Daily Archives: June 17, 2009

CTEL Purgatory (Also: The Homeless as Performance Art)

June 17, 2009
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CTEL Purgatory (Also: The Homeless as Performance Art)

“It’s summertime, and the livin’s easy…” It seems like forever since I’ve had the time and the inclination to post. Nine days! It must be summer. Up until Saturday at 2:00 pm, it was all about CTEL. I finished the kids’ research papers early this year, and actually had time to (mostly) read the book that they say is the best prep for the test. The kids’ last day was Thursday, and I skipped the work day Friday, and left for San Francisco. I had to report for the test at 8 am Saturday. Now remember, the 450+ miles (round trip) I had to drive is more than I drive in  a year. Really. Maybe two. Unless we go to Vegas or something. So not only am I constantly thinking about the test(s – there were three “modules”), now I have to deal with driving too? So I made sure I got there early so I could find the zone. The test was in the Mission District at Mission High School. After I checked in at the Holiday Inn ($29 for parking!), I cruised the route to the school to make sure my Google directions were accurate.  (They were money.

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Three-Word Phrases

Seventh graders “communicate” mostly in three-word phrases. If the phrase isn’t really only three words long, they can usually pare it down. “What’d I miss?” It sounds like  “Wuddeyemiss.” And it always comes right as you’re starting class. Raise your hand if you have had this happen in the past week. Past three days? Today? AAAAAARGH.  They want 54 stellar, well-planned and executed minutes of instruction summarized for them in 30 seconds as the class bustles in.  What did you miss? “Absolutely nothing. You might as well take the rest of the year off. CHECK THE WEB PAGE! COME BACK AT BREAK!” “Oh yeah. I forgot.” LOL (These days, they’re getting it down to three-letter phrases.) “What’s my grade?” This one is usually from the kid whose grade is in the bottom 15% , and s/he finally turned something in, and wants immediate gratification. And it always happens right in the middle of something else, something totally unrelated.  Yesterday we were talking about how Charlotte is finally seeing Captain Jaggery for what he really is. (Aside: If you haven’t read The True Adventures of Charlotte Doyle by Avi, I highly recommend it. I picked it up a few years ago [...]

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Mr. Coward has been teaching on the beautiful central coast of California since 1989.

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