Tuesday, October 16, 2007

Sorry.


I've gotten really behind on my blog reading. That's me, at the right --> showing how sorry I am. How can you resist my sorry furry little face?

Anyway, sorry about that. I'm trying to get caught up and leave some comments and encouragement. Lots of people are doing lots of interesting things.

It's just that it's the end of the 9 weeks, which means that I'm trying desperately to get caught up on grading, while also working on revisions to my master's paper.

As an aside, I'd just like to say that, Boy, nothing quashes interest in a subject like a nice long paper on the subject. (there's just no pleasing some people; why can't they just recognize my brilliance and give me my damned master's degree? Jeesh.)


OH, and also working on the dreaded dossier. Because, as I've mentioned, I need to be able to show that, after eight years of teaching, that I can 1) read, 2) write, and 3) teach.

NOT THAT I'M BITTER OR ANYTHING.

Several teacher friends of mine were grand-fathered in just weeks, nay, days before the dossier became a requirement. My license renewal occured 2 months after the dossier became a requirement. Which means my friends got to go to level 3 without having to prove that they could 1) read 2) write, and 3) teach.

NOT THAT I'M BITTER OR ANYTHING.

Meanwhile, grades are posted tomorrow, report cards come out on Monday, and I have 18 parent-teacher conferences scheduled for the 17 students I advise each year (yes, you read that right - one of the students has parents who can't be in the same room with each other since the divorce, so parent teacher conferences have to be conducted seperately. Also, the inquiries have already started, e.g., "is there anything I/she/he can do to bring up my/her/his grade? This started YESTERDAY. It started YESTERDAY. Two days before grades were due.

Of course, it goes without saying that if they are asking the question chances are that they are not going to understand the explanation, that 99% of their grade is a 62, or whatever, so no, there's not much to be done

This is also the day that I have to call parents and give them the heads up that their son/daughter has a D or F coming on their report card. Joy. So far, the calls have gone well. Parents either have been 1) not at all surprised, or 2) not home when I called.

So, in closing, I hope to get caught up my blog reading soon.


Thanks for reading my whining about work. Again.

...

8 comments:

  1. Ahh, the familiar sight of my own math learning process. It forgets to mention that when you finally do hit the ground EVERYTHING is either 1) gone or 2) an unrecognizable jumble.

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  2. I am working on my SEI endorsement. Do you guys have to do that in NM? So I totally understand the whining. :>P

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  3. No need to thank us, we're here to help - and you're keeping me from MY thesis, hurrah!
    That cartoon should have a girl in it cos it's me in year 11 :(

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  4. Hopefully none of your students got the bright idea that a D was a passing grade.

    My son and his friends were convinced that it was and my son couldn't figure out why he would lose privileges when he got D's. He thought we were just "mean".

    The lightbulb came on when we did a simple math lesson. Using a GPA of all D's, does one get a diploma? He got his arse in gear after that. Well, sort of.

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  5. OK, you're doing a really really good job convincing me that I don't want to go back to get certified to teach.... like maybe I'd rather work at the grocery check-out bagging, or be a Walmart greeter....

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  6. Nice beagle picture. So, I guess we can forgive you. :D

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  7. my kids go to a school where everything is posted online - lessons, homework and all their grades. i can check it every day, every week or never if i choose. that way none of us are ever caught off guard at the end of the quarter when grades come out. there is also a no tolerance policy on late work, missed work, etc. its not turned in, its a 0, period.

    i know... you're going to say that not all parents would check. they prolly wouldn't. but i know its my responsibility. maybe its also more top of mind for me since my kids are in private school and i'm paying for their education. but - aren't we all paying taxes for our public school? shouldn't we care where our money is going?

    i tell my kids all the time... one of my jobs is what brings money into our household. i slack off, we lose. their job is to go to school, pay attention and get an education, which includes decent grades. if they slack off, they lose and eventually, we all lose since we (the parents) are paying for it. and we (society) will have to deal with them when they're grown.

    i don't know that its working, but they have good grades, we check things online and try keep on top of the situations when it looks like they might be heading south.

    after all, isn't that what the job "parent" entails??

    ok, off my soapbox.

    hang in there, this time MIGHT be different... :-)

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  8. LOL.No prob. Just kee posting on your blog. Not sure I could live w/out my Athenadiaries posting.

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