Small Milestones

That was the week that was. TCAP testing ended, officially. I am sure the kids are relieved, I know the teachers are. Very few things are more boring than having to walk the room constantly for the 2 hours every day, not being able to speak or leave the room, pick up a book, etc. Results won't be known for several months, either. Most of the time we teachers never get to see the scores of our students, since by the time they come back the students are in a different grade, and their results are sorted by those teachers, not the ones with whom they took the test.

Also ended - the ridiculous 45 minute "extra" period. Yes, we used it to urge the students to do their Spring Exhibition projects (more on this later), but you would think the kids would be anxious to leave after all that time. Still, there are close to 100 students still in front of the school at 3:30. And part of my "duty" is to be out there herding them like geese. And they don't like to be asked to move away from the building. Favorite excuse: I am already black, and if I get in the sun, I will get blacker.

The Spring projects are another waste of time. Not just the timing, which coincided with the most important test of the year, but the excessive paperwork. Each teacher has to, by hand, fill out two different forms for each student, so their work can be "judged." Naturally we got about 5 more forms than we have students, so no margin for error on these 3-ply forms. After this process, each project must be photographed and uploaded (over 1000 students in the school). I have at least one student that, despite days of instruction (on a project that has been done once already - we are doing it over for this since the first go-round sucked miserably), demonstration, and a graphic organizer (think worksheet) with step-by-step directions and fill in the blanks, turned in a trimmed down printout from the internet, and rather than calculate the information for "his" project, just copied an example off the board. Most of the rest are good enough, though.

Some other teachers also got called to the principal's office and got official letters about their re-hiring next year and their assignments, usually to the "inclusion" team for the 8th grade. I think this is an effort to send a message, since is the start of the second voluntary transfer period. By giving these teachers a written assignment that is less than desirable, the principal is nudging them toward looking elsewhere for a more suitable position. If they do choose to stay, well, some of the staffing is taken care of. I did not get a summons to the office, which I will take as a good thing. Two of my teammates did, though, so it looks like next year will be a new group dynamic.