Gladly Would I Teach

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Yesterday, I drove 6 hours in order to see my niece’s baby girl. Since I couldn’t figure out a way to drive and grade papers simultaneously, much to the relief of other motorists, today I am facing a huge stack of papers that I must grade by tomorrow.

How many other professions end the week with a stack of work that they must complete over the weekend during their free time?

Writing, like reading, is taught best by allowing students to practice their skills as often as possible. For example, teachers who want students to become better readers must assign more reading and then find time to discuss the reading with the class or with individual students.

The same process is true with writing. To help students, we must require lots of writing, encourage students to write, and then provide feedback. There’s the rub!  When students write, particularly older high school students, teachers must then spend hours and hours reading and responding to their papers. Is it any wonder that teachers require few writing assignments?

So, here I sit in my home study. I will be sitting her all day grading papers and wishing I could have found a way to grade part of them as I drove all over Georgia  yesterday.

For those of you who think I wrote this post just so I could interject a photo of Sophie Catherine at 18 days, I plead guilty!

  Copyright secured by Digiprove © 2010 Edie Parrott

I was excited about class on Friday because we were going to discuss Wallace Stegner’s “Town Dump,” a beautiful essay about his Canadian childhood. Students generally like the essay because of Stegner’s vivid descriptions of the items he finds at the local dump. Since the essay is told through the eyes of a seven year old, it is easy for the reader to understand how fascinated the young boy is with a catfish who may be the devil, or the leeches that cling to his skin, or the mounted goat’s head that he takes home until his mother makes him return it since it is full of moths.

One of my favorite sections of the essay is when seven-year-old Stegner writes a letter to a company and receives a form letter as a reply. The “windowed envelope” from people who are “his truly” becomes a treasure that the boy carries around for days.

At the end of the essay, Stegner asserts, “The dump was our history and our poetry.” Usually, students enjoy discussing how a dump is our history because it holds everything we have ever used and how the dump is like poetry in that it holds items that are memorable but not useful. We then continue the discussion by telling about items that we own that other people would consider unimportant or useless but we keep them because they are important to us.

Usually!

Yesterday, when I asked students what they thought of the essay they had read for homework, most of them had not enjoyed it.

“Why?” I asked in disbelief. Although most of them could supply explanations such as it did not tell a story, or they couldn’t relate, or they didn’t enjoy his philosophical views, some students answered unemotionally , “It was boring.”

“It was boring!”

Nothing kills a teacher’s enthusiasm faster on a Friday afternoon than to hear a student reduce a marvelous work of literature as “boring.”

Some days teaching would be easier if I turned off the lights and showed a movie, even a boring movie!

  Copyright secured by Digiprove © 2010 Edie Parrott

“When I die I hope it is during a professional development session because the transition from life to death will be so seamless” ( p. 283).

We all can relate to the feelings of the teacher who expressed this view in Fullan’s The New Meaning of Educational Change. With so much that we need and want to learn about teaching and students, why are most staff development sessions so frustrating to teachers?

Yesterday I attended a 45-minute session about teaching vocabulary. We learned how valuable vocabulary building is and then proceeded to explore several different strategies. Roughly 25 teachers attended the session. I sat next to a drama teacher with over twenty years of experience, a physical education teacher and track coach with 30 plus years of experience, and a math teacher who has been teaching about ten years. Throughout the room, there were special education teachers, social studies teachers, administrators, science teachers, other English teachers, music teachers, and a few teachers I have never seen, one of the problems of working in a large school.

Some teachers were very young and had little teaching experience, and the rest of us had been teaching vocabulary long before the young teachers had spoken their first words.

Regardless of the effectiveness of the presenter, what staff development program can be appealing, profitable, and memorable for teachers of all subject areas, for all grade levels, and for all years of experience? While it is true that vocabulary building is important in all areas, teachers cannot all use the same approaches, nor should we all be taught in the same way.

How ironic that teachers must attend staff-development sessions that emphasize individualizing instruction for students, but no one thinks that teachers need different forms of staff development!

  Copyright secured by Digiprove © 2010 Edie Parrott

On Friday, Governor Sonny Perdue outlined Georgia’s severe financial problems and stated that all state employees, including teachers, may have to take 3 furlough days before June.  Since most Georgia teachers endured two furlough days and some took salary cuts in the fall, teachers are understandably disturbed by the governor’s latest announcement.

Citing the importance of education, many teachers, unions, and teacher organizations throughout the nation have challenged authorities to protect teachers from salary cuts and furloughs,

As a teacher, I bristle at the news that my salary may be cut or that I might be furloughed several days.

I don’t like it!

When states experience unprecedented financial problems and insufficient money exists to fund state programs, however, what else can states do? Some advocate raising taxes, but with so many people out of work, so many people working only part-time jobs, and virtually all of us concerned about our personal finances, raising taxes would add just one more burden to so many people who are already suffering.

I don’t like accepting a pay cut or experiencing furlough days, but I understand why the governor recommends it.

Years ago I had a college professor who told us that he decided as a child to become a teacher. During the Great Depression, his parents, like many parents, were out of work, and food and money were in short supply. When he looked around his neighborhood, however, he told us that he could always tell the teachers’ children because they were the ones with sweaters. Where he lived, teachers kept their jobs throughout the depression. He never forgot those teachers or those sweaters, and years later he joined the teaching profession because he felt he would always have a job, even in the direst economic circumstances.

I don’t want to take a salary cut, and I shudder to think what will happen in the fall if the economy does not improve, but I am thankful to have a job at a time when so many people cannot find work.

Very thankful!

  Copyright secured by Digiprove © 2010 Edie Parrott

For decades Georgia has required public schools to teach character traits. Each month spotlights a trait: respect, responsibility, citizenship, compassion, resilience, diversity, commitment, and integrity.

Who can argue with such a plan?

Teaching and emphasizing strength of character is a noble goal, and literature is the perfect platform for discussions about valuable character traits.  Any English teacher discussing Atticus Finch of To Kill a Mockingbird certainly touches on each of the character traits Georgia emphasizes.

History teachers discussing the founding of America, the Great Depression, the Civil Rights Movement, and other important historical events also teach and emphasize character.

Is it possible to teach science without emphasizing respect, resilience, responsibility?

Is it possible to teach foreign language, or physical education, or mathematics or any other school subject without addressing character traits that we want students to develop?

As with so many things in education, we often let other interests sidetrack our goals, and too often our decisions are not based on what is best for students. Instead of allowing teachers to emphasize character traits naturally as they teach their subjects, my school, along with a few others in my district, changed the process a few years ago.

For 45 minutes one day each month, high school students attend a Character Education lesson. They return to their homerooms and are instructed in the “Word of the Month.” Imagine pulling sixteen year olds into a classroom and saying, “Today we are going to learn about responsibility,” or “This month’s word is ‘compassion.’ Now, who can define ‘compassion’?”

Students complain that the program is silly.

Teacher complain that the program is unproductive.

In fact, students and teachers have complained and suggested improvements FOR YEARS!

No assessment of the program has ever been conducted, and most teachers simply go through the motions of teaching a character education lesson each month, believing this is the way it is going to be regardless of what they think.

On Tuesday we taught RESILIENCE, a fitting word for teachers and students who gather each month and go through the motions of learning character in such an unnatural setting.

Like too many things in education, this unproductive and inane activity doesn’t have to be this way.  Teachers could indeed restructure the program and make it meaningful for students, but things won’t change because we have “taught” character this way for over 15 years. It’s the only method that most teachers, students, and administrators know.

Unfortunately, we all know the mantra:  “This is the way we have always done it.” Sometimes routine appears more important than success.

Maybe one month we can add a new character word:  effectiveness!

  Copyright secured by Digiprove © 2010 Edie Parrott

We are experiencing the coldest weather in 25 years in Georgia. This morning as I sat here drinking tea in front of a fire, I started thinking about an earlier time of very cold weather.

In the early 1980s when I was a young teacher, I rented a house adjacent to an elementary school in the system where I taught. It was a great deal for me because the school district charged very little rent because they wanted a teacher in the house in the hopes that he or she would watch over the school.

One January morning I awoke to the lovely news “Cobb County Schools are closed today.” There was a little snow and ice, but the schools were closed primarily because of the cold. If I remember correctly the temperature was in the single digits. Those of you who live in areas where it gets really cold will probably laugh that we close schools because of single-digit temperature, but school heating systems, particularly in older schools, are just not equipped to handle such weather.

I went back to sleep.

About thirty minutes later, Mrs. Burrell, the secretary at the elementary school called me and told me that a parent had called her at home to tell her that she had spotted a handful of young children waiting at the school. Since the secretary was home and didn’t want to drive in the bad weather, she called to ask me to walk over and check on the kids. I immediately told her I would be happy to do so . . . and then grumbled as I hung up the phone, climbed out of bed, and got dressed in my warm clothes.

I had to walk all around the building, but I finally found five little boys (kindergarten to third grade) standing together behind the school. I can’t remember that much about them except that two of them were not bundled up well for the cold weather, and Billy, the youngest one, had no gloves or mittens and as his nose ran, it actually froze on his face.

I brought all of the kids back to my house and had them call their parents to pick them up. Four of the parents arrived within 30 minutes to pick up their children, but not one of them even thanked me.

Billy and I sat in my kitchen as I tried to get the 5 year old to tell me his phone number. No luck!  Then I asked him to tell me his last name. Still no luck! When Mrs. Burrell called me back, I had to describe Billy in the hopes that she could figure out who he was. Sure enough, she responded with his last name and then said, “Now, we’ve got a problem.”

According to the secretary, Billy’s parents were not very supportive of the school so teachers usually dealt with the grandmother, but she was out of town for the week. Because Mrs. Burrell knew it would be impossible to reach the parents, she decided that she would come pick up Billy, keep him at her house, and then take him home at 11:45, his normal time to return home after half-day kindergarten.

I told her not to worry about Billy because I would keep him at my house and take him home at the proper time. So, Billy and I spent several hours watching cartoons in my den and waiting for the time when I could take him home. He was so cold that I had to remove most of his clothes and bundle him in a blanket while I dried his clothes. I also realized very quickly that women in their twenties without children rarely have food or drinks in the house that appeal to five year olds!

At 11:30, I dressed Billy in his nice warm clothes, put him in my car, and set out to take him home according to the directions the secretary had given me. No one was on the road!

I drove into a seemingly deserted neighborhood of lots of little houses and very few trees. As I pulled into Billy’s driveway, however, I experienced a surreal scene that I hope to never again witness. Two police cars pulled in quickly right behind me, and officers jumped out of their cars, drew their guns, and screamed for me to get out of my car with my arms raised.

The experience would be unnerving for everyone, but it was particularly upsetting to someone whose greatest transgressions prior to this moment involved overdue library books and a speeding ticket for driving 58 in a 55-mph zone in South Carolina!

After telling Billy to stay put, I stepped out of the car and raised my arms high in the air, just as I had seen in cops-and-robbers television shows. The policemen lowered their guns, and an angry woman jumped out of one of the police cars and screamed, “What did you do to my baby?!!” She ran over and pulled Billy out of my car. I discovered that the parents and policemen had been searching for Billy all morning, but I have no idea why they would not have talked to neighbors who lived right beside the school!

After explaining the situation to the police officers and giving them Mrs. Burrell’s name so they could check my story, they told me I could go. They also told me that they were planning to charge the parents with abandonment for leaving a 5 year old child outside a locked school on a morning of single-digit temperature.

A little upset, a little angry, and very cold, I drove home.

So much for being a Good Samaritan!

Would I do it again? Absolutely!  What makes this story interesting is that it is such an anomaly, and it pales in comparison to the hundreds of other times when I have helped students and parents who thanked me profusely.

I just hope the next time I have to help doesn’t come on a snow day when I am nice and warm and planning to sleep late!

  Copyright secured by Digiprove © 2010 Edie Parrott

Yesterday I started thinking of the things I need to accomplish before returning to school after Christmas. Thankfully, I have very little that I must get done, and it struck me how things have changed through the years.

Many years ago when I taught on a quarter system, it was common practice for teachers to require students to turn in research papers before Christmas so we would have the break to get them graded.

What were we thinking?

In those days we used to budget our vacation time by tabulating how many papers we had to grade daily in order to finish them on time. It was a thankless job because when we returned the papers the first day back from Christmas vacation, we then had to suffer student complaints about grades and return angry parent phone calls.

This morning I remembered a particularly interesting time of collecting research papers many years ago. My eighth graders had to give me their research papers on the final day before Christmas vacation. As I remember, the papers had to be 7-8 typed pages. In those days, I used to have a small, colorful Snoopy trash can I used to collect papers. As I walked around the classroom all day, students placed their papers into the can.

As happens in many schools, the day before the break included lots of fun, laughter, and food, and we were all exhausted at the end of the day. I supervised students and waved good-bye as the buses pulled out of the parking lot.

When I returned to my classroom later that afternoon, I discovered that my colorful Snoopy garbage can was EMPTY.

I ran through the halls and discovered that the custodians had moved through the halls quickly in order to empty the trash because they wanted to begin their vacations as quickly as the rest of us. The garbage from my hall had already been dumped in the dumpster at the back of the building.

Another teacher and I opened the dumpster, saw all of the garbage interspersed with half-eaten holiday treats and paper streaked with holiday punch.

“Do you really want to pull out all of this garbage and rescue those research papers?” she asked.

“What would you do?” I replied.

“I would close the dumpster and forget the papers.”

And, I did.

I had a lovely holiday that year, and when January rolled around and I told the students what happened, they laughed, and I never had one complaint from a student or parent. Since this was back in the dark ages when students actually typed their papers on typewriters, students did not have back-up copies that they could submit, and it would have been cruel to make students go back and rewrite the papers.

It was a quiet, stress-free, happy holiday!

Of course, I never again used a trash can to collect student papers!

Sunday night I started writing my final round of teacher recommendations for college acceptance. For as long as I can remember, I have had to spend part of my Christmas vacation writing college recommendations, primarily for The University of Georgia.

UGA and Georgia Tech are the most popular college choices for my students. Students who apply to UGA for early admission do not find out if they have been accepted until the weekend before the final week of school before Christmas Break.

Students who are not accepted must then write several essays and obtain a teacher recommendation by Jan. 15th. So, on the final week of the semester when teachers are swamped with final grades and worried about submitting grades on time, we must also try to sound happy and offer encouragement as  crestfallen students approach us during our final week and ask us to write recommendations for them.

Sunday night I opened my large folder to review the files of 14 students whose recommendations I must write. They are all good students, but several of them forgot to attach a stamped, self-addressed envelope. Two students neglected to attach forms that list their extra-curricular activities, and one student gave me a counselor’s form to complete instead of a teacher recommendation form. I sent emails and asked for the needed items.

Twenty-four hours later, only one student had responded.

I worked on recommendations all day yesterday, and I’ll spend another day writing letters today.  Thankfully, this year UGA provided a way to submit recommendations online.

At least I don’t have to spend part of my vacation standing in line to buy stamps at the post office. Besides, if I didn’t have good students, I wouldn’t have to write any recommendations.

Yesterday I walked around the classroom and collected research papers. When I reached a student who has a low grade in the class, he looked up at me and told me he didn’t write the paper because he didn’t think he could pass anyway.

He just gave up!

He didn’t even attempt the paper.

Although I had discussed his grade with him a little over a week ago and emphasized that it was still possible for him to pass if he did well on the remaining assignments, he didn’t even try.

Of all of the students who exasperate me, I think students who exhibit defeatist attitudes are the most perplexing. Normally, I would analyze the student and try to ascertain why he gave up so easily when most students in the class are still fighting to make the highest grade they can acquire. I didn’t today.

I think I understand part of this student’s problem because a few weeks ago I called the father to discuss his son’s grades. Regardless of what I said, the father responded, “It’s up to him. He has to make the decision to work and pass the class.” I wanted to shake the father and tell him how important it is for him to encourage his son.

I guess when children reach 17 or 18, parents have to back off and make kids stand on their own.

The student will indeed fail since he did not submit a research paper, and next semester he will take a different English course since he has to pass one more English class in order to graduate.

The student just gave up, and I think I am sadder about it than he is.

A decade or so ago I was delighted to have a foreign exchange student from Russia who took my American Literature class. She was a pleasant young lady, thrilled about everything she learned, and, despite the language problems, persevered through every assignment and happily came in before school for extra help. She thanked me profusely for the individual time I spent with her, and I loved having such a hard working student who was so receptive to suggestions for improvement I made about her writing or gentle corrections I provided to clarify literature selections we read and discussed.

Unfortunately, she had to return to Russia a couple of weeks before the end of the semester. On her last day of class, we gave her a little party and I praised her for her hard work and her desire to learn. Afterall, she may have been an exchange student whose first language was Russian, but at the end of the semester, she had the highest grade in my AMERICAN literature course!

On that final day, we asked her questions about what she thought about America and our culture. One student asked, “What’s the biggest difference between American schools and Russian schools?”

The student thought for a moment and stated clearly,

In Russia students work really, really hard.  In America, the teachers do all the work!

I loved it and laughed loudly. My students, however, never saw any humor in her statement.

As we reach that point in the semester where final exams are approaching, we’re grading our last sets of essays, and we are trying to cover all of the final information we think we need to address before students walk out of our classrooms for the last time, the stress builds

and builds

and builds.

Maybe my former exchange student was right. Maybe teachers in America really do all the work.

Or at least more than we should do.