Exasperation and Wanting to Teach

[proud2BlibKansan]

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I was sitting in my math team meeting discussing math data from our state test. We were trying to figure out how to create a new, completely unnecessary assessment that would give us information we already knew from anecdotal notes/observations/other assessments that we could enter into a spreadsheet to prove we were really teaching what we said we would in order to meet our school math goal. That’s when someone kept saying “But how do you know? But how do you know if you don’t assess them?” Other people began laughing and shared with me that our assistant principal showed the collaborative planning video during a team leader meeting. Someone kindly e-mailed me the link which I promptly went home and viewed. That video led me to your videos and eventually your blog.

Thank you again for taking the time to write about your experiences in a humorous way, thereby saving my sanity and the sanity of many other teachers out there.

During my post observation conference last week, I decided to express that I feel mediocre at many things but not actually good or solid at any one thing. My principal said “That’s the nature of our job.” Really? You want a bunch of mediocre teachers? Well, trust me, he’s got them. I’m just thankful I spent my first 4 years of teaching at an amazing school with amazing teachers & administrators. It prepared me to do great things for my students despite the crappy work environment and my clueless colleagues. Too bad I had to move and couldn’t stay at my previous school.

The following are just a few new things we’ve started in the last several years.

06-07 New Social Studies program & the easiest teaching year of my career (buzz words: Marzano, High Yield Strategies, Differentiation, Backwards Design)
07-08 Thinking Maps (buzz words: same as above + rigor, relevance, relationships)
08-09 New Writing Program, New Math Program (buzz words: all above + fractal (aka goal setting and data collection every 8 weeks)
09-10 New Reading Program + beginning book study on an additional piece to new reading program (fractals mentioned but not enforced)
10-11 Aerospace curriculum, plus expected implementation of additional reading program piece with zero training or time to finish reading the book, PDSA (see “fractal”)

more . . . http://teachbadstories.wordpress.com/2011/01/29/exasperation-and-purging/

[Pholus]

1. Have you noticed how the education deform crowd seems a lot quieter now that

"Waiting for Superman" and the national summit on education and the accompanying media blitz came and went.

'salmost like the checks cleared and have been spent or something.... :)

Keep up the good fight, please! My kids are depending on you guys!

[proud2BlibKansan]

2. Oh they're just quietly planning their next move

LOL

[Hannah Bell]

3. the homeschooling group has disappeared too.

they feel unwelcome

[proud2BlibKansan]

4. They have their own forum

[Hannah Bell]

5. that's what i mean