the "504" plan for teachers

Many of you that aren't familiar with educational lingo may not know what a 504 plan is.  Well I am not here to put down the idea entirely- my daughter had a medical one plan when she was in school.  I think that teachers should be aware when students have a medical condition. 

Today the 504 plan is also being misused.  It is a way to ensure that students that are trouble makers have a way out of being suspended or expelled.  Another excuse to give the parents a permanent baby-sitter for their child without repercussions towards the student.

I have a student who lives in a group home and has been to jail.  She has been in my class since the beginning of January.  She has probably been in my class for 7 full days.  She is constantly being called to the office.  I have spent over 4 hours in group meetings and filling out paperwork on her.  I am not allowed to know what she did to get in trouble.  She was kicked out of a high school last year and now has a legal team that will prevent that from happening at our school.  She loud, obnoxious and late to class.  She will either completely disregard my requests for her to focus on her work and to be quiet or sleep through the entire class.  Her 504 plan says she is the victim of PTSD. (post traumatic stress syndrome) I am supposed to take her aside and speak to her in a non-threatening way.  I am supposed to read her the questions on her test in a small group situation.  I have 32 students in that class and I am all by myself.  Please help me!

I need a 504 plan.  I have students that are loud and disruptive.  They can't look you in the eye when you speak to them.  They copy their work because they have done that all of their lives and they have no idea how to look up the answer for themselves. Yes- the majority of my students are sweet and capable.  The 20% that are unable to fen for themselves tend to drag the rest down.  I am not able to write up a student that is disruptive.  The administration would ignore this.  Parents of this students have the PTSD and they can't cope.  These little demons run their households. Recently our freshmen class has had their "Arab Spring".  They have had fights, food fights- been totally out of control.  The teachers have had to keep them in the classes for lunch for the last two weeks.  Now- who is really being punished here?

The teachers deserve to have their own 504 plan:

1. Parents of students that misbehave must contact the teacher by email if they want re entrance into the classroom.

2. The county office shall put a hold on all new BS programs until the teachers have been restored to their proper pay scale and the class sizes are back to normal.
   In other words- don't make us pre and post test and develop PowerPoint data presentations when we haven't been given the standard pre and post test or been given training on how to input the data or have had our pay cut by 7-8 furlough days!

3. When students are sitting in your class and they refuse to do the work- parents- that is not then considered makeup work.  Please allow makeup work to be for truly excused absences!

4. When teachers have overcrowded classes and students that are considered special needs- please consider giving them extra assistance from time to time.
 I have asked for help with my difficult class and really no one has helped.

5. Please consider the teacher a true college graduate- professional employee.

 If a teacher has been given a duty, coaching assignment or any thing that requires them to put in extra hours- please allow acknowledge this effort.  This is what I consider "Educational Community Service".  Coaches probably make something like $5 an hour for their efforts.  Parents expect miracles. If you want miracles, then you need to be an advocate and not a critic.  
Last week I got ripped a new asshole so that a parent could get her daughter into a prestigious honor organization.  I had nothing to do with the comments that kept her daughter out of the organization. They were lodged by her former teachers.  I had to sit through about 10 minutes of ass- whipping while the parent complained that I didn't follow the proper procedures.  An administrator sat there and allowed it to happen and then the daughter was allowed in to the organization.  No one came to speak to me afterwards.  Every other teacher on the board that had to listen to this raving maniac were in shock. So now that I have PTSD- what will my school do for Me?
      Administrators are paid an extra $20,000- 30,000 per year because they have to deal with parents and organizing events, tests etc.  Well I get an extra $300 per year to be in charge of this organization. I spend more than 100 hours extra.  How is this fair?  By the way- when you bring up money the catch phrase is- this is all about the kids.  Yes it is.  That is why I haven't quit yet!

Way to go Nancy!

I am an avid CBS Sunday Morning watcher. Yes- the undercurrent here is that I don't attend church on Sunday morning,which I am certain is bothering many of the judgemental Christians out there. Sorry I really enjoy learning about artists, writers, children who are geniuses and hearing commentaries from Ben Stein, Mo Rocca, Bill Geist and especially Nancy Giles.  I agree with Ben Stein about 50% of the time-but I always agree with Nancy's comments.

Today Nancy discussed the hypocrisy in politics. Good Old Newt- out Georgia Peach of a dude- is the toast of the Republican Party this week.  He really socked it to that CNN commentator at his debate. The truth is that he preaches one way of living but he practices another and Nancy brought that to our attention again.  She pointed out all the politicians that are hypocritical such as President Clinton, Anthony Wiener and John Edwards. She even brought up our old friend Eddie Long- the preacher who has long preacher the anti- gay way of life while all along he was the biggest hypocrite of all.  By the way- if Nancy was trying to take sides then why would she as part of the "Liberal media" also be  mentioning past democrats and their philandering escapades?

The point here is not that having an affair has anything to do with whether or not you are a good candidate for office.  But when you put yourself out there as a overtly moral candidate and you have not practiced what you have preached then you deserve to have this brought to the attention of the public.  In my opinion, Newt Gingrich has always demonstrated the epitome of hypocrisy.  He tried to impeach President Clinton for philandering while he was doing the same thing.  He wasn't some small fish at the time- he was speaker of the house.  Personally I don't care that Newt has had three marriages.  I just have never been able to stomach his incredibly huge ego.  I also think he is one of the smartest candidates running for president.  I will give him that.

If you ever want to learn anything from watching TV- try watching Sunday morning or 60 minutes.  I always feel like I have learned something new after watching these programs.  Today they showed a small story about a high school student that came up with an idea to use nano particles to treat cancer. Believe  me- after some of the crap I have to deal with in the classroom- that is one uplifting story!

PS.- The funniest bumper sticker I have have ever seen was in in 1997 in Atlanta-  It said -Nuck Fewt!

I had a big belly laugh over that one!

Surprise- I'm with Condoleeza!

Today I heard an interesting conversation on the CBS morning show- Face the Nation. The premise was that there were authors of some of the top selling novels and they were discussing their lives and their books.  All of the authors were born in the south.  Kathryn Stocket- the author of "The Help" and Walter Isaacson- author of the Steve Jobs bio and Condoleeza were all discussing their childhood experiences dealing with the segregated south. Of course the soundbite that was picked up from this conversation was that Condie was speaking about racism and said the US will never be "race blind". What she meant was that slavery was a terrible start to our nation and that we are gradually overcoming the atrocities but we will never be able to completely be oblivious to race.

I agree with her point and I have no idea what it like to be hit by discrimination.  But to me, the most interesting point that our former Secretary of State made was that our number one problem we have to deal with is fixing our educational system.  That is definitely the long term solution to whether or not our country will continue to grow. 

What can we do to fix education? First we have to make the classroom a safe learning environment. I work at a school that has tremendous diversity.  Many of the classrooms are over crowded, there isn't enough parental involvement and teachers easily get burned out.  On the other hand- there still are a lot of students that are successful and they learn above and beyond what is asked of them.  The difference in each of these classrooms is motivation.  Why will some students not listen or try?  My opinion is that they aren't able to read or think analytically and therefore they can't appreciate learning.  Why is it that happening?  The system allows for mediocrity to reign.

If you are an athlete and you want to succeed at your sport- do you succeed by getting to redo a losing playoff game?  You learn by failing and having to strive harder the next time.  The big new thing in education is the redo.  You should get to redo a failed test.  Does this help?  I my experience it does not help at all. The student will come in and retake the test and will most often get an even worse grade. I am an experienced teacher and about 15 years ago, I figured out the secret to making students learn about motivation was to never allow them to be hopeless-as long as they make they effort to try. I know of teachers that will give a zero on a homework when all the answers are wrong.  The secret is- as long as they try- they should get a 50 or higher.  Then, they have time to get to their senses and start studying more or learning what the correct way is to study and they have a chance.  It works.  I have students that range from 3rd grade reading level in 9th grade to AP and IB juniors and seniors.  Some of my 12th grade AP students were surprised that they weren't will to retake a test that they had failed. Guess what- it has taken a couple of months-but they are all improving.  They are going to learn how to study for a test.  They are going to be ready for the college class room. 

I will readily admit that I do not always have successful learning days in my ninth grade classes.  They are coming from a whole different style of learning at the middle and elementary levels.  Transitioning these students to the high school mentality is very challenging.  The thing that teachers need most is support.  Right now I realize that I can not write up a student that mouths off-because nothing will happen.  I feel that if the students had a real fear of seeing the administrator and if their parents would be angry with them for misbehaving (instead of coming up with an excuse for why they were angry)  would be so much better.  Why can't students be taken out of a class room if they are disruptive? Why do students have to be late to a class more than 7 times before any administrative action is taken? Those are the types of problems we need to look at before we start any other type of intervention.  That is my opinion and I hope Condolezza agrees because the at the heart of our problem is No Child Left Behind.  This policy looks not only at test score improvement,but also at how many students are graduating on time. This has forced social promotion and tied the hands of enforcing suspensions and expulsions.

I say- start with more stringent regulations as far as attendance and behavior and the rest will fall into line.

What were they Thinking?

It is time to comment on the whole Penn State fiasco.  Let me start by saying there is a whole different mind-set in the over 70 crowd.  Remember these people did not grow up with Phil Donahue or Oprah. They had the opinion that if you didn't talk about anything, then it didn't really happen.  I know because as a child I experienced this.  There was no threat of Child Protective services upon brazen adults.  Families handled, or should I say, covered up all their dirty little secrets. My mother commented that one of the women from her sewing club knew Jerry Sandusky and how wonderful he was. No one wants to face the fact that sometimes the worst evil doers have a fantastic mask.  Those are the people you have to worry about the most.  They have interwoven a beautiful lie on the outside.  They pull in their prey and before anyone is aware they have set their trap.

The press is correct that this is all about money and saving the face of Penn State. But don't forget the old saying- children should be seen and not heard.  I suffered both physical and mental abuse as a child.  I would go to the office at school and lay down with a migraine headache.  When the secretary asked if I wanted to go home I said no - I'll go back to class.  I had a close family member that was molested by an older man next door.  She never told me about it until she was 30. She never told my older relatives. They probably wouldn't have elicited that angry-enough reaction.   I don't understand this phenomenon and I don't condone it.  It just is what it is.

I feel horrible for the little boys that had to suffer at the hands of this serial child abuser.  The worst thing for a child is not having someone to protect you, not being able to tell and be believed.  Hopefully this whole incident, along with the Catholic church scandals will bring more awareness to importance of protecting, believing and empowering our children.

Happy news- Gabby is improving!

Gabby Gifford before

Gabby - after the shooting

Wasn't it great to see the shear determination that Gabby exhibited during the films of her rehab?  We all needed to see that touching story.  She is really an inspiration.  I also wanted to give a shout out to the medical staff that helped her along the way. My father had four strokes before he passed away. The first stroke caused him total paralysis on his right side.  His therapists brought him all the way back to walking and speaking.  They pushed him hard and he had a positive outlook.  That was the secret to his success.  One of his physical therapists actually visited him at home just as a friend.  That was extreme dedication. I applaud the medical staff that helped Gabby regain her speech and her mobility.

You all know how I dislike guns.  Thank god we have someone that has fought back from a terrible tragedy.  I hope that some of the families of the victims can derive a ray of hope from Gabby's story.

Occupy Wallstreet and hold the Greece

I have to say that I wish I had the courage to join forces with the people that are protesting all around the country.  I think that it has brought the light to the fact that there is a terrible inequality among the lowly 99% of our population.  I have often said that it is very unfair that my father was able to manage a middle class family on one salary, while most of us have to have two incomes to live at the same level of comfort.  I also get annoyed with the folks that want to put the protesters down by calling them unemployed and slacker hippies. Lets face it - there are plenty of good hard-working people that have lost their jobs in the last couple of years.  They are angry because they have tried to find another job and they can't get a break.  I admire their tenacity.  I realize that some of the protesters haven't behaved well and probably need to be arrested.  The overall majority of people have been peaceful and have lived in very difficult conditions to make their point.  Also- when the police overreact and that is shown on the news- how does that make our country look in comparison to Egypt or Libya? 

I find it distressing that one country, namely Greece, could hold our financial testicles in their greedy little apathetic hands.  They have been on the edge of bankruptcy for several years and their leaders haven't really reacted quick enough.  They keep borrowing and not paying back their debts. Does that sound familiar? The difference is that their upper class isn't only 1%- their middle class has lived a pretty cushy lifestyle. Isn't it ironic that the ancient Greeks were among some worlds most  intelligent philosophers and today their government  is about to bring down the world's economy. 

Normal people are tired of taking the fall for all the rich assholes in the world.  The people that pay the highest tax percentages are not the rich. The banks get bailed out and then in one short year show record profits.  Do they pass that on by investing in more small businesses or hiring more employees? No- Bank(Skank) of America, is about the let go a record number of employees.  Our economy is coming back very slowly due to the banks failure to invest in new business.

The last thing I need to rant on about is - why do the same people that comment on the protesters and the liberal media continue to vote with the 1%?  Don't they get it?  They are getting screwed and they still enter the shower and continue to bend over and take it in the ass! I just don't get it.  Can anyone explain this to me?

What's with kids today?

I have taught for the past 30 years.  When I started teaching, the kids got in trouble for chewing gum and talking too much.  I still had lots of problems with students, mainly because I was so young and I had no idea what I was doing.  I taught an eighth grade  experimental science called ISCS.  The students worked at their own pace and went to "centers " to gather their lab equipment.  I had to share a room with a teacher that had been working for many years and her kids were absolutely quiet.  My students were very loud and obnoxious. She had a "talk" with me at least once a week about everything I was doing wrong.  I also was missing the key ingredient to every "center".  I asked for things like magnets, racetrack, cars, super balls and never got anywhere.  After about 2 months of this- I looked in the other teachers desk after hours and everything was there.  I pretty much went home crying everyday because I had no money to buy things I needed and no one would help me. 

The next year got better.  I started the year instead of replacing a teacher in the middle of the year.  I got to order my own equipment and I taught chemistry and biology.  My students were very sweet and I felt a lot better about my chosen career.  I think the worst incident I had was a student that got caught with firecrackers.

Today the students often are well-mannered.  About 40 - 60 % of all the students have had good home training. Some are hardcore. They are mean, rude, wear their pants sagging (if they have a Y chromosome and dress like a hooker if they have 2 X's.  They are missing the guidance of a strong parent.  Parents are very concerned with being their child's friend or they are too busy trying to make a living that they ignore their kids.  These students do not receive proper nutrition, they stay up late on the computer and they never bring home any homework.  The county mandates that no student should ever receive a zero. Retaking tests is also the norm. 

As far as behavior goes- you can't write anyone up unless they hurt someone.  When the students are rude and despondent- you had best grin and bare it or else you will be reprimanded for writing up too many students.

Students are different in general because they grow up much too quickly.  Some are completely oblivious to the actual purpose of an education.  They need their teachers to not only teach them but also provide the attention they are not receiving at home.  As a teacher, computers have cut a lot of the work that we used to do.  For example, I would sit for hours calculating averages. Don't worry- the administration has thought of many new little chores to keep us busy.  I came home worn out when I was 22 and 30 years later and I am still exhausted on a daily basis. I really enjoy my job most of the time.  I feel that I get through to a majority of my students and it is worth it being exhausted!