Workload

I don't know if it's that I have come to expect more out of my students, if it's that The World is Flat scared the hell out of me and I want my students to be as prepared to succeed in a global society as I can possibly make them, if it's my old age and I'm getting more 'crotchety,' or if it's just that I'm so damn glad to have the 'same old same old' out the door and the new return to rigor administration in the door . . . but we are working harder than ever.

Someone just told me they read on facebook the comment "Five papers in four days! Come one Mr. Reynolds."

Giddy up. That's awesome.

I think some of the complacency we have come to expect in school is disgusting.

On our way back from our football game on Thursday I listened to one student who moved here from North Dakota talk about how he loved his old school where they basically just watched movies for the final two weeks of school. Now, one must take whatever a students says with a grain of salt. But if even a bit of that is true, what the hell kind of education is going on there? No wonder we are getting our asses kicked by China, India, and about 20 other countries.

Then I heard a volunteer coach tell the kids his advice - load up on classes early so you can have an easy senior year.

Again, what the hell?

That is one reason we changed around our English courses. Too many kids were loading up on American Lit, Comp II, and Brit Lit (all nine week classes) during their junior years and then having no English classes their senior years.

From the student's point of view, that's a nice break. But in reality, how did these kids fair when they went off to college?

That's why I was so happy to hear our new principal talk to students about taking weighted classes throughout their high school career and fully preparing themselves for the college workload.

Some just aren't prepared (see the facebook image below)



We just don't do our students any favors by not pushing them. After all, the majority of our students will not push themselves . . . and who can blame them? Most aren't even aware of what they are really capable of. I know I wasn't until I got to college and really learned what it was like to work. But that was no one else's fault but my own. However, I'm glad I did learn to work hard and value what I was learning in my classes.

I also think we as teachers have come to rely on busy work (Schmoker would say 'worksheets') too much. No wonder students don't put much effort in. I mean when was the last time a teacher got excited to complete a worksheet in a professional development setting or in graduate school? They don't because worksheets are a farce! And I was as guilty as anyone of using them.

So what do I do instead of worksheets?

I have them write and write and write or discuss (and I'm always working to become better at that).

So five essays in four days? They haven't seen anything yet!