Oh boy am I teaching now. I feel like a teacher. My kids look at me and they see a teacher. It's working. My data says it's working. You know what else says it's working? My kids. Haven't done a whiparound in weeks and I'm starting to have withdrawals. I'm standing and delivering. Lecturing. It's like college in my classroom. Notes are being taken. Questions are being asked. It's educational heaven. I'm exhausted, but it's because I'm teaching hard. Doing something new by doing something old. Last week, I talked about the looming test season in DISD and why I changed my classroom. It's still happening and we're having a blast. Do what you know works these last few weeks. Review time. Good luck!
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I will say first that the majority of teachers are much too busy teaching and thinking about their kids to worry and stay in the know about the goings on of the district. The lawsuits, the MRSDOLLO disputes, the grumblings of the Trustees, etc. We pay attention because it's interesting. We pay attention because what happens around the horseshoe impacts all of us whether we realize it or not.
Why am I up writing at 5AM? Because I can't sleep. Why not? Because my head is spinning with thoughts of the divisions in our district. Experienced veteran v. novice teachers, "Reform" v. "traditional", education majors v. alternatively certified teachers, out of towners v. locals, etc. I get it. I'm from here. I was a student here. My parents were DISD students. My grandmother was a DISD teacher for decades. What I don't understand is the chaos. If we are focused on our kids, why are we fighting? Why aren't we trying harder to find common ground? Our kids are the ones who will be hurt, not us. If we get angry enough as teachers, we can go somewhere else. More experienced educators will probably yell at me for saying that, and for good reason. Nobody who has dedicated their life to DISD should have to be so frustrated that they leave. I agree, but our kids simply don't have that choice. Not wanting to and not being able to are two very different things. We need to come together now more than ever for our kids. How? We can start by not yelling so much and starting to listen. I got the chance to talk with David Lewis this weekend about why is is running for school board in district 3. Read the interview below to learn more about David Lewis and check out our Damarcus Offord, D9 interview from last week.
1. Why are you so passionate about education? I am a parent that understands that a great education is the foundation of a great citizen. 2. As a parent, what do you think is your role in education? My role, as a parent, is to reinforce the educators at my children's school. It is my job to make sure that my children are teachable and exhibit good behavior at school. 3. Can you think of a time a teacher made an impact in your life? My theater arts teacher at Adamson High School, Chuck Lytle, went above and beyond the "call of duty" for his students. I credit him as one of the main reasons I pursued a career in radio. 4. If you could secure one thing for your district that it desperately needs, what would that be? I would secure a new superintendent. And not from an expensive national search from, but rather local talent with input from the community and teachers. Someone like the highly successful Anthony Tovar, would be worth a look. He was "removed" after turning Sunset High School in a positive direction? 5. You seem to be active in your community, why did you decide you needed to be on the Board of Trustees instead of continuing your more focused efforts? As a Trustee, I would be in the position to listen to my constituents and VOTE on policy to promote a better education for the entire district. Some of the ideas are highlighted in my campaign video. 6. How has your experience as a Mobile DJ and your community volunteer work prepared you for a leadership role in DISD? I have had the opportunity to work with many of the different cultures that make Dallas the great city it is. It is because of these experiences that I feel that I can unite the different factions within the District. 7. The Dallas Morning News asked you to grade the Superintendent's strategies for improving performance and you gave him an F because teachers are under pressure and lack necessary support. What support were you talking about that teachers are lacking? Moral Support for one. When your boss practically rates your effective years as the first few, what would that do to your self worth? As mentioned in my video, teachers need to be given more time to plan and less time spent in meetings. And a better system of student discipline would allow teachers to maximize teaching time. The time spent filling out referrals is a direct infringement upon teaching and planning time. 8. If you were Superintendent, what would you do differently? As highlighted in my campaign video, I would end the exodus of good teachers and principals. I also believe regular teacher input (without fear of retribution) would benefit the Superintendent's insight and actions. What's that line from Jerry Maguire...Help me to help you? 9. What do you think DISD is doing well and where do you think that DISD could be doing a better job? I like the security efforts to gain entry to the campuses. And the district's done a great job providing other school districts with some excellent "experienced" teachers ;-) As for DISD doing a better job? Again, it starts at the top. New CEO needed now. 10. You answered that you were involved in a lawsuit to Dallas morning news but didn’t provide any details. Since you're pro transparency, are you interested in sharing what it was concerning? I was involved in 2 car wrecks,when I was 15 and when I was 25. Passenger in the one at 15...Driver in the accident at 25. The other driver was found to be responsible in both situations. 11. Why should the voters give you their support on May 9th? My opponent has made no attempt to fire Mike Miles...I will. It has been a long and exciting week in Dallas. More political drama than you can shake a stick at! We were lucky enough to get an interview with Damarcus Offord over in District 9. All candidates have been reached out to. If you want to hear from someone we haven't posted about yet, encourage them to write us back. We want to hear from them as much as you do!
We also have a reflection on the recent math conference in Boston. Check it out below! DISD Politics Interview - Damarcus Offord DISD Students should know history - Armenian Genocide DISD School year coming to an end - Push Through PD Conference Series DISD Teacher PD Conference Reflection 1 - Was it worth it? DISD Teacher PD Conference Reflection 2 - Economics and Education DISD Teacher PD Conference Reflection 3 - Coaching DISD Teacher PD Conference Reflection 4 - Taking it all in Around the Web Huge loss to the news community, Bert Shipp passes away - DMN Rosemont Parents are upset - DMN DISD Board of Trustees President almost removed - DMN DISD STAAR Reading scores are down - DMN Quality Pre-K is Important - TNTP The fight for Deep Fryers in schools - Texas Tribune Ignoring the Data in DISD - Celeste Critical Thinking Skills are Important - EP Becoming Teacher of the Year - EP Opting out - EP When Teachers Run the School - EP I have high expectations, sorry I'm not sorry - EP It's the last 6 weeks of the 2014-2015 school year and we're making the final push toward EOCs and ACPs. What does that mean? Time to make sure our students have all of the information they need to perform well on their tests. I've begun my review and have completely changed how my class works. The routines are tight, the kids know what they are doing every day, and it's working. Sometimes DISD Teachers need to just change their procedure. Flipping things and taking control of my classroom has worked wonders. I wish FERPA would let me take pictures of and show you the borderline college level notes my kids are taking. I'm doing all the heavy lifting and am exhausted, but I'm seeing the results and have the data to prove it.
What did I cut out? Pretty much everything the district wants me to do. I'm lecturing, they are taking notes, and there are little to no MRS strategies other than the clicker quizzes we do every day. What's the shocker here? It works. DISD teachers have been teaching for generations and kids have been learning. There is some merit to the new systems, but sometimes you have to go traditional on the kids. Find your own style teachers. Dallas Education and DISD will be OK if you think inside the box and do a little lecture every once in a while. If you're comfortable, you'll be better and your kids will do better too. Today is the 100th Anniversary of the Armenian Genocide and I'm using this opportunity to connect my students to an often forgotten part of history. We often times get bogged down in the TEKS, and, while genocide is something I'm supposed to teach about, the emphasis is usually more on the Holocaust and less on Darfur, The Balkans, and Armenia. Men were forced into labor camps and women, children, and old people were forced to march in the desert until they died. That is something that deserves at least a moment of silence and some quiet reflection. We have to remember. We can't let ourselves as human beings, citizens of the planet, forget these events.
Why is this important? There is the classic argument that if we don't understand our past we are doomed to repeat it, but the other argument is that respecting and understanding that just because something isn't talked about doesn't mean it isn't important is something that can translate into education as a whole. For teachers, have to understand that there are events that happen in our students lives that make them who they are in our classrooms that we may have no idea about. For students, it's important to understand that there is more to history than what is on the test and there is more fun to learning than just what can be taught to you in the classroom. Yesterday I wrote a blog about being a coach in the classroom. Since writing this blog I have been thinking about what do I do that supports or hurts my students. Specially I have been thinking about how the presenter said students will misbehave, but teachers either let them continue to do or stop it. As I thought about this more I realized there is one bad behavior I have not stopped and that's cheating. Maybe it's happening more now that spring is coming and we all are a little more lazy, but I see it. I see students get the answer for the in class problem from each other or wait for the other person to do it. I see them make a gesture or say something on the exit ticket. It's frustrating because I know they aren't really learning this way, but they are doing something. Compared to last year, usually I am just excited they are making the effort to do something. Today though I have been thinking about how I am really robbing them of the chance to succeed on their when I let them cheat. I could stop it, I could give them both zeros, make them do it again, split them up. Something. This week it really bothered me, I snapped at a student for not completing his own work. When classes ended I explained to everyone why I was frustrated. I told them cheating won't help them learn, it's being lazy. If they want my help, I need to know they need if. If they get 100s but didn't earn them, I don't know how to support them. I didn't tell them I snapped because I was disappointed in myself, but it's the truth. We are starting our review and hopefully we will start a new trend of no cheating. How?? I'll keep you updated. If you've noticed, we've been blogging less. By we, I mean I. The other blogger here at Turn and Talks is writing some amazing pieces about a recent education conference that you should really check out, but this guy? This guy is teaching so hard that it's hard for me to saddle up to my keyboard and find the energy to keep typing. I didn't go to a conference to make myself a better DISD teacher, I exhausted myself rambling about my education thoughts. She's meeting other teachers becoming a better Dallas Educator, and I'm rambling from my beanbag chair.
Blogging is hard. I do it because it's theraputic and ther eare a lot of question I'd like to share and get answers to. Also, for some reason, I think people are interested in watching me go through my evolution as an educator. What do I think about most often? I think about why more people don't do this. I think about why I keep doing this. We need more voices in education and more people being honest. The folks in the #talkDISD forum are great, but I wish they had blogs too. I wish I could sit down and talk with them in real life. Maybe I am and I just don't know it. Wouldn't it be funny if missEDU was the theater arts teacher downstairs? What is she is the librarian I try to talk to everyday because she's just so wonderful. What if she isn't even a she and that's just a name or a play on "what's MISSing in EDUcation?" I have no idea, but this is hard. Even so, I'm not going anywhere. It's too darn fun to talk about our schools. I wrote about the conference I attended last week. Great PD, lots of sessions, and some inspiration. One of the presenters that sttod out asked the audience a great questions, how is practice different than a classroom? He asked us to imagine that a JV coach walked into practice and saw two students sitting on the side while everyone else ran sprints. The JV coach walks over to the head coach and ask why they are not running. The head coach responds, “they don’t feel like it today.” We laughed, because that is ridiculous. Anyone who has been a coach, watched practice, or played on a team knows you can’t choose to not do something and expect to be a part of the team. Then he asked us to imagine a classroom where everyone is solving problems, but two students had their heads down and were not doing anything. This time no one laughed because that is not unreasonable. Whether we have seen it in our own classes or others around the school, it is not unthinkable for students to be disengaged in a classroom setting. How ridiculous is this though. We expect more from students in sports practice than we do in the classroom? This should not be the norm. The presenter argued students do what we let them do. He is right. Students will put their heads down because they are bored, but a student’s head will stay down because we let them keep it down. If we do not demand more from them, they will not give us more. We he argued is that failure needs to be painful. In practice, if you do something wrong, athletes are punished for it. In class, when students do something wrong or do not do an assignment we give them a zero and who is that really hurting? Students? NO, let’s be real, how often does that motivate students to do more. He argues zeros and missing grades have to really impact students, they have to really want to avoid them. We tell students to do things all the time, but do not make them do it. Rarely. We have to motivate, encourage, and incentivize them. Coaches do not just focus on the negative, they reward and celebrate the positive.
There are a few lessons we can take from the coaching handbook. His classroom had success. In his algebra 1 class where 100% of the students failed 8th grade math, every single one passed his class. His students learned, they did their work, and they even turned in their homework. So clearly it worked for him. Would it work in DISD though, would it work your school? We can’t know until we try, but what I do know is we can’t keep making excuses for students. We can’t continue to pass them when they have failed. We need to start believing students can and will do the work, then we hold them accountable to that work. Maybe getting our students to do something can lead to some real progress in DISD too. 1. Given that you aren't a teacher, do you understand what is going on in the schools?
As a fairly recent graduate of Lincoln High School, having attended {other DISD Schools }, I have lived Dallas ISD up close and personal in a way no other Trustee has. I have seen consistently outstanding performance, and I have seen problems. The perspective of teachers is absolutely important, but no one experiences schools like our students, and I have lived that experience. 2. Where do problems for our students originate? Many of our students struggle with real problems coming from outside the classroom. Coming to school hungry, from homes that aren’t supportive. It’s important that the school system works to help address those problems, while also working to improve teaching. 3. As a student, did you feel like you received the resources you needed to be successful? Yes and no. I had some great teachers, but I was also in an environment that somewhat insulated me from what I would really need to know to be successful. 4. Tell me about your first campaign, why did you run? I ran because I want kids like me to have the best education they can. I want our schools to be a real asset in the community. And that is certainly not the case when they are closed. Before my first campaign, the district voted to close several schools in South Dallas. We have got to find a way to make these schools a stronger part of our community. 5. What made you run again? For many of the same reasons I ran the first time. But even more than that, our community deserves to have representation on the board that is productive and focused on working to find solutions for our kids. The incumbent just isn’t representing our community in a positive way. 6. There are people who are painting your age as a problem, what is a strength you gain from being young? The mission of our district is to educate all students for success. As a relatively recent graduate of Lincoln High School, I am the very picture of our students, of what our district produces. The school board should be made up of members that represent a mix of experiences, including teaching expertise, financial expertise, management expertise, etc. But at least one of the voices on the board should have deep insight into the struggles and hopes of our the district’s core product: our students. I will be that voice. I was recently sharing war stories with a teacher from the east coast. She teaches at a private school in a wealthy suburban community. Her students come from the top 1% of wealthiest families in the country. Immediately upon learning this I dismissed her challenges. They can’t compare to the struggles we go through day-to-day. At the end of the day her kids have money, they can pay their way through the system built to support those already more fortunate. Yet something in her eyes reveled her true struggles and frustration. A look I am all too familiar with seeing in the eyes of the teachers in my school. A cold, frustrated look, on the verge of hopelessness. So I listened to her story, partly because I was too tired to talk, but I also wanted to learn. Her kids, just like ours struggle with neglect. Parents gone for months, only to show up at parent teacher conferences wondering which teacher they need to harass or pay off. Teenagers that think they are too entitled to work in class or pay attention, but expect to be passed. Then drugs, lots of them, anorexia and depression as well, all that go on ignored by their families and encouraged by their friends.
Her challenges sounded similar to mine. They may not have a district 10% rule, but when the parent bought a new wing for the school, you better expect the teacher is pressured to pass the child. And yes, the students may not being paying attention because they have options, but teaching a class full of unruly teenagers that don’t care what you say is frustrating in any settings. The worst, no matter where it is, is seeing the children we care about, invest our energy in, and work so hard to teach, go home to angry, broken, or empty homes. Obviously I am generalizing about our experiences. We both have families and students that care and are dedicated to their learning, but unfortunately they are not the norm in either of our cases. The difference though, is that no matter how damaged her students may be, they will go on to college and then become doctors, lawyers, or business owners. My students have to fight, and fight, and fight to make it there. No matter where you are though, in the east coast, in the south, or anywhere else, teachers are more than just educators. We are mentors, we are parents some days, and we are sideline supporters other days. Many students need more than what they get at home and it is up to us to provide them that. There is no perfect school to be at. There is no perfect student to have. We have to work with what we get, we have to be patient to make change, but really we can’t give up. Just as I saw this fellow teacher’s cold, hopeless eyes, our kids see it to. Waiting to prey on their next victim, waiting to push us to our limit, when all they really want is someone who listens and someone who expects more from them. Every teacher, in every school, in every city has challenges. Complaining about it will not solve it, doing something can. So yes we teach in very different settings but our jobs will always be the same, support students learning. I implemented a new procedure today and it went extremely well. The kids responded and, most importantly, everyone was able to answer 4/5 qustions to the proficiency of 80 in a short quiz at the end. YEP! That's some DOL talk for all of you teachers out there.
More to follow in the AM, but it was a good Monday after a relaxing weekend. Welcome to the week educators. I recently attended a PD conference on behalf of my school. Many people have strong feelings about professional development during the school day. Supporters believe we need to send teachers to trainings to improve their practice. Others argue it is a waste of resources because we not only pay to send the teacher, but put a sub in their classroom, which we all know is a free day for students. So was the conference worth it? Read more after the jump to hear about the people I met, the takeaways I got and if I would return?
From Us:
DISD Politics Interview - Dr. Edwin Flores DISD Education Interview - Miss Edu DISD Principal Turnover - Bad for Kids DISD Teachers and Students Fail Together DISD Schools Fake Appearances for Visitors Dallas Education Reform - What's the true meaning? Last Week's Rundown of DISD and Dallas Education News From the Web: Involving the Community in Policy - TNTP Focusing on Instruction Despite Budget Cuts - TNTP DISD Trustees get talking this week - Learning Curve Teachers Don't Give Up - EP; Related: Giving up in DISD, Dragging in to DISD Dropout Goes to College - EP Shift in Union Views on Testing - EP Parent Impact on Education - EP Parent Trigger Passes - TT School Districts Stand Against Testing - DMN Principal Changes: Rosemont Principal Non-Renewed; 2012 Principal of the Year Leaves; Summary - DMN The Battle for Miles' Contract: Vote Delayed; Trustees Opposing Delay The discussion about principal turnover is hot in the educational streets these days and has been for quite sometime. At some of our struggling campuses, this has been happening for years with come have 3+ principals in the past 3 years. Now it's making some noise because some principals at some of the better performing schools with more involved parents (correlation or causation?) are starting to get shuffled around. The lack of explanation from the district is, of course, frustrating for everyone involved, but the important thing to focus on is the impact it has on our students.
Have you ever seen a successful sports franchise that changes head coaches every year? Have you ever seen a successful football team changing quarterbacks every year? No. Why? Because everyone on the team has to get used to a new system and then they learn to work better together going forward. This constant churn breeds ineffectiveness, not remedies it. Teachers don't adjust as well as you'd think to new administrations. It takes time. Relationships and understanding make for effective instruction, and that's just talking about the teachers. If the teachers are in an uproar, or students suffer the most. Students, particularly those in our most difficult schools, need to know you to respect you. Respect isn't automatic with them, it's earned. The President of the United States himself could walk in here and tell a kid to sit down and the response he'd get in return would make even the most hardened of sailors blush. Our students don't respect authority, they respect respect. That's not a typo. If you respect them, you get it back. If they know you, they will listen. Maybe not all the time, but more than they would for a stranger. Putting a new stranger in charge every year is not the answer. If a school is really under suffering, really under performing, or in disarray, then yes, make a move. But success takes time to show itself. Give your leaders a chance. A response to a DMN article by Holly K. Hacker I just escaped from PD. That's right, I'm a flight risk. Frequently I find myself having to choose between morning PD and tutoring my students. Forget the question, "why should I even have to make that choice?" Obviously I shouldn't, but how about "why have we had the same meeting 3 times and why do I have to do it every time?"
We have PD coming out of our ears in DISD. Unlike the way they say we should teach our DISD students, we don't get any differentiation. Everyone, veteran or novice, gets the same PD despite having different needs. We get penalized for not going and get taken away from important instructional time (yes, I consider tutoring instructional time) to listen to something we've all hard before. I wouldn't mind going if there was something new, something helpful, or something interesting waiting for me, but there isn't. Students come first. If a student needs me, I'm always going to pick that over whatever PD is going on. I shouldn't be faulted for that. Teachers have been complaining and praising TEI for months now and now that I've had my long spot observation, I'm not really sure how I, as a DISD Teacher, stack up to my peers. It made me nervous. My kids didn't like it. The students in DISD also had surveys. Some took it seriously. Some didn't. Do I think it accurately reflects my ability to teach? Yeah, I think so, but it doesn't tell the whole picture.
Teacher of the year, to me, should be about the best educator. Who is one of the best people for our students. I don't think TEI should be involved with that. They are separate issues. Is Talk DISD the place where all the angry teachers get together, bash everything, yell at people that aren't even reading, then retreat to the shadows of the internet until they get riled up enough to come back and be negative once again? Sometimes, but not last night. Last night was special.
Frequent visitors to the Talk DISD livestream will recognize her (assuming it's a her) name, and depending on how extreme your views on education and the new "ed reform" movement in DISD are, you may love of hate her. Where do I fall? I'm #teammissedu and I don't care who knows it. Why? Because she cares. I thought our interview with Dr. Edwin Flores would get people in DISD talking, but I had no idea it would get people talk like this. Last night, what started as a snarky commenter accusing our free blog of being bought and paid for by who knows who bloomed into a truly enlightening and meaningful conversation about the role of reform, teacher relationships, classroom procedures, and other issues. That conversation infused me with many more ideas to blog about, and I'm thankful to her for that. It is a shame that the culture of the district has forced her to hide behind an anonymous pseudonym because I'd love to grab some coffee and pick her brain some more. I've already learned quite a bit from her experience and I only chatted with her for about an hour. If I were her appraiser, I wouldn't rate her anything less than awesome (exemplary). She's fired up about education and willing to chat about it well into the night. She cares. That's the most important thing for our kids. I'm thankful to her for her passion and involvement. She can come off as extreme to the untrained eye, but what I learned last night is that she is fair, balanced, and has taken a common sense approach that the district could use a healthy dose of every now and again. Check out our full chat about DISD and let us know what you think Yesterday we posted an interview we had with Dr. Edwin Flores, candidate for the DISD Board of Trustees in District 1. He had a great deal of interesting and self reflective things to say, some of which got us thinking. He calls himself a reformer, but what does reform really mean?
Does reform mean throwing out everything, including the kitchen sink, and reinventing the educational wheel? Is it physically reforming by tearing down the school and reforming a new school that we hope will be successful? Does it mean liquidating the staff and reforming the instructional teams with new personnel? It can mean any of these things, and all of these approaches have the potential to net some real results for our kids. Why should we be cautious? The "change everything" approach that floats around in every education conversation can be very dangerous. You can't say that kids didn't start learning until the mid 2000s. Teachers have been teaching and students have been learning forever. I encourage reformers to learn from the victories teachers have been having in the classroom for generations. Being a reformer also means admitting when something in the past worked better and blending the old and the new to create something sustainable and functional for our students. DISD existed before and after the current board. We need it to continue to grow and improve for future generations. Whatever the board ends up looking like on May 9th, I hope it is a board committed to creating the best district possible for our students. We were lucky enough to have Edwin Flores, who is currently running for his old seat as trustee for the 1st District in Dallas ISD. We will comment and respond in the morning, but we wanted you to be able to chew on this and digest over night. Read the Q&A after the jump.
Fifth period - "I got tired and just guessed, whoops" My blood is turning. Are you serious??? Definitely do not expect a make up now. Am I taking this too personal, probably. That goes against everything I hoped my classroom stood for though.
Is it Friday yet? Today is test day (best day??) in my classroom and it is not going well. I find it very hard not to take these days personal. What am I doing wrong? What can I do better to help my students? I see tests as not just an evaluation of my students, but of myself as well. When they struggle, it is hard to not feel like I am failing as well. Then I think back to myself as a student. When I had a test I studied. I reviewed my notes, made flash cards, reviewed problems, I knew when I was prepared or not, and I was always prepared. I know I am different than my students, but how much of their success is my responsibility and how much is their own? I know they need to take responsibility for their own future and grades, but I would by lying if I said I walked out of my classroom able to leave their challenges behind. They weigh on me day and night and I internalize it as my own failure.
At the same time I am frustrated. Yesterday I gave them a review that mirrored exactly what the test would be and yet they are still confused today. Why didn't you ask questions then? Why didn't you work hard yesterday? Those that did the review, and actually did it themselves are doing fine, but many that cheated or didn't try are struggling today. I even warned them of this. I told them the assignment was not for a grade, but to prepare them for today. I was concerned about the test. Most of the test was on material we had not reviewed in over two weeks so I gave them a supper helpful review, and still they didn't take advantage it. If they are not using the opportunities I give them, do I give them more and let them retake their test? This time, probably not. I want them to see the consequences of their choices, but I still have this voice in the back of my head telling me I not supporting them to be successful. Did my teachers feel like this? My student do fine in class. Complete lots of work correctly, but when it comes to the test many struggle. I backwards plan and align all my in class material to the tests, but they don't study and they copy. So what can I do to make up for that? I could have better systems, more interactive assignments, stronger incentives, or find a way to build their intrinsic motivation. The rest of the week will include some deep reflection for sure. Just got my first 100 and four 93s though, so maybe I only kinda suck at this. It's good to see resources being diverted to places that are struggling the most. That said, is this going to fix the problem or just shift the problems around? The parent contract portion and all the other requirements of students at ACE schools WILL result in success in those schools. Why? Because the students who are the most difficult and those who are least able to stay late will just be shifted to another campus. I'd watch those schools going forward to really judge the success of the ACE program.
Why can't kids stay late? Many of our students are playing parent to younger siblings because their actual parents are working or something else. Why will the difficult students continue to be difficult? Because there is a reason they are difficult in the first place and that comes from the 16 hours outside of the classroom that doesn't reinforce the lessons we teach in the classroom. If you don't improve the community, no number of programs and grants will completely fix the classroom. Lots of kids getting suspended around here...Is it a coincidence that we're getting a visit from Mike Miles later this week and our problem students are getting suspended until after the visit for uniform violations and minor things that are never enforced on a daily basis? Is it a coincidence that our principal, who is NEVER seen outside the office, is in the halls screaming at kids telling them that the building "belongs to [the principal] and what they say goes?" DISD students need consistency and faking it for the higher ups isn't doing anything good for any of our students.
The school year for DISD teachers and students is coming to an end and we are all starting to slow down. Teaching is getting harder and so is learning. I know I should be working hard for my students and that they should be working hard for themselves, but it's tough.
I woke up on the wrong side of the Game of Thrones preview last night. My stomach hurts. I'm tired. I'm not excited about what I'm teaching today. I can't get my lesson just right. I know that school is ending soon, but I just can't see the end. I'm trying to fight spiraling into a pit of Dallas ISD teacher depression. What keeps me going? What is my light at the end of the tunnel? My students' success. That's what I'm fighting for. If I can keep my mind on that, I can make it. |
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