Rachael Warecki, an English teacher at Locke Launch to College Academy, writes:
There’s no denying that it’s that time of year: October and November are the toughest months for teachers, mostly because the honeymoon phase between students and teachers has officially ended. Even my most well-behaved classes are beginning to push back a little bit, whining whenever they’re asked to move to a new task.
Group work? "Miss, I don’t like working in groups."
Silent reading? "Miss, I hate reading."
Note-taking? "Oh, no, Miss! Not notes! Notes are so boring!"
I feel like I’ve aged about eight years over the last five weeks. Yet, over these same last five weeks, many of my students seem to have firmly bought into a school culture of achievement. More important, they seem to have bought into the idea that they can individually achieve. My 12th-graders were genuinely excited to sign tutoring contracts, which, in turn, genuinely surprised me — I’d never have guessed they wanted to stay after school to do work. My football players were the most eager of the bunch. They came at 3 p.m., insisting that they had to leave at 3:45 for practice, but stayed until well after 4 p.m. to finish their personal statements. (I even gave them a two-minute warning at 3:43; they just nodded their heads and kept writing.)
Students are also holding one another accountable for success. Every week, the football players bring me an academic eligibility sheet to sign — if they’re passing their classes, they’re allowed to play. A few weeks ago, one of my second-period 10th-graders stopped me in the hall so I could sign his sheet. One of my third-period 10th-graders chimed in to say that he needed his sheet signed, too, and asked what his grade was. I told him it was a D, since he hadn’t completed his classwork.
Before I could say another word, my second-period 10th-grader — an A student — stepped in. “What are you doing, getting a D in Ms. Warecki’s class?” he asked. “Work harder. Get your grade up.”
The other day, some of my second-period students gave their classmate a hard time for not participating in group work. “Next time, participate sooner, OK?” they told him. “Even gangsters need to know English!”
Peer pressure: it’s a wonderful thing.
In all seriousness, when I hear these conversations, I know the October exhaustion was worth it. Who cares if I have to occasionally send a student to the office for yelling sexually explicit remarks during an exam? I’m winning some of my daily battles, and, if my students want each other to achieve, I might just win the yearlong war.
Tim Schlosser, a teacher at Southeast Middle School, writes:
Parent conference nights are held in the Los Angeles school district several times per year -- teachers open up their classrooms for about two hours, parents sign in and wait their turn to talk with the teacher.
Almost invariably, parents are interested in their student's grade above all else. If the grade is good, the parent is happy. At my school you rarely hear about parents getting cantankerous over curriculum or "Catcher in the Rye." If the grade is bad, the parent usually chastises the child, whose "I don't have any homework" refrain is now revealed. I hear that sometimes parents go after the teacher for a child's low grade, claiming that the teacher has it out for their child, but I haven't experienced that yet.
Parents do sometimes make a fuss when they have to wait too long for their turn. I can't tell you how many different ways administrators have told me to "move them along" -- the furtive glance at my waiting line, the hand-on-shoulder conference, chatting up the line to keep everyone happy -- but it's hard to say, "Yes, your daughter is an interesting case, but two-minutes interesting, not five." I understand their concern, though. I started 10 minutes early and stayed 20 minutes after, but I still didn't get to speak with every parent who had signed in.
Read more Parent-teacher conferences »
Five educators were named California Teachers of the Year for 2009, the Department of Education announced today.
The honorees, chosen from 60 applicants, are Alastair Inman, a science teacher at Lexington Junior High School in Orange County; Alex Kajitani, a math teacher at Mission Middle School in San Diego County; Jose L. Navarro IV, a social studies and history teacher at Sylmar High School in Los Angeles County; Mark Teeters, a music teacher at Vintage High School in Napa County; and Loredana Wicketts, a third-grade teacher at Eisenhower Elementary in Riverside County.
The awardees underwent a three-phase selection process that included a review of their submitted essays, site visits to their classrooms and an interview. State Supt. of Public Instruction Jack O'Connell made the final decision.
All five teachers will be recognized at a dinner in Sacramento in February and participate in a weeklong cultural exchange program in Japan next spring. One will be selected to represent California in the national competition.
For more information on the California Teachers of the Year Program, go to http://www.cde.ca.gov/ta/sr/ct/.
-- Corina Knoll
Antero Garcia, a teacher at Manual Arts High, writes:
It’s gotten to be somewhat of a tradition here at Manual Arts High School. My first Thursday back after a two-month vacation last week, and the principal summoned the faculty for a brief after school meeting. Standing before us, our principal announced that he has been granted a transfer request from the school. Our principal was leaving.
This is my fourth year as a part of the Manual Arts faculty. Once we have hired our new principal, it will be the fourth official principal to run the school. That’s not to mention the interim principals who fill the position while the job search and interviews are conducted, which takes several months.
Last Wednesday, there was a giddy, strange atmosphere at Manual Arts. The campus was abuzz with the news of President-elect Barack Obama’s victory. At the same time, it was our principal’s last day at the school. During our nutritional break, a brief farewell ceremony was conducted. I took the opportunity, before returning to class, to shake our principal’s hand and let him know that I had learned quite a lot from him during his time at our school.
That being said, our principal’s departure was not without mixed feelings. As he explained in his farewell speech, “The process for converting Manual to an i-Design school has been taxing, to say the least, and the vision that I have for our students and school community may not be aligned with that of the new partnership and the groups that are creating the new governance structure.” I know that in the various roles I’ve taken on while our former principal was at Manual Arts –- school site council member, small learning community lead teacher, dedicated classroom teacher –- I have not always felt that my voice was recognized or valued by the principal.
I have no illusions about the unique challenges of leading a school such as Manual Arts. One of the strengths of our staff is that they are not afraid of voicing opinions or challenging ideas. I also recognize that the students and parents rightfully expect their culture and community practices to be recognized. Our school deserves visionary, collaborative and lasting leadership. I hope the fourth time will be the charm.
Rachael Warecki, an English teacher at Locke Launch to College Academy 1, writes:
“How hard can it be to write about yourself?”
Two months ago, that was my justification for organizing my first 10th-grade unit around autobiographies. Looking back, the comment seems flippant and naive and optimistic, a remark made by someone who’s always had a knack for writing. At that point, I hadn’t started teaching at Locke, so I hadn’t counted on how difficult the mere act of writing would be for many of my students.
The reality is that, at age 15, some of my students didn’t know how to string together a complete sentence. Bit by bit, we worked through the basic elements of a solid essay: how to construct an introduction, create three strong body paragraphs, and end with a vivid conclusion. I created a rubric so that my students would know what I expected. And although the sometimes-excruciating writing process has been heartbreaking to watch, the results have been uplifting. I’ve given no grade lower than a B, and most of my students have gotten As.
I think the following essay shows most clearly what Locke students are capable of, as well as what they’ve experienced (The student gave me permission to use her name.): “Have you ever known anyone that had a very hard life, but they don’t understand why? If not, you have now. My life hasn’t exactly been a piece of cake. Nevertheless, what’s made me who I am are as follows: my name, my family, and my friendships.
“My name is unique, but unwanted. It screams out ‘ghetto.’ Disappointment takes over me when someone introduces themselves and their name is extraordinary and I reply ‘Tonisha.’ It’s dull and begs for help with each letter. I am a very unique, independent, and joyous person, so my name needs to be the same. I was named after my dad. His name was Anthony, but he converted it into a girl version and now there’s me, Tonisha. I would absolutely change my name if I had the chance, but I would never go out of my way to change it. I’ll just make good of what I have, and that’s Tonisha!
“Family is a hot topic because my family has no heart. It hasn’t always been this way. I remember when I was little all my family cared. Holidays were the best. We were always together and we cared for anyone who needed help. I guess it isn’t that way anymore. I need help and my backstabbing family all betrayed me. My mom and I went from homeless to shelters and family seemed not to care as long as all their needs were met. This tore my mom apart and took her to her breaking point. Now I’m all alone in a foster home and where’s family? Good question!
“The true definition of friendship is caring, being honest, staying true, companionship, and loyalty. I guess there’s only a few people in this world who take this into account. I’ve found a few loyal friends in my fifteen years on earth, but then there have been disappointing friendships. For example, some of my friends respect me as I do them, are here for me through all my hard times, and give me a shoulder when it’s needed. On the other hand, I’ve been in heartbreaking, back-stabbing overall ridiculously disappointing friendships, so now I don’t look for friends, I let friends find me. This is not that state of mind that I want, but I’m just rolling with the punches.
“In conclusion, the things that make me up may be different than the things that make you up. But life is a battlefield and friends, family, and even your name should make you, never break you. Just as I do, stay strong, be focused, and you will win the fight. Take this from a living, walking, and breathing example.”
Tim Schlosser, a teacher at Southeast Middle School, writes:
I took my eighth-graders to the Echo Park Time Travel Mart on Friday. This is one franchise of Dave Eggers' nationwide network of writing tutoring centers, "826." 826-LA features a time-travel theme, and the front half of the "store" sells dinosaur eggs, robot parts, dated Time magazines and other gizmos and doodads along those lines.
(Dave Eggers, center, at the Echo Park center opening, with 826LA co-directors Mac Barnett and Amy Orringer.)
The idea is to get kids' imaginations pumping and then shuttle them into the back, where the center offers free tutoring and workshops. My eighth-graders created their own "Choose Your Own Adventure" story with six volunteers.
Initially, after the bus dropped us off on a busy, unappetizing stretch of Sunset Boulevard, the kids gave me befuddled "Why did you take us here?" looks. But they were hooked from the moment they spotted the Neanderthal mannequin battling a giant cardboard robot in the front window of the Time Travel Mart.
At the end, each kid got a copy of the book they had created. The volunteers did the typing, but the kids came up with the ideas. Here's a notable excerpt from their collaborative literary production, which ended up being called Disaster in Alaska (no political subtext intended):
"You immediately nearly trip over the remains of a dead polar bear. It has terrible gashes and bite marks to its neck. You see Antonio shaking with fear at the side of the path. You slap him several times across the face. "Pull yourself together, dude!" Antonio screams that he has claustrophobia and flees off down the passageway. Seconds later, there is a terrible roar, and then a scream and then ... deafening silence. Drawing your weapon, you tip-toe down the path until you come upon Antonio's lucky necklace on the ground. When you pick it up, you find it is dripping with blood. You wonder if the blood belongs to your friend or to the vampire yeti."
What next? Advance hardcover copies available for $19.99...
I've got to say that it was a little bit strange bringing my students to within two blocks of where I live. It was like two previously mutually-exclusive spheres of my life were suddenly colliding. Eleven miles of asphalt and a significantly wider psychological chasm usually separates my Home Life from my School Life.
I mentioned to one of my kids, Carlos, that my apartment was right up the street. "Oh, Mister, can we go to your place and whip up some pancakes?" The mental image of Carlos and 30 other eighth-graders with eggs, batter and burners in my one-bedroom apartment was pretty surreal. "Maybe next time," I said.
Top photo by Tim Schlosser
Second photo by Ringo H.W. Chiu / For The Times
The folks over at Teacher Magazine have come up with a list (registration required) of the all-time Top 10 movies about teachers:
1. "Mr. Holland's Opus" (1995)
2. "Stand and Deliver" (1988)
3. "October Sky" (1999)
4. "Dangerous Minds" (1995)
5. "Freedom Writers" (2007)
6. "Chalk" (2006)
7. "To Sir With Love" (1967)
8. "Dead Poet's Society" (1989)
9. "Remember the Titans" (2000)
10. "Teachers" (1984)
You can read descriptions of them all, join in a discussion and see a list of also-rans at the magazine's site. Among the runners-up: "The Empire Strikes Back." Huh? It's because of Yoda -- that's Mr. Yoda to you. Teacher he was, but English taught he not.
-- Mitchell Landsberg
Rachael Warecki, an English teacher at Locke Launch to College Academy 1, writes:
You probably won't believe me when I say that a week after my last post, my fifth-period might now be my favorite class. You might remind me that they tore up my classroom and drove me to the edge of frustration. And I wouldn't blame you for thinking that the exhaustion of this last week (back-to-school night, anyone?) had caused me to suffer some alarming short-term memory loss. After all, even though good teachers are supposed to constantly reflect, there are some days everyone just wants to forget.
However, what really happened is that my fifth-period students and I finally clicked. We understand each other, and it has done wonders for classroom environment, class progress, and individual motivation. My fifth-period students now stop by to say goodbye to me after school, even on days when I don't have them in class. They've blown through content so fast that I can barely keep up.
Just a week ago, these students were a week's worth of assignments behind their peers; now, they're only one assignment behind my sixth period and have caught up to my second period. A student who once swore at me when I asked him to change his seat now comes for tutoring -- of his own volition.
So now you’re probably curious. How did such miraculous changes come about in such a short period of time? Ah, you might say knowingly, you made them write that essay on respect and it whipped them into shape.
Read more The 'handful' class has become my favorite! »
Steven Hicks, a teacher at the Accelerated School (a public charter school) and a teaching ambassador fellow with the U. S. Department of Education in Washington, writes:
Wow, two months have just whizzed by since I started my teaching Ambassador Fellowship at the U.S. Department of Education. I thought I would be able to get back to this blog sooner, but each time I sit down to my computer, it tells me that I have e-mail and asks if I want to read it now. Meanwhile, messages pop up from my calendar telling me I have a meeting in five minutes or, worse, that I missed my meeting. One of those messages threw me into a Solomon-like dilemma.
(Steve, left, ready to greet the president of Ghana)
Apparently the president of Ghana was coming to town and my presence was being requested at the White House to greet him along with President Bush and the first lady. OK, along with a few hundred other people, but this was going to be at the same time that my boss, the secretary of education, was scheduled to deliver what would arguably be her most important speech of her administration at a gathering of educational leaders and policymakers from around the country.
See what I mean? It’s really hectic here, and my decisions can have a domino effect on world peace and economic stability. All right, maybe I am exaggerating the power of my office a bit, but my job is quite eclectic, and every day is a virtual hurricane of meetings, events, briefings, brown bag seminars, phone calls, and looking at your calendar planner every five seconds to make sure you haven’t missed something critical to the future of American education.
But I’m not complaining. I love it here in the Cubicle Jungle!
My time here at ED, (that’s the Department of Education, not to be confused with DOE, which is the Department of Energy), has been divided between a focus on charter schools and early childhood education. If you’ve been paying attention to the presidential candidates lately, both have been talking about the importance of these two areas in education reform. My first month was spent in the Charter School Program Office, one of nine discretionary grant programs in the Office of Parental Options and Information.
The charter school director, Dean Kern, and his team have all the facts and details of the 4,303 public charter schools in 40 states and the District of Columbia. Coming from California, where 240,000 students attend public charter schools, I just thought that charter schools were everywhere, but oh contraire! Twenty-six states have imposed limits or caps on the number of charter schools, and 10 states do not have charter school laws, and are therefore ineligible to receive access to funding. This was all pertinent to my first week at ED, when Dean had me jump in to co-facilitate a panel of grant readers for Non-SEA (Non-State Education Agency) grants -– individual charter schools in states that have enacted a charter school law but do not have a state grant program.
The next week, I listened in on the long, laborious (yet incredibly fascinating) monitoring reports of SEA grantees (those enlightened 40 states plus Washington, D.C.). This week, I am planning an event to honor the 15 Charter Blue Ribbon Schools and creating the Charter School Teachers Institute slated for June 2009. Yes, he does keep me busy.
Read more Greeting a president, studying charters »
Matt Saunders, a student at the private Buckley School in Sherman Oaks, writes:
The schedule of a high school student is daunting. After a long, but fairly interesting day -- consisting of such subjects as pre-calculus, European history, chemistry or AP computer science -- a high school student like me needs a social life, or at least some time to relax!
However, after returning home from a day of school, high school students must partake in a practice that all dread: homework.
 (Los Angeles student Yasmeen Cannon does her homework.)
Many students would say that homework is unnecessary. But I disagree.
I think homework is essential to retaining what was learned in class. A student cannot just learn about how to calculate the number of moles (amount of substance) in 57 representative particles of the element He (helium) in class, as many intricate calculations and conversions must be combined to reach an answer. These skills must be practiced and students must take the 20 to 40 minutes necessary to do the homework the chemistry teacher assigns.
What's taught in school needs to be reinforced with homework, especially with the amount of material taught in Advanced Placement and honors classes, which a student needs to take if they want to go to a top-tier college.
At the Buckley School, students like myself could expect up to 40 minutes in each class every night. However, Buckley instituted a new homework policy so students have significantly less homework because all classes, except the honors and AP classes, can only assign 20 minutes a night. I commend the schools in Southern California, like Buckley, that are cutting back on the amount of homework a student has in one night because I believe that extra-curricular activities as well as community service are very important aspects of a high school experience.
Homework can be a burden, but it is necessary. I hope that all teachers, when assigning homework, don't give students busy work but assign homework that will train students in logical reasoning and help to build skills taught in the classroom.
Photo credit: Carlos Chavez / Los Angeles Times
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Jimmy Biblarz
Lance Chapman
Sophy Cohen
Antero Garcia
Nick Giulioni
Steven Hicks
Anum Khan
Lauren McCabe
Tim Schlosser
Erin Shachory
Phoebe Smolin