math teacher's response to @kanyewest

Updated: 1/8/12

I've struggled more and more so with the question: "what's the point?" I read articles upon articles about curriculum reform and I listen to strategists and TED speakers debate about what we should teach our kids. I know times are a'changing rapidly, but at the end of the day I'm still a teacher in a math classroom bounded by the years-old NCLB system that's facing imminent change. Tonight, I still must complete my lesson plans for tomorrow, because it's still required that the students in my geometry class learn the pythagorean converse. This way, they can determine whether or not a triangle is obtuse, acute or right when given the side lengths of a triangle.

Kanye went on a 80+ tweet spree (Why he didn't just blog? I don't know). In four consecu-tweets, a tired idea:

Yes, Kanye, as a math teacher I see your point and I can agree with you. But something still rubs me the wrong way about people who propose bold statements about education, without ever geting their feet wet.  All I'm hearing is name-dropping and sexy words and ideas. "Real life," "new forms of curriculum", "kids should be able to start taking majors." It's the same ol' script. Nothing new. Kanye, teach my class for even just a week. Be Mr. West. Get the experience. Manage a classroom full of 30 mini-Kanye's who may have no regard for what you've got to say. Then, maybe you'll have a better idea of what it'll take to lay out what you mean by "real life." Then, you can show me your "new form of curriculum."  Then, I'll welcome your tweets with open arms.

(Of course, he IS Kanye and probably wouldn't have too tough a time connecting w/ my Oaklanders.)

the 65 hour work week

The summer before my senior year of college, I interned for breakthrough collaborative. The program places college students as teachers to low-income middle school students. The experience is a post in itself for another time. For the moment, I wanted to point out one story:

My master teacher at the time whose name was Ned. After our initial meeting, the interns stuck around for the remainder of the day while master teachers typically made their exit within the hour. Their role was minimal; ours was intensive. My master teacher, though, did not take that cue.

He was fixing up a classroom when I saw him, giving attention to every small detail of the class. He hung up fishes by string, each with a various math symbol with an accompanying definition. He paid special consideration to even their color and their placement in the room. Meticulous. I was impressed.

"Geez, you work hard. You're the last master teacher here!"

"It's part of the job," he said.

--

On a typical day, I step onto campus at 7:30am and do not leave til 5:30pm (10 hours). I work for an extra two while at home. On Sundays, I spend a good chunk of time grading and planning for the week (5 hours). In total:

12 hour day x 5 weekdays = 60 hours
5 hour day x 1 Sunday = 5 hours

A 65 hour work week -_-

--

I do appreciate the summers where zero work is a realistic option. 65 hours is a lot though. I question it's sustainability, and I wonder about the shortcuts veterans've discovered to lessen the workload.

It is up-and-down. I do put in less work some weekends and less work some weeknights. (I know for damn sure my Friday nights are free of teaching thoughts!) Some months are better than others (Sept/Oct/Nov are intense!). And, some years are better than other's too (last year my count was likely in the low 50's range). Maybe it's common knowledge that the workload of a teacher is atypical from other professions, but, until this past weekend, I've never quantified the hours I put into the job. Thus, this post.

--

[Just another vent for another night.]

165+ one-on-one interactions daily

Previous roommateships would have me awake and out the door by 7am, home by 6pm, grading and lesson planning until I'm burning the midnight oil while fellow roommate could easily sleep in til' 7:30 or 8, arrive home and relax with a beer, tv, video games and/or girlfriend. Damn you, roommate. Not fair.

Current roommate teaches at a middle school. It's convenient and it works. At this current moment, it is 9:58pm. I left campus around 6:30pm and still have a mini-mountain of quizzes to grade, but it feels ok since roomie is still at work too. I hear him disgruntled on his desk as I type.

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We like to argue about who has to work harder. So, this year, as one of the few teachers at my high school who's taken on three preps (typical is two), I feel I've got the inside track on that title - "dude, I got it way tougher than you do. Believe me."

The predictable response: "I been teaching FIVE separate subjects, homie! 7th grade." 

"Well, I grade 165 different assignments by 165 students on the daily. 165 quizzes during the weekends."

"30 • 5 subjects each is still 150. I'm down 15, I agree. But, still pretty much the same."

"Ok, ok, but I've got 165 personalities to manage. 165 parents and families to keep track of. 165 one-on-one conversations at the door to catch up on days and nights and lives and check-ins to see whether or not they're having a good day or not. 165 potential phone calls I could possibly make tonight to see if I can get a failing student back on track. 165 interactions daily is exhausting, my sweet sweet roomie."

".... Ok, you got me there."

--

I guess I'm just venting. My parent log this school year has got me listed at interacting with 5 families on a nightly basis (through in-person conferences, phone calls, or e-mails). All extra interactions added to my day, but it still feels like I could do so, so much more. 

pencil policy - first two years vs second two years

My first two years - "Nothing should ever prevent a student from learning in my class. If they need a pencil, I will provide it. No questions asked. I won't hassle them or nothin'. You're in this class to learn, and learning you will do. Being pencil-less shouldn't prevent you from doing so"

My next two years - "Part of high school is learning the habits and skills to succeed in college and in life. If we take this stance, students MUST learn to have their materials on a day-to-day basis. Students must come to class prepared and if they realize I am not a pencil giver early, they'll meet my expectations and bring their pencils. Plus, I'm tired of giving out pencils."

--

I'd love to give pencils that say "I forgot to bring a pencil to math class and all I got was this stupid pencil." The irony.

--

I don't know where I stand anymore. What's your opinion? What's your policy for students who come to class without a pencil? And, if you ARE a pencil giver, do you have a specific procedure? (Are pencils in a cup where students can grab one? Do you charge a quarter? Do you take collateral? Etc Etc)

To give, or not to give (a pencil); that is the question.

--

Also, do you let them use pens? Goodness, the bag of worms we can open with that one...

school spirit

During my first three years, I had a hard policy against dress-up days. How I dress is connected to how the students respect me. Therefore, I must always dress professionally and never silly.

Twin day? Nah. Nerd day? I can't give up my dignity with silly tape on silly glasses. Gender bender? Hell no. St. Patrick's day? Ok, maybe I'll put on my green button up.

Last year, I thought back at my own high school years, and remembered why I loved it. The community, the culture, the friendships. Many of the most valuable lessons and experiences were not things inside the classroom. They were beyond.

I was voted "Most Spirited" of my high school class. Why have I not adopted spirit for my new home?

And so now, I go all out. Twin up with as many teachers as possible. Nerd out complete with retainer to give my talk a genuine nerd feel. Gender bender? Put that make-up on me.

If teachers are willing to dress silly to show pride in their school, a student is more likely to feel comfortable doing so too. In the end, the kids see a new dimension of your personality. They see a teacher with the versatility to switch from all-business to... all-business with some play! In the end, what you get is one of the funnest workweeks of the school year.

Tomorrow, at the culmination of this spirited week, look for the man with the red kicks, red face and red hair. All red everything.

count me in for year five

Hello world,

Here's another apology note to the edublogosphere. I'm still around, and I'm still learning from you. I'm still thankful for you. This year, I teach a new prep (advanced algebra), and it seems the best way I know how to plan for a new class is to listen to the ideas of my community. You, my friends, are my community. Without you, I'd be half the teacher I am today.

--

During a teacher happy hour the other week, a face I seldom see at teacher gatherings showed herself. We conversed. She's in her late 20's, originally of the TFA variety. And still here. So, I asked, are you a "life-er?" "A what?" "A life-er, you know, are you in this gig for the long haul... maybe for life?"

She looked at me, smiled, and said "good question, but I did say coming in that I'd commit 10 years to this high school, I'm in 7 deep now, and there's no way I'd be leaving when I'm this close."

--

And then I consider - what if all new teachers who've arrived on this campus stuck around for as long as she did. What if programs like TFA that wear "close the achievement gap" on their sleeve put down a more stringent regulation on their contracts and asked for TEN, rather than TWO.

What if the teachers our freshmen see today are guaranteed to high five them as they walk across the graduation stage?

--

I'm not raggin' on my teacher friend's who've taken a departure from this game; you know I love you. And, you know we'll always connect at a different level because of our time in the classroom.

But, for myself, I'm now on this new edge where I'm wondering how my contributions to my students, my high school, my colleagues, my community grow with each year of experience.

And now, I look over that other edge...

Count Me in For Year Ten?

6th Grade Wows and Wonders in East Oakland

I love teaching science to middle school because middle school kids still love science. There is still very little science-phobia in middle school, especially with 6th graders. They feed their natural curiosity by asking never-ending, out-of-the box questions and by touching, feeling, smelling, and even tasting everything. During lab demonstrations, I have students record a "Wow, Wonder, and Aha!". A "wow" is an observation of a phenomena, a "wonder" is a question about the phenomena, and an "aha!" is a "this reminds me of..." statement (in other words, a possible connection between the phenomena we witness and something we've experienced before as an attempt to understand the phenomena).

The kids are delightfully enthralled by why one yellow liquid (water and dye) and another yellow liquid (oil) react differently with a blue liquid (water and dye). They marvel at the surface tension properties of water (they were amazed at the fact that more than 30 drops of water is able to sit atop a leveled dime).

Curiosity is science, no?

I'm still feeling the waters in terms of how to teach science to 6th graders. I decided to start the course off by opening with a unit called "What is Science?" I wanted to introduce the topic of observations and wonder statements as the basis of science.

Their homework assignment during the first week was to look around their home and their neighborhood and record "data" about things that they see, hear, feel, taste, and smell. They were to then write a "wonder statement" to go with each observation. I admit, I had no idea what I was getting myself into -- I did not know that their questions would be so far-reaching.

Here are some of their data and queries:

-"I smelled my dogs poop. Why does her poop smell like that?"

-"I felt the Ipad? Why is it so hard?"

-"I hear my mom yell. What causes her to yell."

-"I tasted tacos from my mom's kitchen. What were the ingredients in the tacos?"

-"I smell garbage in my neighbor's lawn. Why does it smell like this?"

-"I feel sleepy in the morning. This makes me wonder why im sleepy."

-"I here happieness. How did I get here."

-"When did my enviorment become bad."

-"I smell smoke. How can I smell smoke but not see fire?"

-"I taste rice pudding with toasted bread. Why is rice white? Why is the bread brown? What ingridients does it have in it?"

-"I smell oil. Why do I smell oil."

-"I hear dogs barking and sometimes sounds like guns. I wonder what make those gun noises."

-"I hear the train when they go by. How is the train so loud when it goes by."

-"I can see the colesium outside. Why are the lights so bright."

-"I feel danger. When did my neighborhood become bad."