Frustration

I was just talking with some other teachers about the "Boost Up" advertisement I had heard yesterday. This led to a brief conversation on the dumbing down of our school. So much time and energy (not to mention money) is spent getting the bottom feeders up to a minimal level. And this certainly is a wonderful thing. But how effective has this been? What about our elite students who are left idling through high school?

We have tried to offer a College Prep American Lit class for the high end students here. We even had as many as 17 sign up. But yet the class never was offered thanks to our wonderful counseling department. Those are 17 kids who could be challenged and pushed way more than they ever would be in a traditional American Lit class. But it wasn't offered and they were dumped into a general American Lit class. And if you ever want to see disparity, just take a look at one of our American Lit class. I have two coming up. Judging from the past American Lit classes that I've taught here, I'll have three or four kids who are reading at a college level. I'll have 15-20 who are reading at grade level (juniors and seniors). But I'll have 10-15 reading at below grade level. And I'll even have a few who are reading well, well below that. What are we to do with such a wide range of abilities?


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I made my to do list this morning --

1. Finish my MNHS Lesson plan (due December 4).
2. Finish a letter of recommendation for a student.
3. Review the "RU Ready" rubric for tomorrow night's meeting.
4. Grade theme #6 for my Advanced Writing class.
5. Read more of "The Scarlet Letter."
6. Pick Koko up at 5 from the elementary.
7. Call Dad and see how his day went.

So far I've knocked off two of them. I should add 'get home safely' to that list given the road conditions this evening.