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"MJMC" mjmcnewsgro...@yahooSPAMTRAP.com
I haven't been able to participate much in RAM recently, and I am very sad and frustrated about it. I finished Indelible on Monday (LOVED it, although it didn't answer the Lena question from the previous book) but haven't even had a chance to post about it. Grrrr. That's because teachers in my district reported back to work on Tuesday, and it's been a terrible-horrible-no-good-very-bad couple of days. Useless, mind-numbing lectures, driving all over the city for various idiotic"seminars" that make me want to stick forks in my eyeballs, and lots of micromanagement from the district administrators. They're treating us like children and right now I am hating the thought of working for these people for another year.
Maybe I am just tired and overwhelmed, and a few days of manual labor in the cl***room, getting everything organized and unpacked, will help. Anyway, I haven't fallen off the face of the earth. Just didn't want anyone to worry.
Melissa
"Fran Read" fr...@NOSPAMsouthcom.com.au
Poor Melissa! It sounds as though things in Texas are much the same as things in T***ie and I can so relate to the idea of sticking forks into eyeballs! We have a "pupil free day" next week where we have to sit through useless mind-numbing crap. I would so much rather be teaching the kids and getting on with the exciting things that happen in the cl***room than being bored witless by impractical rubbish.
Fran (sympathetic)
"MJMC" mjmcnewsgro...@yahooSPAMTRAP.com
Thanks, Fran. Yep, sounds similar. Bummer. I wouldn't wish this on my worst enemy. Well, maybe my WORST....
Melissa
jjkr ...@aol.comnospam (Joan )
So soon? What state are you in?
Joan in GB-W
razz r...@idx.com.au
This may be an appropriate thread to post this about retiring teachers.
I hope yawl haven't seen it.
You know you're a retiree-to-be when...
1. Fellow staff members greet you in the hall with, "Oh!
Stop smiling!" 2. You get up to the checkout counter at Borders, and you realize you're buying books you won't need next year.
3. Your file cabinets are getting lighter, and your circular file is getting heavier.
4. You find yourself saying, "Yes!" whenever an administrator or union officer asks you to be on a committee next year.
5. The custodian has complained to the principal that the trash he removes daily from your room is 10 to 20 times greater than any other room in the building- including the cafeteria.
6. You get in line at the copy machine, and realize you don't have anything to copy.
7. The teachers in the grade below you complain about how horrible their kids are, and you just smile.
8. The principal comes in for the final observation of the year, and you throw a party for your cl*** with lots of snacks, games, and a visit from Frankie the clown.
9. You constantly find other teachers in your room measuring bookcases.
10. You respond to every new initiative with, "Been there!
Done that!" 11. When the parent, who has complained about every teacher her kid has ever had, comes up to you and says, "My son is hoping to get you next year," you just smile!
12. On your way to the parking lot, you look up at the sky, and see 3 or 4 recent college graduates circling overhead.
13. Other staff members complain that they can't get into the rest room because you're always in there, laughing hysterically.
14. Behind you, as you're driving out of the parking lot, you hear the faint ringing of the dismissal bell.
15. Your final comments on the June report card are, "Bye!" Razz
l ...@NOT-semiotics.com (Lynn allen)
My nephew returned to school in Florida about 10 days ago.
Lymaree
"MJMC" mjmcnewsgro...@yahooSPAMTRAP.com
In my district (Austin) the kids come back Tuesday. Gack.
Melissa
"MJMC" mjmcnewsgro...@yahooSPAMTRAP.com
Thanks, Mique.
Melissa
Pam K my2p...@noyahoospam.com
Take care. If it is any consolation, my kids are anxious to go back to school.
The 8th grader is really looking forward to it. School starts here in my district (Washington) the Wednesday after Labor Day. We go til sometime mid-late June.
My sis is in 3 days this week and next - the same sorts of seminars and cl***room (in her case, library) prep. I'll have to ask about the forks-
in-the-eyeballs thing. :)
--
Pam K For all you right-wing conservatives or whoever is slurping the Bush koolaid...
my2p...@yahoo.com
"Janet Puistonen" boxh...@verizon.net
This thread made me think about a hot topic around our house this summer: summer ***ignments.
This is what my son has been ***igned this summer: 1) Determine the most significant technological advances of the ancient world (eg, the plow, the sail, pottery, metalworking, alphabets...) and describe where and when each most likely occurred and what effect each had on society. Prepare a 10-minute presentation, including written and visual materials, plus a master chart/timeline conveying all relevant information.
Use historical sources. Also read the first four chapters in the World History text and be prepared to be quizzed on them.
2) Read two books from a list, one fiction, one non-fiction. Write an essay about either one in which you identify a paragraph that expresses a central theme of the book and describe how that theme plays out throughout the book.
Write an essay and prepare a presentation about the other book in which you relate it to a work of art in another medium: music, painting, sculpture, etc. (He's doing the first on "Midnight in the Garden of Good and Evil" and the second on "Native Son." If anyone has any suggestions about works of art to relate to that one, I'll p*** them on!) 3) Prepare a 6-page trifold brochure about a Francophone country. ( He did Tunisia.) Read a short story in French and answer a couple of pages of questions about it.
4) Memorize a list of 50 geometry terms and prepare some kind of elaborate hex sign looking thing using a comp***.
5) With an eye to determining a science fair project, read science columns/journals and make notes about subjects that interest you. Come to school with three possible topics.
6) Review a list of Spanish verbs and tenses and either read a book written by an Hispanic author or attend some Hispanic cultural event.
7) (This one is optional.) Learn enough of the content of Spanish 1 to p*** a test allowing you to skip Spanish 1 and start Spanish at the second year level.
Am I crazy, or is this an inordinately large amount of summer work? I don't remember having ANY in high school. Oh, and he will be a freshman!
--
Janet Dear Artemesia! Poetry's a Snare:/Bedlam has many Mansions:have a care:/ Your Muse diverts you, makes the Reader sad:/ You think your self inspir'd; He thinks you mad.
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janeh ...@aol.com (JaneHadd)
We had books to read, that was it. This is a public high school? Because, even for the high end private ones, that's a lot of work.
Jane Haddam http://www.janehaddam.com
"Janet Puistonen" boxh...@verizon.net
This is a public high school. Admittedly, he's taking all honors courses, but still!
When you add the fact that he was away for 4 weeks (one at my parents, and three at CTY), this gives him 6 weeks to accomplish all of the work. Minus most of the soccer preseason week of twice-a-day practices/tryouts. It's insane.
--
Janet Dear Artemesia! Poetry's a Snare:/Bedlam has many Mansions:have a care:/ Your Muse diverts you, makes the Reader sad:/ You think your self inspir'd; He thinks you mad.
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janeh ...@aol.com (JaneHadd)
Well, couple of things.
First, it must be a pretty good school.
Second, Matt only has to write essays for his AP courses. Thank goodness.
Oh, and read stuff.
Jane Haddam http://www.janehaddam.com
l ...@NOT-semiotics.com (Lynn allen)
My son is entering his senior high school year in the Honors (gifted) program. This summer he had to: 1. Read an entire "survey of world mythology" book. (About 600 pages) 2. Read the First & Second Essays on Government by John Locke.
3. Show his work for 50 math problems for which they were given answers.
I don't think it's a bad thing to have moderate summer work ***igned. It keeps the brains from going totally soft. Daniel has had work every summer, even in middle school, because he was in the gifted program.
However, the usual load was to read a couple of books and do some math problems.
One thing the summer work does is let the teachers hit the ground running with ***ignments and cl***work, because the reading is already done.
However, it seems to me that Janet's son has WAYYYY too much to do over the summer. If a kid had plans for extended camp attendance or other summer schooling (as our kids have done in the past at local community colleges) it wouldn't add up to a whole lot of "vacation." I really disagree with overloading kids with homework, particularly in middle school. They do that here, especially in the "regular" programs, and our daughter really struggled with it. It doesn't seem to add anything to the learning past a particular point, and it makes the kids actively HATE school. I know some skills have to be reinforced by repetition, but when you talk to the teachers, they each say "well it shouldn't take more than 15 or 20 minutes" and you point out the kid has six academic subjects every day and that adds up to 2 HOURS, for a kid who can hit the average time, they just shrug and make stupid noises about how hard it is to coordinate everything. In other words, tough buckets.
Luckily it's either let up in high school or our daughter is getting better at it. Daniel of course never wants us to see him sweat. I don't know WHEN he does homework, but as long as the grades are good, I don't care!
Lymaree happy her children are exiting the school system soon!
"Jr@Ease" Do.not.send.s...@this.address
On Fri, 13 Aug 2004 16:41:00 GMT, "Janet Puistonen" My son, also a freshman this year in private school, had to read three books, (Wright's "Black Boy", and two others I can't remember) and write a 6 page report on each one. He's still got two to do.
Nothing like what your son is doing. That seems a bit excessive. Will they ease up during the school year?
And I went to Catholic high school in the 70's, and I don't remember having to do anything in the summer. Nada.
John P
Mary Reagan mrea...@ldeo.columbia.edu
We always had book lists that we had to read a certain number of. But that's it.
Mary
jjkr ...@aol.comnospam (Joan )
I can see where that's a hot topic.
You are not crazy. That is an inordinate amount of summer work.
Nor do I. But that was a pile of years ago.
If work is ***igned for summer, it should be a reasonable amount. That is anything but reasonable!!
What with visiting grandparents and friends, going to camp, playing in softball or soccer leagues, just knocking about, and maybe reading books of your own choice or maybe a few from the school's list (and let's not forget chores around the house) . . . doesn't that sound like the summers that most of us had?
Joan in GB-W
jjkr ...@aol.comnospam (Joan )
We don't start until September around here . . . or sometimes the last few days in August.
Joan in GB-W
Pam K my2p...@noyahoospam.com
My kids did gymnastics this summer, read a lot, practiced their music, and bummed around. They read what they wanted to. Are they honors students?
No, but I think they had fun.
I read an article in the paper a week or so ago on this subject. M***ive amounts of work during the summer looked to be the norm on the east coast of the US.
--
Pam K For all you right-wing conservatives or whoever is slurping the Bush koolaid...
my2p...@yahoo.com
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