It was at the beginning of June 2006 that I packed up and embarked upon this rather audacious adventure. While I’d gone to Europe myself in 2004, at 19, and started college at 17 in 2002, this was moving… permanently… to a new city and state, with absolutely nobody I knew. I took finals early, skipped commencement, and arrived at the Crowne Plaza after three days of driving.
This presented the potential for plenty to go awry, and certainly, there’s a lot that has been unexpected. But I can’t say that there’s been anything that hasn’t gone “according to plan,” because really, there never was a plan. And I don’t think that’s a bad thing.
Coming in, I definitely saw this as a two-year commitment. I’m always willing to say that my options are open, and if you’re close to me, you know that I’ve been quite indecisive on many things over the years. But being here for longer than the two years wasn’t really in my intentions at all; this was time to decide what to study in grad school, learn a lot and help out in the meantime. To some extent, I guess it still is: I’m not going to be a teacher for my entire life (though, of course… I keep my options open). But I’m not any closer to knowing what I want to study as a graduate student. Given the fact that grad school’s a pretty hefty cost, and one that I’ll be shouldering this time, I’m not eager to start a program I’m unsure about.
I’ve always kinda been the “kid who was over his head,” socially if not academically. I’ll be 22 in March with almost a full year of work experience and two B.A. degrees. What that’s meant, though, is that it’s taken me longer to adjust socially, to figure out what the real expectations are, to read between the lines of my role. I’m not sure if that’s just my nature or if it’s due to being behind agewise throughout my life… perhaps both. Anyway, I figure there’s no reason to hurry this time. I want to learn to do something well, and actually do it for a while before getting rushed away for the next step in a breakneck life.
I did the right thing in joining TFA. As I’ve commented before, I do enjoy the teaching, when the kids don’t horribly frustrate me. I think it’s still hard for me to identify with where some of them are coming from… I just really haven’t had the same home life as they have and I still think of “home” as someplace where parents make sure you do your work. I don’t realize what these kids have been exposed to at their age. But I do feel like I’m doing something good. There are lots of bad teachers. I’m not at the bottom, and I think my kids can have success academically this year. What does that mean for their future? I’ve got no idea right now.
So, that adds up to this: yes, I’m seriously considering staying in Houston beyond two years to be a good teacher, to really get involved in the community, and try to turn some kids into good learners. That’s something my current students aren’t.
What has teaching taught me? Communication… I’m definitely still learning that lesson. But I’ve always been pretty timid and shy when I’m not comfortable. Then people get surprised by my forwardness. I tend to avoid confrontation, which makes things worse. I’m getting better at all of this, attacking problems head-on.
I can prioritize somewhat better, and getting better all the time. Still work to be done, to be sure. As for organization, I’ve certainly made strides. I may still seem physically disorganized, but there’s a method to it now, and I’m working towards environmental sustainability of my own physical environment, in the limited time I have when I’m not keeling over from exhaustion, preparing for class, or blogging/reading blogs (my main weakness these days).
So again… teaching has been the right thing for me… it will hopefully, on balance, be a good thing for my students… and I’ve met some amazing people in Houston who I know I will always be in touch with. I’ve made my share of mistakes, but I’m a better person now, a more ready person, a more efficient person, and a more determined person, than I was when I left Seattle. And I’m happy for that.
Tuesday, February 06, 2007
Saturday, February 03, 2007
Of teachers' unions and evaluations
The teachers' union is upset about the new performance pay system, which I believe focuses on (1) school test score improvement and (2) individual teacher test score improvement. Now, I am not sure if I am going to be screwed by this system, because my kids are transitioning and therefore will score lower, especially in reading and writing.
The union is angered enough that it apparently has asked teachers to stay out from after-school activities next week, to "show our value" or something of the sort. Having not been at the union meeting, I can't attest to the precise explanation. I'm going to stay in, as I want to work with my students... I'm there for them, and I don't want them to be hurt by an absence. (How much are "the students," in a broader perspective, hurt by the pay system perhaps lowering morale and unity among teachers? No idea, to be honest. But I'm still grappling with effectiveness and tutorials are one of the more effective places for me to work with them. I don't want to hurt the low ones right now. Perhaps when I am more effective in the classroom I will feel justified to do such things.)
Unfortunately, either way I act it is inevitably a personal statement. I don't honestly know what the right thing to do is right now. I don't know the history of the union's relationship with the district and the background to bargaining; I can't state for myself who's right and who's wrong. I don't even know who on my campus comes down on what side and who I would possibly irritate. Given that, I want to take the route that will be least harmful to the kids (in the immediate "my class" sense) while I get my bearings on the whole thing.
Another question is--can we implement a performance pay system in any other way, given current circumstances? I was pondering this... the only way I see to do evaluations, beyond test scores, is in-person reviews. While I like my principal and school and believe that evaluations would be fair, plenty of stories I hear suggest that this trust and the potential for fair reviews don't exist at many campuses, that is, the lack of good administration, in addition to preventing academic progress from students, also would preempt an efficient teacher incentive system and discourage good teachers. Independent review? Perhaps an idea worth looking into, but will the union go for it? I'm not optimistic.
And on the subject of evaluations: in evaluating my own progress as a teacher, there's lots of progress to be made. I've started reading Understanding by Design by Wiggins and McTighe, and I think it will really change the way I approach curriculum. More updates on that to come as I progress.
The union is angered enough that it apparently has asked teachers to stay out from after-school activities next week, to "show our value" or something of the sort. Having not been at the union meeting, I can't attest to the precise explanation. I'm going to stay in, as I want to work with my students... I'm there for them, and I don't want them to be hurt by an absence. (How much are "the students," in a broader perspective, hurt by the pay system perhaps lowering morale and unity among teachers? No idea, to be honest. But I'm still grappling with effectiveness and tutorials are one of the more effective places for me to work with them. I don't want to hurt the low ones right now. Perhaps when I am more effective in the classroom I will feel justified to do such things.)
Unfortunately, either way I act it is inevitably a personal statement. I don't honestly know what the right thing to do is right now. I don't know the history of the union's relationship with the district and the background to bargaining; I can't state for myself who's right and who's wrong. I don't even know who on my campus comes down on what side and who I would possibly irritate. Given that, I want to take the route that will be least harmful to the kids (in the immediate "my class" sense) while I get my bearings on the whole thing.
Another question is--can we implement a performance pay system in any other way, given current circumstances? I was pondering this... the only way I see to do evaluations, beyond test scores, is in-person reviews. While I like my principal and school and believe that evaluations would be fair, plenty of stories I hear suggest that this trust and the potential for fair reviews don't exist at many campuses, that is, the lack of good administration, in addition to preventing academic progress from students, also would preempt an efficient teacher incentive system and discourage good teachers. Independent review? Perhaps an idea worth looking into, but will the union go for it? I'm not optimistic.
And on the subject of evaluations: in evaluating my own progress as a teacher, there's lots of progress to be made. I've started reading Understanding by Design by Wiggins and McTighe, and I think it will really change the way I approach curriculum. More updates on that to come as I progress.
Thursday, February 01, 2007
And as for the war...
Over half of Houston students don't graduate from high school, according to a recent Chronicle article. Meanwhile, those that do earn, on average, $9900 more per year.
I asked my class to brainstorm what they would do with $9,900. One response I got:
"If I had $9,900.00 I would build a machine to make more money. With the money I make I would buy alot of tanks and my own ARMY. I would use the tanks to bring BUSH to IRAQ so he could be in ARMY"
I can't find the actual paper right now, so if I do, I will change whatever I got wrong, but that was about the gist of it. It cracked me up all day.
I asked my class to brainstorm what they would do with $9,900. One response I got:
"If I had $9,900.00 I would build a machine to make more money. With the money I make I would buy alot of tanks and my own ARMY. I would use the tanks to bring BUSH to IRAQ so he could be in ARMY"
I can't find the actual paper right now, so if I do, I will change whatever I got wrong, but that was about the gist of it. It cracked me up all day.
One crazy day
Wednesday, January 31, 2007.
This is on the heels of, Tuesday afternoon, a bunch of students coming and talking to me about how four boys in the class are giving them problems.
(1) Tired, I vaguely manage to stumble out of bed, not really eating breakfast, and I pull in the school gate at 7:57 as it is being locked. I have no idea what I am going to teach.
(2) The principal arrives for my official annual evaluation around 8:30. Remember, I have no idea what I'm actually doing on this day. Not entirely true, I guess... we always do a warmup and go over homework. When we finish that, we go to the ESL reading textbook and just do the next story, which I haven't read at all, and don't have the teacher's guide with me for.
(3) Principal, at length, leaves. I switch classes to my mentor's classroom while he comes in to talk to them about TAKS writing strategies and I have to watch his kids for half an hour.
(4) I return, and take my students to library. Rest!
(5) Taking them out of the library, librarian tells me she was tired of four of them screwing around (as am I), sent them to social worker, social worker has notes for home, they have to go to counseling for behavior problems. Okay.
(6) Social worker comes to my class. Asks what I did to follow up on yesterday. Did I speak to the principal? I say I have scheduled a parent conference for 4:30 but I didn't speak to the principal. Didn't know I was supposed to. She offers to take all of them--the boys and the complainers, so about half the class--to the office. I say okay.
(7) Lunch. Another respite.
(8) After lunch, I lose a bunch of people for various intervals while the office interviews everyone. Eventually, they all get sent back to my class in time for the end of the day. End of day goes surprisingly smoothly and I dismiss.
(9) Students come in after school for tutorials. One of the boys who got in trouble, [z] comes in and mumbles something to me about "[x] and [y] are in the office because they were looking at porno or something." Huh????
(10) About 10 minutes later, boy [x] comes into the room, crying, and puts his head down. I do feel slightly bad, but not horribly so. Boy [y] comes in about 5 minutes later, not quite as emotional. Eventually they join tutorials. I'm pretty sure those are suspension letters, but for what? They read the letters to themselves... yep... "Nivel III...Mirando revista pornográfica". Suspended at home for a day.
(11) [x]'s parents come in for the meeting (that I arranged yesterday). Things have changed quite a bit since then. I just say "ehhh... a lot more has happened today" and start to explain. Principal comes into the hall in the middle and explains. Etc, etc.
(12) At some point, I go home. Principal does inform me that [z] actually told on [x], [y] and the rest. heh.
(13) Today, I teach class and it goes really well! But the suspension was only one day... so here comes tomorrow.
On the bright side also, I got the results of the observation today, and somehow it went really well.
This is on the heels of, Tuesday afternoon, a bunch of students coming and talking to me about how four boys in the class are giving them problems.
(1) Tired, I vaguely manage to stumble out of bed, not really eating breakfast, and I pull in the school gate at 7:57 as it is being locked. I have no idea what I am going to teach.
(2) The principal arrives for my official annual evaluation around 8:30. Remember, I have no idea what I'm actually doing on this day. Not entirely true, I guess... we always do a warmup and go over homework. When we finish that, we go to the ESL reading textbook and just do the next story, which I haven't read at all, and don't have the teacher's guide with me for.
(3) Principal, at length, leaves. I switch classes to my mentor's classroom while he comes in to talk to them about TAKS writing strategies and I have to watch his kids for half an hour.
(4) I return, and take my students to library. Rest!
(5) Taking them out of the library, librarian tells me she was tired of four of them screwing around (as am I), sent them to social worker, social worker has notes for home, they have to go to counseling for behavior problems. Okay.
(6) Social worker comes to my class. Asks what I did to follow up on yesterday. Did I speak to the principal? I say I have scheduled a parent conference for 4:30 but I didn't speak to the principal. Didn't know I was supposed to. She offers to take all of them--the boys and the complainers, so about half the class--to the office. I say okay.
(7) Lunch. Another respite.
(8) After lunch, I lose a bunch of people for various intervals while the office interviews everyone. Eventually, they all get sent back to my class in time for the end of the day. End of day goes surprisingly smoothly and I dismiss.
(9) Students come in after school for tutorials. One of the boys who got in trouble, [z] comes in and mumbles something to me about "[x] and [y] are in the office because they were looking at porno or something." Huh????
(10) About 10 minutes later, boy [x] comes into the room, crying, and puts his head down. I do feel slightly bad, but not horribly so. Boy [y] comes in about 5 minutes later, not quite as emotional. Eventually they join tutorials. I'm pretty sure those are suspension letters, but for what? They read the letters to themselves... yep... "Nivel III...Mirando revista pornográfica". Suspended at home for a day.
(11) [x]'s parents come in for the meeting (that I arranged yesterday). Things have changed quite a bit since then. I just say "ehhh... a lot more has happened today" and start to explain. Principal comes into the hall in the middle and explains. Etc, etc.
(12) At some point, I go home. Principal does inform me that [z] actually told on [x], [y] and the rest. heh.
(13) Today, I teach class and it goes really well! But the suspension was only one day... so here comes tomorrow.
On the bright side also, I got the results of the observation today, and somehow it went really well.
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