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2010-04-27T19:39:41Z

Editors Note: Blogboard will no longer be updated as of April 26, 2010. For our take on the latest in the teacher blogosphere, please visit our new blog, Teaching Now.

A Calculated Decision?

2010-04-21T16:18:37Z

Ms. Bluebird's science classes recently began their "Very Big Deal Government Mandated Tests" (her words, not ours). Thanks to a few new science standards that involve math, Ms. Bluebird realized that her students can't compute without a calculator.

They can punch in numbers and solve math problems until the cows come home, but ask them to do math with a pencil and paper (and their brain) and they go into shut down mode. Heck, they're not even sure how to set up a math problem without a calculator. They would read a question, say, Power = work/time, and they'd write it out and then MULTIPLY IT. Not just a handful of kids, but huge numbers of kids.

Problem is: The VBDGMTs only allow calculators for the math sections of the test—calculators are banned for the science section. Cue educator rage.

My kids are going to be, in a way, penalized because they don't have the ability to do math without a calculator. And at the same time, we stick a calculator in their hands and encourage them to use it. It makes no sense to me that they can use one for the math part of the test, but not the science part which also has math.

A Tutor's Dilemma

2010-04-20T18:13:29Z

Ms. Cookie found herself conflicted last week, as a student with "attendance issues" (read: missing more than 50 percent of recent classes) decided to ask for tutoring help two days before the class had a test.

Ms. Cookie, admittedly, wasn't proud of her reaction.

Oh my god, can you WAIT until the last minute and then expect me to teach you everything in 45 minutes while at the same time tutoring other kids? This was in my head. What came out of my mouth was something equally as sarcastic along with widened eyes on my part, "sure, but maybe it would be better if you actually COME to class and learn the material, but yes, come for tutoring." That basically guarantees a no show, I'm guessing.

As it turns out...Ms. Cookie was right. The student never showed up for the tutoring session.

When Teachers Learn From Comics

2010-04-14T17:21:28Z

Harking back to his high school days, Mister Teacher recently tried applying a lesson he learned from old-school comic books to his classroom.

In a nutshell, 5 or 6 of the top villains got together and decided that they were tired of constantly getting beaten up by their archnemeses. Spidey knew all of Green Goblin's moves, so he could always defeat him. The Fantastic Four had faced Dr. Doom so often, they could handle him without issue. The villains decided that they should swap dance partners to defeat the heroes. Magneto would pick a fight with Ironman, who had never fought him before. And why they never thought of THAT one before, who knows. etc, etc.

I was thinking a few weeks ago how possibly this strategy might work for us at school. One of my teaching partners is having trouble with some of her kids. They are used to her, but what if I came in and worked with them? Basically doing the same things they've already heard in class, but coming from a different voice.

Much like the Marvel comic villains in the Acts of Vengeance storyline, Mister Teacher found that a fresh perspective is sometimes all a student needs to succeed.

Jonathan Swift and Test Scores

2010-04-01T18:17:57Z

David Cohen channeled his inner Jonathan Swift this past weekend when he wrote a faux letter from a student to a teacher, thanking the teacher for helping raise the student's test scores. (You're advised to put your dark comedy radar on full blast before proceeding.)

By providing me with chances to read anthologized literary excerpts and random workplace documents, all followed by multiple choice assessments, you showed a commitment to my learning, and my test scores that spring really proved how far I had come. I was totally comfortable dealing with any readings chosen for me, and comfortable choosing the answers to other people's questions. I also remember that you showed us how to answer the questions without even doing most of the reading, and that sure did help on the test!

The Rogue Sub

2010-03-31T18:09:26Z

When an illness forced Mei Flower to miss three days of school, she figured her classes could get along without her after she left explicit lesson plans for her substitute teacher.

Little did she expect, she drew a "rogue sub" for her class on day three—a substitute that appeared intent on ignoring every one of her instructions.

The Rogue Sub does not follow the teacher's lesson plans. She sometimes complains to the class about the worthlessness of the teacher's lesson plans, and then she picks and chooses what to share with the class. She ignores the teacher's request for notes detailing her classes' behavior and work ethic, and she rearranges the teacher's desk so the teacher cannot find anything when she returns.

Much to Mei Flower's chagrin, the Rogue Sub struck again.

And so, once again, I am screwed in regards to what I had planned to teach, because the Rogue Sub has some sort of comprehension issue. My kids have NO idea what's going on, because they're more confused than ever. Meanwhile, I can't find ANYTHING on my desk, so I don't know what work my classes have or haven't done.

Sigh. This is why I will die at school, because I can't subject my students to another day with the Rogue Sub.

Survey Says?

2010-03-25T20:18:02Z

While being forced by New York City to administer the time consuming 2010 NYC School Survey to her students in class, Miss Eyre of NYC Educator was "equal parts heartened and disheartened" by her students' responses.

But she did have trouble stomaching one common response to the survey.

What was saddest to me was how few students said they felt comfortable sharing either academic or personal struggles with an adult in our school. I really want kids to feel comfortable talking to me, and I try to show, as often as possible, that if they're honest and open with me, I can meet them halfway.

A Curriculum Valuation Issue

2010-03-24T20:15:25Z

On What It's Like on the Inside, the Science Goddess raises the inherent problem with nationwide school budget cuts: Which programs are being slashed and why?

All the same, schools and districts are making decisions based on budgets, which means that we have to take a hard look at what we value most.

If we can't do it all, what should we do?

What Students Should Know

2010-03-15T17:45:31Z

Inspired by another blogger's list of the Top Ten Things Every Graduating High School Student Should Know or Understand, loonyhiker posts her own list for her special education students.

Sparking School Reform Discussion

2010-03-15T13:42:15Z

To begin her speech classes' persuasion unit, Mei Flower asked her students how to fix some of their school's problems. She got some "pretty amazing" contributions from her students, but noticed a common theme popping up in the discussions...

In all three discussions, someone suggested that we offer more classes that would appeal to students.

"Why don't we have those classes now?" I asked.

And without hesitating or prompting, they would answer, "No Child Left Behind."

See, when even the students know that a law has a negative effect on schools, the government should take note.

Spring Broken

2010-03-12T18:29:00Z

With one week of classes separating his students from spring break, Hobo Teacher wasn't very optimistic about his chances to accomplish much in his classroom this week.

I'm not even going to try to fool myself. I thought last week was bad, but now we're not going to get anything done for an entire week. Their bodies are here but their minds are already doing beer bongs at their parents' lake house.

Collaboration Key to Student Success

2010-03-03T19:43:06Z

Cindy Rigsbee responds to the recent Metlife survey about teacher collaboration with delight.

The survey, which suggests a direct link between teacher collaboration and student success, rings true with Rigsbee, a former North Carolina Teacher of the Year.

Last night I shared the story of my first year teaching - 1979 - and how in that high school every classroom door was closed. Every teacher taught in isolation - there was no sharing of plans or resources, no discussions of student needs, no back and forth on what was working or wasn't. I spent my days talking only with children and found little avenues for getting any better at what I was doing.

As the years went by, those doors opened a little, but for the majority of my career there was still a mentality in the hallways and common areas of "I'm only going to address my own students, the ones I know, and leave the others to the teachers who teach them."

But now, according to the Survey of the American Teacher, 67% of the educators who completed the survey believe that increased collaboration has a direct effect on student success. And 80% strongly agree that teachers share responsibility for achievement of all students. We're in this together, folks, and I'm delighted to see that a majority of those questioned agree.

For more on the survey, check out Teacher's special report about the findings.

Off With Bad Teachers' Heads?

2010-02-24T20:08:43Z

Robert Pondiscio wonders, "What would happen if we simply adopted policies of systematically removing the most ineffective teachers?," as recently proposed by Stanford University economist ~~Richard~~ Eric Hanushek:

Here's my guess: we'd have a brand new bottom 6%, while doing nothing to make the other 94% any better. There's nothing wrong wanting to improve teacher quality—who wouldn't want to replace the worst teachers?—but we'd get further, faster if we attended to curriculum and pedagogy, rather than simply looking at bad teachers and shouting "off with their heads!"

Fun With Acrostics

2010-02-24T17:00:24Z

Inspired by his school's newest acrostic slogan "L.E.A.R.N.", Hobo Teacher creates his own acrostic which he believes to more accurately reflect his school's mission.

Taking tests is what we do.
Everything comes down to tests.
Stop reading something if it isn't on a test.
Test!

Caught You Red-Handed!

2010-02-24T14:59:24Z

During class recently, Coach Brown noticed a student attempting to cheat on a reading quiz and taught him a valuable lesson in front of his classroom peers.

I started through the grading process and immediately it was evident that he was going to copy answers during the grading time from the other student's paper to his own. I watched him throughout the process as he picked and chose the answers carefully, not writing everything down as to give it away. I acted totally ignorant to the situation and finished going through the answers, slowly walking over to his position in the room. After finishing the answers and right before calling for all papers to be passed forward, I stopped in front of the student's desk.

"You don't really think you're going to turn that in do you?"