Notes from the first 3 days of school:

[LWolf]

So far, we are off to a great start. Students are glad to be in school, and we are moving forward at a good clip.

On the downside, the 4:15 dismissal time is tough. None of us, students or teachers, are at our best by then. Late buses compound that problem. Teachers are really missing their lost planning periods, and kids are missing their PE and Music teachers, all victims of budget cuts.

But on the good side, here is just some of what we've accomplished so far:

We spent some of the first day helping 6th graders master lockers. We did it with a 7th/8th grade leadership group mentoring them, lots of practice time, and then a "survivor" style competition that required teams to find clues in their lockers...if they could get them open.

We've begun an art project. A project that requires research about a particular artist and the associated movements and styles, and the creation of an original product using that artist's style. The kids are excited and engaged in art history, research, reading, writing, and MAKING art.

And we're reading. 6th grade is working on proverbs; reading, analyzing, and then creating their own.

7th & 8th grade are reading and analyzing short stories. Today, at 3:55 when there is always a constant stream of interruptions before school lets out, 8th grade and I were intent on reading, and discussing, "Harrison Bergeron." People kept peeking in the window on the door to come in and interrupt for various purposes, and tip-toeing away because we only had 15 minutes to finish, and the room was alive with students focused on reading and anxious to add to the discussion.

Of course, we've handed out the reams of forms and letters to parents that we get from the office. We've gone over rules, expectations, procedures, etc.. We've done team-building activities. We've answered questions. We've been to the library. We haven't been to the computer lab yet; the network keeps crashing.

We're also busy learning, and glad to be there. After reading through a few threads this evening, and too many in the last week, bashing and battering public education, I thought I'd point out that more good things are happening at school this week than not.

As usual.

[Kceres]

1. You sound like another wonderful teacher!

I've discovered they're all over the place! As a parent who can't imagine how you manage to do it five days a week. Thank you x1000!

[LWolf]

2. You are welcome, of course! nt

[pnwmom]

3. 4:15 dismissal time? Wow. When do you start? How do kids fit in sports

and other after-school activities?

[LWolf]

4. We start at 9:15.

The high school gets the early start, contrary to research, to ensure the time for after school sports.

We won't have any sports this year. We lost our PE teacher. Academic teachers will take classes out for "PE," but we have enough responsibilities already. We won't be taking on extra duties for after school sports.

We lost our PE teacher, our prep, and got added duties and an extended instructional day.

After the time change, our students will be getting home in the dark. They'll be getting ON the bus at dusk in December and January, straight out of school.

We're a K-8 school. The youngest students have had a harder time with the 4:15 dismissal than my 6-8 students.

[pnwmom]

6. You'll be even more exhausted than most teachers, then.

What a long day. Are you teaching in a public, private, or parochial school? I've never heard of a public school with such a long day -- and no PE teachers! Everybody loses.

[LWolf]

7. Public school. nt

[endless october]

5. thank you for being a teacher.

my parents are both public school teachers. i got a great education in public schools, i went on to get a graduate degree.

hope that you have a great year.

[LWolf]

8. You're welcome.

I also got a great education in public schools.

:hi:

[pfloydguy7750]

9. very interesting

[astral]

10. Wow. What's with the long school day?

Kids can't take that (Heck, adults can barely take it but at least I didn't "have to" as a kid!) and they will be too tired to think or enjoy their time away from school at all. No recess plus a longer day? No music, no P.E., no art?

Those are the only things in life that made kids be able to bear the clock-punching school day when the let us out at 3.

This is NOT good for kids, and is ESPECIALLY harmful to younger kids.

I'm a little out of it with how school has changed. When I heard schools were dropping recess I was still having a hard time believing it, never having got over them changing recess from an hour to a half hour. (yep, I'm that old).

Now I add my thanks to you with the rest of us for being a teacher and trying to help the kids make the best of it. Our educational system needs teach students the "3-R's" and give them a LITTLE ROOM TO BREATHE. Kids need a chance to be kids. Just a generation ago people still knew that. . .

[LWolf]

11. Budget cuts.

Our district RIF'd 42 people, including PE and music teachers at the elementary and K-8 schools, and cut the school year down to 147 instructional days.

Then they marketed it to the community by making the days longer, trying to make up for that lost time. Not only is the day longer, we no longer have a prep period during the school day. Teachers are on 10-hour contractual days, and all our prep is done before and after school.

Of course, next week, I have a meeting every single morning before school, so I'll end up staying after school even longer to get all that prep work done.

The district keeps assuring us that other districts all over the country have already gone to 4 days, and that, once we try it, we'll never want to go back. (!)

Adding time on to the end of an already full day doesn't make up for missing 21 instructional days. It's not educationally sound, in this educator's opinion. Of course, I'm sure we'll all get to like the 3 day weekends when we start having them; teachers still have to work some Fridays.

Like tomorrow, when there is a 4 HOUR staff meeting planned. We already had a staff meeting yesterday morning, and we have back-to-school night tonight, which will put us on campus until 8:00. Technically, we can go home after school, as long as we are back by 5:30. Since the last buses don't arrive until 4:30, and few of us live close to our little rural school, few will drive home, only to almost immediately drive back. So most of us will be on campus for 12.5 hours today.

And then back for that 4 hour staff meeting at 7:30 the next morning.

[tigereye]

12. some public schools here have longer days due to NCLB

I don't envy public school teachers- you guys have so much to contend with. I also think that the people who run schools (and govt folk) have forgotten sound developmental principles in terms of kids learning in so many more ways than endless testing and thinking that less is actually more. :(

4 day week - not too common around here (Western PA) What kills me is how unwilling people are to fund public ed (which is so necessary) and then the kids and teachers (and society suffers in the long run.) with the loss of arts, PE and music and other critical areas.


Glad there are good things happening - you sound like you are excited about all the things you do. Keep up the good work!


:yourock:

[LWolf]

13. Thanks for the boost.

I need it, after 48 hours, and 5 meetings, in 4 days this week. 48 hours, because every meeting means I stay even longer to get the work done I would have been doing if I weren't in a meeting.

[sspeilbergfan90]

14. good stuff