A reminder as to why I no longer teach high school

A few people still ask if I miss teaching. No, I do not, and I am seriously reminded what I don’t miss when I read blog posts like this one from Ricochet who is still teaching high school math.

 

Pride in a job well done; shame in messing up

The year I was in sixth grade–1963–was a water-shed year in many ways. Not only was it the year President John F Kennedy was assassinated, which is really a major memory, it was also the year my parents bought their first ever new car and remodeled the house I grew up in. The previous year had brought record prices for cotton and my father finally felt that he had money to do all those extras. My dad worked very hard and he was very proud of the excellent cotton he grew and the high prices it brought. He believed that his fields were a reflection on his character and the resulting crops a sign of his success.

But, getting back to me, 1963 was a year when I learned a skill that I have used the rest of my life, and it’s what I want to share with you, dear Reader, today. Why today? Because I read this piece of news this morning.

I was very concerned about being called “out” by my teachers. I only wanted to be noticed by the teacher for my good work, not for something I did wrong. Because of my fear of being “shamed” in class, I always worked hard and took pride in my work until one assignment in that sixth grade class. The teacher showed one to two movies and week, and she expected us to take notes on each movie, using a notebook she gave us specifically for this task. She also had a specific way in which she wanted the notes written, having drilled us previous to the first movie. When the lights went off, and the movie started, all of her instructions went right out of my head. I couldn’t get the hang of writing in the dark. It was hard to watch the movie, and then write the notes, going back and forth from screen to paper. I was totally bewildered, and went home, nearly in tears. I thought about this all night. I just knew that when I turned in my notebook the teacher would hold it up to the class and say, “Look. Delaine Kissinger does not know how to take proper notes.” I would be mortified.

So, I thought long and hard on how I could keep that from happening. I decided to practice writing, in my bedroom, with the lights turned off. When the news came on TV, I practiced taking notes on what I was hearing. I also brought my notebook home and tried to fill in some notes for the first movie. By the time the next movie was shown, I was better at the note taking, but still not good. The fear of humiliation was still there, but I kept practicing at home, and by the time we had to turn those notebooks in for a check-point, I was doing pretty well. The teacher made some comments in my notebook, giving me some tips on arranging my notes. I followed her suggestions, and by the end of the sixth grade, I knew how to take notes on movies, speeches, presentations, anything and everything. College was much easier because of this ability.

To this day, I give credit for my ability to take notes to my sixth grade teacher, Miss Pugh. Oh, and some credit to my shorthand teacher in high school, Mr. Arntz. He was another instructor whom I didn’t want to disappoint.

Where and when did that change in the schools? Why aren’t students still fearful of messing up and getting called out for doing inadequate work? Just as my dad saw the importance of high yields and excellent quality in his crops, I too saw the importance of good work and high grades in my school work.

This past week

This was the week the teachers returned to school for all those meetings. Hopefully there was some time left over for them to work in their classrooms, getting things in order for the kiddos that show up on Monday. I admit that I miss getting to see everyone as they return from their summer vacation, with tales of adventures and plans for the new year. But then we have to settle into those meetings where we are shown PowerPoint slide, one after another, of how the students did on last year’s test and how they compare to the rest of the world and how we should be doing more to get better test scores, blah, blah, blah…

I wasn't here

Instead, I went to lunch with my girlfriends. The lunch date was actually to celebrate my birthday, but that was weeks ago, and I’m not one for celebrations like that, so I figured, it was a chance to have pie for lunch. Boysenberry pie at the Chicken Pie Shop. Divine.

I was here

But, before lunch, I headed downtown, where my husband met me, and we walked the mall, checking the fountains that have been repaired and are again running. The Fulton Mall was designed with lots of fountains, but with age and lack of funding, the fountains have become dormant, with no water coursing through their pipes. It was good to see some of the flowing again. We had fun taking pictures.

At one of the fountains

 

Terry taking photographs of the fountain

Today I went shopping for cosmetics because Lancome was having a gift with purchase at Macy’s. I also found a pair of navy tennis shoes that were on sale for only $16 and since I had an old pair that needed to be tossed (my husband thoroughly agreed) it was the right time to buy. My hair salon also called to say that my bright red shampoo was in and I could pick up the two bottles I had ordered. Now, remember my recent rant about not buying extras? Well, there I was buying an extra bottle so I could put it in my travel bag and also because the stuff is so hard to get.

So, did I mention this is the week the teachers returned to work? I really didn’t miss it at all. And, I don’t think I’m going to miss the first day of school that happens next week. I have plans.

 

Clever infographic

I like this infographic. Not only is it cleverly done, but it’s got some good information. I would love to have students present their research finings in such a manner.

It’s that time of the year

And I’m not participating. I’m talking about back-to-school. Today is actually the first day of school for a neighboring school district just a few blocks to the west of me. The large urban school district for whom I taught all those years returns in another week and a half as does the state college here in town. Teachers every where are heading back to their offices and classrooms to prepare for the net onslaught.

Yesterday I had lunch with a young teacher whose friendship I made through her blog.  We learned, over the years, that we had much in common. She had another life before becoming a teacher, similar to me; she is a fairly new teacher, just up the highway a piece, and somehow we discovered that she and my son-in-law had grown up together.  She likes to write, and she likes to use technology in her classroom. Although young enough to be my daughter, we had a good time chatting about teaching, students, hair, and all the other stuff that makes up a life. She returns to school tomorrow. I hope she has a great year. She deserves it.

As do so many of my teacher friends who are working so hard to make this teaching thing  a success for their students. They have started to prepare for those students even while the summer heat lingers and the days are still long. My old teaching buddy is coming by on Friday to get a brief lesson on PhotoShop as she will this year teach one period of multimedia, a class I taught the last two years of my career. It’s all about photography, document layout, web design, and video. Lots of equipment involved. More software than I care to remember. Juggling so many projects, students, and flash drives!

My last day in the multimedia classroom.

A wish for my dear teaching buddies

I know how hard you work. I know how much you give of yourself. I know the beatings you take, emotionally and physically. You give and you give. This summer I wish for you to unplug, regain perspective, nurture yourself, and slow down into stillness

A note to make my heart sing

I received this wonderful note today. It made my heart sing:

Oh Mrs. Zody, how I miss you dearly. I am doing quite nicely. Working at Michaels Arts and Crafts while pursuing my AA in Journalism. You always told us that one day we would appreciate all the things you were teaching us early on, and I must say you were so right. I know how to type and my indesign and photoshop experience is already coming into play. You prepared us very well, therefore the transition into college was smooth. So thank you for that. I hope you are doing well too.

It makes me so glad to hear from my students and to know they are doing well out there in that big world.

Teaching gets harder a la Facebook

Somehow I missed the story about the student in the Sacramento area that called his teacher a “fat ass” on Facebook and was suspended for it. The ACLU stepped in and said it was okay for the sophomore to do this; students have called their teachers names for all these years and they have a right to post it on Facebook. The suspension could not stand and the student’s record was expunged.

You can read more about it here.

January 3 picture-a Christmas card comes for the view

While teaching, I pursued a number of businesses to be partners with the Marketing Academy. One of the best partnerships I was able to arrange was the one with Dumont Printing.

A fieldtrip to Dumont Printing

Larry and Susan Early, the  owners, gave lavishly of their time and resources to help our students do well. They sent guest speakers to the classroom, allowed the students (and teachers) to job shadow at the printing offices, arranged field trips to show the students how a business operated, and offered advice and counsel on curriculum and equipment purchases. Any time we called on this company, they were right there, ready to help in any way they could.

Another nice thing Dumont Printing did was include the Academy teachers in their annual holiday party for clients and important people in their operation. We felt so honored to be included in this yearly extravaganza. As the economy went south, the party was curtailed, but a lovely card was always sent, a sort of engineering/printing feat. This year’s card arrived at the tiny apartment, and since we have been in Fresno for two weeks, I only opened it today. It seems to like the view:

The card and view.

What a nice reminder of such nice people and all the nice things they did for this school teacher and her students. I think it makes a great picture of the day.

My students learned to think for themselves

Just read this paragraph from here:

As Professor of Anthropology James Lett pointed out twenty years ago in an excellent article titled “A Field Guide to Critical Thinking,” people are taught in our schools what to think, not how to think. Why? Probably because it’s easier. Robert Frost once wrote that he took the road less traveled, and that made all the difference. For us teachers to make a difference, we must stop taking the easy way out.

Reminds me of some of my non-Academy students who want me to tell them exactly what they should be doing, writing, saying, thinking, whatever, and I won’t do it.  My Academy students learned not to ask me for specifics because I would always say, “Use what you have learned to make your own assumptions and do your own work.  I know how I would do the (exercise, speech, project, etc), but I want to see how YOU would do it.”  This was always, though, at the end of a unit where I had guided their learning so they would have a basket of ideas and skills from which to pull.  Maybe other teachers don’t provide a big enough basket.

By the time my students were seniors, they didn’t ask me what I wanted, they did what they wanted, and it was usually very good.