As I scored the last Advanced English III exams and judged the quality of exams about The Ox-Bow Incident and Dead Poets Society about 3:45 p.m. yesterday, it was quiet in the building. I finished up the exams, printed out my grade verification reports, put a few more things away and then quietly went home. The evening got a little longer with a rain out in Clinton, so instead of umpiring my first Iowa high school softball game, it was home to clean the pool.
And no, there were no balloons dropping from the ceiling, no streamers blasting across the sky, no fireworks booming to announce the official last day of school. Amber and I did celebrate...if going to the Pizza Ranch in Muscatine counts as celebration, but the interesting thing about the end of a school year anymore is the realization that the end only means a new beginning.
My book bag was packed with crap I needed to take back home with me, including my summer umpiring schedule, some CD's, and my copy of The Greatest Showman that I watched during 5th period today. Also int the bag, though, was a copy of a public speaking course from Blackhawk College that I will be analyzing to create my own curriculum for next school year. You see, teaching doesn't really end. There are breaks and downtimes, but it doesn't end.
I suppose maybe when I retire, which won't be anytime soon, there will be some type of real end, but for now, yesterday was just the last day before the first day of a new beginning.
June will be full of umpiring softball and officiating basketball. July will feature a trip to South Dakota with Cole for his high school graduation gift and a trip to Mississippi with Amber to see Greg's place near the gulf. And the 4th of July usually means a swimming party and cookout at our house and maybe some local fireworks viewing.
Amber claims that after July 4th, it feels like the summer break is winding down, and I suppose that the holiday at least feels like the half-way point. As quickly as this school year went, it will be time to get to know a new group of students. In fact, I'm already working on it - checking into their PSAT 10 scores. I even sent out a little email encouraging them to read over the summer.
But now it's Saturday morning. True, I have a busy weekend starting with a Class 4A Regional Championship game. Then there is graduation tomorrow and an attempt to get to some graduation parties. Monday just might be a complete day off, maybe. And then it's back to school on Tuesday for an "institute day". Then the 17-18 school year is officially over.
And did I mention no yearbook! I'm figuratively dancing a jig for that component of this summer break!
Saturday, May 26, 2018
Sunday, May 20, 2018
It's the Light....I See It!
The last day for seniors was Friday. All week, they were a bit squirrely, but Friday was what appeared to be Hawaiian Day. They started with some type of "beach party" in the parking lot before school, whooped and hollered a little bit between classes in the hallway, and apparently exited a half hour before the end of the day - a day that was a 1:30 dismissal day.
I'm old enough now to have witnessed many "last days" for seniors. Some of the days are full of mischief, while others are pretty tame. This particular senior class was fairly tame, and it fit them pretty well. They were a classy group of kids for the most part. They excelled academically and with extra-curriculars, and they were personable and fun.
So now this coming week is the last week for everyone else. Second semester exams are Thursday and Friday, which leaves Monday, Tuesday, and Wednesday to wrap up loose ends and call it a school year. I have an essay exam for my semester exams. The English III sections have one set of prompts to select from, mostly regarding the novel we recently reviewed and analyzed - Fahrenheit 451. The advanced sections have two sets of prompts, as they will complete two essays for their exam, and those prompts cover the novel those students read - The Ox-Bow Incident.
Having written essays for semester exams isn't the easiest way to end the year. Scoring the essays is a bit time-consuming, but I think this format best resembles what many students will encounter in college. Unfortunately, some teachers don't give much of an exam at all, which is a bit frustrating. What is not frustrating is being free from end of they school year yearbook issues. My past three years at Rockridge, the end of the school year was no where near the end. In fact, the end was actually 2-3 weeks later, full of frustration as I battled staffers to come back and finish work. NOT THIS YEAR, THOUGH. When I wrap everything up, complete my checkout list, and finalize grades, I will be done for 17-18. That's going to feel great!
So the proverbial light is just down the tunnel. We will finish up Dead Poets Society tomorrow or maybe Tuesday, and then my DVD copy of Fahrenheit 451 arrived, so I can show the English III sections the remainder of that film. In there somewhere I need to have the exit survey completed, and I need to clear my walls and desk and bulletin boards of everything that needs to be packed away.
Summer is close!
I'm old enough now to have witnessed many "last days" for seniors. Some of the days are full of mischief, while others are pretty tame. This particular senior class was fairly tame, and it fit them pretty well. They were a classy group of kids for the most part. They excelled academically and with extra-curriculars, and they were personable and fun.
So now this coming week is the last week for everyone else. Second semester exams are Thursday and Friday, which leaves Monday, Tuesday, and Wednesday to wrap up loose ends and call it a school year. I have an essay exam for my semester exams. The English III sections have one set of prompts to select from, mostly regarding the novel we recently reviewed and analyzed - Fahrenheit 451. The advanced sections have two sets of prompts, as they will complete two essays for their exam, and those prompts cover the novel those students read - The Ox-Bow Incident.
Having written essays for semester exams isn't the easiest way to end the year. Scoring the essays is a bit time-consuming, but I think this format best resembles what many students will encounter in college. Unfortunately, some teachers don't give much of an exam at all, which is a bit frustrating. What is not frustrating is being free from end of they school year yearbook issues. My past three years at Rockridge, the end of the school year was no where near the end. In fact, the end was actually 2-3 weeks later, full of frustration as I battled staffers to come back and finish work. NOT THIS YEAR, THOUGH. When I wrap everything up, complete my checkout list, and finalize grades, I will be done for 17-18. That's going to feel great!
So the proverbial light is just down the tunnel. We will finish up Dead Poets Society tomorrow or maybe Tuesday, and then my DVD copy of Fahrenheit 451 arrived, so I can show the English III sections the remainder of that film. In there somewhere I need to have the exit survey completed, and I need to clear my walls and desk and bulletin boards of everything that needs to be packed away.
Summer is close!
Saturday, May 12, 2018
Working Athletic Post Seasons
As an umpire and basketball official, working post-season tournament games is considered an accomplishment. Being assigned by the IHSA to work a regional, sectional, supersectional, or state finals event demonstrates that an officials has met designated criteria in order to be eligible to work post-season contests.
I have heard that officials selected for state finals often have been evaluated in person by IHSA staff, but there is no way that IHSA administrators can criss-cross the state and personally observe and evaluate all officials each year, so a "point system" is used to help state administrators select officials for the various levels of post-season play.
All officials working towards a goal of working post-season play must view an online presentation at the beginning of a season and then must pass an online test in that sport, gaining a certain number of "power points" for each level of scoring - for example, a perfect score on the online test earns an official 5 power points. In addition to these criteria, an official must pass an online concussion awareness test. Finally, another criteria for earning points is to attend a Level 1/2 clinic. These clinics discuss new rule changes and/or expectations for the upcoming sports season.
The next area of points awarded to an official regard the number of varsity games worked. The more varsity games an official works, the more points he/she earns. The IHSA also does track the level of the varsity contests - whether they were 1A/2A games or 3A/4A games. Based on the number of games worked, then, another points criteria is ratings by coaches. After each game, the participating coaches are suppose to rate the officials. Officials earn more power points if the coaches submit more ratings. Something I now do to help remind coaches to rate me is to send out an email reminder. (I just send out an email reminding coaches of the game worked and ask for a rating and consideration in their Top 15 list.) Another scoring criteria based on coaches input is the Top 15 lists. Coaches are asked to compile of the Top 15 officials in their area, and officials receive more powerpoints if they appear on more Top 15 lists of coaches.
The other two areas of scoring include promotion level and previous post-season experience. It takes time and recommendations for an official to be promoted. All officials start out as registered, work to advance to the recognized level, and eventually work to become certified. To be selected for post-season play, an official needs to be at the certified level, although occasionally recognized officials to work regionals. Previous post-season experience, is just what it is - points are awarded for previous post-season experience. Below is an explanation of the 7 criteria for earning power points.
From IHSA.org
Below are my "records" since becoming an IHSA official. Notice that one category exist with a lot of zeros - ratings by official. When I first started, officials rated other officials, but that hasn't existed since the 2013-14 school year. You also see that in basketball my "numbers" dropped during the 14-15, 15-16, and 16-17 seasons. The reason for this was that I didn't work as many games because I was coaching basketball at Rockridge where I teach. Now that I have returned to "full-time" officiating in basketball, my hope is to build up my numbers again - in boys and girls basketball. Where I have the most experience and powerpoints is in softball. I don't have as many ratings by coach this year because our spring rain, cold, and snow canceled many games, which in turn caused a drop in ratings.
BELOW ARE MY "STATS" FOR MY CURRENT POWERPOINTS IN BASKETBALL AND SOFTBALL.
I have heard that officials selected for state finals often have been evaluated in person by IHSA staff, but there is no way that IHSA administrators can criss-cross the state and personally observe and evaluate all officials each year, so a "point system" is used to help state administrators select officials for the various levels of post-season play.
All officials working towards a goal of working post-season play must view an online presentation at the beginning of a season and then must pass an online test in that sport, gaining a certain number of "power points" for each level of scoring - for example, a perfect score on the online test earns an official 5 power points. In addition to these criteria, an official must pass an online concussion awareness test. Finally, another criteria for earning points is to attend a Level 1/2 clinic. These clinics discuss new rule changes and/or expectations for the upcoming sports season.
The next area of points awarded to an official regard the number of varsity games worked. The more varsity games an official works, the more points he/she earns. The IHSA also does track the level of the varsity contests - whether they were 1A/2A games or 3A/4A games. Based on the number of games worked, then, another points criteria is ratings by coaches. After each game, the participating coaches are suppose to rate the officials. Officials earn more power points if the coaches submit more ratings. Something I now do to help remind coaches to rate me is to send out an email reminder. (I just send out an email reminding coaches of the game worked and ask for a rating and consideration in their Top 15 list.) Another scoring criteria based on coaches input is the Top 15 lists. Coaches are asked to compile of the Top 15 officials in their area, and officials receive more powerpoints if they appear on more Top 15 lists of coaches.
The other two areas of scoring include promotion level and previous post-season experience. It takes time and recommendations for an official to be promoted. All officials start out as registered, work to advance to the recognized level, and eventually work to become certified. To be selected for post-season play, an official needs to be at the certified level, although occasionally recognized officials to work regionals. Previous post-season experience, is just what it is - points are awarded for previous post-season experience. Below is an explanation of the 7 criteria for earning power points.
From IHSA.org
How the Power Rating is Determined: The power rating is a number from 0 to 35, derived from 7 different criteria, as follows:
- Promotion level: Certified (C) -- 5 pts., Recognized (R) -- 3 pts., Registered (X) -- 1 pt.
- Part 1 exam score: 96 -- 5 pts., 92 -- 4 pts., 88 -- 3 pts., 84 -- 2 pts, 80 -- 1 pt.
- Previous tournament experience for contests by this gender: state final -- 5 pts., super-sectional or football semifinal -- 4 pts., sectional or football quarterfinal -- 3 pts., football second-round game -- 2 pts., regional or other football playoff game -- 1 pt.
- Contest ratings (percentile rank of all officials): 90% -- 5 pts., 80% -- 4 pts., 70% -- 3 pts., 60% -- 2 pts., 50% -- 1 pt.
- Top 15 lists (percentile rank of all officials): 90% -- 5 pts., 80% -- 4 pts., 70% -- 3 pts. 60% -- 2 pts., 50% -- 1 pt.
- Clinic attendance (most recent clinic): this year -- 5 pts., last year -- 3 pts., two years ago -- 1 pt.
- Varsity games worked (percentage of games a school is allowed to play in the regular season in that sport): 70% -- 5 pts., 60% -- 4 pts., 50% -- 3 pts., 40% -- 2 pts., 30% -- 1 pt.
Below are my "records" since becoming an IHSA official. Notice that one category exist with a lot of zeros - ratings by official. When I first started, officials rated other officials, but that hasn't existed since the 2013-14 school year. You also see that in basketball my "numbers" dropped during the 14-15, 15-16, and 16-17 seasons. The reason for this was that I didn't work as many games because I was coaching basketball at Rockridge where I teach. Now that I have returned to "full-time" officiating in basketball, my hope is to build up my numbers again - in boys and girls basketball. Where I have the most experience and powerpoints is in softball. I don't have as many ratings by coach this year because our spring rain, cold, and snow canceled many games, which in turn caused a drop in ratings.
Basketball
B
| School Term | Ratings by Coach | Ratings by Official | Rating Percentile | Top 15 Percentile | Date Computed |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 2011-12 | 3 | 0 | 18 | 6/9/12 | |
| 2012-13 | 10 | 3 | 41 | 34 | 6/16/13 |
| 2013-14 | 15 | 0 | 55 | 54 | 6/25/14 |
| 2014-15 | 3 | 0 | 57 | 26 | 6/16/15 |
| 2015-16 | 9 | 0 | 57 | 26 | 6/19/16 |
| 2016-17 | 3 | 0 | 54 | 2 | 6/18/17 |
| 2017-18 | 14 | 0 | 50 | 9 | 5/10/18 |
G
| School Term | Ratings by Coach | Ratings by Official | Rating Percentile | Top 15 Percentile | Date Computed |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 2011-12 | 9 | 3 | 39 | 6/9/12 | |
| 2012-13 | 11 | 2 | 55 | 39 | 6/16/13 |
| 2013-14 | 38 | 0 | 82 | 74 | 6/25/14 |
| 2014-15 | 1 | 0 | 82 | 58 | 6/16/15 |
| 2015-16 | 5 | 0 | 77 | 60 | 6/19/16 |
| 2016-17 | 5 | 0 | 72 | 61 | 6/18/17 |
| 2017-18 | 26 | 0 | 66 | 59 | 5/10/18 |
Softball
G
| School Term | Ratings by Coach | Ratings by Official | Rating Percentile | Top 15 Percentile | Date Computed |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 2010-11 | 9 | 0 | 37 | 22 | 7/5/11 |
| 2011-12 | 18 | 3 | 61 | 54 | 6/9/12 |
| 2012-13 | 16 | 2 | 71 | 74 | 6/16/13 |
| 2013-14 | 37 | 0 | 85 | 85 | 6/25/14 |
| 2014-15 | 17 | 0 | 87 | 85 | 6/16/15 |
| 2015-16 | 23 | 0 | 87 | 68 | 6/19/16 |
| 2016-17 | 39 | 0 | 91 | 89 | 6/18/17 |
| 2017-18 | 24 | 0 | 91 | 95 | 5/10/18 |
BELOW ARE MY "STATS" FOR MY CURRENT POWERPOINTS IN BASKETBALL AND SOFTBALL.
Boys Basketball
| Criterion | Value | Points |
|---|---|---|
| License Level | C | 5 |
| Score on Part 1 Exam | 96 | 5 |
| Previous tournament experience (this gender) | none | 0 |
| Contest ratings percentile | 50 | 1 |
| Top 15 list percentile | 9 | 0 |
| Most recent clinic | 11/5/2017 | 5 |
| Varsity games worked | 16 | 5 |
| TOTAL POWER POINTS | 21 |
Girls Basketball
| Criterion | Value | Points |
|---|---|---|
| License Level | C | 5 |
| Score on Part 1 Exam | 96 | 5 |
| Previous tournament experience (this gender) | Regional | 1 |
| Contest ratings percentile | 66 | 2 |
| Top 15 list percentile | 59 | 1 |
| Most recent clinic | 11/5/2017 | 5 |
| Varsity games worked | 21 | 5 |
| TOTAL POWER POINTS | 24 |
Girls Softball
| Criterion | Value | Points |
|---|---|---|
| License Level | C | 5 |
| Score on Part 1 Exam | 100 | 5 |
| Previous tournament experience (this gender) | Regional | 1 |
| Contest ratings percentile | 91 | 5 |
| Top 15 list percentile | 95 | 5 |
| Most recent clinic | 3/3/2018 | 5 |
| Varsity games worked | 36 | 5 |
| TOTAL POWER POINTS | 31 |
So does all of this rating "stuff" prove that a person is a good official? I suppose that could be debated, and I think it's reasonable to believe that good officiating cannot completely be measured by a scale like this. This "system", though, is a starting point for the IHSA an opportunity to select officials for post season play that have experience and have received ratings by coaches. And for officials genuinely interested in working post-season play, it's a way for them to monitor progress and earn those assignments.
Friday, May 11, 2018
18-19 Public Speaking Course? Huh?
I started my teaching career in 1989. For the first time, I'll be teaching a course entitled Public Speaking. And despite finding out just yesterday, I've contacted Black Hawk College for some ideas from their instructors, and I've been thinking about possibilities at Rockridge.
Since arriving at Rockridge, I had hoped to accomplish something with video production. I tried to get it going while an advisor with the journalism/yearbook course, but I could never get buy-in and energy from enough students. I wonder if I could make it work with this new course I will be leading?
So broadcasting is like public speaking, right? And public speaking comes in a variety of forms and in a variety of scenarios. And in order to evaluate good public speaking skills, video-taping the presentation/speeches is an important part of helping students evaluate their skills. So even if I can't get the broadcasting thing off the ground, I could still use videotaping equipment as part of the evaluation process.
And what if I could get some broadcasting into the course? I've got my "back room" behind NE10 that we could work into a small broadcasting room. I've been wanting to learn about green screens and backgrounds and teleprompters for awhile - this course may be a start. Plus, the students that enroll in the course generally have selected this course to stretch their public speaking abilities.
I need to work on getting a digital camera and software that are simple and user friendly to help "newbies". I think I have a connection that might be willing to part with some used equipment. I'll contact him and see what I can get accomplished. In the meantime, I'm going to start brainstorming scenarios and topics that could be part of the class, check in with past instructors at RHS to get their syllabi, and check out the information that I received from the instructor at BHC. This could be fun.
Since arriving at Rockridge, I had hoped to accomplish something with video production. I tried to get it going while an advisor with the journalism/yearbook course, but I could never get buy-in and energy from enough students. I wonder if I could make it work with this new course I will be leading?
So broadcasting is like public speaking, right? And public speaking comes in a variety of forms and in a variety of scenarios. And in order to evaluate good public speaking skills, video-taping the presentation/speeches is an important part of helping students evaluate their skills. So even if I can't get the broadcasting thing off the ground, I could still use videotaping equipment as part of the evaluation process.
And what if I could get some broadcasting into the course? I've got my "back room" behind NE10 that we could work into a small broadcasting room. I've been wanting to learn about green screens and backgrounds and teleprompters for awhile - this course may be a start. Plus, the students that enroll in the course generally have selected this course to stretch their public speaking abilities.
I need to work on getting a digital camera and software that are simple and user friendly to help "newbies". I think I have a connection that might be willing to part with some used equipment. I'll contact him and see what I can get accomplished. In the meantime, I'm going to start brainstorming scenarios and topics that could be part of the class, check in with past instructors at RHS to get their syllabi, and check out the information that I received from the instructor at BHC. This could be fun.
Wednesday, May 9, 2018
End Of the Year "Online Education"
At Rockridge where I teach, many of our students participate in a variety of activities - sports, music, FFA, and many other clubs. And typically at the end of the year, there are field trips and award ceremonies and college visits and, and, and.... Needless to say, planning "regular" instruction become very difficult.
Because of this, I move our novel reading unit to the end of the year and pretty much schedule the whole thing on Google Classroom. Admittedly, the unit isn't very creative. I have the books divided into sections of reading, and I have created my own questions for the text which I hope is a mixture of simple comprehension questions and deeper thinking/analysis questions. Using Google Classroom, I schedule the assignments to appear in the students' designated classrooms, and the following day I ask for students to volunteer their answers for discussion purposes. Then, I have students self-evaluate their work and place their grades into private comments of the assignment. Periodically, I check the students' work using revision history to see that students had the assignment completed before class, and if not, I drop the students' grades.
In the past I have included a Socratic Seminar, but I've only managed to squeeze one in so far, and we are scheduled to finish the novels next Monday. My guess is that I will have another seminar either after we complete the reading of the novels or after we view the movies.
This approach actually accomplishes my main goal, which is to have at least one novel analysis during the course. And because virtually everything is on Google Classroom, students can easily get the day's assignments and activities when they are absent. It seems to work, and this "unit" is a fairly quiet way to end the school year. If/when I do have a few days left, I try to incorporate a little poetry writing for a fun way to end the final days.
Because of this, I move our novel reading unit to the end of the year and pretty much schedule the whole thing on Google Classroom. Admittedly, the unit isn't very creative. I have the books divided into sections of reading, and I have created my own questions for the text which I hope is a mixture of simple comprehension questions and deeper thinking/analysis questions. Using Google Classroom, I schedule the assignments to appear in the students' designated classrooms, and the following day I ask for students to volunteer their answers for discussion purposes. Then, I have students self-evaluate their work and place their grades into private comments of the assignment. Periodically, I check the students' work using revision history to see that students had the assignment completed before class, and if not, I drop the students' grades.
In the past I have included a Socratic Seminar, but I've only managed to squeeze one in so far, and we are scheduled to finish the novels next Monday. My guess is that I will have another seminar either after we complete the reading of the novels or after we view the movies.
This approach actually accomplishes my main goal, which is to have at least one novel analysis during the course. And because virtually everything is on Google Classroom, students can easily get the day's assignments and activities when they are absent. It seems to work, and this "unit" is a fairly quiet way to end the school year. If/when I do have a few days left, I try to incorporate a little poetry writing for a fun way to end the final days.
Tuesday, May 8, 2018
I'm Officially an Ambassador!
A few months ago I applied to be an ambassador of Khan Academy, which primarily means that I have an interest and willingness to help others learn more about using Khan Academy resources in their classrooms. This isn't a paid position, and I have no preconceived expectations that I will eventually earn trips to exotic destinations through my efforts.
According to the information, I will get an opportunity to gain professional development for my students, potentially have an impact on future improvements or revisions, and get early looks at new developments. Plus, I will hopefully gain some networking opportunities to steal from the minds of other educators in their classrooms. For me perhaps, that is what I see as the biggest benefit. There are so many teachers worldwide that are doing amazing things in their classrooms, and being able to tap into that network will be valuable.
I myself am fairly new to Khan Academy...I think perhaps I'm in my fourth year of using the resource with my students. At Rockridge, our English Department made the decision to incorporate the grammar units into our English I, II, and III levels. I also am using the SAT prep resources with my students at the 11th grade level to help them prepare to do their best with the SAT.
There is a kick-off event on Thursday, which I will miss due to a scheduling conflict, and there is a 60-minute course over the summer as well. Prior to accepting the role, I did try to reach out to a couple of English teachers that were group members on Facebook, and the feedback I received was positive. I had also asked my building principal to review the information to see if she recognized any red flags. Since everything appeared to be "green", I've decided to try it out.
I will keep you updated on my progress and efforts!
According to the information, I will get an opportunity to gain professional development for my students, potentially have an impact on future improvements or revisions, and get early looks at new developments. Plus, I will hopefully gain some networking opportunities to steal from the minds of other educators in their classrooms. For me perhaps, that is what I see as the biggest benefit. There are so many teachers worldwide that are doing amazing things in their classrooms, and being able to tap into that network will be valuable.
I myself am fairly new to Khan Academy...I think perhaps I'm in my fourth year of using the resource with my students. At Rockridge, our English Department made the decision to incorporate the grammar units into our English I, II, and III levels. I also am using the SAT prep resources with my students at the 11th grade level to help them prepare to do their best with the SAT.
There is a kick-off event on Thursday, which I will miss due to a scheduling conflict, and there is a 60-minute course over the summer as well. Prior to accepting the role, I did try to reach out to a couple of English teachers that were group members on Facebook, and the feedback I received was positive. I had also asked my building principal to review the information to see if she recognized any red flags. Since everything appeared to be "green", I've decided to try it out.
I will keep you updated on my progress and efforts!
Thursday, May 3, 2018
SAT Reveal Day
I wish I could bottle up the reactions of students when they click to open their SAT results. Try as I may from the first day of school to inform, motivate, and encourage students that "reveal day" will eventually arrive, I feel like actually getting reactions from students perhaps might have more impact. For me, the reactions provide a range of emotions.
My heart jumps for those students that I know have worked and studied and followed advice and practiced in order to achieve their preferred level of scoring. I want to go pat them on the back or give them a hug and shout to the world about their accomplishment. For others that I know did not heed my advice and direction, I have a different reaction. Believe it or not, the reaction is not, "I told you so."
Instead of that option, what I really want for them to understand is to learn from this missed opportunity. There are some students that are genuinely disappointed, and I truly believe the thought they would do just fine on their own. These are the same students that usually have pretty high aspirations for themselves, and all of the sudden a score comes back to them that is a bit of a reality skull shot. I think I hear themselves asking, "Wait a minute....this is my score?"
And then there are about the 5% of students that simply didn't give an effort. I use to get really frustrated with these folks. The frustration was derived from state meet and exceed standard levels that eventually paint a bit of a picture that many feel is a result of my teaching ability and efforts. I'm older now and have just learned to try to minimize the students that don't try. I realize now that I can't make them try. For those folks, I feel sorry for them - again, another missed opportunity. Little do they know now (despite all my attempts) how their lack of effort and concern could be costing them in their lives.
Maybe I will keep this blog post and share it next year as part of my continuing efforts to motivate students to try to do their best on their state mandated SAT test. Maybe instead of bottling up reactions, these words could reach one or two more students that wouldn't have otherwise reached.
My heart jumps for those students that I know have worked and studied and followed advice and practiced in order to achieve their preferred level of scoring. I want to go pat them on the back or give them a hug and shout to the world about their accomplishment. For others that I know did not heed my advice and direction, I have a different reaction. Believe it or not, the reaction is not, "I told you so."
Instead of that option, what I really want for them to understand is to learn from this missed opportunity. There are some students that are genuinely disappointed, and I truly believe the thought they would do just fine on their own. These are the same students that usually have pretty high aspirations for themselves, and all of the sudden a score comes back to them that is a bit of a reality skull shot. I think I hear themselves asking, "Wait a minute....this is my score?"
And then there are about the 5% of students that simply didn't give an effort. I use to get really frustrated with these folks. The frustration was derived from state meet and exceed standard levels that eventually paint a bit of a picture that many feel is a result of my teaching ability and efforts. I'm older now and have just learned to try to minimize the students that don't try. I realize now that I can't make them try. For those folks, I feel sorry for them - again, another missed opportunity. Little do they know now (despite all my attempts) how their lack of effort and concern could be costing them in their lives.
Maybe I will keep this blog post and share it next year as part of my continuing efforts to motivate students to try to do their best on their state mandated SAT test. Maybe instead of bottling up reactions, these words could reach one or two more students that wouldn't have otherwise reached.
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