Morning Disaster

After showering, I ventured outside to let Kozy and Joker in. Only problem? Joker was not at the end of his chain.

He pulled a vanishing act earlier in the week too. So I set out in my car, at 6:10 am, to search for the scoundrel. No luck, of course.

At 6:30, I had to call Casey, who was over at his dad’s, to continue the search while I got dressed. Just as I was about to leave, I saw his pick up pull up behind my car. Then I heard the back door open.

I assumed Joker was either returned or hooked back up outside.

Big mistake.

When I headed out to my car, I didn’t see Joker, nor was he downstairs. I decided to inspect his leash. I was curious to see how he escaped. I know I hooked him up. Maybe someone let him loose. But why? Usually he will manage to pull his collar off and run free. Yet, his collar was not attached to the chain.

As I looked at the chain, I saw that the clasp was a bit rusty and must have stuck. So that’s how he got away!

I happened to looked up and spotted Joker across the empty lot on the other side of the alley.

I called and he ran over.

What a way to start a Thursday.


*****

I hate this time of the year. For reasons unfathomable to me, our school graduates the seniors three days before the underclassmen.

Again, this makes no sense to me.

What are we supposed to do with a mixed class? If I have a class of 15 seniors and five juniors, am I supposed to make the juniors do extra work? Am I just supposed to show movies the final three days?

Of course, that doesn’t even take into account how much the students loathe those last three days. It’s hard enough to motivate them when they enjoy being in class.

It’s a no win situation and the education that takes place in those days is an insult to the very definition of ‘education.’


I am fortunate in that I have a junior class, so I will give them a final that week. Too bad for them. I’m old school. I’d like to see everyone get out on the same day and have that final week modeled after college finals. Every class either has final test or project that is due.

Of course, that would mean teachers have to spend that final week working rather than scheduling trips to the Dairy Queen (been guilty of this) with their classes or reserving DVD players and so on. But at least something educational would get done that final week.

My Science Fiction class only has a few seniors, so that is no big deal either. We will have an extra final project in there too.

Now my College Composition class has a handful of seniors in it. However, I am excusing all of my kids for those three days. Sure, it looks like I’m getting off easy. But I’ll tell you this right now, if anyone wants me to baby-sit their kids while they watch a movie or supervise them while they go to Dairy Queen and they can come in and grade the 30 8-12 research papers I have, be my guest. I don’t think I’ll have too many takers.

Besides, the Comp I class out at NCTC, which this class is modeled after, only meets three times a week and only for an hour. So we meet five times a week for roughly 80 minutes (I let them out 10-15 minutes early every day because second lunch is a joke and the kids need extra time to get there early or literally the food will be gone or they can travel somewhere off campus to eat). The college class ended last week. So if I give them three days off, I don’t see what the big deal is. Plus, we are given, or so I’m told, five ‘accommodation’ days to make up for the extra time kids have to put in here rather than out there.

And it’s no secret – the kids could go out to the college (where the school has to pay for books and tuition) and have an easier class than staying here and taking my class. A little reward is justified.

*****

This kills me.

A senior Science Fiction student just asked me if he could go over to the gas station to get something to eat.

“Uh, no. Seeing as how you missed the past two days and are missing the bulk of your assignments, I don’t think that would the wisest thing for you to do. Plus, I saw you here at 7:50, why not run over there then?”

He looked surprised that I wouldn’t let him.

Then a sophomore, who had given him some money to get something for him, said, “You should have just asked to go to the bathroom.”

Now the kid is dumb enough to say this in front of me.

I replied, “No dumbass. He should not have said that.” (And the great irony here is that the dumbass sophomore’s mom, who lives in the cities while her kid goes to school here, is going to call me during my prep – supposedly, she’s been meaning to do this for some time now – to see what I think about her son taking my College Comp course next year. Should be an interesting conversation.)

Even the senior knew how stupid this was. “Yeah, I ask to go to the bathroom and am gone 15 minutes. That makes a lot of sense.”

I should have said, “That would have made about as much sense as what you just asked me. How about being like Kyle or Brian or Brady – who have all of their work in right now and have submitted excellent imovie projects – speaking of which, I don’t believe you have started yet – even though you only read a 75 page novella and they read full novels – and they have attended nearly every day and you only manage to drag yourself here three times a week – and just doing what you’re supposed to – your work.”

I’ll save that one for later.

See, I turn cynical this time of the year too. It’s getting hard on me.

I just get beat down by this type of foolishness throughout the year.

******

I created my first survey via surveymonkey.com this morning. As part of our LEEP committee, I am now also part of the student handbook committee. So I decided to email some colleagues and get their ideas for what they would like to see addressed. Their responses were pretty predictable – cell phone usage needs to be addressed, our detention system is ineffective, students eating outside of the lunchroom are creating a mess in the hallways, and a few other issues.

So I took their ideas and tried to develop a survey dealing with their concerns.

The cool thing about surveymonkey is that I was able to email a link to my survey to the entire staff. Even better, in my surveymonkey, I am able to see their responses instantly.

I have to use this for my classes next year.

****

The real issue will be cell phones.

People here are barely away of what our school policy is. I have no idea, probably something like “Cell phones are not to be used in classes at LHS.”

Teachers are left to decide their own policies for cell phones in their classes. Now the problem with this is that some do and other don’t. And we are doing a real disservice to the students that way.

I am not against cell phones. In case of school shootings or other emergencies, parents should have a way to contact their kids or vice versa. However, I’m willing to be that 99.9% of the cell phone usage that goes on is not for emergencies. Instead, it’s for gossip, cheating, and just plane messaging. All non-essential things. I mean it wasn’t even that long ago that I didn’t even have a phone in my room!

However, we need a real policy for the entire school that all teachers can fall back on. I like the one Mrs. Sheridan just emailed me from EGF. There students have their phones taken and their parents have to pick them up.

Now that would be a pain to enforce. Certainly, you’d deal with some irate parents, but I bet you’d have your fair share of parents that would applaud the maneuver.

Plus, as with any tough love policy, one would probably only have to get tough for a few months before students understood the limits and lived by them.

That way I could teach without having to monitor kids a dozen times each class telling them to put their phones away or discussing or taking notes and, when looking up, noticing five cell phones out and kids texting away.

I think it’s a lesson in courtousy that we are teaching the kids.

Sara, who supervises people at one of the local businesses here, has real issues with adults using their cell phones. So much so that now that business has a cell phone policy, so why shouldn’t we?

We could send the policy out to all parents. We could stress it again during fall conferences and the open house. It would work. But we’d have to take it seriously and stick to it.

My guess is – and this is simply my personal feeling – is that it would call for us to have to man up and actually be mean and do something about a really difficult issue.

We’ll see.

PS

I just had to get after one of the girls, who should be watching a movie, but was showing another girl in class a picture that someone had emailed her via her phone. If we had a policy with some bite to it, I would not have to worry about such silliness.

I used to give a quiz for the entire class whenever I saw a cell phone out. But, honestly, I’d spend zero time teaching and all my time giving quizzes – well, that might not be that different from how some teach – but that would be a waste. Plus, my policy was really unfair. What about the kids who obey or who don’t even have cell phones? Why should I punish them?

I will gladly enforce whatever policy our administration decides. But it is not my job as a teacher to decide school policy. That’s why we have administrators, right?

I don’t have them give my tests or lectures, do I? So why should I have to make up policies for them?

I hope that will end now that I am on the handbook committee and am working to make school policy. I volunteered for this and want to help. Teachers deal with curriculum and motivating kids – they shouldn’t have to decide policy. Period.