Guess the Grade - Answer Now Posted!

Hello folks! Time for a bloggeractive moment.
Today, I was teaching the following:

3 + (-2) = ?

Guess the grade I was teaching and earn a cookie (from your own cookie jar).

UPDATE: The blog has been buzzing with anticipation to find out the answer to the above question. The grade, as it turns out, was 7th and 8th grade. In the defense of the children, it was a "remedial math" class and about 80% of them were able to answer the questions on the worksheets with only some difficulty. Quite interesting to me was that multiplication of integers with positive and negative values seemed a bit easier for most than the adding of integers. Perhaps because with the multiplying, they had their multiplication chart for numbers 1 through 12. Most distressing, however, was when students had difficulty spewing out the answer to 3x5 or other simple multiplication problems without the use of their charts.

We must do better!

And Another Reason Elementary School is Winning Me Over

Reason #3,538 why elementary age kids are slowly but surely winning my heart and turning me into a convert: they go "did you say c-r-a-p right now? That is not very nice!"

Yes, I told the class today that soda was "a bunch of crap that you shouldn't drink." The message against soda was lost because after the word "crap" my miniature charges became wide eyed and open-jawed in amazement that a teacher would have the audacity to, GASP, cuss!!! I apologized and said since I usually teach middle/high school that I missed the memo not to use that word. Little Cerina told me it is ok, but "don't do it again!"

On a side note, I have learned that early third grade curriculum includes:

• Types of sentences. (this would be a statement, therefore ending in a period.)
• Syllables (did you know the VCCV rule helps you determine where to split up a word to figure out how many syllables it has? Try this word: Camped
• Rounding numbers: 3,538 reasons converted to the nearest ten?
• Simple Addition. If 4+3=7 then 3+4=7
  

This all begs the question: at what point are we losing these beautiful, curious, academically courageous, inter-personally gracious, absolutely awesomely adorable kids to street life and anti-school culture? It makes me want to have the ability to take a class of kids and work with them from first grade through sixth grade (I'll leave kindergarten to souls braver than I). I want to make sure we build such a strong interpersonal relationship that I can then follow them from middle school through high school and all the way to college to ensure they make it onward and upward without hiccups.

That being said, I must make absolutely clear that these last several days in elementary schools, I have had the honor and absolute pleasure of observing and learning from some of the most amazing educators I have ever met. The faculty at Slater Elementary School, at least in the sphere of 2nd and 3rd grade teachers whom I have met, is unarguably stellar. The kids adore them and with good reason; they really are top notch. So, the problem is not the teachers.

In my opinion, all that leaves is the corruptive brand of American poverty that places higher value on materialism (nice possessions now) as opposed to the long-term value of learning. Give me my fish now as opposed to teach me how to fish so I can forever enjoy the fruits of my own labor.

I don't know about you, but I want our kids back.

Jon Stewart is Awesome!

Regardless of your political stances, I think this clip by Jon Stewart is very telling about our politicians in America. Well, I suppose I can't say "regardless of political stance" because this clip specifically showcases Republican flip-flopping.



Does this brand of flip-flopping by politicians and bias Fox News reporters really get past Americans? Ummmm, YA!

Test Retake

Big THANK YOU to all of you who have been so supportive and helpful as I continue to study and prepare to retake the USMLE. I am scheduled to retake the exam on September 25.

In the meantime, I continue to study hard and sub. I was able to sub at EDISON!!!!! yesterday. It was awesome to see my old teachers again, but the school is basically completely changed from when I attended. The campus is renovated, but the bigger change seems to be in the culture. I recognize that every past generation says this about the next generation that follows them, but EHS was not the same place it was back in the day.

That said, I met some really awesome and interesting kids, with all sorts of dreams and aspirations. I pray that they all achieve their goals!

Mr. Elementary Teacher

For the first time ever, I have taught in an elementary classroom...three times this week! I taught fourth grade on Monday and third grade on Tuesday and Thursday. The first two days I was at a brand new elementary school - it was a beautiful building and had Smart boards and all the technology a teacher could dream of! Today I subbed for Auntie Karole - she also had a Smart board, but they had taken away her computer for whatever reason, so it was back to the overhead - I have blue overhead pen covering my hands to prove it!

Highlights of teaching Elementary school:
1. The kids are ADORABLE!

2. The kids are ADORABLE!

3. The kids are ADOOOOOOORRRRABLE!!!!!!!!!!!!!! So adorable, in fact, that I discovered that even though middle and high school students can't get away with anything when I'm in the classroom, the elementary kids are able to get away with MUCH more with me - I'm kinda a pushover with the little kids. Because they are just soooo darn cute!

4. On Tuesday, several of the kids in the class made me beautiful drawings that I now have with me at home as a keepsake. Middle schoolers NEVER draw anything for the teacher!

5. With the little kids, you end the day feeling like a GOD. You can do no wrong at all! Seriously, the kids think you are a GOD!!! I was even an "amazing basketball player" according to the boys who played on Tuesday. For those of you who have ever seen me "play", you know I can barely dribble and walk at the same time. But not with these kids - I was Shaq!!

6. At least as a substitute who has no accountability for grades and test scores, teaching elementary is like being a camp counselor. I mean, I even taught the kids camp songs and we had a blast doing wacky things normally only done at camp...not school. I felt like I do when I'm spending time with my nephews - Uncle lets them get away with more...because at the end of the day, I get to hand them right back to the regular teacher!

7. One last thing - the kids, are just, ADORABLE!!!!!!!!

Aren't Those Therapy Dogs??

One of my last duties Friday afternoon deserves its own post - both because of how stupid I felt and absolutely mortified I was when I finally figured out what I was doing. Around 5th period, the VP was with two ladies, each with a beautiful black labrador. They were precious dogs, very playful and friendly in the office. The VP asked if I could escort one of the dogs to various classrooms for their duty. I thought how absolutely wonderful this all was - because I'm thinking THERAPY dogs that I get to take to various classes - "randomly" - to help the children connect with animals, deal with anger issues, and gain a plethora of other positive benefits from their "interaction" with the dogs.

So we leave the office and I say, "Wow, I'm jealous we didn't have this when I was in school!" The lady kind of looks at me funny and says, "Well, that's probably because we trusted kids back then." I wish I could say her comment triggered the "aha moment" in me - but still, no. I thought her reply a bit odd, but still didn't realize what we were about to do. She told me to pick a classroom randomly. I picked, we went in. The teacher knew what was now happening and it slowly started to occur to me as well - we asked the children to leave everything at their desks, to take nothing with them and to file outside. Then, the dog started its job - sniffing every bag and every item left behind for any contraband.

Now, I must admit the lady and her dog were quite nice and were only doing their job. We did chat it up as the dog sniffed and I learned quite a bit about the program. At one point she told me there are some teachers who are quite rude to her in front of the kids, while others just tolerate the program and still others fully endorse it. I told her I absolutely would not condone a teacher being rude in front of the kids, but I myself would definitely fall into the "roughly tolerate" category. To be perfectly honest, I would not even imagine such a program would be necessary - it would not even cross my mind that kids would ever be subjected to this! My naivete about these sorts of issues continues to be eroded and chipped away.

Luckily, we caught no kids with any drugs and went back to the office without incident. The other admins got quite a kick out of my misinterpretation of what I was being sent to do. I still can't help but wonder, however, whether our money and efforts would be better served with therapy dogs instead of drug-sniffing ones.