Sometimes your just a small fish in a very big ocean…
Conor Williams has a post up at TPM on the issue of Campbell Brown and in a marvelous bit of bait and switch makes an ad hominem attack on critiques of so-called “ed reformers” by accusing them of making… ad hominem attacks! Sabrina Joy Stevens in a response at TPM, gives him the benefit of the doubt about the issue of incivility, so I’m going to leave that argument to her. I’m going to point out
Week in Class: Week Three 2014
I missed out posting for Week 2, but things were pretty similar in both Week 3 so this will do for both weeks…
I’m establishing the day-to-day, and more importantly for my style, a weekly routine. One of the most important things is that we do textbook reading in the morning three days a week. In that way, I expose them to non-fiction in the form of science and social studies on a regular basis. We also do novel study and occasionally dip into our rather out-date language arts text, Open Court. On the other two mornings we re-read, and do a short form writing assessment on what we’ve read that week. After I grade the work, I have the students revise any work that needs improvement. I’m starting this as a paper and pencil process. As time goes on, I will be having them work on a wiki, and doing peer comments and editing. But before they can do that, I have to make sure that they can respond to feedback, and learn from what others tell them about their writing. This is not always a smooth or straight-forward process. Having routines, a set format help, but all the paper won’t mean that Johnny can read and truly comprehend what you’re trying to tell him about his writing. The hardest part is figuring out how different students will hear your message best. Do they need a sit-down and verbal discussion? Do they understand what my comments actually mean? It’s early days yet, and I’m still working this out. I will say that the base of work that these students bring even before working with them is pretty solid. It’s not perfect, it can use improvement, but they seem to get the basics of what I’m asking for, which is a good thing.
I’m establishing the day-to-day, and more importantly for my style, a weekly routine. One of the most important things is that we do textbook reading in the morning three days a week. In that way, I expose them to non-fiction in the form of science and social studies on a regular basis. We also do novel study and occasionally dip into our rather out-date language arts text, Open Court. On the other two mornings we re-read, and do a short form writing assessment on what we’ve read that week. After I grade the work, I have the students revise any work that needs improvement. I’m starting this as a paper and pencil process. As time goes on, I will be having them work on a wiki, and doing peer comments and editing. But before they can do that, I have to make sure that they can respond to feedback, and learn from what others tell them about their writing. This is not always a smooth or straight-forward process. Having routines, a set format help, but all the paper won’t mean that Johnny can read and truly comprehend what you’re trying to tell him about his writing. The hardest part is figuring out how different students will hear your message best. Do they need a sit-down and verbal discussion? Do they understand what my comments actually mean? It’s early days yet, and I’m still working this out. I will say that the base of work that these students bring even before working with them is pretty solid. It’s not perfect, it can use improvement, but they seem to get the basics of what I’m asking for, which is a good thing.
Mathematics. Honestly I have fewer issues with the CCSS Math standards than the hot mess that are the ELA ones, but my district is having what can only be described as a poor implementation of the new standards (and the curriculum that goes along with it). I like to save critique of my employer on this blog until I’ve exhausted other remedies and I’m talking to the school board, so I’m not going to bore you with details. The union based on the input of teachers like myself has made our case, and we’ve gotten some Reflections on Teaching » Blog Archive » Week in Class: Week Three 2014: