Heiress Teaches Hoodlums Entry 9

I've had to change my plan from daily impromptu writing because the system at school doesn't allow blogs. I don't get home until 10:00 at night, often too weary to gather my thoughts for this blog. I didn't feel sincere calling day 12 day 8 so I've switched title to numbered 'entries'.
My students are more motivated as a whole than last year's bunch. Could be I'm more alert and on top of things. Last year students were given a syllabus of assignments, all independent work units, and were told to work at their own pace (that was the model I inherited when I joined the system). A few students were so far behind in obtaining enough credits to graduate that they indeed were motivated to work day and night to complete course early,enabling them to complete more courses in the school year. But, for the most part, our students were accustomed to not being seen in the big classes at main campus; they became experts at looking busy and doing nothing -
n o t h i n g. These students come to our school expecting to get away with same behavior - give them 18 weeks to do five units and they'll take 18 weeks! We don't allow our students to be invisible. Our classes are small enough to monitor each kid's progress and classroom activity. They don't get to stare into space - they're called on it and re-directed or they're put on an academic contract that risks an F for the course if they miss deadlines.

That said, I also brazenly changed the entire curriculum this year and spelled out weekly due dates for all 18 weeks. One day a week students work with me on composition while the other students work independently on literature and versa-vice.(Remember I have two levels of students in same class at same time) Students are adhering to the schedule and many are completing their independent literature studies early. The student motivation and progress are great except that we have composition lessons through the end of November. Hmmmm. What will the students do if they have no literature assignment to work on?? That was my dilemma yesterday. Problem solved. I added more literature assignments. The really good news here is that students are learning much more than they did last year.

Heiress Teaches Hoodlums Day 8

I always look forward to Mondays. On Sunday night when everyone has to get home early to be ready for Monday, I just smile because so do I have to be ready for Monday but not until 3:00!!! I enjoy my teaching but not necessarily the conditions under which I teach. If I'd never worked in the corporate world, I might be more tolerant of inefficiencies. For example, when you teach you lose the right to go to the bathroom whenever the urge hits; you cannot leave a classroom unsupervised so you either call for security to watch your class (and they're never quick) or you wait and race down the student-clogged hallway between classes. Most everyone knows that a teacher's work is not done when they walk out the door - piles of papers have to be graded and weekends are often spent finishing papers and planning lessons.We don't get nice relaxing lunches, either - they are spent eating on our feet while we patrol lunchrooms, hallways or outside play areas. During the course of any corporate business day, I might stroll over to another manager's desk and visit - not when you teach! There's no time to visit with colleagues. I thank my lucky stars that I have a room with a linoleum floor where I can see the dirt and sweep or scrub away; many classrooms have old filthy carpet that hasn't been cleaned properly in years. We all put up with technology - we stumble over heaps of cords that are shoddily installed, we dread the too often message that all systems are down, and we're grateful for technology as it is delivered. We are given a tiny dark workroom under the stairwell with no windows and inadequate lighting to work on our prep period. We're not allowed to work in our rooms because we most often share the room with another teacher; we must haul our papers, resource books, pencils, staplers, paper clips,and grade cards with us to the work room. Further, we're not allowed to use the copier in the workroom because it belongs to the day school. We must cart our papers from the workroom to the principal's office and use the very slow copier there. Large copy orders are sent to the print shop which helps when you're organized. For those impromptu lessons, just another teacher prevention barrier, I call it! The kids are what makes us love what we do. It certainly is not the salary or the conditions. A teacher needs a lot of dignity up front when entering the teaching profession as dignity is not nurtured inside the system.

Heiress Teaches Hoodlums Day 7

Uneventful. Really! I taught English 1 same thing as yesterday's English 1 students - using graphic organizers to expand topic sentence. Everyone behaved. I had Fancy, my standard poodle in class with me; students love her and she's well-behaved. At dinner break, Fancy and I went to the Dairy Queen for ice cream cones. Taught third hour and drove my 37 minute commute home on the I-10. That's it!

Heiress Teaches Hoodlums Day 3

Over the summer I re-wrote the English curriculum. Now students know each week what will be covered and what is due. In the past, if we gave students 18 weeks to complete one assignment, they'd do their best to take 18 weeks, daydreaming, drawing, being absent, disrupting - whatever it took to avoid doing work and string things out 18 weeks. No more! Further, I broke each week's work up into 2 components-composition and literature. Remember, I have level 1 and level 2 English classes in the classroom at the same time. With my new curriculum plan, on Mondays I actively teach composition to level 1 students while English 2 students work independently on their literature packets. On Wednesdays, the reverse is true: English 1 students work on their literature packets while I actively teach composition to English 2. Keeps all students accountable for completing weekly work. Our students need immediate feedback so senior students receive a partial credit to be my aide; they help me correct objective tests and file all students work for parents to review during their monthly visits. Now that I have provided this overview, I will begin sharing specific anecdotes.

Heiress Teaches Hoodlums Day 2

My classes consist of about 30 students each period. Half are English I and half are English 2. How does one teach two levels at the same time? I inherited a curriculum of self-study packets divided up into units. I was instructed to teach one on one with the students as they needed help. It didn't take long to figure out that many of my students couldn't read beyond a 4th or 5th grade level. Further, quite a few of the kids were ADD or suffered from similiar attention disorders. How could we expect these kids to sit quietly for 108 minutes and work??? Kids entering our school were accustomed to mainstream education where all they had to do was show up - they didn't have to work. They were accustomed to failing. They didn't have to participate - classes were big enough so all they had to do was hide, keep quiet and look busy by doing graffiti or writing notes. Their often-overwhelmed teacher would teach the teachables,ignore the problems, and scramble to meet ever-increasing administrative and paperwork requirements. Granted, many of our students knew our school was their last chance, having been kicked out of every other school program; these kids generally make an effort to complete work. But just as many kids come here expecting to zone out, do nothing and fail. Packets weren't working for these students. I spent all my time disciplining and students didn't progress.

I wish to address the discipline code because it's key to our success with students. We are very strict here. Parents/guardians are required to meet with principal and are interviewed about commitment to completing an education. Parents are held accountable as well as the student for regular attendance and serios learning. Parents must come in monthly to meet with all teachers to review their child's work. 4 absences or 4 tardys result in an F in that class. Excuses must be medical with doctor's note or family emergency. Parents cannot call their children out of school on a whim. Classrooms adhere to strict behavior guidelines as well. We have a term here called " being F'd out". Students do not receive multiple chances to behave badly. Rules are made clear and students sign a form that they understand the consequences. If they use profanity, they are "f'd" out; if they wear head coverings, hoods, or have inappropriate messages on their clothing, they are "f'd" out. If their cellphone or other electronic device is visible during class hours, they are "f'd" out. If they are insubordinate or in any way disrupt the learning process, they are "f'd" out. Students may receive a 'referral' for disrupting the learning process as a warning that the next infraction will result in an F. In the case of a referral, the student is immediately removed from the classroom and sent to a room reserved for 'in-house suspension'. The principal will call the student to the office and determine if further disiplinary action is necessary. Students may be suspended for repeat offense. Parents are brought in to discuss goals. Some students are expelled. We are trying to adapt our students' behaviors so they can function in a society with rules and expectations. Discipline is fair, swift and strictly enforced. All teachers play by the same rules. It works.


Over the summer, I constucted a curriculum that broke the

Heiress Teaches Hoodlums

I'm back in the classroom and thought I'd share my teaching experiences with you this year. Our school is an open enrollment alternative high school outside Phoenix, Arizona. Most of our students can't make it in a traditional setting - the main campus is 3800 students, 40 in some classrooms. Some students come to us from juvenile hall. Others are returning to get their diplomas after dropping out of school to have a baby. Still other students are the dads who have to work during the day to support those babies/teen-age mom and versa-vice. Several of our Native American students are bused in from the reservation where they live without running water or wooden floors in their homes. We have close to 300 students at any one time but due to students leaving, we matriculate over 1,000 students in any given year.

I teach literature/composition I and II (freshman English) and literature/composition II (sophomore English. I have a few wannabe gsng bangers both male and female. About a third of my kids are Native American and the rest are Hispanic or white and a very low percentage are black.
This gives you a thumbnail demographic. Tomorrow I'll talk about discipline and how classes are run.