Inspired by a blogger looking to become a teacher because "teaching...sounds...interesting...," Mei Flower came up with the quick, sure-fire method for getting ready to become a teacher. Think myth of Sisyphus but with people criticizing you.
At Epiphany in Baltimore, the blogger posted a tribute to recently-deceased J.D. Salinger, celebrating his famous novel The Catcher in the Rye.
Holden was looking for a place in the world, and, in a way, Catcher in the Rye sort of lets me know my place. It's my lighthouse. So I named my thrice-adopted, thrice-returned dog Holden, because he was also looking for his place in the world. And I often think about this experience of reading and re-reading Catcher in the Rye as a transformative one, helping me recognize the power of a great book and how it helps define who we are at certain points in our lives.
Rest in Peace, JD. Thanks for writing one of those books that changed my life.
Nancy Simmons of Online Science Degrees chimes in with a guest post on Learn Me Good about how to take control of your classroom.
Most teachers know how to control their classes, but when one or two rogue elements succeed in creating havoc and causing a ruckus, things get out of hand and the teacher does not really know what to do... The only way they can regain control is if they appeal to a higher authority or use their powers to threaten the students in some way.
Hat Tip: For more on taking control of the classroom, check out Larry Ferlazzo's recent article from the Teacher Leaders Network titled Giving Classrooms a Purpose.
Ever since her school scrapped freshman reading classes, Mei Flower has been struggling with the school's new system of "reading intervention"— the Carbo method.
In the Carbo method, a student would choose his own reading material, read at his own pace, and discuss it with a teacher. There were fewer than 15 students in the class, and the teacher had at least one aide. Also, that is ALL the teacher did, reading intervention.
Instead, our school system shoved Carbo onto us with little-to-no training, demanded immediate results, gave us classes of 30 or more, and still expected us to teach up to three (3) other subjects. The Board also failed to realize that the problem with a self-motivated program is that many of our students are NOT MOTIVATED. Therefore, this program was a massive failure.
Instead of conforming to the Carbo method, Mei Flower continued to teach her way, with positive results. But that wasn't enough for her boss, "Mr. A," who's forced her to follow the Carbo method this semester.
She describes the Carbo method in excruciating detail:
Let me explain His Way to you: During a world history class, another teacher has to give up half of his or her planning period to pull my students, one by one, out of class to read aloud from a workbook. The teacher does not track fluency, does not track comprehension, and does not track reading gains. What the teacher does is put a checkmark next to the student's name in order to prove to Mr. A that a "reading" "intervention" has taken place. Essentially, a tape recorder could do this job.
The ever-amusing Hobo Teacher lays into a colleague when she suggests incorporating MySpace into English lesson plans.
I'm going to suggest to our IT department to check the settings on our filtering software because Borrish had to have sent this e-mail back in 2004 when MySpace was relevant and we're just getting it now. Get with the times Borrish. I'm half-expecting a telegram from her about an idea she has about having the class read along to a phonograph recording of The Chambered Nautilus.
Finally, let my own fuddy-duddiness come out here and point out that education is something that should be put up on a pedestal of high standards. Sadly, those left in charge of education have decided to lower itself down to the masses rather than pulling them up to excellence.
Over at Mildly Melancholy, "J" does a point-by-point breakdown of a recent critique from a substitute teacher that was printed earlier this month in the New York Times. The substitute, who has spent her past two years subbing in classrooms one day a week, ripped full-time teachers for taking too many days off, not leaving lesson plans for subs, and complaining about how difficult their profession could be.
That didn't sit too well with Mildly Melancholy.
I agree, there are a lot of things that need to be fixed about education, teaching, teachers, curriculum, discipline, management, and schools. Substitutes are a necessary thing, and I really empathize with the people doing it, but it's nowhere near even the first half of all the trouble facing schools nowadays. This lady needs to get over herself.
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