Happy Halloween!

I am recovering from a pretty bad fall I took Wednesday morning. My face made hard contact with my garage door and driveway when I tripped. A trip to the emergency room ruled out any broken ribs or nose, though my side still hurts. My glasses were pushed into my face, cutting the bridge of my nose causing a lot of bleeding. I suppose I will still be hurting from my wounds for a while still. I missed two days of school this week because of the injury, returning Friday to try to get my classes back on tract. It is the first time since my arm surgery in 1998 that I have missed two days of school in a row for illness.
While my injuries have been the focus of my life for the last three days, they are not my reason for writing this day. Earlier this week I was looking through my “Science Teacher” magazine and came upon a piece about teacher recruitment. The piece contended that too many teachers quit the profession, resulting in the district/school having to recruit replacements at considerable expense. The author cited a study that estimated the cost of replacing a new teacher at more than $20,000. Imagine that, your History teacher decides to resign at the end of the year, and it costs the school district $20,000+ to replace him or her! The article stated that the costs were related to administrative expenses.
Let’s assume that a school district has an opening for a teacher and they decide to interview 10 applicants. The principal and department chairman each spend 2 hours with each applicant and the superintendent an hour with each. When a candidate is decided upon someone in the central office has to fill out the paperwork required to add the teacher to the payroll, insurance,—this requires a full 8 hour day to complete. That is a total of 68 hours of time spent in the endeavor. If the cost was $20,000 each person involved must earn on average $294/ hour; in other words, each one involved must make a little more than $600,000 a year. Later in the article the author says it is imperative that the federal government come up with huge sums of cash to help school districts cover these costs. At this point it should be apparent to even the most dimwitted reader that the numbers are B.S. and are made up in an attempt to make a case for the federal government handing over more money for schools.
I have been involved in the hiring process for my department for more than 20 years and before I will believe their cost projections I would like to see a review of the books by an independent auditor.
When educators, in an attempt to get more funding, resort to fabricated numbers and costs to support their requests we all lose, and the public becomes less likely to support legitimate requests for increased spending.

One of the Keys to Success

As the second quarter begins things are running smoothly for my classes. In Honors Chemistry I am a bit ahead of last year, mostly because the new edition of the text book has moved some first semester topics to the second semester. I need to save at least five days this quarter in order to make time for the old material later. I plan to do this by not showing the movies I usually schedule. The movies are for entertainment only and give me a day to chill in quiet while they watch. I have also decided not to schedule any review days—again, these were just days for me to do work in class while they worked in quiet. My schedule this year is such that I have time during the day to get things done outside of class time.
We had a teacher in the past in Science who also coached. He used to assign his students desk work almost every day while he typed and did “coaching” preparation. The administration never seemed to care; he was a very successful coach and only taught lower level students. Yes, I am being cynical.
I got an email from a parent, concerned that his daughter was only getting a “C” in AP Chemistry. He wasn’t blaming me; he was just concerned because she was an “A” student last year. I explained to him that AP Chemistry required exceptional problem solving skills that could not be predicted by grades in Honors Chemistry. Many students, I told him, required more time to acquire those skills. As a result they lagged behind the others. He wanted to know how she could improve her skills and I responded that only practice over time would help.
This girl is a god student, but does nothing beyond the minimum work assigned. I don’t tell students this but it is true—if you do just the assigned work in a difficult and/or challenging class you should expect to get a “C”, nothing more.
When I took calculus in college the teacher assigned 15-20 problems for homework each week. Besides those problems, I would do every problem at the end of each chapter. I got an “A” in calculus. Most students would laugh at you if you if you suggested that they do every problem at the end of each chapter just for practice; but practice does make perfect. A former student of mine in AP Chemistry is an excellent example. She would do every problem at the end of each chapter for practice—I know this because she would come after school and ask about any she was confused by. This normally took 45 minutes the day before the test. She got an “A+” in AP Chemistry, was the valedictorian of her high school graduating class, and attended Notre Dame. She is now a math teacher, and when she was student teaching, she came to see me on one of her days off. She made the trip of over 100 miles because she noticed that many of her students were having trouble and I might be able to help her figure out what to do with them. To this day she is the most focused and hard working student I have ever taught.
In contrast, I have students currently who got a chemical formula wrong on the last quiz because they were too lazy to use the ion list I provided. They would rather guess than turn the page over and look for what they needed!
I do have one young lady who shows promise though. She came to see me before the AP Chemistry quiz Friday for help. I had assigned two practice problems from a work sheet but she had done all 10 and wanted the answers to the other 8 to make sure she had done them correctly. First quarter she earned an “A+.”

Report Card Time

Friday was the end of the quarter and I stayed after school that day until I finished my grades. Many teachers take all their papers home and spend the weekend grading. It is ironic that many of the teachers who are the least tolerant of students with late work are the worst procrastinators on the staff. A former department member was so lazy that he would never do his grades until the assistant principal came to him asking for them. Why do anything until they make you!
My students’ grades were pretty good, mostly because the students did so well on the quarter exam. While nobody got a perfect score, the average was more than 85% and only one student out of 92 failed. The one failing grade was an Asian student who has underachieved all quarter. I contacted the mother at mid-quarter and suggested that he drop down to regular chemistry. She declined to move him saying that his problem was that he is lazy—she was correct. He did improve for a short time then failed the last two tests of the quarter, dropping his grade to a D+. I have decided not to force him to move; why should I reward a lazy boy with easier work? His punishment will be to stay in Honors and either start to work or get a D or F. Earning a D in a class is actually much worse than earning an F. An F can be removed from the transcript when you re-take the class—a D never goes away.
In my last post I mentioned the young man with the “test problem” and his father’s arrogant email. I forwarded the father’s message to the boys’ guidance counselor and the registrar who were mad as hell. They both called the father to set him straight. He still has not been moved because the boy has not yet turned in the paperwork with his parent’s signature. H told the registrar that he lost it and told me that his mother threw it away. I filled out a second set of forms and sent him home with them Thursday. In the meantime he got a D on the quarter exam and ended up with a D+ for the quarter.
After being properly chastised by the counselor and registrar the father has not bothered me again about the schedule change. Both reported to me that they thought the father was an ass and took an immediate dislike to him. Neither will OK the schedule change the boy wants now—he will not be able to pick his new teacher.

With the First quarter winding down to its last few days, we enjoy a well needed three day weekend because of Columbus Day. Even though we have four official days of school this week there are only three days of actual teaching. Wednesday is “standardized testing day” as it is in many schools in our area. The students will come to school in the morning as usual but, instead of classes standardized tests will be administered to freshmen, sophomores, and juniors—seniors have the day off. The freshmen take the EXPLORE test, sophomores the PLAN test, and juniors the PSAT. The EXPLORE and PLAN exams are given only to collect data—they are used to set a baseline for the students that their scores on the ACT later in junior year will be compared to. The PSAT exam is extremely important; determining national merit scholars and commended students. The exams will be over by 11:15 and everyone will be sent home early.
My quarter in Honors Chemistry is winding down with about 200 points earned this week—out of almost 1100 points total. There is a homework assignment due Thursday along with the Chapter 5 “QUEST” (half way between a quiz and a test). Friday the students take the 1st quarter exam; a comprehensive test over the first 5 chapters. They received a study guide for this exam October 5th and are allowed to make a “cheat sheet” on a 4 x 6 index card to use. The test contains 50 questions taken from their other 4 exams this quarter.
As I mentioned in the last post, the young man who was caught taking his test and answer sheet from the room on the first exam asked to be moved down into regular chemistry. His request was made on September 30th and I filled out the paperwork and handed it to his guidance counselor 4th period the next day. After a week he still had not been moved. Since it is unusual for the change to take so long I mentioned it to the guidance counselor last week. She told me that the paperwork had been completed, except for the parent signature which the young man was to get and return—but had not yet. That same day the young man came to see me after class requesting my help. Apparently he did not like the choice of teacher for his new chemistry class and wanted me to help him get assigned to a particular female teacher. I told him that I did not have the authority to choose his other teacher—that being the job of his guidance counselor and the registrar. I suggested he make his request to one of them. Another week goes by and he is still on my list. This impasse lead to the email I received below from his father on Friday:
“Why are you playing a game with my son in getting out of your class! This is now going onto the 4th week! I want him out of your class immediately and placed into Chem A with Mrs. […]. I am done with both your and [… ] shananagans! Get this done today if possible.”
Apparently the little rascal has convinced his father that I am the one holding up the transfer; the truth being I can’t wait until he is out of my class. Apparently he refused to turn in the paperwork unless he gets what he wants; and, not being as easily manipulated as his parents, the counselor won’t allow it. My entire reply to him was:
“I filled out the paper work and turned it in September 30th--the same day […] made the request. I don't make the actual schedule change--this is done by his guidance counselor and Mrs. […] the registrar.”
I forwarded his message with my response to the counselor and registrar in case they get contacted by the father. I don’t know how this will all turn out, but the counselor and registrar will rip the dad a new asshole if he gets in their face—neither having much patients with obnoxious parents and manipulating children. In any case, it is too late to complete the transfer before the end of the quarter this Friday. The young man will have to complete the homework, take the chapter 5 quest, and the quarter exam. If he fails those he will probably fail for the quarter, if he does well he could end up with a “C.” My wish for all students like this young man is not retribution or satisfaction if they fail (there is no satisfaction in failing a student), but rather justice for their actions. I don't blame the father; he appears to be a good dad who cares about his child. Maybe he is a little weak when dealing with the boy--but what parent isn't from time to time (me included). On the other hand, the boy is manipulative, dishonest, and scheming--maybe someday he will be a politician.

Thoughts on a Cool Fall Day

As we move into October the weather has turned decidedly cooler. Last weekend my wife and I went to Iowa for my 35th college reunion. My graduating class was approximately 250, about 25 of whom showed up for the reunion. It was a really nice time.
I always enjoy seeing my old friends from college. When in school, we were a wild and spirited bunch. Now we are bordering on old and lack the ability to party like we used to. The all class party on the first evening went from 9:00 to about 11:00. After the party,some of the group meet in the lounge of the hotel where we were staying for a drink. My wife and I were back in our room by midnight!
The one college buddy I want to talk about is Denny. Denny and I were the only ones of our group to be in Education and on Saturday morning we had a chance to share breakfast and talk. After graduation, Denny went to work for a Catholic school, and, after about 10 years, moved to a public junior high and has been there ever since. He teaches Geography and coaches girls volleyball. When he first moved to his public school it serviced a working class white population. As with many city districts, the student population has undergone change and now his building services a significant number of minority students. He acknowledged that things are more difficult now but still exhibits the same enthusiasm that I remember the so well. He is especially proud of many of his former charges who, while not the best students when they were in school, have been successful in life. Many of them attribute their success, in part, to his approach to learning. I imagine the students see him as tough, but likable. I admire his success with difficult students. As he mentioned at breakfast, he knows how to be mean, and then be nice, getting the most out of his pupils.
I hope I can maintain the kind of enthusiasm that Denny exhibits so naturally. We will see at the next reunion in 2014.
As an update to “Why Difficult Courses Have Requirements” (September 2nd 2009) the AP Chemistry student I mentioned who is unqualified for class because of having taken Chemistry in summer school has decided to drop. Guidance allowed him to retake Honors Chemistry and he was placed in my 2nd period class. As I said he is a bright young man who lacked the background to succeed. He has an A- now and seems to be much happier.
The young man who I wrote about in “Cheaters (Should) Never Prosper” (September 19th, 2009) has also decided to drop Honors Chemistry. With a zero on the second exam, along with F’s on the other two, he has dug himself a hole he can’t climb out of. He will be moved to a regular Chemistry class with another teacher. The young man told his guidance counselor that the problem was me—he just can’t learn from me. She knows its bullshit, but we both approved the move; he is now someone else’s problem. On the last exam the class average was 91; his grade was 73. Apparently he can’t learn from a teacher if he has to pay attention to master the material. His learning style is to never pay attention, take notes, or do homework on time; then blame the teacher and ask for a schedule change when he fails.
I also picked up a student from regular Chemistry. She is a Chinese exchange student who complained that the regular level was too easy. On the first exam she got an A and is working out well—unlike so many other exchange students I have dealt with in the past she speaks excellent English.