I know that if you give a room full of kids less than 48 hours warning that they have a test coming, they will panic. I know if you present my SPED kids with 40 questions, crammed together on one sheet and 40 blanks on another, they will get lost in the words and numbers and give up. I know that if you teach an archaic method for solving problems, then offer too few drills for practice, no one will learn it.
And most of all I know if the person in queston had given me a copy of the test like I'd asked and allowed me to shorten it, modify it, and test my kids in another room, they would have passed.
I will stick up and go to the wall for any of my students if they are at least trying, why do so many others seem dead set on setting them up to fail?
Ugh, ok, rant over, for the moment. I was about to go into brain function and learning theory. I'll save it for another day.
Today is The first day this week I haven't so busy or so exhausted that I couldn't see straight. I didn't have to drive to Pitt to go to class, I didn't have to sit in on three hours worth of "at risk" meetings which seemed to boil down to a lot of ignorant gossip. Apparently there really are teachers who think that just because a kids' family isn't "normal" that kid is destined to drop out of high school. Ditto for if the kid had an idiot who did drop out for an older sibling or parent. Don't get me started on what they think of kids with special needs (asperger's is not a risk for dropping out of high school, especially not high functioning, positive about school aspergers) or kids who've had a kid. (ok, that one not a good thing, but really hate the attitude that their fate is sealed).
My regional administrator came to my room today and chatted a bit. He's a nice man, seemed to just be checking in with me. I sometimes feel like there's more I should do, or can do, to help my kids. He says I'm a keeper. The coop I work for is pretty dedicated to hiring quality people, keeping them around, and training them right. I work hard and feel unsure a lot of the time, but I think they all have my back. ITs a good, if humbling feeling.
I hope I continue to prove valuable, because I got paid this week, and its nice to be able to go pay rent, and utilities and phones, and insurance, and still be comfortable about what you have on hand. Is that bad of me? That I like my job and really want to do well because I like the money that comes with it? Am I warped?
1 comment:
NOT WARPED. Someone once told me to find, in medicine or surgery, something that I really loved & CALL IT WORK. The hours I subsequently invested confused everyone except me. Same with you I think. That you get paid for it is magnificient but isn't the whole reason you do it -- is it? It makes you want / need to get better -- even be the best -- or at least drive to/from PITT. Me I have to follow our HS football team to an away game even farther out & back tonight. I drive a gas hog that gets about the same MPG as a medium-sized piece of earth-moving equipment -- but even without getting paid I'll try to fool them into thinking its just me doing my job. God help me if they ever find out -- Omy how they'd take advantage of that. You DO KNOW what you're talking about but also you LOVE WHAT you're doing so you are thereby compelled to compromise in some areas. Socrates said "you do what you are." If not already there you're getting close. Take the money, smile & (don't) run. . .
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