Male Role-Models

Today I was in the second grade classroom and we were honored by the U.S. Navy Band, who played Christmas songs for the school. It was a great performance and the kids and faculty seemed to really enjoy it...especially the music teacher...go figure. As I was watching the band I scanned the room to look at all the teachers and I noticed that in the school there is not one male teacher who works there.

If that's not women in the workforce I don't know what is.

I asked the teacher I was working with what the deal was with that ans she said yeah, within the entire school there isn't one male teacher; and she went on to tell me within the district there are only about 3 or 4 male teachers. That was unbelievable to me.

Now I understand men are less likely to teach elementary school just because that is usually covered by the women, mainly because we have more patience. However, I do see some problems with not having any men around. Not because they are nice to look at but if an elementary school only has women teachers...who are the boys supposed to look up to? Boys that might not have fathers in the home need a male role model and if they are not present in early ages of development then a gap is created. If the boy finally gets a male teacher in middle school all is not lost but it makes it difficult to take direction from a male.

I am all for women being in the workforce I think it's great, it really shows men whose boss...just a little humor. But I also think it appropriate to say that men need to man up and get in the elementary schools...the kids need you!

Holiday Vacations

I think being a teacher is great. Not only do you get to enrich the lives of students but you get vacations off while doing so. Many people think being a teacher is easy, and many think that anyone can be a teacher...this is highly false. Being a teacher takes years of patience and practice to do it right. A great teacher can teach you more than just what's in the text book or what's on the test. A great teacher teaches you about life and the unfair things that happen during it. And for that difficult job I think teachers deserve everyday off they get, which just so happens to include Christmas and Thanksgiving break. Those breaks are also well deserved considering that most of the time during the year is spent worry about teaching and worrying about lesson plans and school, that families tend to get the bad end of the stick in this deal.

Many teachers like my own mother get saw caught up in their jobs that families tend to be second on the list. This means that those breaks that teachers get off can be spent with their families catching up on details in each others lives. I think teachers deserve their breaks and I don't think anyone has the right to say that teachers have it easy and that they don't deserve their breaks. They "babysit" your kids so that you can go out and do your job....and babysitting kids is not easy.

Inclusion

For my education class we have to do a group project and my group is doing it on inclusion programs in schools. Now I understand the purpose of inclusion ,but I don't agree with how it is sometimes and often run; I don't believe that they are the most beneficial option for children with learning disabilities. Many schools are now introduction inclusion programs because they are cheaper method than having the special education students separated. Now in many ways this is beneficial, but it isn't to all students and many officials ignore it. Students who cannot handle inclusion classrooms fall behind and often have lower self esteems due to the awareness of the knowledge gap within the classroom.

Now while I was starting my research I asked my teacher what I should really be looking for and what should I really be answering. And after going back and forth with ideas, she asked me what to think about what I think about inclusion programs and then find out what officials said about them and look and the stats for them. She said if whatever the stats were was what was correct. After hearing all of this I realized I can't give a 8 minute speech on something I believe isn't true. Getting up there and saying that inclusion is good when I believe is it isn't. But I guess in a sense being a teacher is about putting your beliefs aside and teaching....Duh.

Thanksgiving Break

Thanksgiving Break is the first vacation the kids get from school; they get so excited because it means no school for a week! Not only do the students enjoy it, but the teachers are quiet fond of break as well. No lesson plans, no students, no teachers, no school; it's quite a relaxing week without school.

But back to reality, Sunday night when everyone is scrambling to get their homework and laundry done to get ready to back to the school jungle.

But there's hope!

Only 3 weeks until lucky college students are released, but about another week for the elementary and high schools. I think it's a known fact that once Thanksgiving comes around you know you're in the clear for limited school days; at least until New Years is over and then your next break isn't until spring.

From a student's perspective I think the holidays are great! It's a nice end to the semester and spring break is a nice welcoming of spring and luckily it isn't too far from New Years.

I Really Don't Know How They Do It

While I was at work on Thursday I noticed that the second graders were extremely lively today. Not that it is a bad thing, but it is exhausting. The class has 20 students with a cap of 24. Being there with 20 second graders I can tell you that if I had to run the classroom all by myself I would most likely have a break down within the first month. I have total respect for any elementary school teacher.

The chalk board had the list of things to be done for the day and the students were on a roll. When it came time for their math journals things got hectic, it seems that all second graders want help at the same exact time and they expect total focus on them at all times. This is incredibly exhausting. My teacher thanked me at the end of the day and told me that it was incredible to have me there to help, I said no problem I would be begging for help if I did this everyday by myself.

Now I am not a parent but I do know that I did this as a kid. I was sitting helping one student with a math problem when this eager student who is so fun came up to me and asked for my help. I said I would be done in one second and too wait patiently. Second graders do not know what patiently means. I turned back around and not 2 minutes later I get a tap tap tap on my shoulder and the tapping doesn't end until my attention is turned back around to this eager student. When I finally turn I cannot be mad or aggravated because of the huge smile that I am looking back at. Once I finally help the line of students that has been created math time is over and it's time for reading.

Second graders are a blast but I think second grade teachers are more amazing. They need to be the energizer bunny to keep up with the kids. However if I didn't want to be an English teacher I would most defiantly be a 2nd grade teacher.

Elementary Classroom

Currently I have a job in a Rhode Island elementary school, 2nd grade specifically. Today while I was there I was talking to the teacher and she was explaining to me how difficult it is to be 1 teacher of a class of 20 second graders when the class includes mainstreamed kids. She told me that there is a special ed teacher that comes in and helps but that sometimes makes things harder. She said they do not team teach and each of them is set out to do their own thing, making it hard on the child because they are involved with 2 different teachers with 2 different teaching styles. When I found out that it wasnt only high schools that were being mainstreamed I was really surprised. I think that mainstreaming elementary kids is good and bad. I think its good because it allows kids with certain disabilities to be involved in normal social activity and allows for normal relationships to be formed but at the same time the first years of education are crucial and I think they need to be formalized better.

Schools in RI are slowly seeing a downfall in special education and it is a real shame, these kids are young and they need the correct resources to succeed, putting them in a mainstream classroom will either have a great affect on them or a completely negative affect. I can understand mainstreaming at a high school level because the student is developed and understands better but at a young age it is very hard to understand the difference.

Regarding the Holiday

Since it is almost Halloween I have some comments on schools and this wonderful holiday.

Now I am not quite sure about this but I know in recent years schools have discouraged wearing costumes during school because of violence and all those other reasons why kids cant have fun. Now I am not talking about middle schoolers, and high schoolers, I am talking just elementary. I totally understand the reasoning for why middle schoolers are not allowed to wear costumes.

BUT... how come elementary schoolers are discouraged? I think wearing costumes in elementary school is a great idea, it lets kids know that adults are excited about the day too, and want to encourage the holiday. When I was in elementary school Halloween was a blast; we got extra credit for wearing our costumes and we got to have a party in the classroom, sometimes with the other classes too. We used to play games, and parents would come in for some arts and crafts. Now I know that parents are sometimes too busy for this involvement in the kid's school during the day, but I know it was always great to have a fun day for such a fun holiday. It let students break loose for a little while and relax from school stress and routine.

Also to back up my reasoning I believe that Halloween allows the child to show their extreme individuality and be who they want for a day, without having to worry about being ridiculed. I think it's great to celebrate Halloween and I think it needs to be in the schools more, and why shouldn't it be, this way teachers dont have to worry about teaching about religious issues like Christmas and Hanukah.

What is the District Doing?

I am currently in two education classes, one goes off site to Tolman High School, the other is an introductory class to American Education. Currently in my American Edcucation class we are writing a context statement on a community in Rhode Island and compare it to the state of Rhode Island. Not just looking at the community, we are analyizing the school district and then narrowing our focus on a specific school in the district. I chose Tolman for obivous reasons, I spend enough time there why not figure out what's going on behind the scences.

So on Tuesday we started our research and we were asked to find what our community was like, what our district was like, along with our school. We had to find information on poverty levels, crime, budget, diversity, student population, basically all the basics of school; the things that no one really knows about. While doing my reasearch I came across graphs and charts and summaries about everything you could think of all based on the tests scores of the students and the Pawtucket community. Also I found the basic economic standards of RI, meaning average family income, family size, what kind of people are living in Pawtucket, and the abuse levels in the homes. I was amazed.

I know Pawtucket is an urban district and I know that the test scores are kind of low compared to the state but I didn't think they were this low. Students seem to be doing ok in English and Social Studies, but Math and Science is lacking. I dont understand how you could see this and not do something about it, especially the district. Tolman is classified as a school that needs to be monitored due to it's Performance Classifications. The graduation rates at in Pawtucket are low which doesnt help considering when kids drop out in a city enviroment where are they going to go...to the streets and that increases crime and drugs and no one needs that.

So my point to this whole saga is if these statistics are out there then why isn't anyone doing anything about it? Students, especially high school students, dont want to be contained in school, so why are we keeping them there if were not helping them? Our test scores are low and the district is falling apart, the kids dont want to be there and no one is fixing any of these problems. I think it's stupid to contain kids all day if your not going to teach them anything. I bet you they have better things to do than sit in a classroom when no one is going to teach them. No one is helping them raise their test scores, no one is helping thems stay in school. So knowing that wouldnt you think someone would step in to help? I think so but who am I to say anything.

Parents get to Invoved Sometimes

Ok so in addition to my special education post I have come up with new found facts. Alright so special ed kids are given IEP (individual education plan). The IEP states what their learning disabilities are and how they can be accommodated. Every special education student has one. With every IEP report more accommodations need to be made...the more accommodations...the more money tax payers have to pay.

The issue arises when parents, typically high school parents , find out about these IEPs and miraculously come up with some kind of disability for their kid. IEPs allow you to sometimes get extra test taking time, taking the test in a separate room, closely monitored learning, etc. The parents find out about this and maybe see that their kids test scores are low and claim their kid needs more time on tests because they are learning disabled.

Let me fill you in on something. The more IEPs you create, the more the district has to accommodate...so if you want to complain about how much your spending on school taxes then go talk to the parents who are creating BOGUS IEPs. Your costing your self money just because the kid is lazy and they want an excuse for it.

Now I'm not saying all IEPs are bogus there are legitimate reasons why kids need these. They are important to educators, they allow them to rethink the way they teach to accommodate everyone, especially in a mainstream class. However, I think that whoever decides who has a disability and gets an IEP should re-evaluate who is getting one. There should be a better way of looking into the learning disabled child. IEPs should not be given just because some lazy kid wants more test time. More time isn't going to make you remember the information any better. And the parents should stop complaining about tax dollars when it's their own fault for the high costs.

Special Education

My topic of today is in regards to my visit at Tolman. I was talking to the teachers about special education and I was baffled to hear the things I did. It amazes me that people say education is the most important thing but people are not willing to pay for it. Hasn't your mother ever told you nothing comes for free?

Well according to my sources special education is being ripped off and unsupported. Tolman has special education kids who are learning disabled, and severe and profound kids that need to be contained in a separate classroom. So what's the problem you ask? The problem is the kids who are classified as just learning disabled have to sit in a mainstream classroom as regular ed students and this becomes a problem. Some special ed kids cant sit in a main stream classroom because there is too much going on around them or there isn't enough one-on-one focus for them, or the teacher is moving through the material too fast. Now Tolman has worked out a "solution" to this problem, that being that there is a special education teacher on hand in the classroom working with the other teacher. That's great but it doesn't work. Many of the times the main teacher acts as if the special ed teacher is there to be an aid which is not the case. They may send them to do copies or something like that when in reality there job is to help the kids in the classroom. Now another problem that arises is that many of the kids do not want to be classified in the classroom as special ed. So by having them all mixed your making kids feel inferior to the reg. ed kids. and that's just not right on the schools part.

So why is this like this? Because the cities and towns don't want to pay more taxes to have a separate classroom for these kids. Many say if we are spending money on this to educate our kids, then we want something in return for our money. Now mainly that would be sending the kid to college, but in inner-cites special ed or not it becomes harder to send kids to college because of money or whatever the case may be. Just because the kids doesn't go to college or he isn't regular education DOES NOT MEAN THEY ARE SUPPOSED TO BE RIPPED OF AN EDUCATION. and don't sit there are try to tell me that your fixing the situation by mainstreaming because that doesn't work for all. The schools job is to accommodate everyone and they aren't doing it. so fix it.

People are also getting mad because the government is mandating certain rules for school districts to follow. The problem with that is it's costing tax payers more money. And they don't like that. Listen people don't preach that education is so important if your not willing to pay for it. Those kids are going to run this country one day and if you want them to be stupid then be my guest but I think I would pay the taxes so we don't get another George Bush in the office. But that's just my opinion.

Are the rumors really true?

In addition to my Tolman visit while I was there I was talking to some other faculty and they informed me that expulsion is no more. Is this really true? Because if it is Rhode Island you made a very dumb mistake. If your going to honestly tell me that they got rid of expelling kids in Rhode Island then I will absolutely never teach in this state. I'm not saying that expulsion is the answer for everything but I am saying that it does work sometimes. The faculty was telling me that if a kid brings a weapon to school (which apparently isn't unlikely in Tolman, in fact it's very common) they are not expelled just suspended for 10 days.

Alright I'm going to pretend to be a student at Tolman for a second. If I was a student and you told me that a kid brought a weapon to school say a knife and all he/she got was suspended then you basically telling me that if a kid pisses me off that I can bring a weapon to school and take care of it, and I don't have to worry because all I'm going to get is suspended for 10 days.

Now switch roles and now I'm going to pretend to be a parent. So my kid comes home telling me (possibly with a news letter) that a kid brought a weapon to school and they were suspended for 10 days and now they are allowed back in the school, as a parent do you know what I would say? This is what I would say...."GET MY KID OUT OF THAT SCHOOL AND GET SOME NEW ADMINISTRATORS BECAUSE THAT IS BULLSHIT" Kids are NOT allowed to bring weapons to school period, and by not expelling them for doing so is the dumbest thing I have ever heard. By not expelling kids your telling them to bring weapons and your asking for another Columbine. And God forbid that ever happens again.

The first one.

My first blog...here we go. I am a student at URI and one of my classes is an education classes and we go off site into inner-city schools and into the classrooms to observe the teachers in their own environment. I was placed in Pawtucket school district...Tolman high school. I visited there today and they were not kidding about inner-city.

Not that this is a surprise to me but I saw pregnant girls only about 15-16 years old cruising down the hallway like nothing was wrong. I saw boys with jeans that if they wore them any baggier they would have been around their ankles. Now call me old fashion even though I'm not old at all but that's not acceptable to me. I don't know what it is about these kids, why do you want to wear your pants lower than your butt so that you have to hold them up and waddle down the hallway...personally that doesn't look comfortable at all and it is certainly not fashionable.

And the pregnancy thing blows my mind. I cannot for the life of me figure out what is appealing to having a kid at 15-16 years old........YOUR STILL A KID YOURSELF!!!!! and trying to take care of another life along with your own is impossible to me and I know I couldn't do it, not to mention if I came home pregnant at 15 my mother would kill me.

Tolman reminds me of home. Poughkeepsie high school that is, and I guess you could even say my high school F.D. Roosevelt. The kids that are there they just don't seem to care and I can't figure out why. It might be because I now understand the value of my education and because I have to pay for it but kids need be taught that education is a necessity just like breathing. If they have big dreams and goals than that's fantastic and they should follow them but in order to get there education is needed and it needs to be valued and not taken for advantage. I think many kids think that it's just somewhere they have to go, that they have to be there and if their contained there, they are not going to want to be there. When I was in high school I would do everything in my power to skip my class and leave to go hang out with my friends. I always had something better to do than school, and looking back now I should have stayed because half the stuff high school I don't remember.

In general not just in NY, teachers need to teach the value of education to show the kids what education will do for you right now in this time, and show they what it will do for them in the future. Kids live in the time right now, they aren't looking at the future yet, their worried about what they are doing after school not what test they have tomorrow.