Seniors

I've often been frustrated with my seniors this semester as they don't seem willing to do much work and are just not focused at all, more so than in other schools I've been in. And I now see exactly why they feel that way. They are not required to take any finals. They get out about 2 weeks earlier than the rest of the kids. They have so many field trips (senior class picture, senior class play, state and important events in their clubs, etc.) that most of them are only in classes about 3 days a week for the last month and a half. And this week is no exception. A huge chunk of them were gone for a field trip related to their childcare class on Tuesday and today none of them will be here because they have a dress rehearsal of their class play for the elementary kids. And yesterday was the Senior class picture so first hour I didn't see my seniors either.

I worry about how they are going to transition into college after a semester of completely goofing off (even more than your average senior who already takes as many sluff courses as possible).

Update on class story

We have finished the class story and you can read it by clicking on the title of this post. I am so proud of what my Spanish I class has written.

Then part of their assessment when we were done with the story was to write a summary (no more than 5 sentences) in Spanish of the story. Here are some examples (exactly as they wrote them) of students of varying abilities. They were allowed to use their notes, a dictionary, and the story. Again, I am absolutely amazed at what my Spanish I students can produce. In the past, my Spanish I classes have done very little creative writing.

"El cuento es de Ronald Trump, quien tenía una fobia de pollo y John quien es pie grande y pode teletransporta, y príncipe travestí. Ellos todos llega en una isla no es pode John teletransporta. Después de ellos son en la isla Ronald Trump y John son atacaron. Príncipe travestí buscó por Ronald Trump y John. Entonces Príncipe travestí fue atacado y el pollo vivo."

"John, Ronald y Principe Travesti encantarso en el cielo. Ellos buscaron refugio. Ronald y john fue atacar. Entonces principe travesti buscó John y Ronald entonces él fue atacar. Él pello vivió."

"Ronald´s avión explotó y él volaba muy alto en el cielo. John teletransportó a el cielo and él encontró John y Ronald. Ellos hablaron en el cielo y John despúes teletransportó los a la isla. En la isla ellos estar atacaron y ellos morieron."

"Ronald Trump, John y el príncipe travestí estuvieron cayeron en el ciel y sobre en isla. Al principio ellos es confundidos y John intentaba a teleransporto per recurso. Ellos empezaban buscar comida y rufugio y encontrar compraste. Pero ellos es atacaban y morían. Pero el príncipe travestí pollo es todavía vive."

"En el sustantivo los carácter son Ronald Trump, John, El príncipe travestí. Ronald Trump, John, el príncipe travestí saltaron en el cielo junto y econtrarse con cada otros. John intento teletransportar Ronald Trump y El príncipe travestí a su casa, pero es no su casa. John teletransportar en la isla. Mientras tanto Ronald Trump, John, y El príncipe tranvestí buscar los objetos para obrevivir, pero alguien atacó y muertos."

"El cuento es de tres personas, de Ronald Trump, John, y del príncipe travestí. Ellos tienen los problemas diferentes con sus avións y con teletransportar para que todos terminan y se encuentran en el cielo. Ahí ellos hablan y deciden teletransportar a la casa de Ronald pero no llegan a su casa, ellos llegan en una isla. John no puede teletransportar. Ahí ellos buscan refugio y intentan sobrevivir. Ellos recogen la comida. Pero en el final ellos mueren porque alguien atacó a ellos y el pollo vive."

Our future is in the kids' hands

I just had a conversation with a kid in my study hall about shoplifting. He told me that one time while he was at Walmart he stole some batteries (because his sister encouraged him to and she was taking some keychains and such). He then went on to tell me that it is a great thing that he has only stole once. And so I asked him how this could be a good thing. And I went on teling him how shoplifting effects stores and prices overall. And he seemed to see nothing wrong with what he did and told me that if he were to go back in time he would still do exactly what he did.

If this were to be just an isolated conversation, I would just be frustrated with this one kid. But it is not. So many of these kids I work with just don't seem to have a conscience and don't see anything wrong with what they do and no matter what you tell them they still don't see it.

What will our country be like in 20 years? For me it is kind of scary to think about.

Short term memory

So I re-introduced direct object pronouns this week (we have already worked with them in previous chapters). And yesterday we were going through tons of examples and practice answering questions, simplifiying sentences, etc. I was calling students up individually to complete them (it is a class of only 5 so that meant students coming up multiple times) and was really impressed with how much they were catching on.

Then today I put on the board several questions, just like the ones we did yesterday. And my first hour kids looked at it as if I had written Greek on the board. They couldn't understand what the questions meant. They couldn't even pick out more than couple of words. And then when they went to try and answer it they didn't know how to use pronouns or anything. It was like they had never seen it before.

And then I asked them to get their homework out and asked them to put their answers on the board and some of them didn't even remember doing the worksheet (although they had it done) and couldn't really explain what they had done. And I know they did the worksheet themself because I watched them complete at least the first half of it in class yesterday.

And this wasn't a first. With the exception of my Spanish I group (I need to figure out what is different with this group), none of my classes retain anything no matter what I do. And it is beyond just not remember all the specifics of something. When things show up again (and again and again) they claim they have never even seen it before.

I know some of it has to do with their cramming before tests and not ever looking at the material other times. And I've talked with my students about the need to study a little each day but even my college bound seniors in Advanced Spanish just ignore me. But it has to be more than that. Because it is typical of students to cram.

I don't know what to do about it. I recycle old material constantly. I try and put everything I can into a context and get them some good comprehensible input. I hold them accountable for current AND all previous material. I use a huge variety in how we practice concepts. I don't know what to do to get them to remember something longer than 5 minutes.

Field Trips

I can't believe the field trips at this school district!  Every day I get notice of more.  I was just looking at my calander and there are weeks where field trips are set for 3 or 4 days of the week!  How do they expect me to teach?

 

Maybe this is a difference between a small school and a large school?????  I don't know.

 

The number of field trips right now that are scheduled at my school for April and May far exceed the number of field trips that my last school had for the entire school year.  And thinking back to high school, I can't come up with even one field trip I went on (I'm probably forgeting something but if I can't come up with ANY than it couldn't have been many).  And where I student taught, I don't remember a single field trip the entire fall semester.