Life's Ups and Downs...and My Place in it All: Work

Avon order submission

Sat, 08 Mar 2008 17:00:17 GMT

I will be submitting my Avon orders for local customers on Monday evening. If you would like to buy Avon and you are far way, then email me for my link--I have an online store too.

OMG it's TAKS Week!!!

Tue, 04 Mar 2008 01:26:20 GMT

Okay, everyone run for the hills! Hide as the monster better known as Public education rears its ugly head. You know, I was appalled the other day when, on the way home, I heard about all of the large school districts around us talking about their TAKS week celebration. The motivation and fun that schools provide for one stinking test that will take ONE DAY. Special breakfast and lunches and life size TAKS dinosaurs. At some schools they set up freakin' jump tents and booths! All of this for one day. That is right--Reading and Writing are the only subjects tested. They begin at 8:00am and end, well---whenever the hell the students want to be done. Some kids will do well, others will struggle, other will be consumed with anxiety only experienced with these excrutiating exams. Those that can, can --and those that struggle still do.

Now, I am not completely against the TAKS testing--Nor am I necessarily against public education...I am, however, against putting a 3rd grader (that would be 8 years right?) in a desk and telling them--"Here, take this state-mandated test that I have been preparing you for all year, and pass it. Take all day if you need to. You can take breaks, eat a snack at your seat, take a nap, and get up to stretch, but please pass this test. Oh, and you can sit in this desk until 5:00pm today if you need that much time."

Isn't there something wrong with this picture? I personally have a problem with this because I see it as stupid to put all this expectation on one test day and in the meantime waste an entire WEEK of teaching. Hmm...If I get to waste 5 days for TAKS when we are testing one test, can I have another 15 days to waste during the TAKS week in May (we have 3 more tests, you know)? Oh, I forgot--for some schools TAKS testing signifies the end of the school year. "Oh, we took TAKS, the culmination of our year--why don't we sit around and color for the next 4.5 weeks of school?"--I guess that is one of the reasons TAKS takes place so late in the school year this year. Well, that and since school started later, schools had to have the same amount of prep time as they had in order to prepare for TAKS.

Now, I am allowed to TAKS bash, as I am administering a room full of Juniors on Wednesday. Yes, for 2-8 hours, I will be walking around the room while my juniors wonder whether they will graduate high school on time. Juniors have been known to spend the entire day testing---for two reasons. 1) They really want to pass and are overanalyzing the test. Reread, reanswer, rewrite...etc... 2) They just don't want to have to come to my class in the afternoon, because I don't care that it was TAKS day--You are going to LEARN in my classroom. No "freedays" for you fools!!!

drugs...53% of my students???

Tue, 26 Feb 2008 23:31:04 GMT

So, you will imagine my surprise and shock when I found out via a student of mine that she knows at least 18 of my 34 students does "at least" marijuana (did I even spell that right?) I am a little naive, I think. I myself have never tried anything but a cigarette (ugh!), so to think that 53% of my students "inhale" is insane to me. I think back to when I was in school and even then I could not have named more than a few people who did drugs. I am sure it went on--just not with anyone I knew. Then, the kicker---I am told that some of these students will get high and come take the TAKS test!! Now, it is not bad enough that some people out there want us to be held accountable for our students' TAKS scores--Now I have to worry about whether someone wants me to get paid even if Little Johnny decided to smoke some reefer this morning???

Oh, brother....I need a drink!

No Child Left Behind Stinks

Mon, 25 Feb 2008 04:33:25 GMT

You will imagine my surprise when my Superintendent/Principal informs me that according to No Child Left Behind only 1% of students in each grade are supposed to take the TAKS Alt exam. Now let me clarify something:

TAKS Alt--state test for students who have MR

TAKS Modified--State test for students who are not MR; 3 multiple choices instead of 4 and some definitions provided.

TAKS Accomodated--State test for students who have not previously taken TAKS, but have passed the SDAA exam (the test given before these new ones took over).

So, in order to take TAKS ALt, you must be MR=mentally retarded and very low functioning. Now, we have 34 students in our high school--Yes, I said 34. It is possible to have 5 students in one grade level. 1% of 5 =.05. So, 5 hundredths of a student can take TAKs ALt

Now, since we can obviously only let one student take TAKS Alt, and there are two low functioning MR students in one grade, I guess we have to either take a hit by the state and not leave the child behind (allow them both to take TAKS ALt) or go along with what the state wants and leave the child behind by requiring them to take a test that will be impossible to take.

Now, similarly only 1% can take TAKS Modified too.

I ask you, lawmakers of No CHild Left Behind...What the HELL were you thinking? Making a student who has never had a math class in the high school level pass a grade level TAKS test is INSANE--never mind the impact of Leaving the Child Behind!!

I was so mad after speaking to my superintendent.

I say scrap this entire nonsense! Get rid of NO CHILD LEFT BEHIND! No amount of funding in the world could alleviate the consequences of this crap!!---Now with this all said---I am going to bed. Sweet dreams!