Finals started today, thank god. I've been mean recently to my students. It's so frustrating watching so many of them fail. Our principal has been telling us we need to figure out ways to make students pass. Ooh, I've got one, make them come to school - counting up total absences for the semester the highest was 76. Now that was extreme, but many were in the teens, low twenties and that doesn't include tardies.
But then, I still have several students who come every day and are still failing. They do no homework and maybe half of all the class work, thus, failing most tests. I just don't understand how you can come to school every day and actively do nothing. Then there are the ones who I told "You have to get a "B" on the final to pass." And then these past 4 days when I've given them review problems and time to ask me questions. They'd sit there chatting. When I'd remind them of the needed B, they'd say, don't worry you'll get it. As if it were a contest.
Don't they know I've already passed algebra!
After I finish grading finals tomorrow, I'll come back with statistics.
In the mean time, I found out that I'll have 3 preps next year in Moscow, meaning of my 5 classes, 3 of them will be different. I've got 3 9th/10th grade, 1 upper level IB juniors and 1 12th grade Math Studies, which I'm assuming is equivalent to "Math for music majors" or something. Grumble. I wanted all higher level math. Or at the very least a maximum of 2 preps. There go my visions of me walking around Moscow in the evenings.
Showing posts with label teaching. Show all posts
Showing posts with label teaching. Show all posts
Thursday, June 7
Friday, May 11
On days when it's good
Also yesterday, I had one of the best days in terms of student learning, thinking and application. We've been learning how to solve systems of equations. Two days ago I gave my honors students the following problems:
ax + b = y
x + c = y
and
ax + by + c = 0
ax + cy + b = 0
They were to solve both problems for x and y in terms of a, b and c. This is very abstract. Higher level thinking and application of what I've been teaching them. It blew their minds. They hated me for a solid 10 minutes until the bell rang. The next day, I let them know they weren't off the hook. We talked about how ax - x = (a -1)x. And then I gave them back their papers, mostly blank still. I told them to work with their groups to solve these and that they counted as today's quiz grade. Several of them ROCKED it! Many of them got off to a good start. There was lots of talking about math and solving math. Sigh. I'm so proud!
ax + b = y
x + c = y
and
ax + by + c = 0
ax + cy + b = 0
They were to solve both problems for x and y in terms of a, b and c. This is very abstract. Higher level thinking and application of what I've been teaching them. It blew their minds. They hated me for a solid 10 minutes until the bell rang. The next day, I let them know they weren't off the hook. We talked about how ax - x = (a -1)x. And then I gave them back their papers, mostly blank still. I told them to work with their groups to solve these and that they counted as today's quiz grade. Several of them ROCKED it! Many of them got off to a good start. There was lots of talking about math and solving math. Sigh. I'm so proud!
On days when it's bad
Well, yesterday in our common planning time (CPT) - a period that all the math teacher have off so we can work together - another teacher mentioned he's had great success with his incessant chatters by tellling them to go in the hall and talk to the tree out in the courtyard. My room doesn't have a tree in front of it but does have a trash can. So I have this student, Larry, who rarely comes to class. When he does he's always disruptive. Earlier this year I met with his mother who told me she's raised him never to appologize and that he has to talk back in order to be heard. Anyway he was a constant stream of inappropriate, unnecessary comments. "Larry please stop talking". More talking, "Larry please stop talking." More talking, "Larry I don't want to hear another word". More of the same, "Larry, if you can't stop talking go in the hall and talk to the trash can." Boy, was that the wrong thing to say. What insued was about 10 minutes of the student cursing at me, telling me to get out of his face before he started something, two security gaurds entering, student refusing to leave and finally me telling the rest of the class to take their things. I barged in on a teacher who had his prep period and begged him to use his class where I continued the lesson (thank god for co-workers who you like and who you know will let you do this!) But of course me having to do that was ridiculous. And awful. I do not get paid enough to have people yell profanities at me. I was actually hoping he would hit me so that I can press charges beyond just him threatening me.
Tuesday, February 20
Next Up
Moscow!!
This past weekend the boy and I attended a job fair for international schools. We interviewed with six schools spread across the globe - Brazil, Russia, Turkey, Thailand, Korea and China. I really liked the head from Turkey, however that position ended up being filled before I could even interview for it. Brazil also ended up getting filled by a local hire. China I was not so into.
However, we both really liked the options in Korea, Thailand and Russia. It was agonizingly painful. We had roughly 15 hours to decide. The position in Korea ended up being our first choice, but they ended up offering it to another couple. So we were down to Thailand and Russia. We ended up picking Russia because the Thai school was located 20 minutes outside of Chiangmai. I ~love~ Chiangmai. However, 20 minutes by car outside the city would mean we'd need to buy a car. It's also a boarding school which would mean we'd be surrounded by the students all the time. Further William would have been the science department and I'd be teaching 5 of the 7 offered math classes and all of those 5 would have been different.
However, with Moscow, the only science position they had for the boy was chemistry which he's not all that into. Besides he is keen to spend a year in Japan. So he'll go to Japan, hopefully with the JET program. However, the director of AAS (Anglo-American School) likes him and knows that in a year he'll have 1-2 Biology positions. For me, I'll be teaching upper level IB math. It's a sweet schedule too.
There are eight periods for students total, four periods a day. And those four periods are taught in different orders. For example: Mon: ABCD Tues: EFGH Wed: CDAB Thur: GHEF, etc. Which is something that would make a huge difference with my teaching right now since my classes at the end of the day are the worst performing.
I'm super excited, scared, over whelmed. And right now really need to be preparing for the coming week. So there you have it.
Woo hoo!
This past weekend the boy and I attended a job fair for international schools. We interviewed with six schools spread across the globe - Brazil, Russia, Turkey, Thailand, Korea and China. I really liked the head from Turkey, however that position ended up being filled before I could even interview for it. Brazil also ended up getting filled by a local hire. China I was not so into.
However, we both really liked the options in Korea, Thailand and Russia. It was agonizingly painful. We had roughly 15 hours to decide. The position in Korea ended up being our first choice, but they ended up offering it to another couple. So we were down to Thailand and Russia. We ended up picking Russia because the Thai school was located 20 minutes outside of Chiangmai. I ~love~ Chiangmai. However, 20 minutes by car outside the city would mean we'd need to buy a car. It's also a boarding school which would mean we'd be surrounded by the students all the time. Further William would have been the science department and I'd be teaching 5 of the 7 offered math classes and all of those 5 would have been different.
However, with Moscow, the only science position they had for the boy was chemistry which he's not all that into. Besides he is keen to spend a year in Japan. So he'll go to Japan, hopefully with the JET program. However, the director of AAS (Anglo-American School) likes him and knows that in a year he'll have 1-2 Biology positions. For me, I'll be teaching upper level IB math. It's a sweet schedule too.
There are eight periods for students total, four periods a day. And those four periods are taught in different orders. For example: Mon: ABCD Tues: EFGH Wed: CDAB Thur: GHEF, etc. Which is something that would make a huge difference with my teaching right now since my classes at the end of the day are the worst performing.
I'm super excited, scared, over whelmed. And right now really need to be preparing for the coming week. So there you have it.
Woo hoo!
Friday, January 5
A really good teaching day
This was one of the days that make it worth while. In my "best" classes, ie the ones before lunch and better behaved, there were discussions of math happening all day. Beyond that in my 2nd period, arguments with each other over exponent rules. I have the same students for 2nd and 3rd periods, for Algebra and Math Support. They finished with their quizzes way faster than I anticipated, blew through the worksheet that was supposed to last for 3rd period (6th/7th didn't even finish said worksheet for perspective) so I suggested 10 minutes of a "game" and 15 minutes to do their homework when they were done with everything I'd prepped 3 0 minutes early. So, we start the "Find the Treasure" game. Basically I pick a spot to "bury treasure" on an x-y plane and they "hunt" for it by calling out points. I tell them how many "steps" they are from it. Thus they implement logic calculations and have to remember that (1,5) means right 1, up 5. Well, the three teams got so into trying to out guess each other thaat we played the full 30 minutes and they didn't even want time to do their homework.
Sigh :)
Sigh :)
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