Friday, December 18, 2009

The New Guy

Here is an excerpt from his Behavior Intervention Plan (BIP):

Summary
Eric…can create a disruption to the learning environment (including calling out, being out of his seat, talking to peers during lessons, making noises) due to a history of ADHD and lead poisoning. When confronted on these disruptive behaviors or given consequences for negative behaviors, he exhibits verbal and/or physical aggression and may also elope from the classroom/building. This reactivity appears to be due to his difficulty regulating emotions, difficulty inhibiting impulses as well as misperceptions about people in his environment. Recently, Eric brought a knife to school, which was determined to be a premeditated act and not the result of the impulsivity associated with ADHD.

Preventing Strategies
Reduce distractions to Eric from the class and vice versa, access to additional academic and behavioral supports in a smaller setting when Eric is unable to complete work within his class.

Teaching Strategies
Eric will learn to link his thoughts with his feelings and behavior

Reinforcement Strategies
Eric can receive special lunches when he achieves goals.


Wtf? Some thoughts here.
1. Thank goodness the knife incident was premeditated and not the result of ADHD! Whew. Crisis averted.
2. How the HELLLLLLLL do you teach someone to “link his thoughts with his feelings and behavior”?
3. Good luck “reducing distractions” when you put him a class that really should have seatbelts on their chairs.
4. Where are these additional academic and behavioral supports? I would like to meet them.
5. Special lunches, eh? Where do these come from? Do I buy them? Is he a puppy?

I would like to thank the Special Education Team for churning out this b.s. and then acting like I should be okay with it. “Oh, he is having problems in class? Well we gave you a BIP. Just look on there.”

Thursday, December 10, 2009

The Great Hoodie Controversy of 2009

So every day for the past month, our morning and afternoon announcements have consisted of this: “Teachers! Students are still wearing hoodies in your classroom! There are to be no hoodies or jackets or anything of that nature on your students. Students should wear their uniform and leave all other things in their lockers. Teachers, I am holding you responsible for the students in your classroom.” She also sends around administrators to go into classrooms and take children’s jackets.

Yesterday, Jonnae was wearing a purple sweater (her uniform color is hunter green) with a hood on it. I told her to take it off. She yelled, she screamed, she moaned and complained. She went to Principal. Principal apparently told her it was okay, she could wear it (but, conveniently, she didn’t tell ME that she could wear it.) So she tries to stroll back into my room. I tried to stop her and she flipped out. Principal was in the hallway. I asked her if Jonnae could wear the hoodie/sweater. She said, “Of course! We never said they couldn’t wear sweaters!” I rolled my eyes and walked away.

I went to her office later. I said, “I need some clarification on this hoodie/sweater rule. What can they wear and what can’t they wear?” She tells me they have always been able to wear sweaters, just not “hoodies…you know? Hoodies.” I said, “Okay, you should probably be clearer with your directions, because it sounds like they can’t wear anything but their uniform. Can they wear any color sweater?” She said, “We decided this already.” (We did??) “They can wear sweaters that are brown, white, black or the school colors.” (The school colors are blue and white? I think.) I said, “But her sweater HAS A HOOD and is PURPLE.” She said, “Ugh! Just let her wear it!!”

1. If they can wear sweaters but not hoodies, that basically is saying that girls can wear jackets and boys can’t. (Do you know any boys who wear cardigans?)
2. Why is it such a big deal if I don’t follow your rules, but I’m the annoying one when I’m trying to get clarification on your dumbass rule?
3. WHO CARES???!!!!!! Sweaters, jackets, hoodies, whatever. The temperature in the building is a crapshoot everyday anyway.

Let’s worry about our real problems? Like the fighting and the complete lack of work ethic. Granted, you can say that if you let the little things slide, you’re going to let the big things slide; but this same Hoodie Nazi is the woman who, during our faculty meeting, said, “Our suspensions are down. I’m not going to suspend somebody for something as simple as cursing you out. That is something you need to deal with.”

So, from now on, you can be in full-out eskimo gear and Miss Vinson will not say anything to you. I tried following the rules. It didn't work.

Tuesday, December 8, 2009

Leaving All The Children Behind

So I have a 7th grade class of students in which nine of them read at or below a 3rd grade level. Two of them read on a first grade level. Five of them were previously in a self-contained classroom, but put into the regular education classroom because “they can do the work.”
The special education teacher told me she doesn’t understand how one of these kids could be passing my class because he reads on a first grade level. I told her I have to grade him differently than everyone else because he obviously is not able to do all of the work. She said, “Just fail him and they will send him back.”
Which brings me to Victor. He reads on a 2nd grade level (well, we think. He refused to finish the test, so they just graded the few questions he answered.) He will do a good 10 minutes of work for me and then he’s done for the rest of the day (80 more minutes). He is very pleasant for me, but it is pretty much impossible to get him to do any more work. Even if I sit beside him and try to work him through it. Well, I went to the special education team to tell them that he is not doing well at all in the regular education setting and needs to be back in a classroom which can better accommodate him. I was told that he has, on multiple occasions, threatened to kill his special education teacher. Therefore, “he doesn’t threaten to kill you, so we’re going to keep him in your class.” So, this one, even if he fails every assignment, is with me for the long haul.
Another child in the same class, Dennis, is also on a 3rd grade reading level. He disappeared a few weeks ago because he got suspended. The suspension was for three days, but he’s been gone for a good two weeks. I found out today he has been placed in high school. In the middle of the year. From seventh grade. To high school. He can barely read.

Tuesday, December 1, 2009

Oh, Come ON! (Part Two)

So this didn't happen to me, but it's still so ridiculous I had to share.

Apparently a girl snuck a knife into school the other day. The kids were going to Art class, and about 5 of them told the asst. principal that this girl had a knife. What does this guy do? He walks the students to their next class and tells the teacher, "Watch so-and-so, she has a knife." WTF?
The teacher then SEES the knife. Multiple students in the class SEE the knife. The teacher told me he was just dumbfounded. WHY IS SHE IN CLASS IF EVERYONE KNOWS SHE HAS A KNIFE? And, what do you mean "watch her"? What kind of ridiculous statement is that?
She eventually is taken downstairs, but she has hidden the knife at this point. Since the principal or police officers didn't see it, nothing happens. Nothing at all. Not even detention.

Oh, Come ON!

There was a fire this morning. Some kid set a bulletin board aflame. It was at 7:25a.m. (Some kids are in the cafeteria for breakfast, but homeroom doesn't start until 7:45) We had to evacuate.
But you know what, whatever. It's not even the fire. That's like the 3rd fire this year, none of them have caused any real damage besides us having to stand outside.
Here's my problem. It's 7:45ish in the morning and you are dropping your child off at school. When you get there, you see 2 firetrucks, one ambulance and 200 people standing in the grass. AND YET YOU STILL DROP THE KID OFF AND DRIVE AWAY? Not even a roll-down-the-window "hey, what's going on?"??! This wasn't just a couple of parents. It happened close to 30 times. At what job would "Sorry I'm five minutes late, but my kid's school was on fire" not count as a legitimate excuse? What would possess someone to push an 11 year old out into 30 degree weather with emergency vehicles without some sort of explanation? What could possibly be going on that is so important?
Or, I guess it could be even worse. Do these parents have some lackadaisical "oh, this happens all the time" attitude?
PEOPLE! GET IT TOGETHER!

Wednesday, November 18, 2009

What's a Synonym for SUCKS

The Language Arts teacher got fired last year because he couldn't pass the math portion of his certification tests. (According to No Child Left Behind, we all have to pass a math, reading and writing test with a certain score. This guy has is 50 something years old and hasn't had math in quite some time.) Anyway, he still works at our school but only as a full-time substitute. He's the only IB trained Language Arts teacher we have.

He's leaving next week. I was told that whenever he leaves, they will make ME the IB Language Arts teacher and put some other full-time substitute in my place to teach Social Studies.

Okay, so I realize I complained a lot about the whole "4 preps" situation earlier in the year. And, if anyone wants an update, it still blows. But NOW they are going to give me 3 preps in a subject I'M NOT EVEN CERTIFIED TO TEACH??!

You know how I know it's going to happen? Because I've planned social studies lessons for the sixth graders and eighth graders all the way up until Christmas break. So, of course, they will change my SUBJECT and completely negate all that work.

AAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHH.

Monday, November 16, 2009

Icy Hot

Okay, so I just went to Lowe's and bought two fans. I already had one that works and another that doesn't anymore. I bought them so that we can survive tomorrow. I started to sweat today just SITTING in my classroom. I wasn't standing or moving, just sitting. and sweating.
I have no idea how hot it is in my classroom or the school in general. I just know it's hot enough to make me sweat without moving. This means I am crabby. This means my kids are crabby. It has been a very ugly past few weeks.
Before this manufactured heat wave, it was so incredibly cold, people were wearing winter coats inside all day and teeth were chattering. I had to stay in my room because, thanks to my no-ventilation, the air conditioner doesn't pump into my room and so the freeze out was bearable. People bought mini-heaters and let the kids take turns standing beside them.
But as much as I hated the freezing, the sweating is ten thousand times worse. Tempers are much closer to the surface when everyone is hot and uncomfortable.
So, when we go to the administration, the maintenance people, whoever, to get this temperature thing under control, this is what we hear: "You know, you people are never happy. Just two weeks ago you were complaining about how cold it was. I can't spend my life trying to accommodate you!"
Um, okay. coupla things here. 1. I'm not asking for mints on my pillow or a gold-plated pen set. All I want is for it not to be unbearable in my classroom. And that's too much? 2. Since when are my only options 40 degrees or 100 degrees? Seems like around the 70 degree mark works for most everyone. Why don't we try that? The maintenance guy told me it was "really difficult" to regulate the temperature. Seriously? Like, rocket science hard? Is there a special degree for this?
I know it seems like a petty thing to complain about. I'm sure tons of people sit in offices or wherever freezing or burning up. But it's just another thing in an already ridiculously long list of things that aren't fair to my kids. It's already an effort to even get them to show up to school, now we're going to make it an unbearable environment?

I Pray Every Night That I Never Have To Go Through This

In memory of Jason ...

"The tragic stabbing death of 15-year-old Jason Madison Jr. last week, allegedly at the hands of a convicted murderer who had a forced sexual relationship with the boy in his aunt's home, brought a tearful letter from the victim's teacher.

The boy was found in his aunt's upstairs closet, gagged with a pillowcase and stabbed in the head and throat. A suspect, Donte Parrish, was arrested a few days later at a convenience store in Northeast Baltimore.

A spate of other killings this week has brought Baltimore's homicide total to more than 200 for the year, a grim statistic as we end the year.

Here is the note from Jason's teacher, Ryan C. Jones (note, he uses a different spelling for the victim's last name): "-Peter Hermann, Baltimore Sun

Hi friends and family,
I am writing you this in hope you can do me a large favor. As some of you know, I lost someone very close to me this week. A student of mine was taken from us in a violent manner. His name was Jason Mattison and he was a 15-year old student, whom I have had the privilege to teach through his 9th and 10th-grade years, since he arrived on our campus during the summer of 2008.

There has been extensive news coverage of Jason’s death over the past few days. He was brutally attacked, abused, fatally injured and left for dead. His attacker, a 35-year old previously convicted murderer, has been arrested, and will meet his doom in one way or another.
However, I am writing because not enough positive things have been shown about Jason. As is often the case, the majority of news has revolved around the graphic nature of his death and the circumstances relating to his attacker. Too often, we hear news that a young, black male from Baltimore City was killed and we think nothing of it.



Jason was not just another statistic! He was a lively, unique individual who brought smiles to the faces of countless people every day. Jason was an above-average student, who excelled in many areas of academics and social life. He dreamed of finishing his career here and moving on to college, medical school and then to his own pediatric office. God, how kids would have loved his big smile and booming voice! You need to simply look at his exotic dress, flare for the dramatic in class and with friends and talk to those who knew him to understand what a loss we have all been dealt.

Jason was in no way involved with gangs, drugs or weapons. He spent his time after school doing homework in teachers’ classrooms and hanging out with friends. His nightly routine of chatting on MySpace is the same one any of our kids have, and the same one as kids all across America. But for as “typical” as Jason seemed, he was so unique. He hated normal! He was different because he could be. He wore his skinny jeans and fashionable sweaters and blazers because it made him stand out.


I’ve included a few pictures of Jason as a way to expose what a great child he was, and to allow those who didn’t know him to see more than the news coverage allows. In my eyes, this tragedy has focused so much on the negative and what is truly being lost is what a great child we had the pleasure of being around. It hurts me to watch the news and see a murderer’s face and story being told and not that of Jason!!!!!

Please do me a favor and honor Jason! I am asking that you simply forward this e-mail and pictures to everyone you know. I want Jason’s story to be told and I want everyone to see that we have lost an innocent child! And maybe more importantly, I want everyone to see how beautifully wonderful this child was!!!
Ryan C. Jones, M.A.T.
English II Instructor

Friday, November 6, 2009

Goodbye Diversity

Well,our white kid transferred out yesterday.

Thursday, November 5, 2009

The Bad Day

It was not a happy time in Schoolville today.

First, my dear baby 6th grader Ricardo, had a problem. One of the other teachers does not like him, and she sent him out of class. He was walking up the stairs, and somebody threw something and hit him in the face. He was already angry and he punched the kid in the face and gave him a bloody nose. He got suspended for 3 days. He also is to be taken out of the advanced class. I am very, very upset about it. This is not the first time they have decided that smart kids can't make any mistakes. I went to the principal and begged and even cried a little. I really don't want to lose him. She said we'll see.

Third period. 3 students are working and they call me over to their table. Desean says, "Mr. Y is a rapist." I told her that was a pretty huge accusation. She said, "it's not about me. it's about tytrese. tell her, tytrese." Tytrese just cast her eyes down. Desean said, "You really need to tell somebody what he did." I told them that it wasn't appropriate to talk about this in the middle of class and we would talk about it after class was over.

After class, I went to the principal and told her what the girls had said. She called them in and spoke with them and then scheduled a meeting with Tytrese's mother.

Today, Mr. Y confronted me in the hallway and yelled at me because I didn't warn him. He kept saying that I know he didn't do it and this is his career that is on the line.

I'm very upset about this. Mr. Y is my friend and I feel bad, but at the same time, what else was I supposed to do? I tried to stay as uninvolved as possible BECAUSE he is my friend.