Yee-haw

Well, I have definitely seen the backlash of my last big decision. Parents freaked out. Apparently all the little darlings in this school are absolute ANGELS and none of them deserves to have a lousy B.

The Principal says he supports me. He even sent home a letter to that effect. The problem is I'm not sure I believe him. From the way he talks to me, I get the feeling that he is just passing it off as New Teacher Zeal, which will quickly fade with time. That really annoys me. Especially his oh-so-helpful tips on how to deal with things. I'm young, but I am a professional, thank you very much.

The Parents want to know the grading criteria for music. All their previous kids have had As in music. What's wrong with this teacher? They didn't care about the criteria when their kids were getting As.

Are you grading them as individuals, or a class? Is my kid being punished for the class' behavior?
How does Johnny behave in your class? Very well, I say. So why did he get a B? Because, I didn't ever see him go that extra mile. Well, Johnny has always had all As. He's always had a 4.0 and has always been on principal's list - gives stare, like "you wouldn't dare ruin Johnny's perfect record, would you?" - I make some random comment like "well, I'm seeing improvement this week."

When what I really want to say is "Look Lady, Johnny is in SECOND GRADE. 4.0s don't count in SECOND GRADE!! talk to me when he gets to High School."

When did we stop holding ourselves and our children to the high standard? When did it become ok to give rewards and good grades merely to avoid hurting Johnny's feelings. When did school stop being based on actually learning something and getting something for WORK and start being about the feel-good, have to award everyone, we MUST be fair NONSENSE!!!

AND THEN!!

I am teaching an elementary strings class. I am not a string player. I stay about 1 step ahead of the students. So, it is natural that I will make mistakes. They knew this when they hired me. So, last week, I *GASP* made a mistake. I read my book incorrectly and taught a concept in the not-quite right manner. Chances are, I would have caught it eventually (after I called my string teacher friend in a panic because I couldn't figure it out), but instead, a student caught it after having a private lesson. She told me and I fixed the problem. But is THAT good enough?

apparently not.

Conversation from today at the end of class:

Me: So remember, ladies and gents, if you have a private teacher, make sure to ask them questions about stuff we do in class and if I'm teaching it wrong be sure to let me know, because you all know I'm not a string teacher.
Class packs up.
Mom who stands in the back, and who, incidentally is also Johnny's mother: So, did you get your mistake fixed and now you're teaching it correctly?
Me (cheerfully): yep, a student told me what was wrong, and I realized I had read the book inco-
Mom: Well, maybe you can find a string player who can help out.
Me (A little less cheerfully): The only ones I know are teachers and they couldn't come during the day
Mom (disapprovingly, snobbily): Well, we should do something
Me: I know. I'll just read more carefully next time. I'll figure it out.
Mom: *sniff*

Needless to say, I am NOT happy right now, but I can't dwell on it. I have a ton of work to do, plus an open house at the middle school.

THANK GOD for RODEO VACATION! I can survive one more day til then, right?


right?

perhaps not the safest decision....

Well, I did it. I just finished my midterm grade reports.

For the middle school it was easy. They had lots of assignments turned in and all I had to do was hit "print" on the computer. Voila! One student as a 102 (gotta love extra credit) and another has a 47 (great, now I have to call parents!).

At the elementary, it wasn't quite so straightforward. I don't give homework or written assignments at the elementary. We only meet once a week, so homework is out cuz they'll forget it. A written assignment takes too long during class and I want them to be singing and EXPERIENCING music. So, I give their grades based on citizenship and participation. We use the standard A,B,C,D,F scale here, so I've converted that to the following:

A = exceptional effort, always pays attention, extremely helpful
B = pretty good effort, usually pays attention, helpful
C = average effort, normal paying attention, helpful when asked
D = goofs off, no effort, disruptive
F = tries not at all, does everything he/she can to disrupt.

All of my elementary students got Bs. I really hope their parents and teachers don't freak out. It's just the midterm, right?

Safest decision? probably not.
Decision with which I can live? definitely.

Quarantine me, please!

Sick. I am sick. Again. I started the semester sick. Then I got better (YAY!) and I thought, well that's the end of it! (I mean, I expected to be sick at least once this semester)

But no. I'm sick again. A Kindergarten teacher told me that I can expect to be sick about every two weeks. Thus far, that's holding up.

But then I did the math.

If I am sick every two weeks and the sickness lasts for approximately two weeks. That means that for the next five months, I will be perpetually sick. Oh sure, I may have one or two days of good health, but I think that by that point, it will just add insult to injury.

I do have that hand sanitizer stuff, which is good (I guess), but apparently there is something dangerous about it, so we're not allowed to keep it out where the students can get to it. I wish I knew the details. Maybe I'll find out tomorrow at the faculty meeting. Also, it smells weird and makes me want to throw up. And it dries out my hands. I guess I can cover that by wearing yummy smelling lotion....ah!! that's better!

On the plus side, I now have internet access at work! Yay.

And here come the First Graders.