Another Stupid Thing

Cell phones in school are a HUGE problem. It's actually against city policy for students to have them in school, but our principal just says the kids have to "keep them put away."

Well, they don't keep them put away. They have them out all the time. You tell them to put them away. They say no. What then? Teachers stopped fighting that battle because there's not anyone to back you up when a child refuses to hand it over or even just put it away.

Yesterday Principal made this announcement, "Students, I know teachers are LETTING you use your phones, but you need to keep them put away. " (Emphasis mine.)

OKAY. Right, we are letting them do it.

So today I decided to say something to a student and see what happened. Correy had his phone out 3 times. On the third time, after I had told him to put it away each time, I told him he had to turn it in to me to get back at the end of the day. He said no. I asked him 2 more times. He said no. The "Behavior Specialist" just happened to be walking by. I flagged him down and said that Correy needed to turn his phone in to me because he had it out in class multiple times.

Mr. Specialist asked for the phone. Correy said no. Other words were said between the two of them.

Correy got to keep his phone as long as he "promised" to keep it in is pocket and he got a pass to the counselor's office to calm down because I upset him too much.

Miss Vinson no offense but why is some white girls named Maggie and Molly? That don't even make sense.

Your Tax Dollars At Work

Last week we had to go to a training. In this training, our principal showed us a bunch of graphic organizers (charts and the like) and told us that they were NOT graphic organizers, but instead they were "thinking maps." She spent about an hour explaining these not graphic organizers to everyone and told us we were required to do one in a lesson in the upcoming week.

Today in our faculty meeting, we reviewed the lessons people did and principal patted herself on the back for a job well done. She then explained that she wants us all "trained" on how to work these "thinking maps" but she is trying to get the district to foot some of the bill because the training costs TEN THOUSAND DOLLARS. what the whating what. WE ALREADY LEARNED IT. She told us it's "really a 3-5 year process" to implement these things. IT IS A CHART. I can't even with these people anymore.

Afterwards in our team meeting, my team decided we're going to quit teaching, rename everything in education and then make people pay us thousands of dollars so we can say, "No, that's not a pencil, it's an IMAGINATOR!" "This isn't a 3 ring binder--it's an information receptacle!"

THEN

We learned that we are one of nine schools chosen for Race To The Top funds. If we reach our goals, each teacher can get between two and ten thousand dollars (depending on how many of the nine schools reach their goals). Guess what data they are using to determine how much money I get? 1. Attendance. They will be looking at the attendance data that I enter into the computer each day. 2. Suspensions. We can't have more than 60 suspensions. 3. Climate Survey. There has to be at least 60% positive on the survey.

SO. I'm not saying I'm that kind of person, but I see that I can receive TEN THOUSAND DOLLARS if I mark my students present every day and I say that I am 100% satisfied at my job (the teacher surveys can offset the scant few parent ones we receive.) We can just straight up stop suspending kids AND WE ALL GET A CRAP TON OF MONEY.

Honestly, this is in no way makes me think that anyone will make things better. It just looks like a huge opportunity for some people to fudge some numbers in order to line their pockets.

It's all pretty disgusting.

if a=b and b=c the c=...

Today I had the kids read a news article about a couple in England who had a baby 5 years ago and only just recently revealed his gender to everyone. They were basically protesting gender roles and how people treat boys and girls differently.

I make the kids read news articles every day and I like to get the most controversial ones possible. This particular one brought up this conversation:

Daysheia: Oh these have GOT to be some white people. White people is crazy.

Me: I know. I hate white people.

Daysheia: My bad Ms. Vinson, but you ain't white. You black.

Me: So, I'm not crazy then?

Daysheia: ...Well. I guess you must be white then cause you DEFINITELY crazy.

Miss Vinson it's too cold for them open-toed shoes. You gon' get Unomia.

We Had Visitors

The day after Alabama won the National Championship, the Maryland State Department of Education came to our school to observe.

They observed me in my classroom wearing an Alabama flag as a cape and making students say roll tide before I would give them a donut.

TEACHER OF THE YEAR/DECADE/CENTURY

And The Temperature Saga Continues

Apparently a 10 year old runs our thermostat at school.

Over Winter Break, they completely turned the heat off to "save money." Welllll, it got down to like 15 degrees a few nights so the school was freezing inside. So, we come back on January 3rd to no heat because surprise, surprise it takes more than an hour or two to heat a 3 story building.

Tuesday and Wednesday you could see your breath when you were teaching in classrooms. Friday the heat finally gets to us. We spend an hour outside friday because the fire alarms went off. Why, you ask? Because it was ONE HUNDRED AND THIRTY SIX DEGREES in the auditorium. It is now Wednesday and classrooms are still reaching up to 90 something degrees.

I'm sure they money they "saved" by turning off the heat was way more than they spent heating an entire auditorium so hot it set off fire alarms.

I Yelled Again :(

I'm the 7th grade team leader. Which, in previous years just meant you were the "go-to" person for that team and you led the meetings.
This year it means, You Are In Charge of The Entire Seventh Grade And Everything That Happens With Them. It's been kindof stressful. I mean seriously more than once something like this has happened, "Excuse me, (principal, assistant principal, someone else on the administrative team), this student just (threw a book at a teacher, called me a fucking bitch, attacked another student), and here is their office referral."

"Well, that is something for The Team to take care of."

Right, right. Because I can stop teaching my lesson to go deal with such a crisis. And hey, if the teacher that got a book thrown at their just hands out some detentions, those kids will totally show up after school to her room because they clearly respect her and believe they deserve consequences.

ANYWAY. So, it's been frustrating to say the least. The other day, two teachers on our team called in sick. I spent the better part of my morning (the time when I'm supposed to be putting my lesson together--you know, a teacher's job), organizing a schedule for the 7th grade team to follow that day (since our school doesn't use substitute teachers).

So, that's part of the setting.

The other half is this: the day before a girl SPIT on her teacher MULTIPLE TIMES in the cafeteria in front of me, about 60 kids and several more adults. They told us that "it takes time to deal with" and she was in class for the rest of the day and the next.

So, Assistant Principal comes in the office in the morning where I am organizing the schedule. Another teacher asks him why The Spitter wasn't suspended and how that is complete and total bullshit.

Assistant Principal turns to us and says, "You know what. Since you guys want to have such negative attitudes, you can go get other jobs. Since you don't want to be here, we don't want you here."

Cue me:

You know what?! You're right, how dare I get SPIT ON, cursed at and disrespected by children, told I'm doing a bad job by people like you who don't seem to be doing a job at all and I have the nerve to come in here with a bad attitude. Well, I would like to take a moment, sir, and thank YOU for coming every single day and just being a RAY OF SUNSHINE."

Glad he's not my boss.

Daddy, I Want Another Pony.

We are doing one of my favorite lessons where they watch Charlie and the Chocolate Factory and identify all the economic concepts.
The best part is how upset everyone gets about Veruca Salt. These jokers will cuss you out in a second, call you every name in bleeping book and scream it all at the top of their lungs but HOW DARE THIS LITTLE GIRL BE SO RUDE.

In every class I paused it and said, "Yeah. Gah. I know. Who on earth would ever be disrespectful to adults? Certainly not YOU GUYS.

Please Tell Me They Mean Tall

An 8th grader got into a huge fight with a high school girl after school. I had heard this high school girl used to attend our school. I was asking around to find out who the girl was.

More than once I was told,

I don't know her name Ms. Vinson, but she was HUGE. Humongous! Like, even bigger than you!


Thanks, children.