A Christmas Carol - 7th Grade

I'm a little late with this post, but I need some help. We recently read this classic novel as a part of our seventh grade curriculum. As a building we are looking at reviewing and revising our book list for grades 6, 7 and 8. I am stuck. I like this novel, but I'm not sure if we should keep it. It seems that I have as many questions as answers for this task. I have some pros and cons for reading the book as a class at the 7th grade level.

Pros:

• The book is full of figurative language that can be dissected and analyzed
• There are many play and movie versions that offer many opportunities to compare and contrast different writing styles and viewpoints
• There are many themes, but they really don't dwell on one singular theme of Christmas

Cons:

• The 1800's. The language is so different and is really tough for the students to get through at times
• The chapter length makes it hard to divide it into equal parts
• Dickens. I love the guy, but students, not so much. The lexile is about right for middle school, but it seems like it is challenging at times for students.
• Timing. Do we have enough time between Thanksgiving and Christmas to read it all and teach it effectively?

So that is where I am with this novel. I can't decide what to do here. So, I'm crowd sourcing this thing. Let me know what you think. I you read it or have read it at the middle school level let me know. Thanks.

Pre-Service Teachers and #ohedchat

I am so excited about what just happened that I have to blog about it. We held #ohedchat and the topic was New Teacher Preparation. This is a topic that I have suggested many times, but the votes just weren't there for it. Tonight it happened and it was everything I expected and more.

First of all, new and Pre-Service Teachers got involved in the chat. This was so important for them. Some of them lamented about not feeling like they were a part of their cooperating school and district. Hopefully, they felt welcome during the chat. We also had a lot of participation from my Alma mater, Kent State. One of my favorite teacher/professor was even in on the chat. Dr. Kist

I kind of wish that I had my PLN to fall back on during my Pre-Service teaching days. I had a great experience don't get me wrong, but it is nice to have other people to fall back on as well. There are people in my PLN that are go-to people for certain things. I could have used that a few times back then.

I hope that the Pre-Service teachers take the time to make their PLN count. This is a great resource and should not be ignored.

I said that this was my favorite chat so far and I mean it. This has helped revive my passion for the chat. For whatever reason, I have had a hard time getting into the chat lately. I needed this. Thank you. Thanks to all that participated, I needed this.

Stop all this "Stop the Common Core" Stuff

I have had enough of this stuff already. We have people talking about conspiracy theories and brainwashing, now we have a bill in the Ohio House that is trying to stop the implementation of the Common Core standards. Really? After all the work that teachers and administrators in Ohio have put into unpacking, repacking, backpacking, talking about and now implementing the new standards. My school is teaching the Common Core Standards this year. Why? Why would we be aligning with the Common Core if we aren't responsible for them until next year?

Because it is good teaching that's why. The Common Core standards are going to make our students think deeper and analyze the material in ways that they never have before. Our old standards were too broad and didn't have the rigor of the new standards. That's what I care about.

I don't care that Tea Party people think that it is the federal government taking over our education system. I don't care that the public comment period was only two months long. I don't care. I care that our students (my own children included) are going to be challenged. They will be challenged and that will prepare them for college and their careers.

Some folks want to think that President Obama wants to brainwash students by requiring them to read more informational text. When was the last time that you had to read a novel for your job? When was the last time you had to give a book report including the character's thoughts and feelings? My guess is it was a long time ago. Not that literature isn't important, but if we want to prepare kids for the "real world," it just makes sense that we would require them to learn how to effectively read informational text. That is what they will read in the "real world".

Come on people, let's get real. If you want to do what is best for kids, then you will stop all this "Stop the Common Core" stuff. I'll let Mike Ditka take it from here...

The Day the Dictionary Died

September 24, 2013-Dover,OH- the evans edition was first on the scene at an apparent wordicide at Dover Middle School. The alleged incident happened in Mr. Jeremy Evans' classroom. According to reports from the scene, Mr. Evans claimed that the dictionaries that reside in his room, were effectively dead. Students were working on defining key terms for their novel that they are reading. Apparently instead of using the Meriam-Webster antiques, the students were instructed to use BYOT (Bring Your Own Technology) and google the definition. Students were surprised that the teacher instructed them to ignore the dictionary, but were more than willing to whip out their ipods, tablets and smartphones.

Mr. Evans was available for comment. When asked about allegedly killing the dictionary, he had this to say. "I wouldn't call it murder. I didn't kill the dictionaries, I just told them to use BYOT. The dictionaries in my room were printed in 1963, that's means they are 18 years older than me. Why would I make them use antiques, when they have the latest and greatest technology in their backpacks?" Mr. Evans neither admitted nor denied the charges. He did add this "The internet is a powerful tool and we need to find ways to integrate it into our rooms whenever and wherever we can. Using google to define terms just makes sense to me. Call me a murderer, but I think it is just too powerful to not use. When was the last time you used a dictionary? I can't remember the last time I did. I do use the internet to define words all the time. Wordicide or not, it just makes sense." the evans edition will have more on this developing story as more details emerge.

What is Technology?

I hear the word being used constantly. How do you use Technology in the classroom? Are you integrating Technology? I used to teach a Technology class at my old school. Heck, I'm even on the Technology committee in my building. I use the term as well. What does it mean? Isn't Technology too generic? When we use the term, are we talking about devices, digital text or social media? I think we mean all of them actually.

When we talk about integrating Technology, for the most part, I think we mean devices. Isn't a paper and pencil Technology though? At some point in history when the pencil was invented, teachers and administrators probably talked about integrating them into the classroom.

I think we need to start separating these ideas. If we want to integrate devices, then say that. If we want to incorporate social media, say that. If we want our students reading digital text, then put a device in their hands and get them reading. I just think the phrase "Integrating Technology" has become overused and generic.

I almost hate this term at this point. Is there another term or terms we can use in place of Technology.

I hope at some point we aren't talking about how to integrate it anymore and it is just a part of what we do. Ten years from now we better be doing it, and not talking about it.

*(I know that technology shouldn't be capitalized all the time, but I used it for emphasis here.)

SLO's or Value Added? Take your pick?

The district I will be teaching in next year, Dover City Schools, has been conducting meetings for Student Growth Measures and Student Learning Objectives. I attended one recently and had a few thoughts. First of all, I wondered why would I need to learn about this? I am a Value-Added teacher so I don't need to learn about the SGM's. Maybe this is just something that all first year teachers have to go through. I had been operating under the assumption that I didn't need to write SLO's because the value-added data would make up the SGM portion for OTES. As it turns out, we may have the opportunity to include a percentage of SLO data into our SGM even if we are value-added. Also, we may not have to write them now, but give the legislators a few more years and we'll see what happens.

But seriously, I actually liked a few aspects of the SLO process. A FEW not all. Here are a few of my random thoughts:

I was surprised at how east the SLO's seem to be to write. The template seems pretty straight forward. 

I am not thrilled about spending time to write these rather than spending time on curriculum.

Easy is not a word I would use to describe the Tiered Growth Target portion.

I like that I would be reading and interpreting the data rather than another agency (ODE, Batelle).

I like that I would have control over the growth targets.

All of this leads me to a question for those of you reading this. Would you rather take the gamble on OAA's and OGT's, or go throught all the work to write your own growth targets? Would you rather be a teacher that is all value-added, or a teacher that has to write SLO's? I find this interesting. Please let me know your thoughts on this one.

Remember your Inspiration

I recently returned from volunteering at a 4-H summer camp. If you are not familiar with 4-H, it is an organized youth development program that allows children in ages 9-18 take projects that are hands-on learning and geared towards real-life application. Projects range from sewing, model rockets to livestock projects that will be exhibited at the county fair. I have helped with this camp for 12 out of the last 15 years. It is a wonderful experience for all of those involved.

This year I found myself thinking about my first year there as a camp counselor. It was the summer between my Junior and Senior year of High School. I was in a cabin of 3rd, 4th, and 5th grade campers. I had a blast. I was so happy to see the kids having fun and I enjoyed helping them learn new things and meet new people. I didn't realize how happy I was until after all of the campers left. I stared around the empty and silent cabin. I was beside myself. I knew in that moment that I had to do something with my life that would put me in the presence of children all of the time. That was the moment I knew I wanted to be a teacher. I enjoyed the relationships with the kids and I enjoyed leading others and stepping up when leadership was needed.

I wanted to share this with you because in the midst of new legislation and mandates and summer we sometimes lose our way. We forget why we became educators; for the kids! Let's not get lost in all of it. You might think I'm crazy for spending my summer doing some of the same stuff that I would do during the school year, but let me tell you it has energized me for the coming year. OTES, OAA and SLO's be damned, I will start the  year remembering my inspiration. Although in August I may have to revisit this post myself to get that extra push to really get motivated for the year.