My son-in-law has just reached the age that I was when I changed careers and went back to school full-time for two years to earn a secondary math teaching license. I knew there was something important about that age to me; it just took me a while to remember.
During those years of very tight times with my husband working part-time, me working part-time, and our children heading into adolescence, I had many occasions to get a sense of God's grace, but there was one time in particular.
During that time I received a gift certificate in the mail from a local grocery store. It was sent directly from the store, and the gift giver was "Santa Claus". I did not recognize the hand-writing of the said Santa.
This was a dilemma for me. If the certificate had come from an organization, then I could have sent them a thank-you and felt good about their generosity. If the certificate had come from a friend, then I could have given him/her some home-made cookies as a thank-you gift. I had no way to know from whom the gift certificate came. It was a gift neither asked for nor earned. It was the best representation of the Grace of God that I had ever experienced in the temporal world.
I used the gift certificate with the help of my family to make a wonderful Christmas dinner, and, no, I never did find out who sent it, but the memory of the blessing still haunts me after 20 years.
Friday, November 25, 2011
Sunday, October 9, 2011
Paper Shuffling
This past Friday I noticed just how much paper shuffling teaching takes. When I was in private industry, there were papers to shuffle, but they were not in the same realm as the ones I deal with now. I have papers to grade, both homework and tests/quizzes. I have papers to write: homework, tests/quizzes, lesson plans, and student recommendations. I have other grading to record: programs and projects from computer science classes and online work for math classes. Then, I have to put all this on the online grading system ... plus I have to put assignments, etc. on the internet ... plus I have to create a certain amount of online work so that my math students get more practice. Also, in the modern American way, I have to send out either by email or the post office progress reports in case a student is failing or close to failing. Aaaagh!
I am working on moving our school to an LMS (Learning Management System). I personally like Moodle, partly for its free software and constant upgrades, etc. from the international Moodle community, but our school would need to have it hosted by someone else ... and that is where the problem lies for Moodle. Or for any other LMS around. Any suggestions, anyone? I could certainly use them.
I am working on moving our school to an LMS (Learning Management System). I personally like Moodle, partly for its free software and constant upgrades, etc. from the international Moodle community, but our school would need to have it hosted by someone else ... and that is where the problem lies for Moodle. Or for any other LMS around. Any suggestions, anyone? I could certainly use them.
Sunday, September 11, 2011
The teachable moment
I've been watching the History Channel and MSNBC with their 10 year 9/11 anniversary shows. It brings back how I handled the situation as it unfolded at the school.
Students to my next math class came in at the bell demanding to have the classroom monitor changed to a news channel. They said that there had been an explosion at the World Trade Center. I refused, noting that it wasn't the first time a bomb had gone off there and it wouldn't be the last time. I was wrong.
When an office worker came by to pick up my attendance, I asked her about the students' comments, and she said something really big happened there, so I changed the monitor to a local station and we watched and listened about the planes hitting the towers. Then we watched the first of the towers to implode. My brain was in logic mode, which is normal for me under stressful situations when in public, and all I could talk about was how someone managed to get the tower to implode rather than explode. I did try to call my husband at home, but he did not answer since he was still asleep. We then saw the smoke coming from the Pentagon, of which the news anchor was not aware. He kept on asking someone to tell him what was on the screen. He did get his information after we had seen some of the Pentagon damage. It would be nice if the anchors had one monitor facing them that showed what the viewers were seeing. Class ended, and I finally got my husband on the phone. I told him to watch CNN right then because they were, at that time, the network that would spend the entire day on the situation.
I went to the cafeteria during lunch and found it rather empty of the many students that were usually there. The dean of students said that parents had been pulling their children out all morning. I guess that fear takes hold when the unthinkable becomes real. By the way, our student population was up to par the next day, so the parents must have felt better by evening.
In my remaining classes after that first class, I did not have the monitor on the news. I told my students that they needed to learn everything they could in order to help make a better world, that we needed all the good people we could get.
I had a graduate class that evening, but it was cancelled by the instructor. Many of my classmates had pushed for the cancellation because they were still in shock. Still in logic mode, I felt that my classmates had wimped out, but I did not know that my instructor had been trying to contact his father who worked in downtown Manhattan. FYI: the father was all right, but had spent all day walking from his office to off the island so he could get home.
How was this a teachable moment? It allowed me and my fellow teachers to help our students understand that when one cannot offer help immediately, one must do whatever is possible to be ready to offer help in the future. In our Catholic school, we also helped students to understand that it was possible for God to make good come out of this tragedy with our help. Of course, our school and students started working on ways to help the people in the midst of all the tragedies the next day: making/collecting money needed to keep the help coming and special prayer services including an all-school mass. We have a framed pastel picture drawn by one of our art students that has on the left side a firefighter in front of the World Trade Center twin towers falling with the smoke and dust around and on the right side a blood donor in front of a local donation center. It fits the school since 2001 was our school building's first year of use.
Students to my next math class came in at the bell demanding to have the classroom monitor changed to a news channel. They said that there had been an explosion at the World Trade Center. I refused, noting that it wasn't the first time a bomb had gone off there and it wouldn't be the last time. I was wrong.
When an office worker came by to pick up my attendance, I asked her about the students' comments, and she said something really big happened there, so I changed the monitor to a local station and we watched and listened about the planes hitting the towers. Then we watched the first of the towers to implode. My brain was in logic mode, which is normal for me under stressful situations when in public, and all I could talk about was how someone managed to get the tower to implode rather than explode. I did try to call my husband at home, but he did not answer since he was still asleep. We then saw the smoke coming from the Pentagon, of which the news anchor was not aware. He kept on asking someone to tell him what was on the screen. He did get his information after we had seen some of the Pentagon damage. It would be nice if the anchors had one monitor facing them that showed what the viewers were seeing. Class ended, and I finally got my husband on the phone. I told him to watch CNN right then because they were, at that time, the network that would spend the entire day on the situation.
I went to the cafeteria during lunch and found it rather empty of the many students that were usually there. The dean of students said that parents had been pulling their children out all morning. I guess that fear takes hold when the unthinkable becomes real. By the way, our student population was up to par the next day, so the parents must have felt better by evening.
In my remaining classes after that first class, I did not have the monitor on the news. I told my students that they needed to learn everything they could in order to help make a better world, that we needed all the good people we could get.
I had a graduate class that evening, but it was cancelled by the instructor. Many of my classmates had pushed for the cancellation because they were still in shock. Still in logic mode, I felt that my classmates had wimped out, but I did not know that my instructor had been trying to contact his father who worked in downtown Manhattan. FYI: the father was all right, but had spent all day walking from his office to off the island so he could get home.
How was this a teachable moment? It allowed me and my fellow teachers to help our students understand that when one cannot offer help immediately, one must do whatever is possible to be ready to offer help in the future. In our Catholic school, we also helped students to understand that it was possible for God to make good come out of this tragedy with our help. Of course, our school and students started working on ways to help the people in the midst of all the tragedies the next day: making/collecting money needed to keep the help coming and special prayer services including an all-school mass. We have a framed pastel picture drawn by one of our art students that has on the left side a firefighter in front of the World Trade Center twin towers falling with the smoke and dust around and on the right side a blood donor in front of a local donation center. It fits the school since 2001 was our school building's first year of use.
Saturday, September 10, 2011
What's this about a teacher's short day?
There seems to be a misconception that a teacher has a short day because an official school day is usually 7 hours long. Well, those 7 hours make up the students' day, but not the faculty's day. I start my day at least 1/2 hour prior to the "official" start of school. Actually, I have already checked my school email from home and dealt with some of the issues in them prior to leaving home. I do not leave the school until about 45 minutes after the last bell. I see students before school and after school to help them and to let them make up their tests and quizzes.
Then, there is the grading. Wednesday night was the open house for parents of current students to meet their children's teachers, so I really had no time to grade the homework I took up that day. Hence, on Thursday night I stayed up an extra hour just to grade the waiting homework plus the quizzes I gave that day. I plan for when I will grade work, so make up work is pushed to the end of my to-do list and may take some time for me to grade. I usually do make up work on the weekends.
With the grading comes the responsibility of keeping an eye on which students need more than most. I discovered in grading the quizzes that I have a student who will need extra effort on my part to help the student demonstrate the math skills he/she has learned. That means more meetings with parents, the student, administration, etc. outside of the official school day. Plus I need to make sure that that student's tests and quizzes allow the student to legitimately succeed. I do not believe in false grades, but I do know that not everyone has good math logic abilities. I'm so glad my art teachers didn't grade just on my ability to shade properly -- because I didn't shade at all usually -- but also included my best art skills, i.e. structure and form. I try to remember that gift when teaching students who care and work hard to succeed. They need to know that they have math skills, just not necessarily in the same way as their classmates. St. Paul was right: we are all parts of the same body, but we each have different gifts to share in that common body. (My interpretation.) Besides, nothing succeeds like personally-achieved success. I have faith that this student will strive to achieve as much as possible in math when he/she knows what is possible. I've seen it happen before.
After saying all that, I guess I lost track of my original subject, but I regained my incentive to be the best teacher I can be.
Then, there is the grading. Wednesday night was the open house for parents of current students to meet their children's teachers, so I really had no time to grade the homework I took up that day. Hence, on Thursday night I stayed up an extra hour just to grade the waiting homework plus the quizzes I gave that day. I plan for when I will grade work, so make up work is pushed to the end of my to-do list and may take some time for me to grade. I usually do make up work on the weekends.
With the grading comes the responsibility of keeping an eye on which students need more than most. I discovered in grading the quizzes that I have a student who will need extra effort on my part to help the student demonstrate the math skills he/she has learned. That means more meetings with parents, the student, administration, etc. outside of the official school day. Plus I need to make sure that that student's tests and quizzes allow the student to legitimately succeed. I do not believe in false grades, but I do know that not everyone has good math logic abilities. I'm so glad my art teachers didn't grade just on my ability to shade properly -- because I didn't shade at all usually -- but also included my best art skills, i.e. structure and form. I try to remember that gift when teaching students who care and work hard to succeed. They need to know that they have math skills, just not necessarily in the same way as their classmates. St. Paul was right: we are all parts of the same body, but we each have different gifts to share in that common body. (My interpretation.) Besides, nothing succeeds like personally-achieved success. I have faith that this student will strive to achieve as much as possible in math when he/she knows what is possible. I've seen it happen before.
After saying all that, I guess I lost track of my original subject, but I regained my incentive to be the best teacher I can be.
Saturday, August 27, 2011
Waiting for the hurricane
I felt the title was appropriate since our NC community usually gets the tails of hurricanes, and, right now, we are getting an increase in humidity, clouds, and wind. It also fits the beginning of the school year. It's the first Saturday after the return of the students, and I am so glad to have the weekend off because I need the chance to rest and review for next week.
After 17 years in the profession and 10 years at my current school, I have very few problems with student behavior. (I just wish sometimes that politicians and people-concerned-with-education knew how few of the first ten responsibilities of a public school teacher have to do with actually helping students learn. They deal mostly with managing student behavior at all times and in all situations on the school property.) Since part of my responsibility, training, and interest lie in using technology to help teachers teach and students learn, I am always adding technology to my lessons. Currently, I am in year two of trying out Moodle with the intent of switching to it or some other LMS (Learning Management System) next year. This year all but my AP CS classes will have internet assignments through the school's Moodle test system. In addition, my math students will also be using the Khan Academy as part of their learning and practice process.
So I spent part of the week helping my math students start using our Moodle system and getting set up with the Khan Academy. Yesterday, to get as many students ready to go further on these systems, we were in the general computer lab. I felt like we were the shakedown crew because my classes were the first ones to use said lab this school year. We kept on running into software problems, but at least the computer technology coordinator and I learned some important lessons for next year. My poor students in all my classes get to be guinea pigs for almost all new general educational technology for the school. I think they feel it's a badge of honor to be the first to try things. They certainly end up with several stories to pass on to their friends. Last year, my Intro CS class used Moodle all year, so each quarter they each had an extra project grade to compensate for being first in using Moodle at the school. I believed that part of their learning was the input they gave us in using said system and in tolerating problems well I had with the system until I learned it better. This year there will be no extra grades for using these systems. They will, however, lose grades if they don't use the systems and do their work on time. Obviously, I am not concerned with my students liking me personally; I just want them to learn.
While keeping up with lessons and help for the 4 subjects I teach this year, I am also trying to finish helping other teachers get their homework websites up to date on syllabi. This school is the only one in which I've been required to have a syllabus for each subject area. Syllabi are mostly used in college, not high school, but we are a college-prep school, so it makes sense. It also makes it easier for the parents to know what their children should be learning and what the teacher's requirements and expectations are.
There is one new habit I want to have this year. I want to carry my planning book with me always and everywhere so that I keep up with all my lessons and all my other duties plus having the school's calendar items in one place. I mean to carry it with me because I teach using my classroom upstairs and 2 different computer labs downstairs, not to mention faculty meetings and parent-teacher conferences. I have always had a poor short-term memory, so note-taking is one of my talents. The problem lies with the fact that I don't always put my notes where I can use them; hence, the need for carrying my planning book with me and keeping my notes in it. Wish me luck.
After 17 years in the profession and 10 years at my current school, I have very few problems with student behavior. (I just wish sometimes that politicians and people-concerned-with-education knew how few of the first ten responsibilities of a public school teacher have to do with actually helping students learn. They deal mostly with managing student behavior at all times and in all situations on the school property.) Since part of my responsibility, training, and interest lie in using technology to help teachers teach and students learn, I am always adding technology to my lessons. Currently, I am in year two of trying out Moodle with the intent of switching to it or some other LMS (Learning Management System) next year. This year all but my AP CS classes will have internet assignments through the school's Moodle test system. In addition, my math students will also be using the Khan Academy as part of their learning and practice process.
So I spent part of the week helping my math students start using our Moodle system and getting set up with the Khan Academy. Yesterday, to get as many students ready to go further on these systems, we were in the general computer lab. I felt like we were the shakedown crew because my classes were the first ones to use said lab this school year. We kept on running into software problems, but at least the computer technology coordinator and I learned some important lessons for next year. My poor students in all my classes get to be guinea pigs for almost all new general educational technology for the school. I think they feel it's a badge of honor to be the first to try things. They certainly end up with several stories to pass on to their friends. Last year, my Intro CS class used Moodle all year, so each quarter they each had an extra project grade to compensate for being first in using Moodle at the school. I believed that part of their learning was the input they gave us in using said system and in tolerating problems well I had with the system until I learned it better. This year there will be no extra grades for using these systems. They will, however, lose grades if they don't use the systems and do their work on time. Obviously, I am not concerned with my students liking me personally; I just want them to learn.
While keeping up with lessons and help for the 4 subjects I teach this year, I am also trying to finish helping other teachers get their homework websites up to date on syllabi. This school is the only one in which I've been required to have a syllabus for each subject area. Syllabi are mostly used in college, not high school, but we are a college-prep school, so it makes sense. It also makes it easier for the parents to know what their children should be learning and what the teacher's requirements and expectations are.
There is one new habit I want to have this year. I want to carry my planning book with me always and everywhere so that I keep up with all my lessons and all my other duties plus having the school's calendar items in one place. I mean to carry it with me because I teach using my classroom upstairs and 2 different computer labs downstairs, not to mention faculty meetings and parent-teacher conferences. I have always had a poor short-term memory, so note-taking is one of my talents. The problem lies with the fact that I don't always put my notes where I can use them; hence, the need for carrying my planning book with me and keeping my notes in it. Wish me luck.
Monday, August 15, 2011
Last day of summer "vacation"
Tomorrow starts a week of pre-school teacher workdays, so today I am trying to finish as much of the kitchen ceiling as possible. The hardest pieces of cutting and fitting are done, i.e. the pieces that go around the ceiling lights. It looks pretty good even though we have some caulking to dissolve from a mistake I made. I have 4 more tiles ready to go up when my son is ready to help me. Then over half of the ceiling is finished. I'd like to get 4 more tiles up before the day is through, but that's iffy.
I have learned one thing that I would change if I were to do this again. I would not select tiles that require 2 people to glue up. The tiles would be either 1 foot by 1 foot or 2 feet by 2 feet, not 2 feet by 4 feet. Since my husband's not been well, I need my son's help, and he, like my husband, does not share my daily circadian cycle.
I have learned one thing that I would change if I were to do this again. I would not select tiles that require 2 people to glue up. The tiles would be either 1 foot by 1 foot or 2 feet by 2 feet, not 2 feet by 4 feet. Since my husband's not been well, I need my son's help, and he, like my husband, does not share my daily circadian cycle.
Monday, August 1, 2011
Thanks, Dad.
This is a story of something I learned from my father that still has value.
When I was in college, my husband John and I owned a Hoover apartment washing machine and dryer set. The washer had 2 main parts: the washing section with the side rotator for agitating the clothes, and the smaller bucket that rinsed and spun out the water from the clothes. The user did have to stand by the washer while it worked, but it was better than taking the clothes to a laundry since we had no car for 2 years.
At some point, the turn-switch for the washing side no longer moved. We had to time the wash cycle which was a hassle. I determined that since it was a mechanical tool, there had to be a logical fix to it. Hence, I took the washer apart by removing its back and looked at everything there was to see. I could not see anything that looked broken, so I called my father and explained my dilemma. He said that it sounded like the timer needed oil and told me how to do that. In the meantime, John who had been at work returned home to see the washer in pieces. They were big pieces, but they were still pieces to his eye. He was shocked and asked me what happened. I told him that I was determined to fix the problem and put it back together. He went to take a nap with serious doubts about my ability to put together that which I tore apart. Following my dad's instructions, I oiled the timer, tested it to discover that it now worked, and returned the washer to its complete state, i.e. I undid what I had done. John awoke to no more problem and was very pleased and relieved.
It has been more than 30 years since that experience and 14 years since my father's death. We now have a portable dishwasher that the turn-switch suddenly quit working on the drying cycle. John woke me up at night to lament that it was broken, and in the back of my mind was the thought that the timer might need oiled. He said that he turned it off and would try it out with a new load just in case it was a glitch in the system. Okay. Back to sleep. When he tried it out 2 days later (we rarely have a full load in 1 day), it turned on but did not move. With the memory of my father's help so many years ago, I pulled out the turn-switch knob and oiled the timer. It has worked well since then. Thanks, Dad.
When I was in college, my husband John and I owned a Hoover apartment washing machine and dryer set. The washer had 2 main parts: the washing section with the side rotator for agitating the clothes, and the smaller bucket that rinsed and spun out the water from the clothes. The user did have to stand by the washer while it worked, but it was better than taking the clothes to a laundry since we had no car for 2 years.
At some point, the turn-switch for the washing side no longer moved. We had to time the wash cycle which was a hassle. I determined that since it was a mechanical tool, there had to be a logical fix to it. Hence, I took the washer apart by removing its back and looked at everything there was to see. I could not see anything that looked broken, so I called my father and explained my dilemma. He said that it sounded like the timer needed oil and told me how to do that. In the meantime, John who had been at work returned home to see the washer in pieces. They were big pieces, but they were still pieces to his eye. He was shocked and asked me what happened. I told him that I was determined to fix the problem and put it back together. He went to take a nap with serious doubts about my ability to put together that which I tore apart. Following my dad's instructions, I oiled the timer, tested it to discover that it now worked, and returned the washer to its complete state, i.e. I undid what I had done. John awoke to no more problem and was very pleased and relieved.
It has been more than 30 years since that experience and 14 years since my father's death. We now have a portable dishwasher that the turn-switch suddenly quit working on the drying cycle. John woke me up at night to lament that it was broken, and in the back of my mind was the thought that the timer might need oiled. He said that he turned it off and would try it out with a new load just in case it was a glitch in the system. Okay. Back to sleep. When he tried it out 2 days later (we rarely have a full load in 1 day), it turned on but did not move. With the memory of my father's help so many years ago, I pulled out the turn-switch knob and oiled the timer. It has worked well since then. Thanks, Dad.
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