It's kind of amazing how much impact one's environment has on one's personality. There is one teacher I work with whose style I really admire, and her kids seem to respect her, too. But when it came to dealing with the testing situation, she was a total bitch. Most teachers don't seem to realize what an ordeal it is for the testing coordinator to deal with all the minute details that are necessary for these required tests, but this woman was completely ridiculous about it.
On the other side of the coin, I was sitting in with the ED kids (emotionally distoibed) while they tested with a couple of "regular" students. I have been with these kids before in their self-contained classroom, where there are a pain to deal with. But here, they were fantastic. Because of the difference of the teacher. The difference was amazing-- it was like they were different children.
Oh, teaching styles. How much you matter.
Wednesday, May 25, 2011
Tuesday, May 24, 2011
And the testing continues...
I've been up to my eyeballs in logistics with the testing, and I'm not even the one in charge. It's ridiculous. One more week...
On my lunch break, I have fulfilled my Valerie Strauss obsession. In this article, she explains exquisitely about why Matthews' "Challenge Index" is problematic. This is what inspired my dislike of Matthews (even more so than his poor writing), so clearly I strongly agree with her.
This one discusses why innovation is not always a good thing. Also well-written.
On my lunch break, I have fulfilled my Valerie Strauss obsession. In this article, she explains exquisitely about why Matthews' "Challenge Index" is problematic. This is what inspired my dislike of Matthews (even more so than his poor writing), so clearly I strongly agree with her.
This one discusses why innovation is not always a good thing. Also well-written.
Monday, May 16, 2011
Bad Slacker
...though I was actually quite busy last week. There seems to be some sort of pattern in May when the weather turns nice, when teachers happen to "get sick" and substitutes don't feel like working. So, I step in. Also, prepping for testing has been quite the feat.
Speaking of which, that's basically all this week will be about: the ever important, increasingly less popular SOLs. Kind of ridiculous, no?
I'm still trying to keep up on education policy. There were two today from VS. The first discusses the failures of education policy in general and is, of course, spot on. The other, from a guest writer, talks about the unfair position in which teachers are often put. Both well-written and salient.
Speaking of which, that's basically all this week will be about: the ever important, increasingly less popular SOLs. Kind of ridiculous, no?
I'm still trying to keep up on education policy. There were two today from VS. The first discusses the failures of education policy in general and is, of course, spot on. The other, from a guest writer, talks about the unfair position in which teachers are often put. Both well-written and salient.
Friday, May 6, 2011
Testing testing
I've been so busy this week! It's been amazing!
Mostly, though, I've been helping getting things ready for the SOL tests. The testing coordinator gets so overwhelmed with paperwork this time of year that she can't do the job all by herself. It's kind of ridiculous. On top of that, I will be trained to administer these tests. Yes, we have to be trained. Every year. More ridiculousness.
On Tuesday, I actually administered a different standardized test, called the DPRs (Degrees of Reading Power). They are somehow supposed to test what grade level students read at, but I'm not sure how accurate they are. I realize I am not an expert in standardized testing, but what makes someone at a fifth grade reading level versus a fourth grade reading level, and can you really assess those minuscule differences by having them fill in the blank with the missing words? (That's all the test was... 70 questions of that. Evidently it's called "cloze.")
Speaking of testing, here is a well-written article about just that to wrap up the week. Horaaaaaaaay Friday.
Mostly, though, I've been helping getting things ready for the SOL tests. The testing coordinator gets so overwhelmed with paperwork this time of year that she can't do the job all by herself. It's kind of ridiculous. On top of that, I will be trained to administer these tests. Yes, we have to be trained. Every year. More ridiculousness.
On Tuesday, I actually administered a different standardized test, called the DPRs (Degrees of Reading Power). They are somehow supposed to test what grade level students read at, but I'm not sure how accurate they are. I realize I am not an expert in standardized testing, but what makes someone at a fifth grade reading level versus a fourth grade reading level, and can you really assess those minuscule differences by having them fill in the blank with the missing words? (That's all the test was... 70 questions of that. Evidently it's called "cloze.")
Speaking of testing, here is a well-written article about just that to wrap up the week. Horaaaaaaaay Friday.
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