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Didja Miss Me? (Summer Reading)

July 13, 2011

My. Oh. My. It’s been awhile since I’ve been here. Hafta to dust off the cobwebs before we get started. June has done disappeared, and July is well on its way to doing the same. How did that happen? I know I’ve been taking a lot of naps, but… I sound like a grandpa. Now get off my lawn. Actually I hope there are still at least few of you out here, because , what with me attempting to create a new video class from scratch (well I do have $120K to play with), and a whole buncha new “initiatives” (one of which is a pledge to raise our 90% of ALL our students to the proficient or advanced levels in math AND English) coming down the line from our new supe, and a host of other things I’ve been trying to ignore for the summer, I think this year is going be miiiiiiighty interesting. (Now THAT is one looooong sentence. Assignment due Friday: Diagram it.) At least I won’t have any S(ullen) and R(esentful) 8th graders this time around. I don’t think so anyway. What I’ve been doing this summer: Going to the Live Oak Music Festival. Peace, love,

Maybe I could get used to this. Maybe.

April 8, 2010

By mrC

I voted against the two-week spring break schedule. The union put it to a vote last year, and the two-week break won out 51-49%. I liked starting later in the fall, and spring around these parts is pretty windy, while fall is postcard weather. And it puts a big Christmas-like hole in the middle of whatever you’re doing this time of year. Etc. Right now though, it’s looking pretty good. I just realized that we’re eight days into April, and I haven’t worked a lick this month, and then some. I’ve been sleeping in every day, and even managed a couple of days of skiing. It was the first time in 12+ years, and I rented a pair of those short dog snow skates, 99cm, the better to imitate my fruitbooting experience, and didn’t crash…much. The weather was beauty, the snow was fresh, and everybody else was back at school, so the place was empty. I’m actually a bit tattered because I got so many runs in, and sunburned. So maybe next year I vote yes…? Obviously I’ve been lagging. That’s the problem with this two week break thing; you forget how much you think you’re going to do but

Oh Raffle King, Oh Raffle King…

(Sung — way off key, and sort of warbley — to the tune of “Oh Christmas Tree.”) I guess we need to talk about the King. On Wednesdays, after we go over the vocabulary homework, and discuss the words, I give them a vocabulary pretest. If they ace it (100%), they are exempt from the vocabulary portion of the Friday test. I used to have one of them flip a coin to decide whether or not I let them use their “cheat sheet” — the homework page we just went over and corrected — on the pretest. What they don’t believe when I tell them — even though it’s true — is that, on average, their scores on the pretest are lower when they use the cheat sheets, and fewer of them get an exemption. But they like to think it’s a security blanket, so I play along. Then I discovered the King. I would give you the URL of his creator’s web site, but he has some other, shall we say, inappropriate shtuff. (You can do a Google search if you really want to check it out.) So I took the liberty of “cloning” the King. If you click [...]

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mrC commented on State Testing–Tips for Teachers… Interrupted@ Heather - Ouch. 'nuff said.

mrC commented on State Testing…and etc.@ Kelli - Texas. 'nuff said. Sorry, I couldn't resist.

Heather commented on State Testing–Tips for Teachers… InterruptedRequired. Every department does one, usually the released test from the previous year, so by the time the school year is over the students have actually taken 8 standardized tests.

Mrs. M~ commented on State Testing…and etc.Standardized testing is one of the banes of my existence as a teacher. We each give our own subject's state test during our class time, so by the time we are done with all subject areas, the kids have been testing for about three weeks straight. (But we all prefer this method--we have

Kelli commented on State Testing…and etc.In Texas, 5th and 8th graders can be held back if they fail their state tests... this year, however, we have a fancy NEW test, so they've given us a reprieve on that requirement for this year. (Oddly, the new test looked just like the old test, but with a different logo on the

Meg commented on State Testing…and etc.I will say that testing is a great time to get caught up and lesson planning done. AMEN! We do SAT 10 at our school for K-8th and it's a nightmare. Especially since the Social Studies part is about 1/3 US history, and we're an international school in China that doesn't teach US history

mrC commented on State Testing–Tips for Teachers… InterruptedI'll bet if you were at the high school, you'd hear kids joking about that acronym, especially AFTER scores were released. Did you just say that your practice tests are required. Ouch. Good call with the change in plan.

mrC commented on State Testing — Tips for Teachers IICali tests spelling like I do: pick the wrong one or say they're all correct. Your approach is fine. I use spelling lists as a way to talk about roots and origins and use analogies. The actual spelling of the words is sort of secondary, and a small part of the grade.

Heather commented on State Testing — Tips for Teachers IIFor the spelling section of the California tests, do students have to provide the spelling from scratch or choose the best spelling from a list? Our spelling questions are multiple choice and there are usually only a few; I spend a little class time on spelling rules, make sure they know how Spanish letters

Heather commented on State Testing–Tips for Teachers… InterruptedSOL = Standards of Learning. Clearly, the department of education did not think the acronym through. For high schoolers, the "real" meaning of the acronym is appropriate - they have to pass, I believe, 6 of the tests to graduate. Totally with you on this post topic - I worry that the required practice

mrC commented on The Titanic Finally Really Sinks! (Also: Sidekicks.)@Mrs. M- I had forgotten all about those. I just spewtubed them...hahaha. Luv it!

mrC commented on The Titanic Finally Really Sinks! (Also: Sidekicks.)@Anna- Winner, Winner, Chicken Dinner!

Mrs. M~ commented on The Titanic Finally Really Sinks! (Also: Sidekicks.)Those "psychic mediums" would be great to research, right?

That reminds me of those great SNL skits about the Sofa King. You know, how the prices are "Sofa King" low, the deals are "Sofa King" great, etc. (You obviously have to say those phrases out loud to get the joke.)

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