What happened to teaching?

I remember going through college knowing that I loved to teach. I still love to teach, even knowing that I could be making double or even triple the money in other fields that interest me, I love to teach. I remember thinking about the students I would be able to reach, to help. I would spend hours of my own time, preparing lesson plans while I prayed for my students I was student-teaching. Adjusting lessons to apply to my student's lives. I loved it.

So what happened?

I still love to teach, when I get to do it. I once had a college professor tell me that anyone out on the street can read a lesson plan and in fact in some states they do, they are called substitutes, but it takes a professional to teach. To teach is to know your students, to care about them, then to teach the curriculum to those students. Teach to their needs and do whatever it takes to help that student see their potential.

So what has happened?

Tonight I sat down to read through the lessons I will teach tomorrow. These are lessons taken directly out the curriculum. I am to read the script, "with fidelity" I am told. Creative lessons are not to be taught, even those proven effective, if they vary from that script.

I "teach" reading, writing, and math. Science, art, social studies, even life skills are pushed to the side. Why? Because they are not tested as much in those areas.

I still love to teach, I hope that someday we will go back to a day when that is what happens in our schools.

Your help please

I am currently working with a web design company on a web application for teachers and parents. They are working on developing an online software to help communication between parents and teachers, as well as offer tools to teachers to improve communication with school districts.

Please help out by taking the survey below (the teacher survey is only 9 questions and the parent survey is only 6).

Please, ask your friends to fill out the survey too. Thanks for your help.

Teacher Survey

Parent Survey

Thanks again!

That was YOU!

Just a quick story today. While sitting around a small reading group today, I had one of those sneak-up-on-you burps. It wasn't loud, and I think only one student heard it.

I said, "Excuse me!"

The girl sitting closest to me said, "That was YOU?!?"

"Yeah"

To which she replied, "I thought it was ME!"

Jose Jose Jose Jose

The school year is well underway now. Things have been getting crazy. Those in the education profession will understand what I mean when I say I look forward to starting 3 quarter in 3 months so I can start to have a little bit of faith in the "official" schedule. Now if this is not the norm, let me know where you teach, I need to know how you do it, but at my school, nothing is ever set in stone. Schedules, reading groups, curriculum, standards, expectations, budgets, etc. One of the big changes at my school is the enrollment. I went from 17 students last year, to starting this year with 21, and I am now up to 27.

Because I have to look at the funnier side of this to keep from going crazy (and aging 20 years by the end of May) I have a story to tell you. I have 4 students with the same name... two of them have the same last name too. Lets say their names are Jose. Let me tell you what I called them and how it changed as they joined my class.

At first I had 2 Jose students, both with the last name Hernandez (names have been changed, but the general idea is the same):

• Jose J. Hernandez, and Jose T Hernandez. That is easy right, one is Jose J. and the other is Jose T.

Another Jose joins the class, with the last name Taylor. Well, so much for Jose T. Hernandez being called Jose T. Now they are called:

• Jose J.
• Jose Thomas (this is Jose T. Hernandez)
  
• Jose T.

Yet another Jose joins the class. You will never guess what his middle name is... yep Jose Thomas Johnson! So now, if I call Jose T. Hernandez, Jose Thomas, then the new Jose will be confused, So do I call the new Jose, Jose J.? Oh wait, I already got one of those... crap.

So what do I call them now? Jose. That's it. If I say Jose and I am looking at you, then you are the one I want. Now what do I do with my identical twins (that dress the same too) named Mary and Mery? I guess that will have to be a story for another post!

Ask a Teacher

Two weeks of school have already come and gone! Crazy how fast time flies by, isn't it? The past two weeks have reminded me of some of the funnier things about teaching second grade. Let me explain:

Ask a Teacher, they know everything:

Second graders are still at the age where they believe that adults just know everything. This is both funny, and sometimes tiring. Yesterday I was teaching a math lesson about how to solve "Some, Some More" math problems. Because I teach the English Language Transition (ELT) program, I do a lot of teaching in Spanish.

To help the students understand, I wrote "Some, Some More" in both English and Spanish on the white board. My students then asked me to write it in Chinese. Now I don't know any Chinese, but I decided I would give it a try. I drew some symbols under the Spanish. Gasps of amazement went out through the class.

"Holy cow! He can really do it!" was being whispered throughout the room. That made me smile, so I went ahead and wrote "Omesay, Omesay Oremay" (Pig-Latin) under the Chinese. Needless to say, my students were amazed.

Is there anything Mr. Tucker can't do?

That's How I Planned It!

Ever make a mistake? Yeah, that happens, but not to teachers. Everything we do "wrong" is really just a test for the students. This works out great because I get to constantly "test" my students in spelling :) both in Spanish and in English.

I bet the Teacher would like to know that:

My students are great, and I love working with them... unless it is during recess, or lunch when I am trying to make worksheets, clean messes, organize my desk, etc.

They are so funny though. The students at my school eat lunch in the classroom (yeah, what a bad setup, I know). Well, while they eat, I try to get stuff done. This is near impossible. There is always at least one student that is sitting at their desk thinking, "My mom sure likes to go to Walmart.... HEY, Mr. Tucker would like to know that!"

So they walk up to my desk and look at me. I am sure that they are wondering, "What is the BEST way to start such a wonderful story?" After a minute, they say, "Mr. Tucker? The other day... ... ... ... The other day..."

"Yes?" I say. My response seems to brake down a dam that was holding in the words. They come spilling out as fast as possible.

"I went to Walmart with my mom and we bought some Hot Cheetos, and we went with my little brother that is in first grade and I like to eat Hot Cheetoes and my mom likes to go to Walmart and sometimes I get to go to Walmart with her."

They then stand and wait, and I kid you not, they are hardly breathing as they wait to see how I respond. Not wanting them to feel bad, or know that their story had no point I say, "Wow! That is SOOOO cool!" As a big smile comes across their face, about 10 other students are thinking, "HEY, my mom likes Walmart too! I should let Mr. Tucker know!" So much for getting stuff done.

Making a Line:

I am sure I could go on all day about the funny things kids do, but this will be my last example today. Recess, Lunch, P.E., Music, Library, or just to get out, we are constantly needing to make a line and walk through the halls at school. This is one of the things that I know I did as a kid, but I still just don't get it. Think back to elementary school and making lines and you too will remember cutting in line. Oh how I hated that as a kid. "Hey, you can't cut in front of me!"

Well, my students too hate it. "Mr. Tucker!! So-and-so cut in line!!" they cry.

"So what?" I respond, "we are all going to the same place and will all get there within a couple seconds of each other." Not only that, but they hate going back to class from recess! Why the hurry? I always wonder what goes on in those little heads, "Man! Recess is over, now we have to do math! I wish I could spend more time out... Hey! Is that Joe cutting in line! Now I have to wait a whole extra second out at recess! I can't let this go untold! Someone needs to stop him!"

My First Second First Day of Second Grade for the First Time!

Wow, what a day! It is interesting to experience the first day of school for the second time. I had forgotten what it was like to have new 2nd graders. There is a big difference between end-of-the-school-year second graders and beginning-of-the-year ones. Because I teach the English Language Learners, all of my students speak Spanish, some only speak Spanish. In my school, there is a Kinder and a First grade class that is taught completely in Spanish. Second grade is the year we start in Spanish, but end in English. It is a big job, for them and for me. By the end of the year last year my students could all speak, work, think, and read in both English and Spanish. I had got use to that, and now I am back at square one. Tons on Spanish, very little (if any at all) English.

I am enjoying the class though. They are great kids and ready to learn. I am glad that the first day is over and am looking forward to many more days (179 to be exact) with my students.

Be a Tigger!

With school starting tomorrow, my day has been filled with meetings and trainings. While some of the meetings seemed to stretch space and time so that days seemed to pass in what should have been hours, others had some really good, uplifting moments.

Out of all the things I heard, the ones that stick out the most are about how we as teachers can make a difference in the lives of our students. This is why we go into teaching. There are students in our classrooms that need to be told they can reach their goals. These are the students that don't hear or see that message at home.

A teacher does not teach lessons, they teach students. Anyone that can read can go into a classroom and follow a lesson plan. It takes a teacher that cares about his or her students to really find a way to connect the content of a lesson to a student. Seeing the light of understanding go on in a student, that understanding of who they really are, and the great worth they are, is worth more than the monetary rewards of teaching. That is part of why I love to teach.

One last thought that was shared. There are a lot of hard things we all have to go through. In education, we are getting more and more unfunded mandates, and more is being asked of us. The bar is being set high, which is good but challenging. So as we continue to improve and make changes, are we going to be a Tigger, or an Eeyore?

My Second Year in Second Grade

Ready or not, here comes another school year! It has been interesting going back to my classroom and getting everything set up. Here are some of the good and bad of being back in my classroom.

Good:

• Everything is clean! My classroom has never been cleaner or more organized than it is right now. That is a good feeling.
• Peace and quiet... for now. The next couple days before the students come back will be very peaceful. It is nice to be able to sit down and get some work done.
• The wonderful feelings that come with teaching are coming back. There is nothing like knowing that I can make a difference in the lives of my students. I am excited for the school year to begin.

Bad:

• Good bye is never fun. It is hard to leave my wonderful wife home with the kids all day. I miss her a lot when I am at school
• Windows 98. Yeah, that was not a typo, the computers in my classroom, school, and district use Microsoft Windows 98! Talk about head ache. Win 98 does not support USB, does not get software updates, and does not support the wonderful software that came with our new math program.
• "The foolish man built his house on the sand" Even if you have not heard that scripture before, you can guess why that is a bad idea. Well, I talked with a new teacher that planned his whole first month out. Sounds like a good beginning, unless you know that the "official" schedule is going to change at least 5 to 6 times before school starts (changed 3 times yesterday)

Both lists could go on and on, but they wont. All in all, I am excited about the new year.