After An Educator's Journey
Out of the classroom & into the universe
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Once upon a time, I taught 2nd, 3rd, and 4th graders. Now I’m retired and working on new ventures.
Tag: teaching
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It’s a rite of passage, I guess. Yesterday my third graders bumped up to meet their fourth grade teachers. My students were pretty evenly distributed across the four fourth grade classrooms so while they will see some familiar faces next Fall, they will have an opportunity to meet new friends. While my current kids were…
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The public hearings on the 2010-2011 school budgets begin tonight in Lowell. No one thinks that there is any way the schools will be able to get through the next fiscal year without massive cuts of programs, services and teachers. The last several years the budgets have been decreased and belt-tightening measures have been put…
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This week I was asked at a Team Meeting what I thought about particular student’s participation in MCAS (this student has serious health issues which limit school participation). Was there an alternate way to assess this student that would enable us to know what had been achieved? And that got me thinking about what I…
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If you have been reading the postings of the Massachusetts DESE, you may have noticed their new campaign for “Amazing Teachers”. This appears to be a recruitment program to entice teachers to work in the Tier 4 Schools — those who are being carefully scrutinized because test scores haven’t moved out of the sub-basement. So,…
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This week concluded our adventures into the world of the Third Grade MCAS Reading Test. And yes, our third graders took their last test on April Fools Day – better known as March 32 in Room 207. I’ve been administering these tests during each of the four years I’ve been teaching third grade. Before that,…
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Personally, I’d give most Ed Reform a failing grade. I’m certain that someone reading this is thinking that’s a no-brainer because I’m a teacher (and a union member). But that is not why I think reform is failing students. That’s right, I said Ed Reform is failing students – not taxpayers, although taxpayers hold a…
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School vacation week in Massachusetts started for me as of 2:50 yesterday afternoon. I know there are some in the private sector who will read that statement and disparage me. But here is why I not only need this vacation, I deserve it. 1. I am not paid for the days off. Contrary to popular…
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Yesterday, we reached the 100th day of school — triple digits. From this point on the year will whiz by at the speed of light… 80 school days from now we will be all done. For kids, that seems like an eternity, but for me Day 100 is the point at which panic sets in.…
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and the poor keep getting poorer. Today’s rant comes courtesy of Scholastic, that megaconglomerate of student book publishing. Having just submitted a book order for my class (a rarity), I am struck by the advantages of working in a more middle-class socio economic school district. Yes, it is true no one is holding a gun…
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One of the nicest advantages of teaching is the possibility of multiple “fresh starts” throughout the year. There’s the obvious one — in the Fall, another after one report card period closes and another opens, and tomorrow’s: the first day of a new calendar year. Each start brings excitement and butterflies. Obviously the unknown of…
After An Educator's Journey 