I survived my first day of spring semester!  Actually, I did more than survive–I had a good day today. I was nervous and excited to meet new students. I’m thrilled about getting to teach Algebra 2 and the group of students that I have for that class seems mature, fun and cooperative.

Today I spent each class period going over expectations and myths about mathematics. I also asked students to write out answers to a few survey questions. For example, I asked students about their goals from last semester and whether they had met them. I was pleasantly surprised by how many thoughtful responses I got–many were candid and admitted that they did not reach their goals because they gave up too soon or didn’t put in the necessary effort.

I also asked students, “What were some things that your math teacher did last semester that helped you learn math?” Some of the students had other teachers, others were in my classes. It was tremendously encouraging to read that students noticed some of the things that I was doing for them that helped them learn. Students appreciated that we take breaks during class, that I use the projector a lot to show things either on the computer or using the document camera, that I try to mix things up in class (working independently vs working in groups; doing work with pencil and paper vs doing things with manipulatives or other materials).

My workload will go up a bit. I still have three “preps” but it will take me more time to prepare for Algebra 2 than it did to prepare for the the intervention math lab.

Wow, I made it through one semester!

I feel grateful for the experiences that I’ve had so far. There are so many things I’ve learned: how hard it is to get students to do homework, how much of an emotional toll teaching takes on you, how resilient young people are to adversity, how difficult it is to stay positive, how complicated the whole educational system is, etc. etc. etc. I could go on and on, I think.

I wish there was a bit more time to process my thoughts. I’m turning in grades one minute and preparing for the new semester the next. Ack!!! New classes!!!

This week I’ve been thinking a lot about the purpose of summative assessments and about my students’ performance.

I’m not thrilled about how my students performed on their final exams this week. A few of my students scored at the “proficient” level on the recent district periodic assessment; most of them scored in the “below basic” or “far below basic” categories.It’s really difficult to look at these results and not feel like a total failure. However, I do feel that my students are learning something–we’re moving in the right direction but we’re just not all at the goal yet. I’m still hoping that by June a lot more of my students will be in the “proficient” or “advanced” category.

So that I don’t feel so bad, I am also reminding myself about the three or four weeks of lost instructional time at the beginning of the semester. If we had three or four more weeks together, I’m confident students would have done better on their exams. Many of the questions that students got wrong were questions on material that we just didn’t get to.

Because students did so poorly, I’ve been giving students the opportunity to make up a large portion of points lost if they correct their mistakes (they have to include a written explanation of their work). If students make an effort, they can raise their grade on any exam to an A or B. I even let students work together and I offer help. But still some students don’t take advantage of the make up points. I know that I have to ween students off the make up points eventually so that they can get the problems right the first time, but at least for now I feel this scheme helps them learn more math, learn how to learn from a mistake, and not feel so bad about their exam score.

This experience is making me consider why I don’t offer exam make up points in my college classes…

My back was hurting pretty badly so I didn’t go to school yesterday. I figured it would be an easy task for a substitute to administer final exams. Hmm…. well….  Today, I got to school and started grading the exams from yesterday and found that many students in that class cheated on the exam. A few students had another student write out the answers for them. I could easily tell because the work was not done in their handwriting. He let one student take the final home. According to students, the substitute teacher sat a the desk and read a book. He apparently didn’t watch the students while they took the exam.

Ugh.

Over the past few months, I keep having the same experience in which a colleague will tell me something that I should have known from the beginning of the year.

For example, last month someone told me that during the 5th and 15th week grading periods I don’t need to assign grades to students; I only need to give warnings to those students who are in danger of failing. Oh well. I did more work than was necessary.

Last week, another teacher told me that I am supposed to use the computer system to take attendance within the first 15 minutes of class. Oops. Haven’t been doing that.

And today, I finally found out the password to the campus-wide wireless network. I found out that we had a wifi network on campus last month (it doesn’t broadcast its SSID), but didn’t find out the password until today. But now… WOO HOO!!! I have access to the internets from anywhere on campus.

I still need to figure out how to read my monthly pay stub. It’s really confusing.

No wonder teachers feel so discombobulated during their first years. They are acquiring all sorts of important information that someone, for one reason or another, neglects to tell them.

Just before the winter recess, I ended my last blog post in December with a cliffhanger. Well, it turns out that I will indeed be switching some classes next semester. I will lose one of my Algebra 1 classes, lose my Math Lab class, and pick up one Algebra 2 class and a second Geometry class.

In all, I will still have three preps (Algebra 1, Algebra 2, Geometry). I will probably need to spend more time preparing for class since planning for Math Lab didn’t take a whole lot of time (though it did involve lots of angst).

I am concerned about the Algebra 1 students that I will be losing. I have been trying my best to faithfully implement the CPM curriculum (as instructed by our principal) and I think I’ve been mildly successful at it. However, I have noticed that my colleagues are covering material at a faster clip. I am concerned that my Algebra 1 students will feel behind if they get reassigned to another teacher.

One of my Algebra 1 students is very manipulative and acts very mature for her age. Interactions with her are especially draining. I previously wrote about one incident when she told me my hands were dirty and was not allowed to touch her cell phone.

Today she was walking around the room showing photos to her friends. She was not working. When I asked her to start working, she told me: “I’ve been trying to ask you for help this whole time but you’ve been ignoring me.” She said this very loudly in front of everyone in a whiny tone. I almost snapped, but good thing I didn’t. In a firm tone, I said that that was absolutely untrue, that I had been watching her the whole time, and that she never once tried to ask me for help. She still claimed she still needed help and so, after I finished helping another student I went to her desk. She had not even started the work yet. I asked what she needed help with and she said “No, I don’t want your help anymore.” She didn’t do any work the whole period. She uses these kinds of manipulative actions on me regularly, and for some reason they really drain me, much more than the usual kind of defiance or rebellion. Ugh.

Final exams are coming up next week, but students don’t seem to feel any urgency. My students will not be ready for the district’s periodic assessment. Oh well… Now I’m really wishing I could get back those three or four weeks lost at the beginning of the school year.

Overheard from a student today: “Oh! Now I finally understand what slope is. I didn’t get it last year but now I get it.”  That made my day.

Articles doesn’t seem to be released yet, but there is a short write-up on Ars Technica:

http://arstechnica.com/science/news/2010/01/female-teachers-math-anxiety-influences-female-students.ars

“A new study suggests that elementary school may be a breeding ground for this anxiety. The study found that when elementary school teachers, who are primarily female, displayed a high level of anxiety about math, that skittishness was transmitted to their female students. Those students who spent a year with a math-phobic teacher displayed lower math achievement and an increased belief in stereotypes about female mathematical ability.”

I’m anxious to read the actual paper and judge the claims for myself.

Today I made my first report of suspected child abuse to the Department of Children and Family Services. I noticed one of my students had a prominent injury and she was not in school the last few days.

Teachers are mandated reporters of suspected child abuse; i.e., they are required by law to report to the police or child protective services whenever there is a suspicion of abuse. During the few times I’ve sat through our district’s video on how to report child abuse, I’ve heard over and over that teachers are not to investigate suspected child abuse cases themselves. Turns out that this isn’t exactly the case–the agent at the DCFS said that I was supposed to ask the student what, where, when why the injury happened before reporting the case to the DCFS. Because I didn’t do this, the school nurse stepped in to ask the student some questions.

The student reported to the nurse that she injured herself. I hope this is the truth. I have not spoken to the student myself since this morning. I’m not sure whether or how to bring up the subject next time I see the student. My inclination is to apologize for bringing up an unpleasant topic and to convey to her that I am concerned for all of my students and that they should feel welcome to talk to us teachers about anything.

UPDATED:  I spoke to the student and she said she understood that I was just looking out for her.