Ryan is working like a madman. He sleeps for a few hours a night and then it's right back to it. He's so busy with the election. I see him for a few hours every night and that's about it. It's almost 8pm and he's not home yet. Last night, he didn't get home until 9pm. He's up until the wee hours, sleeps for a few winks, and then he's up for the day again. I'd never be able to keep it up. He's a machine.
I love this time of year.
I wish I had more to say. School is hard...as usual. I'm buried up to my head in papers that need to be graded, assignments I need to create for my students, and assignments I need to complete for my credential classes. It's a little overwhelming right now. It's getting a little bit better, but I can never really tell from day to day how it's going to go. Like today for instance...
I assigned my juniors a short story by Amy Tan to read for homework last night. As we started our discussion today, it was a little slow getting started. I stopped and asked my students to be honest and tell me who read. No one raised their hand. NO ONE READ! I have 35 students in that class and not one of them read the short story. It would have taken them less than 15 minutes.
Instead, they got to write an essay. I asked them to write an essay telling me why they didn't do their homework, how they expect to do well in my class without doing their homework, and how they expect to graduate without doing their homework. If there's one thing I've learned, it's that I shouldn't have to kill myself (with extra work) because they aren't prepared. I know it sounds harsh, but after weeks of this, it gets old. We'll see if it works. I assigned them the same story as homework for tonight. I'm not a mean teacher, but I am a disappointed one.
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3 comments:
Jen, that's awesome! I mean, what else are you supposed to do? You can't prepare a lesson and a reasonable class discussion without anyone reading. I thought you were right on with giving them an essay. It will be interesting to see what they have to say...
Ryan, slwo down and take care of my sister. She is pregant, you know.
Hello Jen,
I'm glad to hear that you played TTTT with your class. Sounds like you are having a rough time with grading and lack of effort. When I taught upper grades I was overwhelmed with grading too. So, when I gave out an assignment I talked with the kids about what was expected and created a rubric with the class. When they finished their work they were given a grading sheet with the criteria listed in the rubric and they graded themselves. They had to have a partner grade their essays too. So all the spelling, grammar, etc, had been edited using editing marks. So when I graded their work it was much easier for me to scan their essays and give comments based on content. Plus, the kids were held accountable for their work by themselves, a peer and me. It takes some time to put in place, but students learn exactly what you expect of them. I hope this helps. Keep up the great work.
~Haley
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