier for the Nazis to steal from their victims. Switzerland also was very happy to take Jewish money, but not so happy to take Jewish refugees.
(July 9, 2017 at 1:46 pm)Whateverist Wrote: I taught in Berkeley, California. After No Child Left Behind we started getting a new breed of administrator. Any collegiality between administration and teachers pretty quickly evaporated. When I started teaching, no one in administration had a clue about math education and the district didn't set very clear goals. So I've experienced rudderless administration and I've experienced top/down, micro management. Neither is ideal of course.
How is the administration at your school and district and has it changed since you started?
The administration at school hasn't changed in the 9 years I've been there. It's... okay. I mean I think they could support us teachers a little better. But it's not awful either. I mean it could certainly be worse. Early on, I definitely felt the lack of support. I wanted to do a women's history month program with our department, but that idea quickly got shut down. And I gave a student a 0 on a paper, and the principal didn't back me up with the parents who insisted their student be given a 'better grade'.
I actually mostly like our district's administration. We recently got a new Superintendent, and he's been pretty good so far. Hopefully it stays that way. It helps though that he's a former teacher. In my first years teaching it was a lot worse. It got to the point where even the taxpayers were like "Give our teachers their raises!" You know it's bad when it gets to that point.
The whole tone of Church teaching in regard to woman is, to the last degree, contemptuous and degrading. - Elizabeth Cady Stanton
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RE: Ask a teacher on Summer Break
July 13, 2017 at 2:10 pm
(July 13, 2017 at 11:34 am)Cecelia Wrote: [edit]
And I gave a student a 0 on a paper, and the principal didn't back me up with the parents who insisted their student be given a 'better grade'.
[edit]
LOL, I'm sure he/she earned it! So what did you change the grade to? Did this make any kind of lasting impression on the kid or the parents?
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RE: Ask a teacher on Summer Break
July 13, 2017 at 2:34 pm
(July 13, 2017 at 2:10 pm)mh.brewer Wrote: LOL, I'm sure he/she earned it! So what did you change the grade to? Did this make any kind of lasting impression on the kid or the parents?
Oh they definitely earned it. I stood my ground and refused to change the grade. The Principal didn't like it very much. He wanted me to change the grade. He took the parents side in the meeting. My department head at the time DID back me up at least. I gave the student ample opportunity to do a new paper--but they didn't want to do that.
Kind of funny story actually. A friend of mine who's an English teacher (we were friends back in college too) is a very harsh (but mostly fair) grader. By that I mean you pretty much can't get a 100% on anything unless it's straight facts. (Like a spelling quiz for example) So she's had a few parents complain about her grading too. Afterwards, she told me she'd have given the student a negative grade. (She actually has given a student a negative grade before.) She said "Change the grade. Make it a -10%"
The whole tone of Church teaching in regard to woman is, to the last degree, contemptuous and degrading. - Elizabeth Cady Stanton
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RE: Ask a teacher on Summer Break
July 13, 2017 at 2:39 pm
(July 13, 2017 at 2:34 pm)Cecelia Wrote: (July 13, 2017 at 2:10 pm)mh.brewer Wrote: LOL, I'm sure he/she earned it! So what did you change the grade to? Did this make any kind of lasting impression on the kid or the parents?
Oh they definitely earned it. I stood my ground and refused to change the grade. The Principal didn't like it very much. He wanted me to change the grade. He took the parents side in the meeting. My department head at the time DID back me up at least. I gave the student ample opportunity to do a new paper--but they didn't want to do that.
Kind of funny story actually. A friend of mine who's an English teacher (we were friends back in college too) is a very harsh (but mostly fair) grader. By that I mean you pretty much can't get a 100% on anything unless it's straight facts. (Like a spelling quiz for example) So she's had a few parents complain about her grading too. Afterwards, she told me she'd have given the student a negative grade. (She actually has given a student a negative grade before.) She said "Change the grade. Make it a -10%"
So I take it that the kid continued to be a slacker. Ever hear from the parents again?
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RE: Ask a teacher on Summer Break
July 13, 2017 at 2:48 pm
He wasn't so much of a slacker as he was... someone who really let confirmation bias take over. He used poor sources (which weren't even really sources as they were quotes from people supporting his position--which was essentially that the Holocaust didn't happen or wasn't as bad as they said it was). His paper was essentially "these people agree with me!" Thankfully it was toward the end of the year, and I didn't have to deal with the parents ever again. And I didn't have him in my class the next year. I'm not even sure he continued going to our school. I hope that he did learn something, but I'm not really sure he did.
The whole tone of Church teaching in regard to woman is, to the last degree, contemptuous and degrading. - Elizabeth Cady Stanton
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RE: Ask a teacher on Summer Break
July 13, 2017 at 2:51 pm
(This post was last modified: July 13, 2017 at 2:52 pm by Ben Davis.)
Hi Cecelia!
Do students actually give a damn about European history or is that subject only there so that the military can boast about their involvement in the two world wars?
And are the rumours true about what goes on in the staff room?
Sum ergo sum
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