So we've reached the halfway point of the school year. December came with the quickness... but things slowed down like crazy post-Thanksgiving. It was like someone told the kids that they didn't have to do work after Thanksgiving. "Yo Mr. DeShields, we ain' supposed to have work... what's this mess? Mr. DeShields... I got a headache (day after day after day)... We supposed to be drawing pictures of snowmen and watching movies and all that"--
Psssshhhh... needless to say, the last 2 weeks before vacation were an adventure. Kids and teachers alike were strugglin. Plenty of highlights though, as always:
-Our holiday program was off the hook. Paul really puts on some nice programs... and the arts department is really committed to what they do. Shout out to Ms. Floyd, Mr. Wegman, Ms. Johnson, and Mr. Saltman for all their hard work.
-The girls won a game 31-0. Unfortunately we played a team of 5th and 6th graders. Frustration abounds with our schedule. The game before, we showed up at a gym 45 minutes away to find out that the team we were playing didn't even have a middle school girl's team. We decided to scrimmage the team's high school squad..... man, that was painful to watch. Our girls did their best, but they were just completely undersized.
-3 IEP meetings in 3 days... all lasting 3 hours each. The IEP marathon was wild... and the meetings were even crazier. Wish I could share the highlights of the meetings, but just know that they were out of control.
Now that we're on break though, I've been thinking about some things for the second half of the year. Leslie and I attended a development session on co-teaching. It was really helpful to learn about some practices and strategies that would work best for us in our inclusion classroom. It'll be cool to be able to implement some of them after the break-
Some thoughts/plans:
-Differentiation has to get better. I've got to be able to address similar needs in different ways. It means more planning, but it also means your class can move forward together (less re-teaching/foundational lessons in the long run).
-Organization is serious. I used to be able to get by with minimal organizational skills, and by passing things off as "looking neat" in college... but for real, you've got to be on point in the classroom. While I haven't lost any papers or tests, I've certainly come close. Word to Target right about now, I need some desktop filing trays.
-More to come as my mind slowly recovers from being in break mode......
------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
Break is legit so far... and there's still more break to be had....
Here's what I've done:
NAP
Read- I'm reading Ben Carson's new book about taking risks, and a book by the former CEO of HR Block (he gave up his position to become a high school math teacher in kansas city--interesting so far, but I keep sensing his ego more and more).
Watch movies (I'm up to 12)
-Slumdog millionaire is the best movie I've seen in a minute... freida pinto is ill-na-na too... and I shall marry her.
-I waited forever to see Che: The Argentine (or Che Part One)-- it was well done, but was entirely about the Cuban Revolution-- it was interesting to see the dynamic between Guevara and Fidel....Guevara basically did everything Fidel told him to. I read a review that said the movie cast Guevara as being both controversial and as a revolutionary... I'd have to disagree and say it cast him as being a positive influential figure-- most of his controversies stem from post-Cuban Revolution...specifically dealing with him torturing bolivians.... so it'll be interesting to see if they address it at all in part 2?!
something stuck with me from the movie though-- Guevara was big on educating his soldiers and making sure that they were literate-- "One who cannot read or write is easily deceived".... so true.
Spending time:
the best part of being home is spending a good deal of time with family and friends. my parents both work longgggg hours, so i've really enjoyed the past two days with them.
on Christmas, my grandparents, my uncle, and my cousin came over. we had a meal, I passed out, and we all had a great time. it's just really nice to get up and spend uninterrupted time with loved ones.
Monday, December 22, 2008
Saturday, December 6, 2008
Different strokes for different folks...
So...I've been trying to work on differentiation more and more in my classroom in an effort to address some individual needs, and to allow my kids to work in groups more--we're getting there... but still, another attempt:
Slept on like a red eye.....
Again, my apologies for not updating for a hot minute. November-December have just been nonstop.
A few things:
The girls are 3-0! After losing all three of our tournament games, I wondered if the girls would be ready to start league play. After winning 37-2 and 30-2, it's clear that they were determined to turn things around. Our third win came from a forfeit-- and now we face our toughest test yet.... Friendship Woodridge on Monday. I don't know why they're coming to our house with that "friendship" nonsense... but seriously-- Kelanji (one of our girls) was telling me that Woodridge likes to press the heck out of the teams they play. We have our work cut out for us.... but it'll be a good test for us regardless of the result.
I've been really impressed by how motivated the girls have been to get better. Everyone got to play in our last game, and some of the girls realized how much work they need to do in order to be a regular contributor. It's good to see that they're not complacent with where they're at... and they're inspired by each other's skills....
Friday, we took the teams to the Wizards/Lakers game. It was a lot of fun to get to spend time with the kids outside of school...especially at a Wizards game. We had a really good time... and Kobe played like garbage, so all was well with the world that night. (well.... almost.)
Parents need to stop schemin'. DC Special Education is in shambles (at least in DCPS and most charter schools)-- because parents are just steady suing the school system for what we might call educational malpractice. Basically... parents look for "inadequacies" in the way a school provides its special education services, and take the school to court to try to get compensatory services for their child (which usually means upwards of 40,000$ a year to send their child to a boarding school). While I'm sure some children are the victims of a poor education, and one that does not meet their IEP needs, there have definitely been quite a few parents who have exploited the system. As a result, Special Education is costing DCPS mad money each year.... and each year our programs lose more and more money and other resources. Needless to say, we've been experiencing some of this lately-- and it's discouraging to see parents take away from the system that's supposed to be helping their child.....
I was able to start working on remedial reading skills with a few of my students last week. I must confess that I have no clue how to teach reading, and I'm pretty intimidated by the thought of it. Regardless, we've started on phonics and blending.... and my students will be excellent readers by the end of the year. One of the girls I'm working with already blends... and she does it quite well. She usually does it silently... and then is just afraid to try to pronounce the word. When you sit and listen to her blend, its clear that she's right 95% of the time... but it's hard to get a child not to be afraid of mispronunciation. It seems silly, but I remember how afraid I used to be to make a mistake when I was reading in front of the class... makes you wonder how much confidence plays a role in reluctant readers-- I was excited that the one girl in particular that I was working with on Thursday was ALREADY making progress.... things were really looking up.
Anyway, I was able to grip some resources from one of our more veteran reading teachers. She's the G.O.A.T. and is always so eager to offer her services-- we talked for a bit about how the girl I was working with was struggling with her reading and writing-- She had worked with her last year.... and gave me a look like.... don't be disappointed when I tell you this..... Well... she basically told me that the girl has serious recall problems. One day she'll know her long and short a sounds like it's her job.... the next, she'll forget we even talked about them. Talk about a buzzkill! I walked out of her classroom with more resolve than ever... it was a blessing in disguise I suppose as I need to remain motivated with the goal of having each one of our students be strong readers by the end of the year.
And shout out to Ms. Floyd and Mr. Wegman who were more than accommodating when I asked if I could grab students out of their classes. Ms. Floyd had the quote of the week, "She can't read my music if she can't read!".... YUP!
I'm excited for Christmas. It was really nice to be at home at Thanksgiving and to spend time with family and friends. I really enjoy being at home... don't get me wrong... DC is cool, and I've definitely enjoyed my time here. My calling is in Camden or Philly though... I know that's where God wants me to be. I'm glad I have my kids here and a great supportive staff who have become friends at Paul.... they carry me through. There's not much left for me in DC otherwise... so it's nice to have that support system in place at school. I won't say that I regret my decision to stay in DC-- it's all part of God's plan for me to be here... but I am anxious and excited to get back home at some point.
With that said....
Accept the master plan with joy in your heart-- stop trying to control a destiny that is not yours to control. Stop dreaming, and start living.
EP
A few things:
The girls are 3-0! After losing all three of our tournament games, I wondered if the girls would be ready to start league play. After winning 37-2 and 30-2, it's clear that they were determined to turn things around. Our third win came from a forfeit-- and now we face our toughest test yet.... Friendship Woodridge on Monday. I don't know why they're coming to our house with that "friendship" nonsense... but seriously-- Kelanji (one of our girls) was telling me that Woodridge likes to press the heck out of the teams they play. We have our work cut out for us.... but it'll be a good test for us regardless of the result.
I've been really impressed by how motivated the girls have been to get better. Everyone got to play in our last game, and some of the girls realized how much work they need to do in order to be a regular contributor. It's good to see that they're not complacent with where they're at... and they're inspired by each other's skills....
Friday, we took the teams to the Wizards/Lakers game. It was a lot of fun to get to spend time with the kids outside of school...especially at a Wizards game. We had a really good time... and Kobe played like garbage, so all was well with the world that night. (well.... almost.)
Parents need to stop schemin'. DC Special Education is in shambles (at least in DCPS and most charter schools)-- because parents are just steady suing the school system for what we might call educational malpractice. Basically... parents look for "inadequacies" in the way a school provides its special education services, and take the school to court to try to get compensatory services for their child (which usually means upwards of 40,000$ a year to send their child to a boarding school). While I'm sure some children are the victims of a poor education, and one that does not meet their IEP needs, there have definitely been quite a few parents who have exploited the system. As a result, Special Education is costing DCPS mad money each year.... and each year our programs lose more and more money and other resources. Needless to say, we've been experiencing some of this lately-- and it's discouraging to see parents take away from the system that's supposed to be helping their child.....
I was able to start working on remedial reading skills with a few of my students last week. I must confess that I have no clue how to teach reading, and I'm pretty intimidated by the thought of it. Regardless, we've started on phonics and blending.... and my students will be excellent readers by the end of the year. One of the girls I'm working with already blends... and she does it quite well. She usually does it silently... and then is just afraid to try to pronounce the word. When you sit and listen to her blend, its clear that she's right 95% of the time... but it's hard to get a child not to be afraid of mispronunciation. It seems silly, but I remember how afraid I used to be to make a mistake when I was reading in front of the class... makes you wonder how much confidence plays a role in reluctant readers-- I was excited that the one girl in particular that I was working with on Thursday was ALREADY making progress.... things were really looking up.
Anyway, I was able to grip some resources from one of our more veteran reading teachers. She's the G.O.A.T. and is always so eager to offer her services-- we talked for a bit about how the girl I was working with was struggling with her reading and writing-- She had worked with her last year.... and gave me a look like.... don't be disappointed when I tell you this..... Well... she basically told me that the girl has serious recall problems. One day she'll know her long and short a sounds like it's her job.... the next, she'll forget we even talked about them. Talk about a buzzkill! I walked out of her classroom with more resolve than ever... it was a blessing in disguise I suppose as I need to remain motivated with the goal of having each one of our students be strong readers by the end of the year.
And shout out to Ms. Floyd and Mr. Wegman who were more than accommodating when I asked if I could grab students out of their classes. Ms. Floyd had the quote of the week, "She can't read my music if she can't read!".... YUP!
I'm excited for Christmas. It was really nice to be at home at Thanksgiving and to spend time with family and friends. I really enjoy being at home... don't get me wrong... DC is cool, and I've definitely enjoyed my time here. My calling is in Camden or Philly though... I know that's where God wants me to be. I'm glad I have my kids here and a great supportive staff who have become friends at Paul.... they carry me through. There's not much left for me in DC otherwise... so it's nice to have that support system in place at school. I won't say that I regret my decision to stay in DC-- it's all part of God's plan for me to be here... but I am anxious and excited to get back home at some point.
With that said....
Accept the master plan with joy in your heart-- stop trying to control a destiny that is not yours to control. Stop dreaming, and start living.
EP
Wednesday, December 3, 2008
STAY TUNED....
For an update--haven't had a moment to write, but will def. catch yall up soon.
peacepeace
-edPrince
peacepeace
-edPrince
Wednesday, November 19, 2008
"Your streets are upside down...I'm here to represent"
It's been a quick minute since I've been able to update... but a lot has been occupying my time!
First things first... i'm extremely proud of my girl's for their performance over the weekend. For those of you who don't know, I'm the assistant girl's basketball coach for the 6-8th grade. This past weekend, we had a 3-game tournament in Bowie, M.D. To be quite honest, our first game on Friday night was a disaster. The girls came out flat, goofing around on the court, and they appeared to just be disinterested in the game. We lost by 23. Saturday night, we played another tough team. The girls came our firing .... they were playing with intensity... getting open looks, passing the ball well... and finally... yes finally, they were rebounding the ball. It came down to the last few seconds... and unfortunately, we lost by 2 points. The girls were visibly crushed. The team as a whole really came together that night... no one complained about playing time, the girls on the bench cheered their teammates on... it was just a great feeling to be apart of. I really felt like a proud parent. On Sunday... we had to play a morning game. Everyone was exhausted... and it showed in the way we played. The girls started slowly... again... but they were able to pull the game within 1 with a minute and some change to play. The game ended once again with us falling just a bit short... and we lost by 1. It was a hard 0-3 weekend for the girls to swallow.. but I was proud of the progress they had made in such short time. We still have a lot of work to do, but the girls have seen how well they can play when they're motivated. At times, they play some lockdown defense... and if we can learn to score on a consistent basis.... we're going to be on par with the bulls of the EARLY 90s. Ok... maybe not just yet... but you know what I mean.
Big ups to http://teachersol.blogspot.com/ I've been hitting this DC special education blog up a lot for new ideas, inspirations, and up-to-date news on special education mandates and the like.
I checked out Michelle Rhee's five year plan (draft) for student achievement today. ( http://www.k12.dc.us/chancellor/documents/DCPS_Five-Year-Plan_Draft_Oct_29_2008.pdf) It was certainly well-detailed and left out most of the more controversial issues going on (potentially creating a state of emergency in DCPS and turning schools into charter schools). It's nice to see that Ms. Rhee is not completely wrapped up with the teacher contract/union stuff... as there are changes to be made elsewhere... and we need a plan to do it.
As a Special Educator, you know my main concern was how we plan to address Special Education in the District over the next five years. Rhee outlined her 6 goals/needs for change as being Compelling schools, Great people, Alligned Curriculum, Data-Driven Decisions, Effective Central Office, and an Engaged Community. I decided to search the document specifically for her plan regarding special education, and found the following:
A general blurb about compelling schools: We will do this (create compelling schools) by enhancing the quality of our school portfolio, ensuring accountability for school performance, making schools safer and more modern, and expanding our ability to meet the needs of students with special needs.
First things first... i'm extremely proud of my girl's for their performance over the weekend. For those of you who don't know, I'm the assistant girl's basketball coach for the 6-8th grade. This past weekend, we had a 3-game tournament in Bowie, M.D. To be quite honest, our first game on Friday night was a disaster. The girls came out flat, goofing around on the court, and they appeared to just be disinterested in the game. We lost by 23. Saturday night, we played another tough team. The girls came our firing .... they were playing with intensity... getting open looks, passing the ball well... and finally... yes finally, they were rebounding the ball. It came down to the last few seconds... and unfortunately, we lost by 2 points. The girls were visibly crushed. The team as a whole really came together that night... no one complained about playing time, the girls on the bench cheered their teammates on... it was just a great feeling to be apart of. I really felt like a proud parent. On Sunday... we had to play a morning game. Everyone was exhausted... and it showed in the way we played. The girls started slowly... again... but they were able to pull the game within 1 with a minute and some change to play. The game ended once again with us falling just a bit short... and we lost by 1. It was a hard 0-3 weekend for the girls to swallow.. but I was proud of the progress they had made in such short time. We still have a lot of work to do, but the girls have seen how well they can play when they're motivated. At times, they play some lockdown defense... and if we can learn to score on a consistent basis.... we're going to be on par with the bulls of the EARLY 90s. Ok... maybe not just yet... but you know what I mean.
Big ups to http://teachersol.blogspot.com/ I've been hitting this DC special education blog up a lot for new ideas, inspirations, and up-to-date news on special education mandates and the like.
I checked out Michelle Rhee's five year plan (draft) for student achievement today. ( http://www.k12.dc.us/chancellor/documents/DCPS_Five-Year-Plan_Draft_Oct_29_2008.pdf) It was certainly well-detailed and left out most of the more controversial issues going on (potentially creating a state of emergency in DCPS and turning schools into charter schools). It's nice to see that Ms. Rhee is not completely wrapped up with the teacher contract/union stuff... as there are changes to be made elsewhere... and we need a plan to do it.
As a Special Educator, you know my main concern was how we plan to address Special Education in the District over the next five years. Rhee outlined her 6 goals/needs for change as being Compelling schools, Great people, Alligned Curriculum, Data-Driven Decisions, Effective Central Office, and an Engaged Community. I decided to search the document specifically for her plan regarding special education, and found the following:
A general blurb about compelling schools: We will do this (create compelling schools) by enhancing the quality of our school portfolio, ensuring accountability for school performance, making schools safer and more modern, and expanding our ability to meet the needs of students with special needs.
I feel like this is all too common in plans in proposals in education-- "We'll give more money and attention to special education... we'll make sure that the needs of our neediest children are met"... with no specific plan in place. How about running special education programs efficiently so that we don't get sued for millions of dollars for being out of compliance? Or maybe we can hire certified special ed. teachers and compensate them according to their work instead of just hiring people who didn't make the cut to teach special education. Maybe I'm just being ambitious here.
I'm excited to get home for Thanksgiving. It will be nice to spend some quality time with friends, family, the dog, and my bed. I also have big plans to begin a phonics-based reading program with some of my lower-level performers when I get back. I was able to sit down (with Jess, my PD) and identify some of the things that are holding certain groups of students from performing at their highest level. Big ups to her-- that was really helpful. I came to the conclusion that certain students lack the basic reading skills that they'll need in order to perform higher levels of blooms. I'm real excited to get that going-- It's painful to see some of my students not being able to read.... what's worse is that they're eager to read, but simply cannot decode anything higher than a three letter word. Sending them to high school without reading skills is not an option. Most literature suggests that students who can't read by the 10th grade are put in survival mode... all hope at reading is abandoned... and the goal becomes to get them to graduation. That's why middle school is so important... we're not only preparing our students for high school.. but preparing them not to be lost in the mix once they get there.
Thursday, November 13, 2008
"We talkin' bout PRACTICE.....PRACTICE"
For a short week (off on Tuesday for Veteran's Day), this has been a long week so far. I think I tend to get comfortable with these short weeks, and don't prepare myself adequately for the rigors of the week as a whole. My day starts at 7am when we get to school. Classes are over at 3:30. Basketball practice (more on that later) starts at 3:45 and ends at 6. 11 hour days are no joke! The first few months of school, I used to pass out on my desk 7th period (a planning period-- no class), because my body would just involuntarily shut down. I've since stopped napping in school, but have made an honest effort to get to bed by 8:30 every night. I haven't been to bed at 8:30 since elementary school-- this is wild! Lately, i've been sleeping pretty poorly too. I tend to wake up every two hours, and slowly drift back to sleep. Even though I budget for 9 hours each night, I usually get about 6 hours of solid sleep.
The past few days have been BUSY. Despite the nonstop action, I've been feeling better about the flow of the day/week. It's nice to start a new advisory with a plan in place, knowing all of my students, and being in control of most things in the classroom. I'm gradually beginning to be on top of things too....it's not enough to know students-- you have to know them in and out. As a special educator, and especially as a case manager.. it's not enough to know how a student is doing in my class... I have to know how he/she is doing in all of their classes. I have to know their situation at home, their background, their level of performance, their abilities, their weaknesses, their tendencies... I've come to know my students in ways that I would have never imagined (sometimes to my dismay). Some of our kids are going through, or have gone through a whole lot at such a young age. Your heart breaks for them, but it's also encouraging to see them seemingly carry on so well despite their circumstances. These are some of the most resilient people I've ever met. My relationship with my kids has afforded me the opportunity to have such meaningful interactions that I really value and enjoy. I find myself thinking about my kids all the time--I just thank God that I don't have to take care of them when they leave school! HA!
The new advisory has had its fair share of ups and downs. I've seen some motivation from some sutdents that I never saw in the first advisory. I'm also seeing certain students remaining in their old ways--failing to turn in assignments, not paying attention in class, and just having a lack of interest in general. Some of my kids become space cadets from the moment they sit in their seats.... no wonder NASA spends so much $$$$$-- I swear they're sponsoring my kids for their daily space missions..... Regardless of the downs, it's been a joy to witness the progress my kids are making. "High School Musical 3's Biggest Fan" has really turned things around. He went from not writing complete thoughts/sentences on assignments to writing full grammatically correct paragraphs with complete thoughts that show evidence of thorough analysis. Others have made tremendous social and emotional growth. It's been a real blessing to witness some guys mature.... it's a slow process... but I've been able to celebrate (with them) their small lessons learned as I see them happen.
The other joy in my life is girl's basketball. We have a squad of about 12-14 girls (6-8th grade) who are eager to learn the game and be part of the team. The problem is that we have 4-5 girls who have a lot of skill... they've been playing for a few years now. Aside from them, the rest of the team really needs to learn the basic foundations of the sport. Practice is wild.... some girls are going behind their back doing reverse layups, while others are double dribbling and shooting on the wrong basket. Obviously, we want everyone to get playing time and an equal exposure to the sport. We also want to be a competitive team.
We had our first scrimmage last night. What an adventure. We started slow... the other squad had this girl who was like 5'9... about my size, and quick as all. She would put the ball on the floor... gather, and be at the hoop for a layup. She must've scored like 15 quick points. Most of our inexperienced girls had NO clue what to do... and were very nervous! Some of them almost came to tears they were so nervous! It was a hot mess. We had some bright spots, and played really solid defense.... but we still have a lot of work to do. After losing 32-14, it was disappointing to see only 10 girls (out of 16) come to practice today. We're trying to create an atmosphere that allows for the girls to have fun and be a solid team at the same time. We have the talent-- we just don't have the commitment and the motivation just yet. For some girls, unfortunately, basketball might not be the best choice for them-- It's hard to have that conversation... seeing how much fun they have at practice and how hard they want to learn.... but how do you keep girls on the team who only show up to one practice per week? But coach... we talkin bout PRACTICE! I'm waiting for it... I really am.
Commit yourself. Be apart of something. It is only when you give of yourself that you can receive so much more. When you give, give your whole self. Anything less is just walking through the motions. Do not let others think that you are committed to something that your heart is not in. You never know who is depending on you, do not let them down. Make a statement about yourself with your dedication and integrity. Be someone and something to someone else. Be committed.
-ed.Prince
Check this out: I've been working on this project for quite some time since I saw it posted on the internet (http://www.cs.cmu.edu/~johnny/projects/wii/) awhile ago. You can make your own smartboard (2,500$ touch-screen whiteboard) with simply a nintendo wii remote (40$) an infra-red pen (10-30$), and of course a projector. If your school provides projectors, this could be an excellent tool for you in your classroom. I've had some success with my visual learners (almost everyone can benefit from a visual) already. In this video, I demonstrate a few applications that might be appropriate for your classroom.
The past few days have been BUSY. Despite the nonstop action, I've been feeling better about the flow of the day/week. It's nice to start a new advisory with a plan in place, knowing all of my students, and being in control of most things in the classroom. I'm gradually beginning to be on top of things too....it's not enough to know students-- you have to know them in and out. As a special educator, and especially as a case manager.. it's not enough to know how a student is doing in my class... I have to know how he/she is doing in all of their classes. I have to know their situation at home, their background, their level of performance, their abilities, their weaknesses, their tendencies... I've come to know my students in ways that I would have never imagined (sometimes to my dismay). Some of our kids are going through, or have gone through a whole lot at such a young age. Your heart breaks for them, but it's also encouraging to see them seemingly carry on so well despite their circumstances. These are some of the most resilient people I've ever met. My relationship with my kids has afforded me the opportunity to have such meaningful interactions that I really value and enjoy. I find myself thinking about my kids all the time--I just thank God that I don't have to take care of them when they leave school! HA!
The new advisory has had its fair share of ups and downs. I've seen some motivation from some sutdents that I never saw in the first advisory. I'm also seeing certain students remaining in their old ways--failing to turn in assignments, not paying attention in class, and just having a lack of interest in general. Some of my kids become space cadets from the moment they sit in their seats.... no wonder NASA spends so much $$$$$-- I swear they're sponsoring my kids for their daily space missions..... Regardless of the downs, it's been a joy to witness the progress my kids are making. "High School Musical 3's Biggest Fan" has really turned things around. He went from not writing complete thoughts/sentences on assignments to writing full grammatically correct paragraphs with complete thoughts that show evidence of thorough analysis. Others have made tremendous social and emotional growth. It's been a real blessing to witness some guys mature.... it's a slow process... but I've been able to celebrate (with them) their small lessons learned as I see them happen.
The other joy in my life is girl's basketball. We have a squad of about 12-14 girls (6-8th grade) who are eager to learn the game and be part of the team. The problem is that we have 4-5 girls who have a lot of skill... they've been playing for a few years now. Aside from them, the rest of the team really needs to learn the basic foundations of the sport. Practice is wild.... some girls are going behind their back doing reverse layups, while others are double dribbling and shooting on the wrong basket. Obviously, we want everyone to get playing time and an equal exposure to the sport. We also want to be a competitive team.
We had our first scrimmage last night. What an adventure. We started slow... the other squad had this girl who was like 5'9... about my size, and quick as all. She would put the ball on the floor... gather, and be at the hoop for a layup. She must've scored like 15 quick points. Most of our inexperienced girls had NO clue what to do... and were very nervous! Some of them almost came to tears they were so nervous! It was a hot mess. We had some bright spots, and played really solid defense.... but we still have a lot of work to do. After losing 32-14, it was disappointing to see only 10 girls (out of 16) come to practice today. We're trying to create an atmosphere that allows for the girls to have fun and be a solid team at the same time. We have the talent-- we just don't have the commitment and the motivation just yet. For some girls, unfortunately, basketball might not be the best choice for them-- It's hard to have that conversation... seeing how much fun they have at practice and how hard they want to learn.... but how do you keep girls on the team who only show up to one practice per week? But coach... we talkin bout PRACTICE! I'm waiting for it... I really am.
Commit yourself. Be apart of something. It is only when you give of yourself that you can receive so much more. When you give, give your whole self. Anything less is just walking through the motions. Do not let others think that you are committed to something that your heart is not in. You never know who is depending on you, do not let them down. Make a statement about yourself with your dedication and integrity. Be someone and something to someone else. Be committed.
-ed.Prince
Check this out: I've been working on this project for quite some time since I saw it posted on the internet (http://www.cs.cmu.edu/~johnny/projects/wii/) awhile ago. You can make your own smartboard (2,500$ touch-screen whiteboard) with simply a nintendo wii remote (40$) an infra-red pen (10-30$), and of course a projector. If your school provides projectors, this could be an excellent tool for you in your classroom. I've had some success with my visual learners (almost everyone can benefit from a visual) already. In this video, I demonstrate a few applications that might be appropriate for your classroom.
Friday, November 7, 2008
"Parents just don't understand"
I'm finding that this is not the case with Paul parents. Paul parents understand.
Actually, the prevailing perception of parents in urban school districts is that they don't have an interest in their child's education. The reality of the situation is that parents want their children to succeeed (as if this wasn't common sense), and are kicking their behinds at home in order to make sure that they will. The disconnect lies in the fact that not all parents can be involved in their child's education in traditional ways. This is why most teachers will assume that a parent simply does not care about their child's performance.
Case in point-- today we had parent-teacher conferences. I've had 7 parents come to conferences in the course of 7 hours. I teach approximately 90 students. Does the turnout for parent-teacher conferences reflect the level of parental involvement? Absolutely not. I really don't know how we can expect a large turnout for conferences when they're scheduled from noon until 7 pm. This isn't to knock our scheduling at all. Imagine a parent can't get out of work early. It's Friday... you know everyone is trying to leave work by 5 (at the latest). DC traffic is already a pain, and parents have to race to school before 7oclock? I can't say that I'd be beat to do conferences either.
What's really caught me off guard is the fact that most parents came in with an agenda. Now, I was expecting to explain why I gave Sally Sue a C, or why Easy Eddie ended up failing for this advisory. Instead, I'd say that 5 of the 7 parents came in to explain their own faults. "I need to do better this advisory, I haven't been on my son/daughter as much as I need to". "I like to put all of the negative things on me... he doesn't live with me just yet, and until he does we might continue to experience some rough times". It was inspiring to see some parents take responsibility for their child's grades, but at the same times I was hoping they wouldn't be so hard on themselves. In most cases, I think their children could benefit from a little tough love here and there, but I really hope that the parents weren't making excuses for them. It seemed as though some of the parents were being carried by their children. "My son said", "My daughter wants to do this..." "I don't want them to think..."... which is fine, you'll have whatever dynamic you will with your son/daughter--but establish some sort of authority.....dag.
I genuinely enjoyed my first bout of parent-teacher conferences. It was great to rave to parents about their child-- I can't say that I did much ranting. The pride that each parent has in their child was evident-- and it was nice to see that in each smile and "Why thank you" that they gave when a complement was dropped.
Every parent is a teacher, and every teacher a parent. As parents, we are responsible for teaching our children how to grow in to young men and women, while also providing the most consistent and fiulfilling love and nourishment possible. As teachers, we are responsible for giving our students the skills and the knowledge necessary to succeed in life. It is only when we embrace both the role of the teacher and the parent that we can truly become a driving force in our children's lives.
ed Prince.
Actually, the prevailing perception of parents in urban school districts is that they don't have an interest in their child's education. The reality of the situation is that parents want their children to succeeed (as if this wasn't common sense), and are kicking their behinds at home in order to make sure that they will. The disconnect lies in the fact that not all parents can be involved in their child's education in traditional ways. This is why most teachers will assume that a parent simply does not care about their child's performance.
Case in point-- today we had parent-teacher conferences. I've had 7 parents come to conferences in the course of 7 hours. I teach approximately 90 students. Does the turnout for parent-teacher conferences reflect the level of parental involvement? Absolutely not. I really don't know how we can expect a large turnout for conferences when they're scheduled from noon until 7 pm. This isn't to knock our scheduling at all. Imagine a parent can't get out of work early. It's Friday... you know everyone is trying to leave work by 5 (at the latest). DC traffic is already a pain, and parents have to race to school before 7oclock? I can't say that I'd be beat to do conferences either.
What's really caught me off guard is the fact that most parents came in with an agenda. Now, I was expecting to explain why I gave Sally Sue a C, or why Easy Eddie ended up failing for this advisory. Instead, I'd say that 5 of the 7 parents came in to explain their own faults. "I need to do better this advisory, I haven't been on my son/daughter as much as I need to". "I like to put all of the negative things on me... he doesn't live with me just yet, and until he does we might continue to experience some rough times". It was inspiring to see some parents take responsibility for their child's grades, but at the same times I was hoping they wouldn't be so hard on themselves. In most cases, I think their children could benefit from a little tough love here and there, but I really hope that the parents weren't making excuses for them. It seemed as though some of the parents were being carried by their children. "My son said", "My daughter wants to do this..." "I don't want them to think..."... which is fine, you'll have whatever dynamic you will with your son/daughter--but establish some sort of authority.....dag.
I genuinely enjoyed my first bout of parent-teacher conferences. It was great to rave to parents about their child-- I can't say that I did much ranting. The pride that each parent has in their child was evident-- and it was nice to see that in each smile and "Why thank you" that they gave when a complement was dropped.
Every parent is a teacher, and every teacher a parent. As parents, we are responsible for teaching our children how to grow in to young men and women, while also providing the most consistent and fiulfilling love and nourishment possible. As teachers, we are responsible for giving our students the skills and the knowledge necessary to succeed in life. It is only when we embrace both the role of the teacher and the parent that we can truly become a driving force in our children's lives.
ed Prince.
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