Life, Family, and Teacher Status Update

Life, Family, and Teacher Status Update as of November 1, 2020

I think it's important to document my professional and personal status. I've had this blog since 2011, so I've changed as a person, mother, wife, and teacher. Here's the skinny...

I'm now in my 26th year of teaching. My daughter, Liz, is a freshman at Western Kentucky University, and Roman is a freshman in high school. Most importantly, he, she, they, we, ALL survived middle school. Whoohoo!

I left ELA (English) AND my beloved 6th graders to teach 7th grade Ancient History, and I LOVE IT! The difference between teaching 6th grade and 7th grade is like having two different careers. The kids are THAT different. The mental and physical maturity completely disrupt the person's emotional maturity, causing a momentary ripple in the universe. The first time parents experience this, they're confused, frustrated, even saddened by the loss of their kid's childhood.

I was different that way. Roman and Liz's middle school years were the years I understood them best. 

THE GIRL:

When Liz threw her backpack in the car one day, slammed the door, and declared the world was ending because her principal just YELLED at her to walk up to the front of the car rider line. I knew exactly what to do.

Me: Will Sonic make it better?

Her: Yes! Sonic will make it better. (She's still yelling.)

She stomps her bookbag. 

Pause.

Her: Sonic makes everything better!!

Yes, my girl, it does. Ice cream is the best medicine. 

...and scene! 

Mean girl drama? I got this! 

She said she didn't like your hair today? They pretended you were invisible? They were mean to the new girl? They videoed you and posted it on social media without permission? 

All teachable moments on how to deal with problems life will throw your way. I knew not to deflect or protect, but to teach her how to deal with these moments. I saw them as gifts. 

THE BOY:

Boys are so different. Roman changed more physically. Emotionally, there was an impediment. The maturity process is extremely delayed with adolescent boys. 

Him: I'm perfectly fine making B's. Why would I want to work that hard to make an A?

Me: <GASP> Well, what do you want to be when you grow up?

Him: An engineer. I'm going to be a mechanical engineer.

Me: <BOOM! If that's what he wants to do, he'll have to work hard.>

As a teacher, I value work ethic over grades. As his mother, this challenge would be the scariest. Luckily, his teachers saw him for who he was, cultivated his quirkiness, and always helped him when he asked. He was working to please them. I would have to settle for the external motivation over internal motivation for now. That's a scary gamble. 

Then it happened. Our 8th graders do a PBL (Project Based Learning) where they take a test called Kuder, or You Science, that helps them determine their professional aptitude. All three of his top occupations were indeed, engineering. That lit the fire.

At his high school registration, I boldly manipulated the system, and placed him in all honor's classes. It's do or die. He's doing, so far.

Now that Roman has started high school, I miss him walking the halls with me.  He always came by between classes to visit and was happy 99% of the time. It was so different from my girl, who stressed about her grades and school 24/7. Every child is so different.

But we all survived it.

Student Accountability in State Testing

Should students receive a report card grade for state standardized tests?

For the first time in Tennessee's testing history, students will receive a grade for the Tennessee Comprehensive Assessment Program, or TCAP. According to this article that appeared in the Tennessean on April 12 of this year, Public Chapter 1127, a new state law, requires counties to count these tests 15-25% of students' second semester grades. My county has chosen to count the test as 20%, which is comparable to the weight of the end-of-course (EOC) testing in high schools. As it stands, a student's semester average will consist of 70% daily grades and tests, 10% final exam, and 20% TCAP score.

Parent Perspective
As a parent, I am a little weary of this idea. I'm blessed in that both of my children attend great schools that receive top scores, but what if there's a tragedy or illness that occurs right before testing? When life deals circumstances that are out of his/her control, should they have to worry about that grade?

My fourth grader expressed concern about her social studies test, so I made an effort to look over her standards and review with her. We wouldn't have done any of that had she not been getting a grade.

Educator Perspective
As a middle school teacher, I'm grateful that students are taking more ownership of their performance. Kids are actually studying this year. Parents are asking great questions about our standards. Teachers, knowing that kids are trying harder, are helping students take ownership of their own learning by making them more aware of those standards. It's been extremely effective this year.

One other interesting thing has been observable. During our practice tests, we were able to identify the students who "Christmas tree" their answers instead of giving it an honest effort. (Full disclosure, I only had two boys.) After a short discussion with these students and their parents, we were able to stress how much this score affects them personally. It's not just about the teacher, anymore.