La vida no es la que uno vivió, sino la que uno recuerda y cómo la recuerda
23 June 2007
The wedding plans are going…and time is flying.
It seems that everyday we have something to do. Today, for example, we went to submit our passport applications. Why we’ve used our birth certificates all of our lives to travel outside the country is beyond me. Anyhow, I guess it’s for the better.
I finished the wedding site. You can find all the information you need on our little shindig.
Before watching the San Diego Super-Chargers choke against the Patriots (and I thought the Raiders were the “Faders”) I read an interesting article on schools fighting to succeed.
Tireless, idealistic, demanding and at the time single, Solomon Davis critiqued daily the individual lessons of her teachers, including the veteran ones to whom she made clear: “It’s not an 8 a.m. to 2:30 p.m. job. And you’re going to be asked to do a lot of work.”
It’s awesome that Bunche Elementary has made so much progress but what the fuck? I’m never going to understand why it is that administrators expect teachers to work much more than they are contracted to. No other profession is asked to do this without proper compensation. Why teachers? Is it because it used to be, and now is becoming again, a female dominated profession?
What a joke of a season. Art Shell has been fired. Randy Moss needs to be traded. Jerry Porter needs to get cut. The QB’s suck. Why you would draft a quarterback (Walter) with a lot of interceptions in the college game and expect him to not throw them in the NFL is beyond me. The O-Line is horrendous The team paid a running back that can’t run (Jordan). We have an owner that is still stuck in the 70’s. What’s next? Another high draft evolving into a 1st round bust? Besides that, who’s going to want to coach the Raiders?
What am I complaining about, baseball season is just around the corner and the Tigers are reloaded for another run.
Go on to sleep now,
Third grader of mine.
The test is tomorrow,
But you’ll do just fine.
It’s reading and math.
Forget all the rest.
You don’t need to know
What is not on the test.
Each box that you mark
On each test that you take
Remember your teachers.
Their jobs are at stake.
Your score is their score,
But don’t get all stressed.
They’d never teach anything
Not on the test.
Sleep sleep and as you progress
You’ll learn there’s a lot
That is not on the test.
Debate is skill that useful to know
Unless you’re in Congress or talk radio
Where shouting and spouting and spewing are blessed
‘Cause rational discourse’ was not on the test.
Thinking’s important …
It’s good to know how.
And someday you’ll learn to
But that someday’s not now.
Go on to sleep now.
You need your rest.
Don’t think about thinking
It’s not on the test.
Not on the Test [A Lullaby for our times]
By John Forster and Tom Chapin
One thing about teaching at the school where I am currently at, is all the complaining. Non stop complaining about everything and anything. Whenever we have a staff-meeting you can always here the grumblings and next thing you know we have a complain-fest. If the principal says that all students have to tuck in their shirts the teachers complain (because it’s bad for the self esteem of “big kids”). When we celebrate Dr. Seuss day there is complaining because we have to another school to read to the kids. It’s ridiculous. Sometimes I just sit there and yell, in my mind of course, “Shut the fuck up! Shut the fuck up!” If the district gives us some benchmark test to give to the kids the dinosaurs complain. It’s not the principal that’s coming up with this shit. It’s the district. Take it up with them. Maybe it’s the same everywhere but I guess what gets to me the most is that the dinosaurs complain yet they never do anything about it.
The first post is always cliche. What are you supposed to say? Well, I’m a twenty-something teacher in California. I’m not a first time blogger. I have another blog elsewhere but I found that I couldn’t really rant about certain things (such as my jale).
How do I feel about the teaching?
Teaching is a lot of fun, except for all the paperwork of course and battling the dinosaurs.
NCLB is a bitch. I agree that testing is necessary. But when testing dominates everything that students and teachers do it is a huge problem. As teachers we end up teaching to the test! Isn’t that a big no-no?