My friend the mayor released a list of potential teacher layoffs in New York City this morning. As I was woke up, trying to will myself out of bed after a week off, I heard the news report and was suddenly even less excited to start my day.
Then I went to work....
.....and taught 60 9th graders in my Civics class how to contact their representative concerning proposed gun control legislation in the House.
Then, I took a look at the aforementioned list provided by the D.O.E. and saw that my school has 5 teachers that could be laid off if the mayor doesn't get his way. Best part? It was just a number so maybe it's me but then again maybe it's not. I spent a small part of the remainder of the day wondering if I was one of the unlucky ones. I didn't necessarily appreciate the suspense of it all.
Then I taught 30 9th graders English. Well kind of anyway. Midway through the day all of the outlets in my room blew rendering useless the PowerPoint that I was going to project onto my board to teach my mini lesson. Can't win 'em all.....or apparently ANY of 'em.
Then I came home had dinner with my wife and watched our friend the mayor on the news. I'm not too sure if the mayor thought about me and my fellow teachers today- well maybe he did, after all he made up a nice list!- but I know he didn't think about my wife, and the grief that his list caused her today.
This is my 3rd year teaching in New York City and my 3rd year of hearing that I might lose my job...it's kind of like an anniversary. Should I get a gift? What is the 3rd year? Leather? Anyway
throughout these sagas, I always took the position that what will be will be. Whatever happens, I'll be prepared and besides it can't be as bad as the end of last year can it? Politics aside (and I do have opinions that I may share in the future), I just want to keep my job. I love teaching, even on the first day back from vacation, when I'm told my job is in jeopardy and the power doesn't work so I can't teach my lessons.
Actually, today kind of just sucked but I am ready for tomorrow and the challenges that await with my classes.
Let's hope I get the same chance next year.
Monday, February 28, 2011
Friday, February 11, 2011
Cairo/The Bronx
For the past five months, I've been teaching 9th grade Civics/U.S. Government in the Bronx. If you had walked into my classroom at any time over the last five months, you would have heard terms like limited government, democracy, dictator and popular consent. Many of my students see these as just words in a book or on a worksheet they were given in class. Like many of us, they hear terms like "democracy" but not really being sure what that means. Something that comes as a result of hearing but not necessarily thinking about it.
Today my 9th graders (all 90 of 'em!) and I were able to see these terms in action and it was one of best days in my three years of teaching.
The events unfolding in Egypt over the past two and a half weeks have been a microcosm of what I've been teaching this school year. My students have learned about different systems of government, created a government for a fictional nation and discussed the role that government should play in the lives of people (or more importantly, the role that people play in a government).
Today, in a whirlwind of timing and technology, I was able to take my students to Cairo, where what they have been learning this year was coming to life. As my students entered the room, the Al Jazeera coverage from Tahrir Square was playing on the board. We watched for a little bit and then moved into our lesson which reviewed the events of the last two weeks, as well as an analysis of photographs of the protesters in Cairo. We had a chance to use events that were happening in real time to assess their knowledge of democracy and government. During my 3rd period class,as students were completing their exit slips, we watched as President Mubarak officially resigned. With my last period class, we were able to watch President Obama's statement. In the latter case, I was able to sit down and watch it with them.
Today was a great day to be a social studies teacher. Too often, we are teachers of the past; today we were able to be teachers of the present. Now I can't guarantee that my students are sitting at home on a Friday night talking about what's next for Egypt but I do know that during the three hours that I spent with them today, they got to watch what they have learned in my class happen right in front of them. That is a wonderful thing.
Today my 9th graders (all 90 of 'em!) and I were able to see these terms in action and it was one of best days in my three years of teaching.
The events unfolding in Egypt over the past two and a half weeks have been a microcosm of what I've been teaching this school year. My students have learned about different systems of government, created a government for a fictional nation and discussed the role that government should play in the lives of people (or more importantly, the role that people play in a government).
Today, in a whirlwind of timing and technology, I was able to take my students to Cairo, where what they have been learning this year was coming to life. As my students entered the room, the Al Jazeera coverage from Tahrir Square was playing on the board. We watched for a little bit and then moved into our lesson which reviewed the events of the last two weeks, as well as an analysis of photographs of the protesters in Cairo. We had a chance to use events that were happening in real time to assess their knowledge of democracy and government. During my 3rd period class,as students were completing their exit slips, we watched as President Mubarak officially resigned. With my last period class, we were able to watch President Obama's statement. In the latter case, I was able to sit down and watch it with them.
Today was a great day to be a social studies teacher. Too often, we are teachers of the past; today we were able to be teachers of the present. Now I can't guarantee that my students are sitting at home on a Friday night talking about what's next for Egypt but I do know that during the three hours that I spent with them today, they got to watch what they have learned in my class happen right in front of them. That is a wonderful thing.
Friday, February 4, 2011
Teach
Another week past, another week of teaching in the Bronx now behind me. (It's also another year of the mayor telling me that I'm going to lose my job but those are thoughts for another post.)
Had an up and down week with my students who were a mix of brilliant and maddeningly apathetic over the last four days. I'm now just past the halfway point of the year and each week/day/class has presented both challenges and rewards, although complete honesty would say there have been many more of the former. Each challenge that I face has built a resolve that makes me ask "How can I make this work?", a question whose answer I have yet to find. However, this question has led to a deeper reflection on both my practice and educational philosophy.
Today a co-worker and I had an extended discussion about the role that home plays in education of a child. As someone who was academically lazy throughout my childhood, I feel that I know better than most just how uninteresting school can be for adolescence (perhaps one of the reasons that I wanted to become a teacher in the first place.) While I thought school was boring at times, I always knew that in some way, it was important. Why? Because my parents told me that it was. Kids are stupid- and I mean that in the nicest way possible,- which is to say that a child between the ages of 5-11 can be convinced about anything (see the Tooth Fairy) so if a parent tells them that school is important when they're young, they just might listen. By no means does this predict academic success, but it doesn't hurt for a student to hear that school and their education have value because if they doesn't happen then, they probably won't care too much when they get to high school. Unfortunately, I work with a handful of students who might not have gotten that message growing up, which leaves an uphill challenge for myself and my colleagues.
So, once again, how can I make this work? I don't know. However, I'm beginning to realize that if I can get them to think,than I would be doing my part in moving them along in life. More on that in the future.
Two more weeks till Winter Break with many more challenges (both known and unknown) on the horizon. As time passes, I continue to learn these lessons which will prepare me for what awaits in the future.
Had an up and down week with my students who were a mix of brilliant and maddeningly apathetic over the last four days. I'm now just past the halfway point of the year and each week/day/class has presented both challenges and rewards, although complete honesty would say there have been many more of the former. Each challenge that I face has built a resolve that makes me ask "How can I make this work?", a question whose answer I have yet to find. However, this question has led to a deeper reflection on both my practice and educational philosophy.
Today a co-worker and I had an extended discussion about the role that home plays in education of a child. As someone who was academically lazy throughout my childhood, I feel that I know better than most just how uninteresting school can be for adolescence (perhaps one of the reasons that I wanted to become a teacher in the first place.) While I thought school was boring at times, I always knew that in some way, it was important. Why? Because my parents told me that it was. Kids are stupid- and I mean that in the nicest way possible,- which is to say that a child between the ages of 5-11 can be convinced about anything (see the Tooth Fairy) so if a parent tells them that school is important when they're young, they just might listen. By no means does this predict academic success, but it doesn't hurt for a student to hear that school and their education have value because if they doesn't happen then, they probably won't care too much when they get to high school. Unfortunately, I work with a handful of students who might not have gotten that message growing up, which leaves an uphill challenge for myself and my colleagues.
So, once again, how can I make this work? I don't know. However, I'm beginning to realize that if I can get them to think,than I would be doing my part in moving them along in life. More on that in the future.
Two more weeks till Winter Break with many more challenges (both known and unknown) on the horizon. As time passes, I continue to learn these lessons which will prepare me for what awaits in the future.
Friday, January 7, 2011
8 Seconds
**Note, if you were expecting a review of the 1994 Luke Perry movie 8 Seconds, I apologize as I did not mean to deceive you with the title of this post.
One of the best places I've ever been to in New York City was an Eastern European discotheque on Canal Street that my friends and I went to back in college. It was just an odd place that served beer in giant green bottles and played really loud music. We referred to it as "Bulgaria Bar" and although it was a pretty random place, we always managed to have a great time there. It's one of my favorite parts of New York City. There's so much to do that on any night there's a different event happening somewhere in the city.
Tonight, I went to one of those events: Professional Bull Riding (PBR) at Madison Square Garden. My dad and I went last year and had a great time, so it was an easy decision to return again this year. Overall, Professional Bull Riding has a lot to offer. As a sports fan, it's a chance to see elite athletes competing at the highest level of their sport. For the part of me that still laughs at "Jackass", there's people getting knocked around by bulls which is always entertaining. Also last year, I got to see 6 year old kids grab onto a sheep that was then let loose around the floor at MSG, easily one of the funniest things I have ever seen. With this in mind, we returned for this year's Madison Square Garden Invitational.
Having been to a number of sporting events, I can honestly say that attending a PBR event is an excellent time. The PBR puts on a good show, the bullfighter MC is entertaining (yes I said bullfighter, they apparently take offense to the term "Rodeo Clown") and of course there's people being knocked around by bulls. Also, the PBR riders have the best names, including Skeeter Kingsolver, Pistol Robinson and Stormy Wing. Do you know how much better baseball would be if Skeeter Kingsolver or Stormy Wing was the starting second baseman for the Mets? Finally, there's the fun of going to a bull riding event in New York City where you get to see New Yorkers dress up as "cowboys." While there are definitely professionals in the crowd with legit cowboy gear, there's also a lot of locals who borrowed the cowboy hat from their kid/siblings cowboy costume or spent $35.00 on the official PBR one that were sold on the concourse. There's also a ton of flannel shirts in the crowds, as if Brooklyn hipsters really needed ANOTHER reason to wear them.
Well done PBR!
Now back to knowing nothing about bull riding until this time next year.
Tuesday, November 2, 2010
Change
I'm now two months into my first year at my new school.
In some good ways and in some bad ways, I am having a much different teaching experience this year then compared to my first two. One of my biggest challenges has been in the handling of my classroom or "classroom management" in teacher talk. At times it's been good, but most times it's been very tough. You see, my students like to talk and while I lay the large, large majority of the blame at their feet, I have to think that maybe, just maybe it's me. Maybe I need to do something different. Maybe I need to be better (I did go to school for this right?)
Over the past few days I've finally realized that what I did in the past can't necessarily be what I'm doing now. Now, there are many aspects of my practice that I am very happy with (planning, learning from my coach) but something just wasn't clicking with my class. In the past I had handled the kids on a regular basis and rarely got publicly frustrated with them. This year, it's been the opposite. My kids can be tough, but it's nothing that can't be turned around, especially since I'm with these fine children for another 8 months.
I'm going to try a new management technique starting tomorrow; one that I've been averse to in the past, but could see the benefit in using. I'm going to post updates on how this change is going for a two reasons:
1)it makes me write/reflect which can only be positive
2)it makes me accountable to you, my (possibly non-existent) readers, because if I'm going to write about it, I'm going to have to do it.
Talk to you next week.
In some good ways and in some bad ways, I am having a much different teaching experience this year then compared to my first two. One of my biggest challenges has been in the handling of my classroom or "classroom management" in teacher talk. At times it's been good, but most times it's been very tough. You see, my students like to talk and while I lay the large, large majority of the blame at their feet, I have to think that maybe, just maybe it's me. Maybe I need to do something different. Maybe I need to be better (I did go to school for this right?)
Over the past few days I've finally realized that what I did in the past can't necessarily be what I'm doing now. Now, there are many aspects of my practice that I am very happy with (planning, learning from my coach) but something just wasn't clicking with my class. In the past I had handled the kids on a regular basis and rarely got publicly frustrated with them. This year, it's been the opposite. My kids can be tough, but it's nothing that can't be turned around, especially since I'm with these fine children for another 8 months.
I'm going to try a new management technique starting tomorrow; one that I've been averse to in the past, but could see the benefit in using. I'm going to post updates on how this change is going for a two reasons:
1)it makes me write/reflect which can only be positive
2)it makes me accountable to you, my (possibly non-existent) readers, because if I'm going to write about it, I'm going to have to do it.
Talk to you next week.
Tuesday, October 19, 2010
Work
I'm a fraud.
I've been writing this blog for over a year and I've almost never written about teaching, even though it's in the title of the blog. Things got funny this summer and I'm a month and a half into the school year at my new gig in the Bronx. I've learned a number of thing and since I haven't written in a while, I've decided to gather some thoughts about teaching here on the blog. After all, it was at Fordham where I learned that I needed to be a "reflective practitioner" (sounds fancy right? Look at me putting that Masters to work!) I love teaching. It's a challenging, oft-times under appreciated profession that is also extremely rewarding. You learn a lot when your a teacher, I'll try my best to share some of my lessons.
Lesson #1: Teaching is like Flying
It was today that I realized that teaching a class is like taking an hour long flight. If you don't get off the ground, you're going to have a tough time getting where you're going. I had my tough section for Social Studies today and it's usually a challenge to settle them down and get them on task for the opening activity ("Do Now" in teacher jargon). Well sure enough, they sat down quickly and basically got right to work today. The plane was about to take off when a goose went through the turbine.
Figuratively, of course.
One of my kids got up to "get my brush" from another student. Unfortunately it took about 2 minutes to do this, but the student did, in fact, get their brush. Distractions like this can happen any time which is why you must accept them and learn to deal with them properly. Although it was tough to get the class back on track and while I feel that I did, it was definitely not easy.
It was then I learned that I have to learn to be Sully.
Be prepared as you can be and hope that you can land the plane safely on the Hudson. I need to deal with these distractions immediately and get the class off the ground. Sometimes this is easier said than done, (depending on he severity of the distraction) but this is definitely an area in which I can improve. We'll see starting tomorrow.
I've been writing this blog for over a year and I've almost never written about teaching, even though it's in the title of the blog. Things got funny this summer and I'm a month and a half into the school year at my new gig in the Bronx. I've learned a number of thing and since I haven't written in a while, I've decided to gather some thoughts about teaching here on the blog. After all, it was at Fordham where I learned that I needed to be a "reflective practitioner" (sounds fancy right? Look at me putting that Masters to work!) I love teaching. It's a challenging, oft-times under appreciated profession that is also extremely rewarding. You learn a lot when your a teacher, I'll try my best to share some of my lessons.
Lesson #1: Teaching is like Flying
It was today that I realized that teaching a class is like taking an hour long flight. If you don't get off the ground, you're going to have a tough time getting where you're going. I had my tough section for Social Studies today and it's usually a challenge to settle them down and get them on task for the opening activity ("Do Now" in teacher jargon). Well sure enough, they sat down quickly and basically got right to work today. The plane was about to take off when a goose went through the turbine.
Figuratively, of course.
One of my kids got up to "get my brush" from another student. Unfortunately it took about 2 minutes to do this, but the student did, in fact, get their brush. Distractions like this can happen any time which is why you must accept them and learn to deal with them properly. Although it was tough to get the class back on track and while I feel that I did, it was definitely not easy.
It was then I learned that I have to learn to be Sully.
Be prepared as you can be and hope that you can land the plane safely on the Hudson. I need to deal with these distractions immediately and get the class off the ground. Sometimes this is easier said than done, (depending on he severity of the distraction) but this is definitely an area in which I can improve. We'll see starting tomorrow.
Tuesday, September 28, 2010
Teachers....always wanting more
As a teacher, the past week has been quite a whirlwind and it has nothing to do with my life in the classroom. Oprah, Hollywood and the National Broadcasting Company have all converged over the past seven days to shine a light on one of the most important issues of our time: education. It's a bit surreal to turn on the news and hear people talking about your job but over the past few days that scenario has been a reality. Hearing and seeing the way that many people have been reacting towards teachers has been both eye opening, confusing and upsetting. It seems that just because we have all been in a classroom as a student, it gives us carte blanche to speak about teachers. Most people who haven't been in a classroom in 25 years are now experts on how education should work. I find this amusing because although I've been to the dentist 50 times in my life, I don't tell the good doctor how to fill a tooth. As you can tell, all of this coverage has stirred up many emotions among myself and my colleagues. However, the one topic that has stirred up the most emotion in yours truly is the new dirty word on the lips of many New Yorkers (and Americans) TENURE.
If you were to just watch the news, with their talking heads and "man on the street" interviews you would think that tenure only exists to keep bad teachers in their jobs when in fact, this couldn't be farther from the truth. Now let me be clear, there are teachers who, through their practice or their behavior, have more than proven that they do not deserve to have their job. Does our current system protect these teachers? Perhaps. However, there seems to be a side of this argument that people either choose to ignore or are just completely misinformed about (I'm looking at you Waiting for Superman)and that is: tenure does not guarantee a "job for life". The only thing that our tenure system guarantees is due process for a teacher facing the prospect of losing his or her livelihood (and yes, I said livelihood and not "job" because for many of us, this is our LIVES.) Due process, what an absolutely crazy idea to have in the United States huh? Teaching is not a fly-by-night profession that you can just walk in and out of-or at least it shouldn't be. For many, including myself, working with students is more than a job, it's a commitment that takes up nearly all of our time between planning, grading and worrying about our kids, the least we should get is a chance to have our case heard.
Anyway.
If you're not sure where you stand on the issue of tenure (and even think if you do know where you stand on it) you should ask yourself the following: Would I want to walk into work one day and be told that I have no job? And when I asked why, to not be given a reason AND to have no recourse about it. If you answered "no" to this question then you, my friend, are in favor of tenure for teachers. NO ONE is saying that teachers who do their job poorly or hurt children in anyway should keep their jobs. As a teacher, I would love to have that dead weight gone so that my students could have a better learning experience and I don't have to hear how big of a "have a job for life" jerk I am from John Q. Public on Eyewitness News. But the reality is, without tenure, in the current "high stakes" world of education, an administrator could dismiss a teacher for whatever reason they decide. I know this, because this scenario plays itself out in our schools today. The group that seems to be forgotten in this "tenure is evil" argument are non-tenured teachers (those who have been teaching for less than three years.) You see, at any time, any one of the thousands of new teachers in our city can lose their job, not be told why, and do absolutely nothing about it.
I know this because this recently happened to a teacher in New York City, a teacher who I happen to be very close with. At the end of this teacher's second year, the principal informed them that they would not be returning to the school and since they were not tenured, this teacher had no recourse....ZERO. Without tenure, teachers could lose their jobs at any time for any reason.This should not happen to anyone, and especially not someone who has dedicated their life to working with children. When this teacher informed his students that he would not be returning, there were many tears shed on both sides. The kids didn't understand and unfortunately neither did the teacher. Were the best interests of those students served by their administration that day? If you asked them, I bet they would have a pretty clear answer. If we care about the well being of students, we not only need to think about getting rid of the dead weight but also keeping the good ones who love their kids and are loved right back.
All we want is the ability to have our story heard and let the chips fall where they may. I know that's all that my friend wanted, but he, along with many others, was never given the chance.
If you were to just watch the news, with their talking heads and "man on the street" interviews you would think that tenure only exists to keep bad teachers in their jobs when in fact, this couldn't be farther from the truth. Now let me be clear, there are teachers who, through their practice or their behavior, have more than proven that they do not deserve to have their job. Does our current system protect these teachers? Perhaps. However, there seems to be a side of this argument that people either choose to ignore or are just completely misinformed about (I'm looking at you Waiting for Superman)and that is: tenure does not guarantee a "job for life". The only thing that our tenure system guarantees is due process for a teacher facing the prospect of losing his or her livelihood (and yes, I said livelihood and not "job" because for many of us, this is our LIVES.) Due process, what an absolutely crazy idea to have in the United States huh? Teaching is not a fly-by-night profession that you can just walk in and out of-or at least it shouldn't be. For many, including myself, working with students is more than a job, it's a commitment that takes up nearly all of our time between planning, grading and worrying about our kids, the least we should get is a chance to have our case heard.
Anyway.
If you're not sure where you stand on the issue of tenure (and even think if you do know where you stand on it) you should ask yourself the following: Would I want to walk into work one day and be told that I have no job? And when I asked why, to not be given a reason AND to have no recourse about it. If you answered "no" to this question then you, my friend, are in favor of tenure for teachers. NO ONE is saying that teachers who do their job poorly or hurt children in anyway should keep their jobs. As a teacher, I would love to have that dead weight gone so that my students could have a better learning experience and I don't have to hear how big of a "have a job for life" jerk I am from John Q. Public on Eyewitness News. But the reality is, without tenure, in the current "high stakes" world of education, an administrator could dismiss a teacher for whatever reason they decide. I know this, because this scenario plays itself out in our schools today. The group that seems to be forgotten in this "tenure is evil" argument are non-tenured teachers (those who have been teaching for less than three years.) You see, at any time, any one of the thousands of new teachers in our city can lose their job, not be told why, and do absolutely nothing about it.
I know this because this recently happened to a teacher in New York City, a teacher who I happen to be very close with. At the end of this teacher's second year, the principal informed them that they would not be returning to the school and since they were not tenured, this teacher had no recourse....ZERO. Without tenure, teachers could lose their jobs at any time for any reason.This should not happen to anyone, and especially not someone who has dedicated their life to working with children. When this teacher informed his students that he would not be returning, there were many tears shed on both sides. The kids didn't understand and unfortunately neither did the teacher. Were the best interests of those students served by their administration that day? If you asked them, I bet they would have a pretty clear answer. If we care about the well being of students, we not only need to think about getting rid of the dead weight but also keeping the good ones who love their kids and are loved right back.
All we want is the ability to have our story heard and let the chips fall where they may. I know that's all that my friend wanted, but he, along with many others, was never given the chance.
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