It's been a long time, but school goes on! With lots of excitement - most recently I had a student throw up in class (yesterday, poor girl, she said her stomach hurt and I made the appropriate "ooh" noises, and then asked if she wanted some water or to go to the secretary - there is no nurse - and she said no, and the next thing I know she's thrown up all over the floor! But my class was very good - no comments like "eeww...gross...smelly".), the librarian is leaving (making 6 teachers to go this year!), and my new boy has been enrolled for 16 days and missed 6 of them!
This article in the New York Times caught my eye, and a lot of other people's (it is the number one emailed article today). It certainly portrays a lot of what I've seen during my time in Asia.
Monday, April 28, 2008
Wednesday, April 9, 2008
Sex and Easy Teachers...
Just wanted to share these tidbits!
Last week as his students were coloring, the second grade teacher overheard one of his male students ask another, "Do you know what sex is?". He groaned inside, not the sex talk! "No, " said the other, "what is it?". Just before he could intervene he heard the first boy reply, "It's true love and hard to find!"
And yesterday one of my students called out "Teacher, you're easy!". I was just about to tell her not to say that when I realized I didn't want to have to explain why not!! So I just smiled weakly and said, "Thank you."
Last week as his students were coloring, the second grade teacher overheard one of his male students ask another, "Do you know what sex is?". He groaned inside, not the sex talk! "No, " said the other, "what is it?". Just before he could intervene he heard the first boy reply, "It's true love and hard to find!"
And yesterday one of my students called out "Teacher, you're easy!". I was just about to tell her not to say that when I realized I didn't want to have to explain why not!! So I just smiled weakly and said, "Thank you."
Monday, April 7, 2008
Loose tooth!
One of my students just had a tooth fall out during the Reading Comprehension section!!
Totally unphased, she brought it up, showed it to me, asked for a tissue and sat down to finish the test. Kids! So resilliant!
Just another day in the life of an elementary student.
Totally unphased, she brought it up, showed it to me, asked for a tissue and sat down to finish the test. Kids! So resilliant!
Just another day in the life of an elementary student.
As I'm sitting here while my kids take the Stanford Test, I'm reading some articles on education, and I've just come across one about test-based promotion in New York City which seems relevant to my school. The article explains the difference between social promotion, promoting a student to the next grade because he or she has finished the previous one, and test-based promotion, promoting a student to the next grade because he or she has passed a test based on the material from that year demonstrating comprehension. The idea behind test-based promotion is that it is better not to promote a student who has not mastered basic skills for his or her sake, and studies suggest that students improve when given more time to master the same skills rather than being thrown into the next grade.
I wonder if such a policy would be appropriate at a school like mine where the students enter the classroom with vastly diverse English language abilities and previous knowledge, given the range of schools they come from. Perhaps, instead of promoting students based on age and completion of previous grades we should test them on the basic skills we expect them to master in each grade and ensure that they have the foundation they need to continue on to the next grade.
Of course, you run into social and development problems as far as age goes, particularly in elementary school - the difference between my third graders and the one student in my class who should be in second grade is very clear. And there is certainly still a stigma attached to being "held back" that would have to be addressed somehow. And in the country where I am teaching, age is integral to the social hierarchy.
I wonder if such a policy would be appropriate at a school like mine where the students enter the classroom with vastly diverse English language abilities and previous knowledge, given the range of schools they come from. Perhaps, instead of promoting students based on age and completion of previous grades we should test them on the basic skills we expect them to master in each grade and ensure that they have the foundation they need to continue on to the next grade.
Of course, you run into social and development problems as far as age goes, particularly in elementary school - the difference between my third graders and the one student in my class who should be in second grade is very clear. And there is certainly still a stigma attached to being "held back" that would have to be addressed somehow. And in the country where I am teaching, age is integral to the social hierarchy.
Testing!
This week my students are taking the Stanford tests - an American standardized test that is similar to the Iowa tests I took growing up in New Jersey, except that unlike the Iowas the Stanford tests are untimed. These tests are a challenge for my students for several reasons. First of all, almost all of my students are English Language Learners in a non-English immersion environment and so vocabulary, reading comprehension, grammar, and math word problems are very difficult for them. Second, many of the questions use very American concepts or vocabulary like "What shape is an alphabet block?" (my kids were trying to figure out what shape a block in the shape of an A would be) or "At what temperature does water freeze on the Fahrenhite scale?". Obviously these tests are American, so that makes sense, but I guess the question is why is this non-American school requiring the students to take these tests?
I'm assuming it has to do with WASC accredidation, as well as being used as a measure of progress, but I do wonder how accurate the results will be. Particularly because when my kids don't know the answers right away they tend to rush through and just pick an answer without really thinking it through. This puts me in a difficult position; should I emphasize the importance of the test to make them work more carefully or should I just let it go? They're only 8 years old, do they really need to be freaked out about a standardized test now? I think they'll have plenty of time for that in the future!
AND I got a new student yesterday! So this poor boy has to take the Stanford tests all week! Yesterday when we were doing vocabulary he looked at me and said, "Teacher, I don't think I've learned any of this!". Poor boy. Oh well, just do your best!
I'm assuming it has to do with WASC accredidation, as well as being used as a measure of progress, but I do wonder how accurate the results will be. Particularly because when my kids don't know the answers right away they tend to rush through and just pick an answer without really thinking it through. This puts me in a difficult position; should I emphasize the importance of the test to make them work more carefully or should I just let it go? They're only 8 years old, do they really need to be freaked out about a standardized test now? I think they'll have plenty of time for that in the future!
AND I got a new student yesterday! So this poor boy has to take the Stanford tests all week! Yesterday when we were doing vocabulary he looked at me and said, "Teacher, I don't think I've learned any of this!". Poor boy. Oh well, just do your best!
Saturday, April 5, 2008
Not Working Together
On Thursday I wanted the students to work together on a science worksheet, so I made groups randomly (sometimes I let the students pick their groups, sometimes I assign them deliberately, and sometimes I choose them randomly). It just so happened that the two boys in the class ended up in the same group. I was making three groups of three, which meant that one girl had to work with the boys. And randomly the quietest, shyest girl ended up in their group!
I looked over and tears just started rolling down her cheeks! It was awful! I knew she wasn't being mean, she was just upset at being singled out. But what could I do?! I've made a big deal all year about how we all need to work with everyone.
And then all of a sudden, AM says, "I'll switch with you." I was so proud of her. It was a really mature thing to do. Now, technically I shouldn't have let them switch because the whole point is that they are supposed to work with each other, but I was so impressed with her offer and the other girl was clearly so incapable of pulling herself together (silent crying is the worst because you know it's not for show) that I let them. And everything went fine - in fact, it was the best group work they've done in a while! But I hate making my kids cry!
I looked over and tears just started rolling down her cheeks! It was awful! I knew she wasn't being mean, she was just upset at being singled out. But what could I do?! I've made a big deal all year about how we all need to work with everyone.
And then all of a sudden, AM says, "I'll switch with you." I was so proud of her. It was a really mature thing to do. Now, technically I shouldn't have let them switch because the whole point is that they are supposed to work with each other, but I was so impressed with her offer and the other girl was clearly so incapable of pulling herself together (silent crying is the worst because you know it's not for show) that I let them. And everything went fine - in fact, it was the best group work they've done in a while! But I hate making my kids cry!
Cultural Interpretation
This evening I had an experience that shed a little light on my students' behavior in the classroom.
I was attending a cultural performance and the seat next to me was empty. There was a woman holding an adorable little boy (who looked about three) one row in front of me. This little boy couldn't stop squirming and all of a sudden realized the seat behind his mother was empty. He tugged on her shirt and pointed at the chair and she sighed and put him down. He toddled over to the chair and climbed up until he was sitting in the chair. Then I hear, "Mom. Mo-om." And when she turns around, exasperated, to say "shhh," he chatters a question and she nods. And he stands up in the chair.
After about a minute, he gets down, toddles back to Mom and asks for some juice. Then he toddles back to the chair and climbs up. After a minute I hear, "Mom. Mo-om. Mo-OOOOM." She turns around again with her finger on her lips, and he chatters the same question. She nods. Again he stands up.
This happens at least three more times and it finally occurs to me that you never see an American child asking for permission to stand on a chair, particularly if that permission has already been given. And I realized that the tone of his voice was identical to the tone my students use to say "Teacher!" as soon as I've given them an assignment that involves any independent thought. They can't even write down an answer until they've asked for my approval.
Which reminds me. One of my students has been driving me crazy recently in class, talking back, talking out of turn, etc. But yesterday she came to class and said, "Teacher, my mother says when I was sleeping last night I said, 'Teacher, teacher, teacher'." Good to know that I'm haunting their dreams as much as they're haunting mine!!
I was attending a cultural performance and the seat next to me was empty. There was a woman holding an adorable little boy (who looked about three) one row in front of me. This little boy couldn't stop squirming and all of a sudden realized the seat behind his mother was empty. He tugged on her shirt and pointed at the chair and she sighed and put him down. He toddled over to the chair and climbed up until he was sitting in the chair. Then I hear, "Mom. Mo-om." And when she turns around, exasperated, to say "shhh," he chatters a question and she nods. And he stands up in the chair.
After about a minute, he gets down, toddles back to Mom and asks for some juice. Then he toddles back to the chair and climbs up. After a minute I hear, "Mom. Mo-om. Mo-OOOOM." She turns around again with her finger on her lips, and he chatters the same question. She nods. Again he stands up.
This happens at least three more times and it finally occurs to me that you never see an American child asking for permission to stand on a chair, particularly if that permission has already been given. And I realized that the tone of his voice was identical to the tone my students use to say "Teacher!" as soon as I've given them an assignment that involves any independent thought. They can't even write down an answer until they've asked for my approval.
Which reminds me. One of my students has been driving me crazy recently in class, talking back, talking out of turn, etc. But yesterday she came to class and said, "Teacher, my mother says when I was sleeping last night I said, 'Teacher, teacher, teacher'." Good to know that I'm haunting their dreams as much as they're haunting mine!!
Wednesday, April 2, 2008
The Glass Ceiling...
I had one of those head-shaking moments today where I just couldn't believe what I'd said in class.
We are studying the federal government in social studies and I was trying to explain about minority rights and I was giving an example about half the class voting for the president. And I unconsciously kept referring to the President as "he" and one of my girls (AM - one of the ones with all the energy) piped up indignantly, "Or she. The President could be a GIRL." And I was just blown away - both by the fact that I had been making such gendered remarks unconsciously and that this precious fireball of an 8 year old had called me out on it! That in her world it was equally possible for the president to be a female as a male and she wanted to make sure I knew it.
God bless innocence! And may she never lose it. Who knows....maybe if Hillary gets elected I too will live in a world where females can be president.
We are studying the federal government in social studies and I was trying to explain about minority rights and I was giving an example about half the class voting for the president. And I unconsciously kept referring to the President as "he" and one of my girls (AM - one of the ones with all the energy) piped up indignantly, "Or she. The President could be a GIRL." And I was just blown away - both by the fact that I had been making such gendered remarks unconsciously and that this precious fireball of an 8 year old had called me out on it! That in her world it was equally possible for the president to be a female as a male and she wanted to make sure I knew it.
God bless innocence! And may she never lose it. Who knows....maybe if Hillary gets elected I too will live in a world where females can be president.
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