Summer Break

Why is it that I wait all year for June and July? Summer break. Two full months without needy teenagers. Today is Day 1. I slept in. I lounged; went to the mall and a few other shops. Watched a movie. And, for the first time in weeks, I did not make a "To Do List" for the weekend. There is nothing pressing. It's wonderful.

It's also awful. I get bored. I waste time watching reruns of "Friends" and "Little House on the Prairie." I don't want to waste the time, but what is there to do for merely two months? Any ideas??? I have some busy weeks this month, but the pace of the summer is a shock to my system.

Maturity, Mr. Holland, and the Stock Market

My name is Becky. . . and I am a workaholic. I know this. I've always been this way. I love it when someone sees this in me and uses it to challenge me to do better. Very few people do this; they see the work that I do as being adequate, good enough, or even better than most others.

Today I learned that my supervisor of the last 3 years is being promoted to a district-level position. I know the typical American attitude is not one of respect and admiration for one's "boss," but that is exactly what I have for L. She's challenged me to think deeply about education and how it should be done. She has shown me how some of the "sacred cows" of education are not so sacred and even helped me develop a grading system less based percentages and more focused on learning and skill mastery. Since day one she has been planting seeds in me and my colleagues to help us grow.

I wonder what next year will hold for me now. Whenever I have a challenge or a concern, I always end up in L.'s office. Maybe next year is my year to become a "grown-up." I can't explain it, but I sometimes don't feel like an adult, like I'm not mature enough to be an adult. That's a bit ironic, since I've been told I was 30 since I was 7 years old. Next year I want to begin my journey to become an expert educator--knowing how kids learn and methods of effective instruction and leadership. Rarely have I had a role model, but she has truly had an impact on me.

Last weekend I caught the last half of Mr. Holland's Opus on tv. I love this movie, although I find it much more plausible for Mr. Holland, a music teacher, to have his ending than for me a math teacher. I can hardly imagine an auditorium of my former students coming to my retirement to show their appreciation. It is a rare occassion when even one former student comes to relay how inspirational that I as a teacher was to his life. Just to know that the extra time that I pour into one student as she develops persistence and tenacity--even more important than the Algebra skills--eventually will pay off with a responsible, wise, and successful adult.

I read in my School Finance book last semester about how education is an investment in human capital. I think it must be like investing in the stock market. Education is risky; what a teacher says and does in class does make a difference. Will I choose in this investment to teach haphazardly or wisely? Will I be like L.--respected and admired by everyone on my faculty for challenging the norm and doing the best thing for the kids?

The end of all things

Time has been a valuable commodity of late. Most of my free time for the past 6 weeks has been spent completing projects for grad school and preparing students for state testing. Last week, everything came to an end.

On Monday I gave my final to my community college class. Some passed the class; others I graciously gave a D; many more failed. I loved teaching this math class. The students took responsibility for their own actions. Overall felt like we all had a great rapport. Attendance was good. However, the students who were all mostly working adults did not devote enough time to a 5-hour math class.

On Tuesday I finished my Fundamentals of Public School Administration class. This is the class where I had the same professor that I had this summer. Same professor, same lectures, same tests (generally). I wasn't worried about this class, but the work was time-consuming all the same. I basically felt like this class was a waste of my time, money, and energy. I don't mind taking classes, however I am in grad school to learn new things and I don't think I learned anything in this class.

Wednesday was the first day of state testing for my Algebra I students. The first three hours were wonderful, but my last two were just a bit obnoxious--both days. One of my students, M., has been driving me nuts all year. However, he shocked me this week again. It didn't shock me when he came into class speaking loudly in spite of the students who were still finishing the test. It didn't shock me that I had to move B. who was sitting behind him because M. would stretch his very long arms into her personal space. What surprised me was when M., after wiping his nose in the back of the class, picked up a water bottle on the back desk and opened it, preparing to take a drink. I was horrified. This drink belonged to a PTA mom who was monitoring my tests. M. didn't even apologize.

Testing concluded on Thursday. Thursday night was also my Public School Finance final exam. In this class, the grade that you make on the final determines whether you get an A or a B. As long as all of the class projects were complete, then you were guaranteed a B in the class. My attitude in grad school has been generally relaxed about my grades. However, this is the class that busts everyone's 4.0, and I wasn't going to let it do that for me. I really didn't see the class as being all that difficult. I was a little worried about the final exam, but I aced the take-home portion and missed 8 out of 50 on the multiple choice portion. So. . . I got my A.

Friday morning I left for St. Louis. I was able to get a great deal on airline tickets. After being violated by a rather rotund woman climbing over me to her seat, the flight was relaxing. I got my luggage and left for the Metrolink to get to the Illinois side. When I went to get my ticket for the Metrolink, though, it was raining. The machine would not take my money because it was wet since the machine wasn't covered. I was soaked and didn't know how I would get home. My mom just decided to drive to the airport. Once I got home, I was able to relax some.

Today was supposed to be Zack's first T-ball game, but with all of the rain that they've had here this week, the fields were too wet. Sadly there was not T-ball. :( Today was also Mikey's 4th birthday party. It was fun. It was important to me to be there. I want to be involved in my nephew's lives as they are growing up. They are such good kids, and I just love spoiling them!!!

Tuesday I go back to work. There are just 14 days of school left at that point. The students are really shutting down. Some stopped working after spring break; others are just doing enough to pass. I try to motivate; I've tried punishment, reward, and anything else I can think of. Does anyone have any advice on motivating students? Why did you perform in school--did your parents stay on top of your studies, were you self-motivated, did you just see no point to what you were learning???

This summer will again be busy with lots of travel. I have 3-weeks of teacher workshops to present, at least 1 week at home for Ethan's first birthday, and 4 weeks of grad school.

Until next time. . .