Today I had my kids do Lit Circles for chapter 6 of Lord of the Flies.  They proceeded to spend 3 minutes talking about the chapter, and the next 12 or so that I gave them talking about what they’re going to do over break.  They are all going to be shocked, SHOCKED!, when I give them D’s.

I wish I could just let them draw cornucopias of things they’re thankful for, but I don’t feel like looking at hand drawn XBOX 360’s and pairs of boobs.

meghannjane:

I try to do art projects as much as possible because, let’s face it, kids don’t get to do as many art projects as people my age did when we were in elementary school. There’s so much pressure to cram as much information in their brains as possible these days, and sometimes it’s nice to flex the right-brain a little bit.

Today the kids created cornucopias overflowing with drawings of things they’re thankful for. I made the rule that they couldn’t draw any toys because I wanted them to think of the more important things in life. One boy really argued with me because he truly felt his Wii was the most important thing in his life. That could potentially be true, but I held firm. It’s nice when kids think past the material things for a bit!

txtsfrmlstnght:

(201): So i banged this chick from Peru last night. Needless to say, I’m having chipotle for lunch todayas a south American reward to honor her.

before me:brighteryellow

My name is: Andrew
My tumblr name is: foxual
My friends call me: Fox
I live in: Western New York
My birthday’s on: Sept. 22
Right now I am: getting ready to leave work and finishing grading papers
I like to eat: things that are terrible for me, and pizza.
And I like to: Watch sports, read, spend time with my wife, enjoy myself.
People think I am: I have no idea.  I try not to burden myself.
But I really am: Introspective, philosophical, funny, and smart.
I am on tumblr because: I joined a few years ago, frustrated with blogging.

Help my friend Kim out.  I really like her boyfriend and want him to move here.

kimberlywehner:

My boyfriend is trying to land a job in Rochester, NY. He is having a really hard time finding one and if he gets an interview they are usually turned off by the fact that he lives in PA even though he assures them that he has places to stay and could move here as soon as needed.

Hate to jump into this one (honestly), but I’m studying to be a teacher and am currently student teaching (in the state of New York, and yes, that means something).  I agree with the Meghann.  It should be hard to become a teacher.  And you have no clue you want to teach after two weeks.  Guess what? You’re a sub.  The kids are treating you like a sub they like because they have a real teacher and you aren’t it.  I am going through the same shit with my kids, who are all starting to hate me now because I am making them do stuff.  And what about the special ed kids?  Because you have them.  Even if they’re not classified.  Have you seen an IEP yet?  Have you read 20 or 30 of them and had to memorize them because you need to know test mods, accommodations, lesson mods, behavioral intervention plans and strategies?

Have you written lesson plans? Units? Thought about building a curriculum?  It takes a lot of time, a lot of frustration, and very, very few people are ever really good at it. You need to know how to deal with the different ways kids learn, because one class is different from every other.  I have been in and out of more than a dozen classrooms at this point, regular ed, special ed, AP and IB.

They are all different.  You have to know how to teach them all.  You have to see a lot of kids, a lot of classes, a lot of teachers, and deal with a lot of education.

Have you gone home yet and had a big glass of wine because it’s the only thing you can do when you find out your class is full of kids who have been (and are getting) abused, have been raped, have been beaten, emotionally wrecked, and you have to go in every day and be their teacher, sometimes the only stable adult in their lives? It’s beyond a huge responsibility.

I know you’re smart. You can do it, I’m sure, and this country needs more intelligent teachers.  But you have to be a teacher.  You have to give it your all, do as much as you can, because if you don’t, you’re selling the kids short.  Alternative cert programs are great but remember that you’re not getting everything you need to be equipped to handle teaching.

The biggest thing I’ve seen in great teachers is the understanding that they’re not doing their jobs for themselves.

jgh:

meghannjane:

jgh:

Or teach in a foreign country?

I’m not trying to start a shit storm here. I’m a huge fan of this blog, and I’ve been really interested in your substitute teaching experiences lately.

However, I was just curious to know how long you have been considering teaching as a profession? Is it something you’ve always been interested in, or is it something that you’ve recently considered because of your current employment situation? I’ve read that you’ve taken over your mom’s class, so you’ve obviously had a familiarity with the “behind-the-scenes” educational field throughout your life. Having a mom as a teacher must definitely have a huge impact on your decision.

I have to be honest and say that it really rubs me the wrong way when people decide they want to be teachers as a fall-back profession. I know the economy is bad and that it’s hard to secure a job (believe me, I fought tooth and nail for my teaching position this fall). It’s frustrating because, in order for me to get a job, I went through a 5-year program, had 5 separate teaching placements in which I spent countless hours with my students (not to mention half a dozen volunteer placements), and wrote dozens of papers on educational philosophies, beliefs, goals, and curriculum. I definitely do not mean to sound like a snob when I say that… I just mean that becoming a teacher has been my focus for as long as I can remember. I’m passionate about education in this country, and it means more to me than I can explain.

To me, it’s not fair that someone can go through a short certification process and get the same job as teachers for whom the educational field has been a focus their whole lives… all because the thing he or she wanted to do in the first place didn’t work out.

So are you saying that you think it should be HARDER for people to become teachers because you went through a long period of time to become a teacher?

Alternative certification programs exist for a reason. I’m glad that you are obviously so passionate, but alternative certification fills a very desperate need. If everyone was like you and made teaching as competitive as it should be, maybe it couldn’t be someone’s “fallback.” But let’s face it: the salary is not what it should be for the work public school teachers do, and the retention rate for teachers is abysmal. The turnaround rate is high, high, high. People walk out all the time. So if you don’t like the fact that recruitment standards are lower than what you went through, don’t blame me, blame a system that doesn’t support its educators well enough.

I’m not sure why you had to do so much to be a teacher. (Not that that’s bad!) When did you start teaching? Was it different then? Because where I’m from, which is a poor border town, they are BEGGING for teachers left and right.

I’m not going to lie: I doubt teaching will be my life-long career. And I had NO IDEA I would like it. But you know what? I think I do. It’s only been two weeks, but I really like the kids. I like watching them learn stuff. I like that in my situation, I get to actually formulate real lesson plans instead of babysit. I like tutoring. I like interacting with the kids. Hopefully, even if it’s only over a year or two, I could make a difference.

If I go teach in a foreign country, I would plan for that to be an experience of a year or two years. I want to travel, but it’s not going to be some vacation. Many people go thinking they can just hand out English crosswords. That is NOT what I would be doing.

Personally, I think your statements are judgmental. I don’t know you, but I’m kinda pissed.