Workend

Workday - 10:00am-5:00pm

No, that's not a typo. I had to work on a Saturday. I actually was supposed to get in for 9am, but I forgot to do something important (which I ended up finishing before I left this morning).

The musical rehearsals are coming along well. I'm starting to settle into my role as stage manager (though there isn't much to manage. Everyone knows their stuff). I really spent most of the morning's run-through cueing up sound effects (this was the project I forgot to finish).

I'm very impressed with the choreography of the opening number. I'm even more impressed with the kids' energy. Usually in a high school musical you'd see at least 25% of the kids looking bored and flopping around somewhere in the back. But not our kids!

The afternoon was spent cleaning up some scenes and choreographing the last two. At the very end of the afternoon, I had to work with three characters on a song they didn't appear to know at all. It seems kind of late to be learning a song, but I guess that's not my problem.

To summarize: Working on a Saturday totally blows, but I'm really excited to see the final product... so it'll be worth it.

Students Earn Their Stripes

Workday - 8:30am-5:30pm

One of my math classes is a lot more difficult to handle than the others. This is the class with all the gang members. It's not even that the guys themselves make the class so difficult. It's that the administrators want to keep them on a tight leash, and I'm made to monitor their every move. I have five students I have to make sure are in class, in class on time, are prepared for class, aren't wearing hats, don't leave for the "bathroom" too long, etc. Otherwise, I'm supposed to report them.

Well. The class just got a little easier.

Four of those five students are currently in jail.

I knew that yesterday afternoon some... commotion happened in the hallway... things escalated... and a bystander was injured (quite severely, it seems). I quietly wondered if any of my students were involved. And when the four students were absent from class today, I had a pretty good idea.

I assume they're gone for good. Although the school board has a funny way of letting people back in all the time. I just hope if that's the case they'll be transferred to other schools (though two of them only just arrived this semester as transfers from yet another school).

Oh well. Less marking. Yippee!

Crackdown

Workday - 8:30am-5:30pm

Today was a bad day to be one of my students. There were different reasons why, but it mostly came down to vice principals cracking down.

I don't know what happened, but I think someone/thing put a bug up the V.P.s' butts and told them to get out there and do their jobs.

I arrived in my 4th period class to find one of the V.P.s waiting in my classroom. He said he was going to catch any latecomers (I think that class of mine has a reputation for lates, without me even saying something about it. That class is also full of gang members whom I assume the administrators would love to penalize at any opportunity). I probably should have felt guilty that I'd been allowing my students to arrive late in the first place. Frankly, I was just relieved I got to that class on time.

In the end, the vice principal caught about 10 of my students and scheduled a detention with them after school. He also got into a shouting match with one kid and confiscated his hat. Then I actually had a student arrive so late he came in after the V.P. had left! Of course, I had to send him to the same detention.

If the V.P. cracked down on lates in my 5th period class, he would have caught about 10 more. I told these late students what was going on and that they'd better arrive on time in the future.

I did, however, have a different vice principal visit my 5th period class about 15 minutes later. He came to inform me that one of my students had been suspended for an undetermined length of time (for fighting). For whatever reason, I then had to take 10 minutes out of my class time to talk about it, and find the student some work for "a while". Gee, thanks.

While I left to get something, the V.P. supervised my class. I returned less than a minute later, in time to see him hauling out another student who was just suspended right then and there! I found out after that he told a girl behind him to "shut the f*** up".

Right there in front of the vice principal!

What are kids thinking? That guy wouldn't get away with that even in front of me. I'm probably too lenient about swearing, but I act differently if it's malicious.

I don't know what the deal was with my students today.

To digress, I will admit I've been too lenient lately. I feel like I don't have the time to discipline my class. For one, the amount of time it would take to make sure everyone is behaving the way I'd like would fill an entire period. Secondly, I don't have time because enforcing these rules would mean I'd have to issue detentions after school. Detentions I don't know how I'd supervise as I'm running rehearsals and running between various rooms.

Even in three weeks when I'll have free time once again after school, it would be very difficult to suddenly start disciplining my classes.

"Hey guys, now that there's a month left before the end of the year I'm going to start cracking down on you badasses! I know you've gotten away with it for ages, but I've decided 4 months has been just long enough!"

Think it'll work?

Because Yesterday Wasn't Long Enough...

Workday - 8:15am-9:30pm

Why does midterm reporting always come at the most inopportune time? Mid-semester is not only filled with tests, quizzes, and assignments to mark, but also major music performances. Nevermind the crucial season changes with impending social events. Plus there's always a number of life's unexpected nuisances (last midterm report season fell dangerously close to my moving day. This season: various rifts with building corporations).

Upcoming music performances, by the way, mean much more than just readying your ensembles for a concert. I am the departmental proofreader and general "idea person". Concert season is when I'm most put to use. And for this concert we've decided to put out a DVD which, for some reason, includes 13 pages of liner notes!

You bet your sweet booty I proofread those 13 pages.

I also rewrote about 11 of them, because no one seems to have mastered the concept of accurate research skills. People also haven't mastered another tricky concept that we like to call the English language.

With midterm report cards being due tomorrow, I had to finish everything tonight. As you can see, it took me until 9:30pm. Ugh.

I think... I THINK... I have nothing important to stay at school for tomorrow afternoon. I might actually be able to leave early. Joy.

Free Credits

Workday - 7:30am-6:00pm

Everyone probably knows at least one person whose high school experience was a complete waste of time. Some of you know lots of people like this; some of you are that person.

This wasted time might be the person's fault, but sometimes it's the school. I know there are a lot of high schools out there with burnt-out teachers who use their classrooms as a holding cell, fill their daily hour with you doing something (videos, free reading time, etc.), and assign everyone a grade at the end based on how much they like you.

Of course, I'd like to think that for every person like that, there's another person who had a valuable high school experience. It's interesting, too, how that person in the last paragraph and the person in this paragraph can't understand each other's experience whatsoever.

I had a valuable experience at my high school. That's why I became a teacher. I was serious about school -- except when I wasn't. And when I wasn't, I anticipated the poor grade that I received. For the most part, I think the school where I work also takes education seriously.

Except when it doesn't.

The following point I have is arguable. I'm not even sure where I sit on the subject. I have two students in two different classes (with two different situations) whom I'm supposed to "just pass". I've been told (and I won't say by whom) to give them the minimum passing grade if they don't earn one themselves.

Part of me thinks, well why are they in my class at all? Why not just give them the credit and send them on their merry way?

Another part of me thinks, they don't know they're going to receive a pass no matter what. Why not give them the education they might actually (one day) use? They might even pass the course all on their own.

I know neither of them will ever go on to a post-secondary institution. They'd be very lucky if they even get jobs and live average lives. While it may not be "post-secondary", both students will likely spend a good portion of their adulthood in some institution.

Basically, while they have completely separate situations (read: the "institutions" I expect they'll spend some time in are of two different kinds), it all boils down to one same reason: the school wants them out. They're both extreme cases of students the staff would rather not handle.

Doling out "free credits" like this has me thinking about other situations. What about that nice, good-natured kid who tries really hard but just doesn't understand the math and earns a high F? How would s/he feel if s/he knew about this?

What about my students who are gang members? What if they threaten my demise if they fail this course (again... for the 3rd time)? Should I "just pass" them so I can feel safe?

The funny thing is, none of my students is going to pursue a math-related career. They can't take calculus after this course. They'll never use the math they're learning in any future math course they can take. Many of them will never use this math in any real life situation (except for my "Everyday Life" students. That course is actually pretty useful). Knowing all this, why not "just pass" everyone?

The question here is, in the long run, does it really matter that these two students unfairly received a math credit? What do you think about it? I don't even know how I feel.

And in the end, it doesn't matter what I think. They'll both "pass", and leave our school just like everyone wants.

Disciplinary Methods

Workday - 8:15am-3:45pm

When you work with kids who are your run-of-the-mill smartasses, you'll eventually be able to predict their behaviour (it's funny how kids think they're smarter than their teachers. Doesn't anyone tell them that teachers were not only young once, but also have years of experience on top?).

I learned long ago that when a student's doing something "bad" he's not going to stop when you ask (let alone demand). At best, he'll stop a minute (or so) later. Even more likely, he'll exacerbate his actions. The key here is to know the right way to phrase your request.

You want to find words that make whatever he's doing far too embarrassing to continue. Something to note here is that no teenaged boy is comfortable with homosexuality. None. Not even boys who are homosexual ("out" or not).

Case in point: two boys start hitting each other, poking, and generally play-fighting. If you say, "guys! Stop fighting!", they'll probably look at you, glare, and fight harder.

My wording, on the other hand is, "guys! Stop touching each other!".

Or sometimes, "listen, you can touch each other all you want after school. Until then, hands to yourselves."

I have yet to see one male student follow that up with exaggerated touching of his classmate. In fact, 9 times out of 10 the exact response (by one or both boys at the same time) is "Ew! Yeah, dude, stop touching me!"

Perhaps one day we'll finally be so comfortable with our own sexuality that teenaged boys can touch each other with impunity. I'd be happy when that day comes.

Except I'll have to find new words of reproach.

The Annual Recording

Workday - 7:30am-9:30pm

It's hard to believe I've kept up this blog for over a year, now. If you've read the older posts, there may have been something about the recordings of last year. Each April, the music department makes a CD (this year, however, it's a DVD) to sell at our spring concert. The recording of the pieces for this CD generally takes two long nights.

Tonight was the second of those two nights (hence the 14-hour workday). I'm very impressed with how my jazz choir sounded. I can't wait to hear how it turned out.

I could probably say more, but as you might imagine I'm super tired. I think I'll bow out of the musical rehearsal tomorrow so I can go home and catch up on sleep. I'll already be teaching an extra class that day to cover for two of my colleagues who are taking off in the afternoon. Hmph.

Engrish!

Workday - (none)

Ok. As promised, I am going to post the Engrish from room 231. I've had it sitting around for a while, but hadn't remembered to post it. I'll also try to update more with what else is going on these days, but I've been quite busy. Remember, we're putting on a musical and (as anyone who's been in a school musical will know) it's eating into all of my once-free time.

And now, Engrish!

These paragraphs were posted on display boards around the classroom. I pieced together that the ESL class had an assignment to present information on an important invention. Here are excerpts (exactly as they were written) from two of those projects:

"Calculate
But in 1830, an American person named Charles Babbage was start make the new calculate than can calculate addition, subtraction, multiplication and division, in this time, calculate was permeate to peoples life.
...
Now, calculate was part of people's life. People use them to count many things. Is more fast, exactitude than calculate by our hand. It has different size, different function, and much more smaller. Calculate it's one big invent in the world."

"Paper
The left wings father's elder brother of papermaking expert. Besides, the paper is also one after another, passed on to north every the ethnic minority area with the embellishments in writing book by means of the Silk Road."

Whew. That last sentence is monstrous. I can't even figure out what that paper paragraph was trying to say. Perhaps something about how paper helped information reach remote/rural areas now that things could be written down? Well, I'll leave the fun of translation in your hands. Enjoy!