to a special group of "monarchs"

this is a little love letter to my former 6th graders...who are now all in their 20's...

one of the best things about facebook is, (and i'm grateful to those of you who have 'friended' me) it gives me a chance to see who you have become, to be so proud of watching you all go into the world to use your talents, and reminds me of the incredible journey we took together.

there was something very special about being a class of 17 kids who stayed together all day, and even if at times, it felt too small, it gave us a chance to work things out, to communicate and to grow together. all life skills i see you guys using everyday.

i have to say that you each pushed me to be the best teacher i could be- i knew i owed it to you and you all expected my "a-game", because that is what you were bringing.

our philosophy at the time was "joy in learning" and i'm pretty sure we nailed it. i know i had achieved great joy in my teaching, which is not a small gift. one that sustains me and guides me today.

i just wanted to take a minute and tell you that i'm still rooting for you all, gratified to share in your lives, then and now, and so grateful to know that such fine people are in the world...

blogging for education reform

i have way more to say on this topic, as regular readers know...but here is where i am today:
-there is no magic bullet
-insisting that a group of kids be taught with only one method is wrong
-dictating to professionals how to do their job, and insisting they march in lock step with other classrooms leads to failure
-claiming that assessments are solely indicative of learning leads to kids who do not think for themselves
-eliminating personal relationships among students and teachers leaves kids feeling further disenfranchised and not engaged
-scapegoating teachers does nothing to make up for an epidemic of bad parenting
-you would not want your own child taught in the manner of which most of the current "ed reformers" are advocating.
-no matter how you try to parse it, every child in this nation will not be at grade level in 2014. that is just ridiculous, so stop it. take it out of NCLB and grow up.
-i am not a failure, neither is my school, neither is my district
-public schools take all comers and everything they bring into the classroom with them.
-teachers unions are not half as bad as you have been led to believe. in fact, without one, i'm pretty sure i wouldn't want to be in a classroom today.

solutions:
-let me do the task I was hired to do
-hold me to high standards and apply them equally to my peers
-don't micromanage my instruction
-stop tying federal dollars up with nonsense designed to co-opt public education and convince parents that charter schools are the only viable option
-recognize that there is more than one meaningful way to assess learning
-hold kids and parents accountable for state test scores
-stop trying to insult me with schemes like merit pay, which do nothing to change anyone's classroom practices, except make it more likely that someone might want to cheat on a test.

the only thing i ever wanted to be was a teacher. i'm proud of that. i could have done anything else, still could, but i don't. i am here for your kids, i bring my best self every day, i demonstrate respect for them by being prepared. prepared to engage them where they are. i build the bridge that gets them from "cat, bat, sat" to discussing a novel.i hold them accountable, correct,praise and motivate. i do it because this democracy needs citizens who can think and reason for themselves.i teach because as much as the kids may learn from me, there isn't a day that goes by that i don't learn from them.
-peace

testing 1,2,3

state standardized testing has begun- it must be spring!

oh how painful to tell a child, "Sorry, i can't pronounce that word for you- do your best!"

agonizing- watching some of my students fade in and out of concentration and mark a bubble even though they have no idea what they just read.

sad- these kids have worked hard and have shown growth, but it all comes down to these three weeks.

how about a test in the fall and a test at the END of the year? look at the child, look for growth!

(trivia for you: testing is required to take place 150 days into the school year. this is for the convenience of the testing company, so they can get the results back. don't you think that the companies making millions off of testing could hire a few more people to run scantron sheets and score reports? why are the kids forced to cram 180 days of instruction into 150???)

a shout out to the girls

just a note to tell the ladies of ford- you rock!

a turtle sees herself for real

Well, it has been a really busy couple of weeks. Just like CPAs have their busy season, teachers spend many, many hours getting their rooms ready and attending meetings. Unfortunately, the only paid part are the meetings!

It turns out my ipod needs to be calibrated and I have not been running as much, or as quickly as I thought. I found this out the hard way when I ran a 4miler with Kath- 52 minutes is a 13 minute mile and I thought I was running closer to 11. Today, I headed out to do 8 and quit at 4.5...Joe was with me and he could walk as fast as I could run!

the kids are savoring their last hours of summer and so are the teachers in the house! our rooms are ready, the kids have their books and schedules and some new clothes to wear. we wait on school supplies until after the kids go to class- in the upper grades, each teacher wants something different and in the lower grades, most things are provided. (Did you know that kids need a 140.00 calculator these days??)

C. is waking up and ready for breakfast and then it's off to church, home to finish up summer homework and then, perhaps, to Hemet as grannie fell last night and broke her wrist...

take care of yourselves and travel safely is you are on the road!

What constitutes a failure?

There is a story in the Washington Post today that reveals there is a report issued by the Government Accounting Office that is currently being reviewed by the defense department. The significance of the report (done by the Investigative arm of Congress) is that it details the failure of the US to meet all but three of its own benchmarks in Iraq. The official who leaked the report to the Post did so out of concern that it would be watered doen prior to being released to the public next week.

So, out of 18 benchmarks, three have been met. Does that mean we have a long way to go and need to dig in deeper, send more troops and spend more money? Or does that mean it is time to pack it in, and start bringing poeple home? I am not the one to answer that.

What gets me about all of it is that somehow, this administration will highlight only its successes and downplay the abject failure of it all. Of course, the case could be made that it is human nature to highlight your strengths, etc...

So how come yesterday, I had to sit in a meeting where I was told that because our students' test scores slipped by one point we had better figure out where we went wrong and what we were going to do about it? Why, across the country, are thousands of schools being labelled as "failing" by this administration and facing sanctions and take over by the government when they don't meet their benchmarks? (They can even be making improvements and showing growth, but still be labelled failing!)

Every day, hundreds of teachers and students are told that they are failures on a field where the goal post is moved every year, yet this administration will defend its choices in Iraq and paint them as successes- SAD!

Stephanie Miller, Ed Schultz and Other Things on My Mind

as many of you may know, i am a fan of radio of all sorts- i eat, sleep and breathe our xm radio- particularly the "old time radio" channel. (What other family has a child dress as Lamont Cranston from The Shadow for Halloween??!!) so, imagine my thrill when the desert finally merited a "progressive" talk station all its own.

Stephanie Miller is back in my universe- I used to really enjoy her on KFI and I am so glad to know she has found a larger forum. She is funny, quick, insightful, off color and intelligent. Think Kathy Griffin and Gloria Steinem in one.

She is followed by Ed Schultz, whom I discovered on XM last year. I started listening to him because he originates in the midwest, and both coasts are over represented in the radio world. The thing I like about him is that he does not use a screener, so while he has an independent view point, you hear from a variety of people.

if you are looking for a great way to hear the news that leaves you laughing and informed- check out bill handel on KFI. his "handel on the news" is probably the funniest 45 minutes of radio. I listen to him on the net, via podcast, so that I avoid all the commercials and breaks. It is great and you don't need an ipod- you just listen through your computer. his 5 o'clock hour is great, too; as it is an hour of the group sitting around chatting about their lives.

if you noticed the ticker at the top- it is pathetic, but I am desperate. I am the only person I know who is legitimately exercising and gained 13 pounds. don't try the "it's muscle, not fat" thing- 'cause it is FAT and it is SAD. somehow I am going to get my weight back down so that my clothes fit!

it is cloudy this morning, and i am loving every minute of it. living in the desert and its nearly constant sunshine makes me crave a cloudy day. it is hot, humid and 100 degrees at 9am, but at least it's cloudy!

here at mooklettes we will be tackling the laundry today-my least favorite chore. it has been awhile since i reviewed a book, so i will get some thoughts down later today, time permitting.

then, its off to chapman to teach- tonight it is painting. how to do it in a way that is easy (seriously- all my art is limited in prep and clean up, so that i will do it!), why painting is a gate way to comprehension for kids, how sensory images effect comprehension and deeper meaning, and how painting helps build class community.

Sweet Sarah

You would have to meet Miss Sarah to believe that she is for real-
kind
beautiful
loving
smart
funny
fashionable
heart on her sleeve
goodness personified

Sarah you are loved more than you'll ever know!

testing, 1,2,3 testing

If you wondered how a teacher feels about the current atmosphere of high stakes testing...this pretty much sums it up...listen here. For those that don't want to wait for the download- here are the lyrics:

Not On The Test by John Forster & Tom Chapin© 2007 Limousine Music Co. & The Last Music Co. (ASCAP)

Go on to sleep now, third grader of mine.

The test is tomorrow but you'll do just
fine.It's reading and math.
Forget all the rest.You don't need to know what is
not on the test.
Each
box that you mark on each test that you take,Remember
your teachers. Their
jobs are at stake.Your score is their score, but don't get
all
stressed.They'd never teach anything not on the test.
The School Board is
faced with no child left behindWith rules but no funding, they're caught in
a
bind.So music and art and the things you love bestAre not in your school
'cause
they're not on the test.
Sleep, sleep, and as you progressYou'll
learn
there's a lot that is not on the test.
Debate is a skill that is
useful to
know,Unless you're in Congress or talk radio,Where shouting and
spouting and
spewing are blessed'Cause rational discourse was not on the
test.
Thinking's
important. It's good to know how.And someday you'll
learn to, but someday's not
now.Go on to sleep, now. You need your
rest.Don't think about thinking. It's not
on the test.

President Ford


As someone who teaches at a school that bears this man's name, may I say that President Ford has always struck me as a decent and forthright person. He has been a good example to my students of patriotism, civic responsibility and what it means to give back to your community. I am thankful that he lent his name to our school (he had to give permission to the district) and even more thankful for the good example he set.

Keeping It Real
This is an excerpt from the full article that was run in the Desert Sun. These are my brave colleagues who took a stand and I am proud of each of them. It is time to have an honest discussion about how we are hurting our kids' life long love of learning by the total emphasis placed on testing- God Bless all of you who took a stand! J.

Some teachers decry test stress
Critics say too much federal, state testing, not enough learning

Mandy Zatynski

---

Fourth-grade teacher Brian Collins said three of his students broke down in tears Wednesday because of testing anxiety.

"I think we'll see, in the near future, children (who are) seeing psychologists" because of anxiety, he said, adding that other students have complained of nightmares and lack of sleep.

Collins and some of his colleagues at Gerald Ford Elementary School blame it, in part, on Desert Sands Unified School District's new benchmark assessments, among other exams.

The tests, given periodically throughout the year, are meant to be a teacher's tool. The results allow teachers to gauge student comprehension of topics on the state exam and, in turn, modify their instruction.

But teachers at Gerald Ford say they are testing their students too much.

"I'm not a teacher anymore; I'm a tester," third-grade teacher Janine Young said with a laugh.

In English, for example, students read a story and take a test on it each week, the teachers said. At the end of the month, students also take a test from the Sacramento County Office of Education based on the stories.

Now, this year, the district also requires benchmark assessments, which review some of the same concepts as the other exams.

"I believe they (students) are tested more this year than any other year," said Kathleen Maddox, a third-grade teacher.

This was one of those rare good "forwards" I received! Remember, I am partial to 3rd grade classrooms...Thanks to Tricia...

WET PANTS

Come with me to a third grade classroom.....There is a nine-year-old kid sitting at his desk and all of a sudden, there is a puddle between his feet and the front of his pants are wet. He thinks his heart is going to stop because he cannot possibly imagine how this has happened. It's never happened before, and he knows that when the boys find out he will never hear the end of it. When the girls find out, they'll never speak to him again as long as he lives.

The boy believes his heart is going to stop; he puts his head down and prays this prayer, "Dear God, this is an emergency! I need help now! Five minutes from now I'm dead meat."

He looks up from his prayer and here comes the teacher with a look in her eyes that says he has been discovered.

As the teacher is walking toward him, a classmate named Susie is carrying a goldfish bowl that is filled with water. Susie trips in front of the teacher and inexplicably dumps the bowl of water in the boy's lap.

The boy pretends to be angry, but all the while is saying to himself, "Thank you, Lord! Thank you, Lord!"

Now all of a sudden, instead of being the object of ridicule, the boy is the object of sympathy. The teacher rushes him downstairs and gives him gym shorts to put on while his pants dry out. All the other children are on their hands and knees cleaning up around his desk. The sympathy is wonderful.

But as life would have it, the ridicule that should have been his has been transferred to someone else - Susie.

She tries to help, but they tell her to get out. You've done enough, you klutz!"

Finally, at the end of the day, as they are waiting for the bus, the boy walks over to Susie and whispers,

"You did that on purpose, didn't you?” Susie whispers back, "I wet my pants once too."
May God help us see the opportunities that are always around us to do good.
Remember.....Just going to church doesn't make you a Christian any more than standing in your garage makes you a car.

Proud-

Had my performance review this week and it was great! I really respect my principal, so having her give me an outstanding evaluation means a great deal. If anyone needs a lesson on food chains and food webs- I have it all done!

It may seem silly that I care a great deal about how I do in the classroom, but I take my profession seriously, as well as my committment to the kids. I love what I do and the people I work with raise the bar. It is so important to do a good job for each child in my room- they deserve it!