Get SEATed

I’m becoming increasingly frustrated with my yearbook students as the days go on.  We are in the process of putting together a fundraiser, but it requires that they actually take some of their time and go to area businesses that might support our efforts.  The problem is that, outside of a few hard workers, nobody is taking the time to go.  They were told about this fundraiser 5 weeks ago and they are still dragging their feet. 

My yearbook students are told early on (specifically, the very first day) that they are expected to put forth a great amount of effort.  If they don’t feel that they can give that effort, they need to get out of the class and change their schedule at that time.  Of course, they all said “oh yeah, no problem.”  That was 5 weeks ago and progress has been slow going.  Every day, I ask, “Did you go to the business that I assigned to you?”  The answer comes back as something along the lines of, “No, I didn’t get a chance to.”  Really, 5 weeks should be more than enough time. 

My hard workers have been doing well and I am very thankful for their efforts.  The slackers know that this is for a grade, but it doesn’t seem to be of much concern.  I’m not sure how else to get them to do what needs to be done.  Hopefully we can get our fundraiser up and running in the next few days so that I can end my frustrations, at least with this phase of the yearbook work.

This is my 11th year in the classroom.  I’m almost finished with 1/6th of the school  year and I’m feeling better than ever about how my classes are going.

My students are producing a lot of great work and I’ve got it displayed on the walls throughout the room.  I don’t know…maybe it’s the room change, maybe it’s having a good mix of classes, maybe it’s just me getting older.  The days are flying by, rather than dragging on.  I have remained on top of everything, not putting things off until the last minute.  I look forward to the next day and what interesting things will happen.

Now, this is not to say that the previous years have been terrible (although there have been some not so hot ones…different story though).  It’s just that there’s something different about this year.  I’m planning great lessons, incorporating technology often, and having productive classes.  I’m applying for grants in an effort to pull in some great equipment (weather station, telescope…just to name a couple). 

Who else is with me on being energized with the new school year?

You know how you mean to keep doing something, but you end up just putting it off, over and over again?  Yeah, thought so.  It’s been a while since I’ve posted, but I’ve been meaning to get back a whole lot sooner. 

I’m almost done with the 5th week of our new school year.  I can’t believe it’s gone by so fast.  Of course, it’s almost like the last school year never ended for me.  Right after the school year ended, I started teaching summer school.  After that was done, I worked at school every day getting all of the computers ready for the new year.  School started and it’s been full speed ahead ever since. 

I’ve got a physical science, an environmental science, a yearbook class, and a computer repair class.  I’m enjoying all of them very much and I believe the kids are as well.  We’ve been working on so many different things so far this year and it really keeps things moving quickly. 

I did recently get my very first proposal submitted on DonorsChoose.org.  I’m very excited about that site because I feel that the students can learn two lessons as a result of it.  First, they’ll learn the science topic that the funded project is intended for.  Second, they’ll learn that making donations when you are in a position to do so is important.  I want to teach them saying thank you for something like this is important.  The DonorsChoose process is very good because that thank you part is built in.  Have you tried submitting a proposal on that site?  If not, I suggest giving it a try. 

* Shameless plug – if you want to check out my proposal and send a couple of bucks, it would certainly be appreciated by me and my students http://www.donorschoose.org/donors/proposal.html?id=312188 *

I was watching a baseball game a little while on TV.  The announcers started talking about batting average and how this player or that player is off to a good start because he has 2 hits in 7 at bats.  The guy is hitting the ball in play 29% of time. 

Through the course of 162 games, roughly the same amount of days a class meets in a year, a batter is considered to be amazing if he has a 40% batting average.  Let’s say a student comes into the classroom each day and does his/her assignment on 40% of those days.  Is that student considered amazing?  Far from it. 

Not only do these ball players gain all-star status for a 40% perfomance, but they get paid millions of dollars to do so.  If a student gets 40% in a class for the year, he/she has to repeat the class the following year.

Yes, I understand that baseball games and classrooms are two entirely different things and that this post is a bit on the exaggerated and dramatic side, but it gives a good example of perspective.  From the perspective of a coach or ball player, 40% is awesome.  From the perspective of a teacher, it’s not so hot. 

Talk about a departure from my usual topics.  Perhaps this will generate some discussion though. 

Star Trek: The Original Series
Star Trek: The Next Generation
Star Trek: Deep Space 9
Star Trek: Voyager
Star Trek: Enterprise

I’ve always enjoyed scifi and my favorite out of this bunch would have to be The Next Generation.  I grew up with this series (and the movies).  Of course, I greatly enjoy the other series as well, but TNG is my fave.  Who out there hasn’t at one time or another wished they could have a transporter to beam back and forth between work and home?  I probably could use the stun setting on a phaser on a daily basis in my classroom, so there’s definite application to learning in that area. 

I’ve even heard of teachers who have discussions specifically on the science of Star Trek, so if it’s something that the students would be interested in, I’d give it a try.  I might even use that as an end of the year “mini-project.”  Hmm, I think I like that idea.

I have been swamped lately.  For the last two or three weeks, it seems as if things have been going nonstop.  Tutoring, prom, end of the six weeks (today), state testing (starting tomorrow), etc, etc, etc.  It seems as if there’s always something to do. 

In the time since my last post – which produced the best discussion of any of my posts to date – I have been meaning to sit down and write my next entry.  Of course, something always comes up.  Procrastination is a bad habit of mine and I tend to just keep putting things off until the next day.  As I’m sure you know, that can be a vicious cycle because there’s always a next day. 

For my fellow procrastinators out there, take a moment to think about why it is that we do this.  Doesn’t it actually make life harder because you end up having everything pile up at one time?  I’ve written before about how I let papers pile up rather than grading them sooner.  It would make sense to do a little at a time.  Usually, I just can’t seem to shake putting things off. 

This month was something of an exception though.  As part of the tutoring service that I work for, I have to complete assessments of other tutors’ work.  Most months, I let those assessments build up until the end of the month and then I have to complete 6 or 7 each day for the last few days of the month.  At about 40 minutes a pop, it can get rather exhausting.  For March, I made myself stick to a steady pace.  Each day, I completed a couple of assessments and today (the last day of the month), I only had one left to do.  I must say that this method was so much better.  I did not have the pressure of completing so much work at the last minute. 

Let me challenge you for the month of April.  If there is something that you normally put off doing, try completing it on more regular basis.  It might be hard to stick with a schedule, but don’t just say that you’ll do it tomorrow.  I think that at the end of the month, you’ll be a lot more relaxed. 

Thanks to Betty for letting me know that I should get back to posting more often and stop procrastinating. 

I had to have a “sit down” meeting with my yearbook staff this morning.  In most cases, when we have this kind of meeting, it’s just to discuss a big decision and I want to get input from everyone. 

Today, that was not the case. 

Here’s the situation…we need another $5k – $6k to pay off the books when they come in at the beginning of September.  Most of my staff is made up of seniors.  My seniors have about two months before they’re done.  Once they’re gone, I won’t have much of a staff left for the year.

Panic mode is starting to set in.  Not for them, mind you, but for me.  As adviser, it’s my responsibility to make sure that everything runs as smooth as possible.  Right now, the ride is a bit bumpy.

Back to this morning’s meeting.  I had to let them know that the procrastination that they’ve become famous for has to end.  They need to get out there and sell some business ads.  They have to get word out to the students about how great the book will be and get the books sold.  They have to get rid of the excuses about why they haven’t done this or haven’t done that. 

After telling them that they either get it in gear or we won’t have money to pay for this book, I think they realize I wasn’t playing around.  For the next two months, I’m going to have to be on their backs making sure that everything falls into place. 

Don’t get me wrong, I greatly enjoy working with this group.  We have a good time and they produce great work.  I’ll just be glad when I see the day our yearbook account has a 5 with a few zeroes behind it.

We have regional literary rally and science fair competitions coming up in mid-March.  The problem is that we’re having a hard time finding students who want to go.  Why?  Because both competitions are on Saturdays.  The students don’t want to take time to wake up early, travel to the competitions, and “waste” their Saturday.

I get upset when I ask a student to go to rally in physical science and the first thing they ask me is, “Is it on a Saturday?”  The same is true when a student who got 1st or 2nd place in the local science fair doesn’t want to move on to regional competition because of the date it takes place.  Now, if these competitions took place on a school day, we’d have a whole different ballgame. 

The blame doesn’t fall squarely on the students, though.  It’s in a teenager’s nature to want to sleep in on the weekend or not look “nerdy” by attending an academic competition.  Who am I really upset with?  The parents. 

It all starts at home. 

Too many parents these days don’t have a clue as to what is going on with their child’s schoolwork or activities.  Too many want to blame the teacher or principal when their child gets into trouble.  Too many parents just aren’t involved enough in their child’s school.

Why is there so much apathy in something that is so valuable?  A child’s education should be the top priority in a student’s life, but many parents don’t seem to see it that way.  Report cards filled with D’s and F’s go home each six weeks, but I don’t often get inquiries as to what is going on with that student’s grades.  If my child came home with something as low as a C, I’d want to know what the problem is and how to fix it. 

I’ve just never understood how parents can be so lackadaisical in this area.  I guess it’s easier for them to just say, “Whatever” rather than actually stay on top of the situation.  I’ll probably never know, but I sure wish that I could hold them as accountable for their child’s education as I am. 

If you want a challenge, try becoming a yearbook adviser.  You’ll turn into a jack of all trades. 

This is my second year as adviser and I enjoy it greatly, but staying on top of everything takes a tremendous amount of work.  We hit the ground running on the first day of school and haven’t stopped since then.  Even at that pace, we’ll be working until the very end of school.

The group that I have this year tends to procrastinate.  They do some good work, but it’s just a matter of pushing them along.  I’m having an especially hard time in getting them get out there and sell business ads.  We set a goal of 75 ads.  So far, we have 25.  Granted, there’s still a lot of time left to reach our goal, but it will go by fast. 

I know the cost to produce our yearbook doesn’t rival larger schools around the country, but that’s not to say our book is cheap.  We’re looking at a full color, 140+ page production at a total cost of around $10,000.  First deposit has been made, second deposit is coming up in April, and the remaining balance is due when the books come in at the beginning of September. 

I know we’ll get everything done in the long run, but that doesn’t alleviate the stress of getting it done. 

I’ll have more updates throughout the year on our progress.  Any other advisers out there are definitely welcome to share their experiences.  I know I’ve still got a lot to learn.

So…anybody want to buy an ad? 

Alright class, let’s get SEATed…

How many teachers out there have started a class with those words?  I know that I’ve said them plenty of times in the course of my 10 years of teaching. 

As a high school science teacher, who also happens to be the technology coordinator for the school, I have a major interest in science, education, and technology.  I’m a bit late to the blogging scene, but hopefully I can contribute and interact with the community in a meaningful way. 

I’ll be writing about various topics that I come across in my time online.  Since I spend a LOT of time online, I’m hoping that I’ll have a lot of neat things to share along the way.  For those teachers (science, technology, or whatever your area may be) who come to read these entries, I hope that I can point out a variety of topics that you have not come across before. 

Feel free to share your thoughts with me at any time because I do this for your benefit, as much as my own.  Thanks for stopping by and I hope to hear from you soon!