Mom Is Teaching

My father was a teacher, an educator and he was good at it.  He used his educational skills to parent me and most people didn’t realize how good he was at what he did.  Most people thought he was too lenient.  They thought he let me get away with too much.  In the end, I was a good kid.  I’ve heard my mom say that my first 20 years were much easier than my last 20.  Yet, she never agreed with my father’s methods. 

They had divorced when I was 4 and she despised him.  That’s another story all together and it didn’t matter what he believed was best for me, she was going to oppose it, just out of principal.  Unfortunately, the last 20 years, she has been unhappy with my behavior more often than not.  My father died just 1 month prior to my 20th birthday. 

So, does that say that he did a good job when he was alive because I was a good kid or that he screwed up and that’s why my life as an adult hasn’t been all roses.

Either way, this wasn’t what I was planning to talk about.  I was planning to discuss the ability to teach.  I too have a degreed in education.  I am no where near the parent my father was, I can’t seem to channel my academics into my parenting gig.  Actually, truth be told, I wasn’t very good at discipline when I taught school either.

I told you all that to say, it’s Father’s Day, my dad was a great dad, he was a good teacher, a good parent.  Regardless of what my mother thought, or anyone else for that matter, he was a good and I just want to say Happy Father’s Day to my dad…even if he isn’t hear with me now…he will always be with me.

As you know, we discuss reading around here more than anything (once we finally got of the who does it better  homeschoolers or public schools) and there are so many methods out there of teaching children read it is unbelievable.  As I mentioned before my son wasn’t very successful with phonics.  Now, he can read the book off of a label right and left and drive you insane, he just didn’t’ learn what he has learned through true phonics.

If you are familiar with reading and reading techniques, especially since we have discussed teaching adults at this time, you should check out Pennington, Publishing Blog.

If you read the article, you know that there are many techniques that are the same when you start teaching adults to read as there is when teaching children to read.  First of all the students will need to learn the curricular components of spelling, syllabication phonics, fluency, sight words, vocabulary development and reading comprehension. Yu will need a balanced approach between instructional approaches and reader and pre-reader strengths and weaknesses in phonics awareness. 

And as if this even needs to be said, you will need lots of book around that fit the appropriate reading level as well as interest level of the ate group.  And, finally, one of the most important aspects is you are going got need to be patient.

Yea, I am so not kidding you.  I see things all the time that are marked for kindergarten or first grade, then it happens to be labeled, “Algebra”.  What is that about?  Am I that old?  That far behind the times?  Is there really no turning back?  What happened to letting our kids be kids?

I know I know, I sound more and more like you precious homeschoolers every day uh?  Not too bad of a thing to be in my opinion, I’d actually like to see more parents adopt the way of thinking and then insist that our public schools find a way to incorporate some ….some….crap I don’t know what it is.  I simply want these folks to get a grip.  To slow down and let my kid be a kid. 

The pressure to perform is so great.  Why can’t the pressure simply be performing on the jungle gym instead of freakin’ algebra? 

So, now that I’ve regressed back to complaining about my son’s school district on a regular basis, I’m going to try to get back to more important matters.  Well, more important for you guys, not me necessarily. 

By that, I mean, there’s a great resource for helping your high schooler with Algebra.  I don’t doubt at all that by the time my children have reached high school, Algebra will not be algebra but will indeed be more like calculus three or something. 

Anyway, the folks as Blissfully Domestic Homeschooling have sited a place to find help for those of you who are in a position right now of need.  Hippocampus.org offers assistance will several levels of high school math.  And, as I said, it could get worse before it gets better, unfortunately.

Ok, so I know I haven’t been very homeschool friendly necessarily lately but I did try with the Valentine’s crafts.  But, now, now I must make my admission of geography illiteracy.  I am not kidding you.  Once while on vacation with my best buddy from high school, we sat bikini clad on the beach in Ft. Lauderdale Florida.  We were imbibing a little and taking in much sun.  We had already been to the Bahamas and back and were headed to Disney in a few days.  So, as you can imagine, much money was being spent.

So, when a radio DJ approached us with the following task, “Name this ocean and I’ll give you $50 right now”.  I guess maybe since were somewhat thin, frail and dumb looking he figured it was a good choice and a way to keep his $50.  He was right.  Neither of us had a clue what ocean that was.  I was more than a little embarrassed.

My friend quickly retorted, “but she (meaning me) can say the counties in Alabama in alphabetical order”.  He was shocked I think.  I did it.  He laughed and kept his $50.  Just FYI, we were forced to learn them in our senior democracy class and well, that was something that stuck with me…unlike most geography which went totally over my head.

I told you all that to say this….go check out this interactive map of the United States…..it is awesome and obviously I have failed miserably at it for several hours now…oops!

From the time I wrote my first post here bashing homework until just a few minutes ago, I’ve remained steadfast that homework is not good if it is not good homework.  And, teaching a child to study is way more productive than assigning boatloads of homework. 

One night several weeks ago at Walker’s basketball practice (which is on Friday nights by the way), there was a high school student with a stack of post cards.  She had words on one side, definitions on the other.  She was carrying them around.  She would study for a few minutes and if someone came by and spoke to her, she would speak and then return to studying.  On a Friday night people?  Yea, on a Friday night.

I remember those days but unfortunately for me, no one introduced that actual method to me until  I was in college.  I mean, I made all kinds of pretend tests for myself in order to study but the method this girl was using, I was in college before I remember seeing someone do it or hearing the suggestion. 

Well, the time is nigh and my children will not have to wait until they are in college and have no clue how to study to learn at least one method to study.  Some of you are rolling your eyes and saying, “flashcards have been around forever” but the truth is, I don’t remember doing them as a child and I never remember being encouraged to make my OWN flashcards.

Here’s another method if you want to check it out. 

Angela Norton Tyler, of Family Homework Answers. Angela is a teacher and parent from the Sacramento, California area. She has been a classroom teacher, an elementary school reading specialist, and has taught courses at the college level. With a special focus on helping parents help their children become better students, Angela has put her energies into teaching parents how to improve the homework and reading skills of their children. In 2005, Angela published Tutor Your Child to Reading Success, and now conducts seminars about reading and homework for parents and teachers all over the west coast of the United States. She also publishes Family Homework Answers, a site “devoted to helping parents and their children deal with homework.”

On Wednesday I had managed to successfully boost my confidence enough to take the lessons my father had taught me and go to the airport, get on a plane, fly to Miami and make my way around.  No one to lean on but myself.  No one to talk to but strangers. 

On Thursday morning I dress up nice.  I fixed my hair and put on make-up and began to make my way down down the street to the convention center which was only a mile away.  No reservations what so ever as to my ability to walk a mile.  For those of you who remember, I could walk about 6 minutes on the treadmill when I gave up a month or so ago.  (I didn’t really give up, time just ran out – more on that later).

Either way, I was depending on no one.  I wasn’t taking a cab because I didn’t need to, I could walk.  I could follow directions and I could ask strangers for assistance without reservation.

But, I couldn’t however walk along the designated route AND tweet on my phone.  The excitement was overwhelming and I was busily twittering away my experience.  I don’t have a lot of memory about the exact moments prior to the accident, I just remember laying  flat on my face in the middle of the street with on-coming traffic in several directions.  My $5 sunglasses in one direction, my phone in another and people surrounding me trying to help.

I had stepped off the curb and not onto solid ground.  I twisted my ankle and I flew across the street in an attempt to keep my balance.  I landed in the middle of the street.  I was embarrassed more than hurt I thought.  People helped me up, assured me that I wasn’t dirty and I hobbled on across the road. 

Once I was safely off the road, I even tweeted about the fall.  My left foot was hurting.  It was hurting a lot.  But, I was NOT missing this conference.  I was half-way there, I could make it.  I continued to walk.  I went to session after session and I ate lunch and then attended more sessions.

Finally realizing that I had to get back to the hotel before I could crash and that the pain in my foot was worsening and I was obviously hobbling more now than I had earlier, I made my way outside.  This involved lots of steps.  Lots and lots and lots of steps….it was hard.

I sat down on the concrete slab and in a moment, I was completely confused as to what in the world I was going to do.  How was I going to get to the hotel.  I was I going to get to food for dinner, somewhere, but how? 

I knew that once my shoe was off, my foot was going to swell.  And in the length of time it took me to take off my shoe, put it in my bag and call my husband, tears began to stream down my face.  In that moment, I had no idea how to take care of myself.

I managed.  I had another meltdown when I realized that I had missed my flight and that time, in tears, I begged my husband to just “please do this for me, figure it out and tell me what to do”.  And he did.

I do know how to fish, but sometimes, we all need a partner to toss the line for us.  And, my father taught me the art of independence, but he also taught me the art of knowing when to say when.

I know this is going to be the last thing you equate to teaching a man to fish but, that’s just what came to mind when I started to write, so, that’s what you got.  You may or may not know that I went to Miami Florida on Wednesday to a Social Networking Conference.  I won the registration which was $2K at the door.  It was cheaper if you purchased earlier and of course, I never would have been able to go, even at the early bird rate of $1250, but I won my spot and I went.

I had no reservations what so ever of getting on a plane, flying to Miami, hauling my own bags, making my own way, making my own decisions and going to this conference, alone.  There was someone who had also won a ticket that I had chatted with but I had not made  true “connection” with them and didn’t expect to even meet them simply because the conference was so huge. 

Now, jumping around a bit here but one of the things that I remember my father (who passed away when I was 19 and I had been my primary "care giver” if you will, since I was 13 – just me and him in the house alone) telling me was that one of the most important lessons he wanted me to learn was to be independent.  And, he did everything within his power to ensure that I could take care of myself.  He was sick and lived 13 months longer than they told him he would.  During that time, he made what I believed to be ridiculous statements to me trying to teach me “how to make it on my own.”

He knew he didn’t have long.  He taught me how to change a tire, how to balance a checkbook and how to fill out and file income tax returns.  He MEANT I would not need anyone.  I would be more than self-sufficient.  And, I have been for the most part.  I suffered here and there on occasion, but for the most part, I’ve never had to lean on anyone.

Until now that is.  I depend on my husband to make a living for our family.  I could work.  We did just sell a daycare remember.  I have a teaching certificate and I could work, but right now, my work is at home and that’s a decision that my husband and I made together. 

Since I’ve rambled on, I’ll tell you the rest of this life lesson tomorrow, but the jest of everything I have to say goes back to some of the things that I mentioned when I first started authoring this blog and that is “education comes in all forms, not just from what is traditionally thought of as “school” and “teacher”’. 

More next time….

I took my first class in college on Teaching Reading Techniques.  And it scared the begeeezes out of me.  I am not kidding.  It caused all sorts of trauma.  I knew then, that without a doubt, I did not want that responsibility.  I have plenty of relatives (older ones all be it but still people I know well) who can’t read.  How is that possible?

And, when I started learning all the various methods of teaching a child to read, or even an adult, I started to freak out.  Seriously, the biggest issue I have right now with homeschooling is how in the world would I ever teach someone to read.  I am not kidding. 

The reason this subject is resonating within me so much right now is my son is not learning to read through using phonics.  He simply is not phonetically inclined.  He can sound out words until the cows come home but he can’t then blend the sounds.  He did his Dibels and he excelled but the fact of the matter is, when he gets to a word he doesn’t know, it is a major headache. 

Site words, he can do those.  He knows those, he can remember those, he can read anything that contains the 100’s of site words we’ve been through.  And, he can “guess” really well using the context of the sentence already, but phonics?  Nope, he can’t do it. 

So, what’s our other option?  I know his teacher doesn’t have time to cater to his particular need, but I do.  I have plenty of time to help teach him to read…if I weren’t scared to death of the whole prospect.

See, all this stuff is new to me, kinesthetic learner.  No I know what kinesthetic means.  I have a degree in physical education remember.  So, I know that moving is essential to a child’s learning.  This was the very thing that sparked my argument with the Alabama Department of Human Resources as well as the Department of Education in Alabama.

Why would I argue with them you ask?  Well, I was in the process of trying to get my license to own/operate/direct a daycare.  The state DHR ruled that the person could do this if he/she had a degree in early childhood.  Ok, so my teaching certificate says N-12.  They argued with me that the State of Alabama does not issue any degrees of the such, N-12.

So, I faxed them a copy of that $30K teaching certificate that read:  Physical Education N-12.  Ok, they say, but that still won’t work.  So, I ask them this,

“If a physical education teacher who is certified N-12 is not qualified to own/operate/direct/teach in a daycare, who in the hell is?”

They didn’t respond in my favor. 

Fast forward to the time when I was attempting to  obtain a grant to operate a pre-K program.  And, with that, the State Department of Education that controls WHO can teach in this class requires that the person who is in control of this class, or the teacher, “have a degree in early childhood”. 

And, once again, I asked them,

“If a physical education teacher who is certified N-12 is not qualified to own/operate/direct/teach in a daycare, who in the hell is?”

They did not respond in my favor either.

So, now I give you….the Kinesthetic Learner 3. 

But first, more of my goofy newly branded 6-year-old.

I’m trying to be informative even if I find that I’m not telling you anything that you couldn’t find somewhere yourself.  But, hey, if you find it here, then it’s just that much easier, uh?

So, what is it that I want to steal and share today…….Well, Angie from Many Little Blessings also writes for Blissfully Domestic and she has some great tips for "teachers/parents/coaches/facilitators" on how to handle the kiddo’s as they start to learn to read.  And, I was quite pleased with myself to find that I pretty much already knew what she put out and I basically followed those guidelines.  So, that should make me like……teacher/parent/coach/facilitator of the year, right?  Wait, I was trained a little….heck never mind, that makes me nothing then doesn’t it. 

Never mind all that self-bashing.  Let’s get straight to it.  Here’s her thoughts on working with early readers…

1. If the mistake still makes sense, don’t worry about it. For example, if your child says, "house" and the word was "home," just let them continue reading.

2. If the mistake doesn’t make sense, don’t immediately correct them. Wait to see if they notice that it doesn’t make sense. They might try to go back and fix it without you saying anything.

If your child doesn’t correct the error, you can say…

3. "Can you try that again?"

4. "Did that make sense?"

5. "Did what you read look right and sound right?"

If they still can’t get it…

6. Tell them the word.

Angie can be found writing about faith, family, cooking, cleaning, and trying to live a more content life at Many Little Blessings.

And, at the same time, since we are talking about reading, Kris from Weird Unsocialized Homeschoolers has some reading tips for you.  What she means is, you do the reading, you do the learning…and she has some books to recommend as well.

As you know, or if you  have forgot, I haven’t done much reading over the last several years except for when it was online.  But, once I started writing this blog, I found some of the greatest book suggestions on-line and now I find myself with a book in my hand often.  I even read in the car on the way home from our trip today. 

But, back to these suggestions by Kris.  She lists some of her favorites as

Homeschooling:  The Early Years by Linda Dobson

The Unschooling Handbook by Mary Griffith (I think someone here as mentioned this book to me as well)

A Charlotte Mason Education by Catherine Levinson (I’ve never heard of this one so I would love to hear from someone who has read it)

The Well-Trained Mind by Jessie Wise and Susan Wise Baur (again, another one I’ve never heard of but would love to hear from someone who has read it)

The Relaxed Home School by Mary Hood

If you have favorites, I’d love to hear from you too!

We’ve had much discussion here on families that homeschool and wouldn’t do it any other way.  Some that homeschool but would try public schools if they felt the public schools were in better shape.  We’ve had families who think our public schools do a good job and sufficient for their children and have no intentions of homeschooling unless something changes.

I am spending the next 3 days spotlighting 3 homeschooled families out of Parenting Magazine and I’m going to assume that none of those families are readers here but if so, we’d love to hear from you.

So, what I would like to do is take our families here, homeschool, unschool, public school, private school, religious school, whatever your method I’d love to feature you on this blog.

Now, if more educators of one kind come forward and the blog gets bogged down and seems to be about one type of education only, there’s no room for complaining as everyone will have an opportunity to share their story right here.

If you are interested in spotlighting your family, please email me at jareason (at) gmail (dot) com and I’ll get you the questions and we can get some folks highlighted.

So, let’s go, get that email out so I can get you some questions to answer for the spotlight on you and your family.

Ok, remember, I had to spend time with one kid at the doc’s office this week and then I spent my afternoon at the dentist, lots of magazine reading time.  This is a continuation of the last one but I broke it up because, well, I just have too much to say on this one article.

So, I’m still at Ladies Home Journal and I’m reading, Learning Guide:  Kindergarten.  And, they have the nerve to say:

“In the classroom - Teachers will show students how to:

*  develop small motor skills by cutting, pouring liquids, tracing, molding clay, coloring pictures and writing their names

*  follow directions, describe objects and events, share tools, and play in a group

*  label and express feelings such as anger, frustration and sadness with words instead of actions

*  tell time to the hour on analog and digital clocks; identify coins; recite personal data (birthday, address, phone number)

*   count and write numbers from 1 to 10; count objects in a set, divide objects into halves

*  explore basic science - plant growth, magnetism, freezing and thawing —ideally with experiments

*  learn about the community, often with local field trips (firehouse, post office, library); stud the child’s family

Ok, I’m going to have to agree here and then I’m going to have to explode in confusion.

First of all, in our neck of the woods, the small motor skills were tested prior to him starting kindergarten and were expected to be at least close to mastering the cutting, tracing, molding clay, coloring and writing of their names.  The pouring of liquids is problem the only one the poor little tots get a break on.  It’s like, hey you are 5, now grow up you little snot-face kid.  UGH

Secondly, they are expected to follow directions prior to getting to kindergarten, lest you get one of these nasty little yellow bee’s every day like we do (yellow being the color directly under purple and today we should have got more like a green which is way further down the chart). 

I do agree that kindergarten is the time to learn to describe objects and events, but sharing tools and playing in a group, geeez, I don’t like to share my toothbrush stuff all the time now but I assume that the teacher might can do these things.  And, as for playing in a group, how many introverts does it take before the experts get the picture that some folks just don’t like all the hoopla.  I’m not one of them, I’ll full extrovert and apparently so is my Yellow-bee-receiving-non-stop-talking son. (Post about today’s yellow bee on my personal blog that I would love some advice on).  But, anyway, I’m ok with this one.

But, now, “tell time to the hour on analog and digital clocks; identify coins; recite personal data (birthday, address, phone number)” come on, my son knows how to tell time, but according to his teacher, he is the only one in that room that does and he only knows because…he is a bossy by nature and thinks he is the boss, so he tells time to keep everyone on their feet around here.  The identifying coins is a joke, all he knows is one dollar bills (or bigger) and the personal data he was suppose to know when they tested him. 

I’m not even going to go into count and write numbers 1 to 10.  We just (in October of a August to May school year) finished writing to a 100 and I’m already sick of it.  Surely 1 to 10 was learned before now?  

The last two, I just as well leave those to the teachers because I hate the hassle and the mess.

Ok, can anyone tell that I’m in a disgusted and dimwitted mood.  I’m hacked at my child (please read on personal blog and comment), so don’t mind me, I just write here.

Ok, how many of you have read Sara Bennett and Nancy Kalish’s book The Case Against Homework?  Hands up so I can see them, nice and high!

Now, that passion that they have, that’s exactly the passion that I am about to employ on my son’s school over this idea of using physical education as punishment.  Or taking it away as it is.  I don’t need, nor does the teachers, principals and other administrators, to be told how important exercise is.  I am an over-weight-adult-onset-diabetic sufferer because I hate to exercise.  I loved physical education.  I have a degree in physical education.  I know the nutrition aspects as well as the importance of exercise.  I get very offended when I go to the doctor and they try to explain these things to me when they know I am a college educated person with a degree in physical education.  They have to know I am simply deaf and not dumb.

Anyway, missing P.E. because of some infraction that occurred in the classroom is about to make me go nuts on some folks.  Yes, when I taught physical education, it was tried on me too.  I did not allow teachers to withhold students from my class because they misbehaved in the classroom. 

Do you think the math teacher would have been happy if I had sent the students to math class but sent a note that read, “I am keeping Susie in from Math today because she was misbehaving in my class, I hope you don’t mind”?

Oh, yea, I can see classroom teachers all over the place rolling their eyes and wishing me to be deaf and dumb.  Or thinking that indeed, I may be both.  My point is, I fought this fought all the way to the superintendent once as a teacher and I’m ready to fight the fight again as a parent. 

For now my son has only missed one 5 minute time out of physical education and one full class of physical education.  I blame this on the P.E. teachers because that’s who allows it to happen.  It is not my place however to talk to them about this.  The teacher knows my position on it and it is going to be with great passion that I go to the administrators of the school with this issue.

I know this leaves the homeschoolers out of the subject a little for now.  However, I am curious if you take away your children’s play time for not completing assignments or other infractions?  Or is this just a public school phenomenon?

Please, I am very curious and very very upset.  Opinions please?

Remember, I’ve done my time as a parent, I’ve done my time in the public schools as a teacher, I’m currently doing my time as a parent of a child in a public school, I’ve owned a daycare and I’ve been a daycare parent….I think I’ve run the full gamete of educator positions with the exception being a homeschooler and I prefer to think that all that “stuff” we do each day with the “3.95 year old kid that is not potty trained”* is partially considered homeschooling.  If not, I am quitting, I’m tired of counting already but he really makes me angry wanting to learn his brothers site words…just kidding, I’m proud of his desire to learn but man, it is harrowing and that’s what scares me the most about homeschooling (but not getting into that again here, shut me up.)

So, with that, I’ve found a little guide at Ladies Home Journal regarding What Teachers Want Parents to Know.  I am totally assuming that this is public school teachers….and I’m sure you will as well.

1.  Read to your children.  (Ok, duh)

2.  Share family news with your child’s teacher.  (I try, I did tell her about the possible vision problems we learned of yesterday)

3.  Give your children chores to do at home.  (I did this without thinking of it as chores simply because I’m selfish and I refuse to pick up every sock, towel and pair of underwear that don’t make it to the laundry hamper.)

4.  Share organizing ideas with your child.  (Child number one is like his mother, an organizer by nature…the “3.95 year old who is not potty trained”?  All we know at this point is he is stubborn.  BAH)

5.  Follow up on teacher’s recommendations.

Ok, so out of all of those, notice I didn’t comment on number 5?  Why is that?  Because as much as I respect my son’s teacher, the work she sends home is way below his skill level so we don’t necessarily do it “her way”.  Secondly, on parent night, I asked her if she had noticed a very important problem with his “sounds” regarding the letter “T”.  Her reply was no.  How could she not notice that when he is asked what sound that letter makes, he says “sssssssssss”? 

I don’t mean that necessarily in a bad way, except, he has to be Dibeled and the more letters that slip through the cracks, the less he does.  He has benchmarked out of kindergarten and well into first grade, I’m not worried, but I do want to make sure these issues don’t get missed.

If you are looking for more tips, check out the article and see what you think?

How many of you would like to argue this point right here:

The problem is, many parents don’t make sure the extra work actually gets done, according to a 1999 study by Public Agenda, a New York City-based public-policy research group. That’s unfortunate, because “Kids need to get the message that an education is worth working for,” says Diana B. Herrera, who teaches gifted students at Henry B. Gonzalez Elementary School, in San Antonio.

??????????????????????????????????????????????????????????????????????????????

Because I cry 50 % Way to Go and 50 % Bah.  It needed more explanation.  My parents made me work for my education and I learned how important an education was/is.  However, they did not monitor my homework, NEVER.  NOT.AT.ALL. 

So, go ahead, discuss it!

* regarding “3.95 child who is not potty trained - he has no disabilities except he is stubborn as snot!

Our local paper keeps pretty close tabs on both educational systems in our area (both the county and the city).  And, as advertised, there will be a board meeting this afternoon.  One of the reasons for this meeting?  To discuss the fact that we have schools in our system who still do not meet AYP.

That drove me to go in search of my evaluation papers from when I taught biology in a school that was under evaluation and the two year probationary period to “fix” it.  I tried scanning them but you can’t see them, they were duplicates and I got the back page of 4 so hey are hard to read.  But, it was miserable.  Not just for me, but for the children.  Yes, the school had an enormous drop out rate, yes the school had a serious drug problem and yes, many students were struggling with the graduation exam.

But, miserable?  Yes.  The school system at that time operated on a block system.  That meant, for 96 minutes, each teacher had the same 25 to 30 children in a room and were expected to administer instruction for 96 minutes.  So what, that’s there job is what some of you are thinking, I know.

But, the fact of the matter is, 96 minutes is along time to give instructional material in biology.  The math teachers?  They loved it and the students in math did so much better with that system.  But, many other classes became a waste of time.  I saw many English Literature classes reduced to movies day after day.

However, once “the committee” which as I’ve mentioned before consisted of a group of retired teachers, arrived, everyone was under surveillance.  There was no way I could give 96 minutes of instruction in biology and expect the students to keep up.  Yes, the ones who were above average intelligence and the ones who were willing to work more at home could do it, but the general student, no way.

Within that 96 minutes, instruction was all that was allowed.  You could give a class room assignment as long as you continued to work through the assignment in an instructional manner.  In other words, you couldn’t give the assignment, wait 15 minutes on them to do it and then go back to reviewing it.  It basically wasn’t an in-class assignment at all.  It was more lecturing. 

Then, homework was expected to be assigned every night.  Friday night and holidays included.  The same evaluation form was used no matter what day of the week they came into your classroom and trust me, they came twice a week whether you liked it or not. 

One such example would be that the week of homecoming, “the committee” was in the school.  The schedule for the week had already been re-arranged numerous times to accommodate the fact that homecoming activities were getting in the way of instructional time.  However, I was the lucky one on one of these homecoming days in which the children would report to the class for that block, they would remain there for 15 minutes an then they were having some type of school wide activity. 

I was severely penalized and the information was turned into the administrators that I didn’t use the 15 minutes I was given for instructional time.  What I did in fact do was call roll (and you know, with the anticipation of a huge activity, how in the world?????), I asked for homework from the night before to be turned in (which again could not be reviewed out loud as a class activity as part of the instructional process) and I made that night’s homework assignment.  That probably took between 10 to 12 minutes of my 15 and I let them sit for the remaining 2 or 3 minutes.

I was penalized and turned into the administration.  Now, with the administration also being scrutinized heavily, they were kind enough to explain the situation to me and let it be. 

Might I add here that I was only there for one semester of the year while the regular teacher was out on maternity leave……why waste their time and money on me when they could have been working with the teachers that were going to be there year after year, semester and semester? 

I don’t know but I do know it has made me sick to my stomach just typing this out.  I am in on way saying that the schools that are failing don’t need to be managed and check out, but to the misery of everyone involved, it was ridiculous.  And, the thing about the whole process;  before it was over, the students knew that when that person from “the committee” was in the room, the class would be conducted differently and eventually would quit fighting it because all the teachers were making amends for it the other 3 days of the week.  How much help is that?