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Re: Hollywood, you are profound, especially....
Posted by mrsd on 11/21/08

...talking about "those" moments. Last night, the custodian unplugged my
laptop. It is ancient and slow, but it works AND it's "mine". Unfortunately,
it takes 10 minutes to boot up. So, there I was with a room of 30 8th graders
on a FRIDAY! Oh, hungry, just before lunch 8th graders. So, it's a new topic
(the Middle Ages), the powerpoint is NOT cooperating, and now what? Soooo, I
began asking questions. What did they know about the Vikings and the Middle
Ages? What would thy like to know? By looking at their guided note packets
(full of blanks to be filled in), how did they think these topics related to
American history? Talk about pulling it out of my...never mind..pulling it out
of the air!! Then, the computer booted up, and I was able to show my
powerpoint using the LCD projector. I wonder how Carlton would deal with my
autistic student when he thinks the others in the class are looking at him or
calling him names. How he would deal with my other autistic boy who volunteers
a fact a minute and won't be stopped if it's a topic he's interested in? How
would he deal with the student who refuses to do the work because his dad
refuses to buy school supplies, and he has none? How about the boy whose dad
lost his job and the boy had to stop counseling and his meds? Then there's the
girl whose parents divorced. She spends half the time at her dad's, and he
lives 45 minutes away. We won't even talk about the girl we fear is being
physically abused. OR the girl whose mother tells us to worry about her
daughter's education, and she'll worry about what she's wearing (very
inappropriate for school - or for a 13 year old for that matter). I dealt
with all of those problems today alone. Smokers? We've got 'em. Drinkers too.
Broken homes? LOTS. Somehow, through all this, I manage to teach these
students. AND I do it so that all have the opportunity to meet or exceed
standards. And the best part? I'm not an "academic," but I love my job. I know
how to teach. More than that, I know how to really LISTEN to my students so
that they know they can trust me. AND that makes them achieve more. Yes, I'd
love to earn more money. Wouldn't most of us? But, I'm not in it for the
money. Underpaid or overqualified - both are problems. But, for those of us
who not only are educators, but also teachers, the job is rewarding and
fulfilling in itself. Karen

On 11/21/08, Hollywood wrote:
> On 11/21/08, Carlton wrote:
>> I am
>> fully aware that the job market can be tough--but I also worked in the
>> private sector--those jobs are readily available for someone with a lot
>> of technical knowledge, a good work history, an an advanced degree.
>
> Tell that to my former colleagues at AT&T. Our entire department, which
> focused on technical writing, website design, audio/video production, and
> project management, was wiped out during 2003-2004. For many of my former
> colleagues, the job market has been very difficult; few landed permanent
> positions. Most had to take on contract work, which has been dwindling as
> client companies tighten their belts. I'm talking about a pool of
> professionals with decades of experience, advanced degrees in English and
> related fields, excellent work histories, and the vast technical knowledge
> that AT&T had to offer.
>
> My dad also worked for AT&T; he was an engineer for 30 years. He earned his
> bachelor's degree in the 60s on the GI bill, and went to work for Bell Labs
> as part of a new wave of college-educated engineers. He worked with the
> "greybeards", men who had started at BTL in the 30s. Few of these men had
> even BS degrees. However, they read articles, wrote articles of their own,
> held discussions, and created. They often not only invented things like the
> transistor, but they had to invent the tools necessary to build such things.
> My dad learned far more from his senior colleagues than he ever learned in
> college. When he himself became a senior engineer, younger colleagues were
> often shocked to learn that he "only" had a BS in engineering; he was so
> knowledgable that they assumed that he held at least one PhD. My dad had no
> interest in going back to school, as it would have taken him away from doing
> the real work of creating systems to help eliminate delays and reroute calls
> when a network switch was down (a project he worked on for over 10 years). He
> would rather spend his free time reading articles and building stereo systems
> in his garage. When he refinished cars, he built the tools he needed to test
> various systems, as such materials did not exist in stores.
>
> To my dad, engineering was an art. I apply the same thought to my job as a
> special education teacher. I was an English teacher; I took on the required
> coursework to become a special education teacher this year. While I keep my
> work separate from my home life as much as possible, the truth is that I'm
> always thinking about my students; what approaches I can take, who else I can
> talk to about a particular student who is very troubled, what materials would
> make a lesson more interesting and accessible.
>
>> Who do you think writes the textbooks and develops the theories which are
>> used in the classroom?
>
> Textbooks nowadays are virtually useless, IMHO. They are heavier and thicker
> than the books I used in school 20 years ago. They often contain material
> that is biased, stilted, or downright incorrect. I find it much more fun and
> interesting to use a variety of materials. When assigning reading, I find it
> far more user-friendly to give the students a novel or a packet of poems or
> short stories, especially since they can mark it up). Other materials
> include articles, video, audio, artifacts, and a multitude of sources from my
> own personal stash or borrowed from my colleagues. I'm always on the lookout
> for interesting things that could end up in a lesson some day. I have been a
> teacher for four years, and I have never used a textbook on a regular basis.
> In fact, I have heard of school districts that eliminated using textbooks
> altogether not only because of the cost, but also to encourage teachers to be
> more creative.
> As for theories...it doesn't take a PhD or a researcher to develop a theory.
> Theories are created every day in our department's workroom.
>
> I recently gave a presentation at a conference in
>> which I outlined ways to help struggling (basic) writers.
>
> Please share!
>
>> There shouldn't be
>> ANY athletics in high school. Kids are there to learn, not to shoot
>> hoops. The coach is not an English teacher (or science, or whatever). He
>> is a coach.
>
> Athletics have gone hand-in-hand with education going all the way back to
> ancient Greece. The body must be conditioned along with the mind.
> You want to talk theory? There are several theories that I can think of off
> the top of my head that involve bodily-kinesthetic ability.
> Furthermore, sports can help give a student motivation, challenges, and
> feelings of accomplishment. I have a student who is ED and LD, yet has made
> an amazing turnaround this year because she wants to be on the swimming team.
> I have never seen this student work so hard to keep up her grades and show
> good behavior.
> Coaches can provide guidance and be good role models without the stresses of
> the classroom. I know students who do not have a father at home to talk to
> about growing up, but can talk to the coach. Any coach that I have known,
> either as a student or as a teacher, held a full-time teaching job in
> addition to the coaching duties. Many coaches are P.E. teachers, but they
> are also teachers in other departments. The head coach of our championship
> boys' soccer team this year is a history teacher, and his assistant coach
> teaches English.
>
> Honestly, I think the more someone is immersed in the academic world, the
> less connection this person has to reality. Theories are great and should be
> developed and shared. But this does not equate to intimate knowledge of
> classroom practices. If you only rely on published theory, what do you do
> when you try it and a kid tells you to eff off? Or if you create a
> beautiful Powerpoint presentation, but the bulb in your laptop projector
> blows as soon as you turn it on? Or if it's 9/11 and your school goes into
> immediate lockdown? Beyond the formal training, a teacher needs to be able
> to think fast, improvise, learn from mistakes, collaborate, establish rapport
> with the kids, learn to know and respect where the kids come from, be
> creative and challenging, smile, and deal. We learn this by doing, which is
> why we all have to complete student teaching before being certified.
>
> Yes, the system sucks. Yes, the system needs vast improvements. But the
> kids who walk in on Monday morning still need us, and we do the best we can
> to help them.
>
> And for what it's worth, sometimes it's far more important to me to get a kid
> into counseling to help him deal with a crappy home life than to worry about
> whether he knows how to write a blasted five-paragraph essay. Pounding
> writing skills into his head isn't going to do him any good if he's worried
> about where he's sleeping tonight.


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Posts on this thread, including this one


• Ph.D. and teaching, 11/18/08, by Carlton.
• Re: Ph.D. and teaching, 11/18/08, by sped.
• Re: Ph.D. and teaching, 11/18/08, by Carlton.
• Re: That being said, 11/19/08, by mrsd.
• Re: That being said, 11/20/08, by Carlton.
• Re: AND...., 11/20/08, by mrsd.
• Re: AND...., 11/20/08, by Carlton.
• Re: More..., 11/20/08, by mrsd.
• Re: Ph.D. and teaching, 11/20/08, by sped.
• Re: Well said, sped!, 11/20/08, by mrsd w/nfm.
• Re: Well said, sped!, 11/21/08, by Carlton.
• Re: Well said, sped!, 11/21/08, by sped.
• Re: Well said, sped!, 11/21/08, by Carlton.
• Re: Well said, sped!, 11/21/08, by Hollywood.
• Re: Well said, sped!, 11/21/08, by Sped_the_troll_killer!.
• Re: Hollywood, you are profound, especially...., 11/21/08, by mrsd.
• Re: To: Sped_the_troll_killer!, 11/21/08, by mrsd.
• Re: Well said, sped!, 11/21/08, by Carlton.
• Re: Hollywood, you are profound, especially...., 11/21/08, by Carlton.
• Re: Well said, sped!, 11/22/08, by Michael.
• Re: Well said, sped!, 11/22/08, by mrsd.
• Re: Well said, sped!, 11/22/08, by Sped_the_troll_slayer.
• Re: Well said, sped!, 11/22/08, by sped.
• Re: Well said, sped!, 11/22/08, by sped.
• Re: not slamming you, sped, 11/22/08, by mrsd.
• Re: Oops, Carlton, not Cameron, 11/22/08, by mrsd w/nfm.
• Re: Well said, sped!, 11/22/08, by Carlton.
• Re: Oops, Carlton, not Cameron, 11/22/08, by Carlton.
• Re: Hollywood, you are profound, especially...., 11/22/08, by Hollywood.
• Re: Final to the Troll and Real Estate advice, 11/22/08, by Sped.
• Re: not slamming you, sped, 11/22/08, by sped.
• Re: Oops, Carlton, not Cameron, 11/22/08, by sped.
• Re: Oops, Carlton, not Cameron, 11/24/08, by Carlton.
• Re: Carlton, 11/24/08, by mrsd.
• Re: Oops, Carlton, not Cameron, 11/25/08, by sped.
• Re: Oops, Carlton, not Cameron, 12/01/08, by Carlton.
• Re: Oops, Carlton, not Cameron, 12/01/08, by SPED.
• Re: Oops, Carlton, not Cameron, 12/01/08, by Carlton.
• Re: Carlton, Carlton, Carlton...., 12/01/08, by mrsd.
• Re: Oops, Carlton, not Cameron, 12/01/08, by mrsd.
• Re: Oops, Carlton, not Cameron, 12/01/08, by Hollywood.
• Re: Oops, Carlton, not Cameron, 12/01/08, by SPED.
• Re: SPED, 12/01/08, by mrsd.
• Re: Carlton, Carlton, Carlton...., 12/03/08, by Carlton.
• Re: Carlton, Carlton, Carlton...., 12/03/08, by Jim Geer.
• Re: Oops, Carlton, not Cameron, 12/03/08, by Carlton.
• Re: Carlton, Carlton, Carlton...., 12/03/08, by Carlton.
• Re: Okay, so I split my infinitives, but.., 12/03/08, by mrsd.
• Re: Carlton, Carlton, Carlton...., 12/03/08, by Jim Geer.
• Re: Wrong grammar... What is this world coming to?, 12/03/08, by mrsd.
• Re: Sometimes I just find myself so amusing!! , 12/03/08, by mrsd (who obviously teaches 8th graders!) nfm.
• Re: SPED, 12/03/08, by sped.
• Re: Oops, Carlton, not Cameron, 12/03/08, by sped.
• Re: Oops, Carlton, not Cameron, 12/04/08, by Carlton.
• Re: Oops, Carlton, not Cameron, 12/04/08, by Mr. Sped.
• Re: Oops, Carlton, not Cameron, 12/05/08, by Carlton.
• Re: Oops, Carlton, not Cameron, 12/05/08, by with love, SPED.