May 2010
1 post
January 2010
1 post
2 tags
aaand. we're back.
after vacation + one more day due to travel problems, I trudged back to school today. Day was mostly fine, though energy is low all around and everyone’s mood hovers around grumpy. None of that “rejuvenated to tackle the new year” stuff around here. After spending precious minutes going over the plan for the next two weeks leading up to finals with all of my classes, I was...
December 2009
7 posts
ZOMG! Learning styles theory is bunk?? →
Have you all ever heard about learning styles? Normally associated with Howard Gardner’s multiple intelligences, it basically says that people learn in different ways (verbal, musical, auditory, interpersonal, intrapersonal, etc.) and part of a teacher’s job is to find engaging ways to teach that hit on a bunch of these so that everyone learns…
This is like some BREAD AND BUTTER...
4 tags
brief summaries: my school and the city.
First, the school update: You remember the hope (this is where I would link to another post if I knew how?!) about the survey and the possibility of feedback, etc. Here’s what happened after that:
1. small changes: principal feedback on meeting notes, a suggestion box in the main office, announcements emailed to the staff
2. heard from another meeting that I put my spies (kidding) in:...
3 tags
high/low
This post was originally going to be called “bright spots” or something like that because I wanted to write - for once- about the few things that make me happy and make me excited to teach: the students. Then, I got some news this morning and needed to change the post to “high/low.” In advisory, we do something called check-ins, where a question is asked and everyone...
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Report shows wide disparity in college achievement →
Article from the post about success rates in college. Some clips:
*About 45 percent of low-income and underrepresented minority students entering as freshmen in 1999 had received bachelor’s degrees six years later at the colleges studied, compared with 57 percent of other students.
*Only 7 percent of minority students who entered community colleges received bachelor’s degrees within...
3 tags
inconclusive attempts at improvement
I have a potential reason to be hopeful !! At the end of a really useless professional development on Friday about discipline from the deans (have I mentioned the high school dean before? I’m not sure what she does cause she’s not really in the halls checking for anything except uniforms - more on this in a minute), we were shepherded into the computer lab to take an online survey...
4 tags
on coming back.
I had a really wonderful Thanksgiving. After spending a full day in the kitchen, the meal was a total success (23 lb. turkey, Parmesan mashed potatoes, roasted root vegetables, garlic cauliflower, apple sausage stuffing, sauteed kale, orange and pear cranberry sauce, glazed carrots…. and a chocolate pecan pie - I did not make this - with 18 year old aged scotch brought by one of the...
November 2009
7 posts
2 tags
linking teacher tenure to test scores in nyc! →
Its 6:20 and I’m supposed to be getting ready so that I can go brine a turkey in Valencia. Stopped off at the nytimes (mistake!) and found this. I’ll wait til post tday to tell you why its SO. BAD.
on a more positive note, happy thanksgiving! I’m going to celebrate with my family and a couple other people who are very close to me. And I’m cooking the whole thing. woot.
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thankful for...
teacher breaks.
off to LA after today’s professional development! Back on the 1st!
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scandal in sacto schools →
I’m from Sacramento. Our mayor is Kevin Johnson. Kevin Johnson was an NBA player from Sacramento who returned to fix the ghetto. I’m not sure those were his exact words, but that’s basically what his message was. Michelle Rhee is the chancellor of education (well, thats what we call it in ny, forgive my error… class starts soon) in Washington D.C. and one of the most...
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remember when I said, "at least there aren't any...
Well….. there were two today. Before 11am. And one on Wednesday afternoon. Its been building for a little while - its not like things were exactly serene and positive here. I didn’t bother finding out what they were about.
In addition, I sort of unloaded on the AP (assistant principal) this morning about the fact that our graduating class is going to have maybe 15 students in it at...
2 tags
school gets an A? They probably dont have as many... →
the actual ny times article is here: http://www.nytimes.com/2009/11/18/education/18grades.html?_r=1&hpw
and more commentary here: http://gothamschools.org/2009/11/18/comparing-small-apples-to-large-apples/
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excited about college?!
Today I took my advisory group - about 12 9th grade girls - to Barnard and Columbia for the day as part of school-wide “visiting colleges day”. We took tours, talked with professors, visited dorm rooms in the Intercultural Resource Center, and spoke at length with a Columbia student. It was a really great trip for them… especially in the 9th grade. They got to hear about...
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too angsty to work... lets start a blog!
Life at school has been rough recently. Winter months are looming ahead. Kids’ attendance is sparing. Homework completion is worse. Detailed data reports reflecting those obvious facts are due weekly. The one teacher printer is out of ink. Again. Staff morale is at an all time low. We grumble a series of complaints every morning up the four flights of stairs, during our lunch break...